Messengers Blast-to-Groove Transition — Matt Greiner (August Burns Red) Drum Lick | MetalForge
Learn the Messengers Blast-to-Groove Transition drum lick by Matt Greiner of August Burns Red. From Meddler (Messengers (2007)). The Messengers (2007) was August Burns Red's breakthrough second album, and the tracks on it announc...
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1. Matt Greiner's Signature Licks — The Messengers (2007) was August Burns Red's breakthrough second album, and the tracks on it announced Matt Greiner as a genuinely exceptional metalcore drummer. The blast-to-groove transitions that define the Messengers era became one of Greiner's most studied techniques: the ability to go from a controlled blast beat directly into a locked, syncopated groove without losing the feel or the connection to the riff. In metalcore, blast beats are often used as a blunt tool — a burst of speed that creates impact and then recedes. What Greiner understood was that the transition itself could be musical, a moment of tension and release that serves the song's emotional arc. On tracks like "Meddler," these transitions arrive at exactly the right moment to amplify the shift in the riff, hitting the groove at the same time the guitars drop from tremolo picking into a chug, creating a unified, crushing impact. Technically, the blast requires clean alternating strokes at high velocity, with the kick driving below the snare and hat rather than racing with them. The transition demands that the feet shift instantly from the continuous pattern of the blast to the accented, stop-start figures of the groove, all without losing the pocket. Greiner achieves this through deep familiarity with the riff — he knows exactly where the gear-change happens and can anticipate it rather than react to it. For drummers, practising this transition builds coordination across the whole kit and trains the ears to listen for the band while playing at speed. It is one of the most transferable skills in metalcore drumming: every song that moves between intense and grooving passages demands it. The Messengers era was where Greiner first demonstrated he had it at the highest level, setting the benchmark that would define his playing on every album to follow.2. Matt Greiner Profile — Execute clean alternating blast strokes with the kick driving below the snare and hi-hat Know the riff so well that you anticipate the blast-to-groove gear-change rather than reacting to it Shift the feet instantly from the continuous blast pattern to the stop-start groove figures Land in the groove pocket exactly as the guitars hit the chugging riff for maximum impact Practise the transition phrase in isolation before placing it back into the full song context
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