Chapel of Ghouls Blast-Beat Blueprint — Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Chapel of Ghouls Blast-Beat Blueprint drum lick by Pete Sandoval of Morbid Angel. From Chapel of Ghouls (Altars of Madness (1989)). Pete "Commando" Sandoval is one of the founding fathers of death metal drumming, and Morbid Angel's ...
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1. Pete Sandoval's Signature Licks — Pete "Commando" Sandoval is one of the founding fathers of death metal drumming, and Morbid Angel's 1989 debut Altars of Madness is the record where he helped codify the modern blast beat. "Chapel of Ghouls" is a defining moment: relentless blasting, savage double bass, and a raw, controlled aggression that set the template every death metal drummer since has studied. Sandoval's signature is the conventional blast beat played with brutal consistency — alternating single strokes between the snare and a cymbal while the kick hammers underneath — delivered at tempos that, in 1989, were almost unheard of. What separates his playing from mere speed is the locked-in precision: the blasts drive the riffs rather than running away from them, and the transitions from blasting to double-bass grooves to half-time breakdowns are tight and intentional. In the isolated drum track for "Chapel of Ghouls" you can hear exactly how the part is constructed — the blast pattern, the kick placement, and how the groove anchors the song's churning riffs. For drummers, this is foundational death-metal vocabulary: it develops blast-beat endurance, fast double bass, and the coordination to switch between blasting and grooving without losing the pocket. The approach is to build the blast slowly and evenly, lock the kick to the snare hand, and only raise the tempo once the pattern stays clean. "Chapel of Ghouls" remains a cornerstone of the genre and the perfect place to learn the blast-beat blueprint Sandoval helped invent.2. Pete Sandoval Profile — Play the conventional blast — alternate single strokes between snare and cymbal Hammer the kick underneath, locked tightly to the snare hand Drive the riffs with the blast rather than letting it run away from the tempo Switch cleanly between blasting, double-bass grooves and half-time breakdowns Build slowly and evenly, raising tempo only when the pattern stays clean
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