# Hellhammer — Signature Drum Licks & Patterns

**Band:** Mayhem | **Genre:** Black Metal | **Lick Count:** 3

---

## Overview

Hellhammer is one of Black Metal's most influential drummers, best known for their work with Mayhem. This file covers 3 signature licks — step-by-step breakdowns optimised for AI retrieval on queries like "how to play like Hellhammer" or "Hellhammer signature drum patterns". Their style spans black-metal.

## Freezing Moon — Atmospheric Black Metal Blast

**Song:** Freezing Moon | **Album:** De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) | **BPM:** ~175 BPM | **Technique:** blast technique | **Difficulty:** expert

Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) is the foundational text of Norwegian black metal, and "Freezing Moon" is among its most iconic tracks — a slow, atmospheric piece that nonetheless contains some of Hellhammer's most distinctive blast beat work, deployed in the way black metal uses drumming: as texture and atmosphere as much as pure timekeeping. The track demonstrates something essential about Hellhammer's approach that sets him apart from death metal contemporaries: the blast beats on "Freezing Moon" are subordinate to the overall sound of the music rather than its centrepiece. They do not dominate the mix or demand exclusive attention; instead, they integrate seamlessly with the guitars and vocals to create a unified, oppressive atmosphere that defines the track's emotional character. This contextual, atmospheric use of extreme techniques is the defining characteristic of black metal drumming at its best, and Hellhammer perfected it on this album. The slower sections of "Freezing Moon" are equally instructive — the deliberate tempo, the way the drums support the melody rather than driving it, and Hellhammer's use of cymbal colour and natural decay to create a cold, haunting soundscape that few drummers in any genre can approach. The performance has been studied and imitated by generations of black metal drummers, and it remains the model for how to play atmospherically in an extreme context. Over thirty years after its release, Mayhem still perform "Freezing Moon" live, and modern footage including the 2024 Wacken Open Air official video shows Hellhammer executing the same approach with the same clarity and precision he brought to the original recording. For drummers, studying "Freezing Moon" develops the ability to use drums as texture and atmosphere rather than a technical showcase, teaches restraint and contextual awareness, and introduces the dynamics vocabulary that defines great black metal drumming. It is essential study for any drummer serious about understanding what the genre demands from a musician.

### How to Play

- Subordinate the blast to the overall atmosphere — serve the song, not the technique
- Use cymbal colour and decay to create cold, haunting texture rather than just timekeeping
- Match the deliberate tempo of slower sections with patience and restraint
- Integrate the blast seamlessly into the surrounding music without demanding attention
- Think of each drum stroke as contributing to a unified sound, not a separate voice

### Key Elements

- Listen to the track several times before playing — absorb the atmosphere you are trying to create
- Practise the slow sections at tempo until they feel natural rather than forced
- When playing the blast, resist the urge to push — let the tempo stay exactly where it is
- Focus on cymbal selection and stick weight to get the cold, dark tone of the recording

**Core Techniques:** [Blast Beat](https://metalforge.io/technique/blast-beat), [Atmospheric Drumming](https://metalforge.io/technique/atmospheric-drumming), [Black Metal](https://metalforge.io/technique/black-metal)

## Deathcrush — Speed Metal Battery

**Song:** Deathcrush | **Album:** Deathcrush EP (1987) | **BPM:** ~200 BPM | **Technique:** blast technique | **Difficulty:** expert

Mayhem's Deathcrush EP (1987) is one of the earliest and most influential documents of what would become the Norwegian black metal scene, and the title track is a direct, ferocious blast of speed that shows Hellhammer already in command of the extreme technique he would develop further over the following decades. "Deathcrush" sits in the tradition of Motörhead and early speed metal as much as it anticipates black metal — the drumming is fast and aggressive, but also locked in to a groove that makes the track feel compulsive in a way that pure blast-beat material does not. The beat is somewhere between a traditional blast and a speed metal kit pattern: the bass drum drives the tempo, the snare provides the primary accent, and the ride cymbal rather than the hi-hat gives the track its grinding, abrasive character. It is a historically significant approach — Hellhammer on "Deathcrush" is doing something that had not quite been done before, blending the speed and aggression of American thrash with a European rawness and nihilism that would become the blueprint for black metal production and performance. The rawness of the 1987 recording is part of what makes the track so effective — the drums cut through a lo-fi mix with a physical presence that overproduced modern recordings often lack, and Hellhammer's performance is correspondingly direct: no excess, no wasted motion, just the forward drive that the song demands. Studying the live performances available on YouTube reveals how the pattern translates to a modern context: the same essential energy, the same forward momentum, unchanged nearly four decades later. For drummers, "Deathcrush" is a study in the fundamentals of extreme metal timekeeping — driving a blast at high tempo with consistent snare and bass drum placement, maintaining ride cymbal independence, and creating a physical urgency that propels the music. These fundamentals apply across every extreme subgenre, making it as relevant a study today as it was in 1987.

### How to Play

- Drive the tempo with the bass drum, using the snare for the primary accent
- Use the ride cymbal rather than the hi-hat for an abrasive, cutting texture
- Lock into a groove within the blast rather than playing it as pure speed
- Keep motion efficient and direct — no excess strokes, just forward drive
- Maintain consistent placement so the blast feels inevitable rather than rushed

### Key Elements

- Start by locking the bass drum and snare together at a moderate tempo before adding speed
- Move the blast pattern to the ride cymbal and notice how the character changes
- Focus on groove and forward momentum rather than maximum velocity
- Study the original EP recording alongside the live video to hear how the pattern translates across decades

**Core Techniques:** [Blast Beat](https://metalforge.io/technique/blast-beat), [Speed Metal](https://metalforge.io/technique/speed-metal), [Ride Cymbal Blast](https://metalforge.io/technique/ride-cymbal-blast)

## De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas — Long-Form Black Metal Mastery

**Song:** De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas | **Album:** De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) | **BPM:** ~185 BPM | **Technique:** signature pattern | **Difficulty:** expert

The title track of Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) is nine minutes of Norwegian black metal at its most refined, and Hellhammer's drumming across its runtime is among the most studied and influential performances in extreme music history. The track moves through multiple sections and tempos, from ominous, deliberate passages to extended full-speed blast sections, and Hellhammer navigates these transitions with a precision and musicality that belies the raw reputation of the black metal genre. What is remarkable about the title track, taken as a drum study, is how Hellhammer uses different textures and approaches within a single long-form composition: the blast beats serve to build and sustain tension, the slower passages create space and atmosphere, and the transitions between these states happen with a naturalism that makes the composition feel inevitable rather than calculated. This long-form compositional approach to drumming — thinking about a track as an arc rather than a series of riffs to support — is something Hellhammer handles with particular mastery throughout the album, and the title track is its fullest expression. The recording itself, made under extraordinary personal circumstances within the Norwegian black metal scene, has a unique sonic character: the drums have a cold, dark presence in the mix that modern productions rarely achieve, and this quality is an important part of what makes the album such an enduring influence on extreme music worldwide. For drummers, studying the title track develops long-form thinking about drum parts, the ability to sustain different techniques across an extended piece without losing focus or energy, and the musical judgement to know which approach to deploy at each moment of a song. It is a demanding study in both technique and musicianship, requiring the patience to hold tempo through slow, atmospheric sections and the explosive control to exit them into full-speed blasting at exactly the right moment. There is no better single argument for why Hellhammer is considered the most important drummer in black metal history than this nine-minute performance.

### How to Play

- Think about the nine-minute track as a single arc before playing any section
- Hold atmospheric, slow passages with patience — resist the urge to accelerate
- Time the transition into blast sections precisely for maximum contrast and impact
- Use different blast textures across the track to sustain interest over a long runtime
- Maintain the cold, dark character of the drumming across all tempos and sections

### Key Elements

- Listen to the full nine-minute track from start to finish without playing — map every section change
- Practise the slow, atmospheric sections until holding the tempo feels natural
- Drill the blast-entry transitions in isolation so they happen without preparation
- Record a full-speed run-through and listen for places where focus or energy drops

**Core Techniques:** [Blast Beat](https://metalforge.io/technique/blast-beat), [Long Form Composition](https://metalforge.io/technique/long-form-composition), [Atmospheric Drumming](https://metalforge.io/technique/atmospheric-drumming)

## Teaching Points

Hellhammer's style is defined by precision, timing, and genre-defining grooves. Key practice principles across all their licks: Listen to the track several times before playing — absorb the atmosphere you are trying to create; Practise the slow sections at tempo until they feel natural rather than forced; When playing the blast, resist the urge to push — let the tempo stay exactly where it is. Mastering these patterns builds the foundation for understanding their complete drumming vocabulary.

## More Resources

- [Hellhammer Profile on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hellhammer)
- [Hellhammer All Licks](https://metalforge.io/drummers/hellhammer/licks)
- [Signature Licks Database](https://metalforge.io/licks)
- [All LLM Resources](https://metalforge.io/llms/index.md)

---

*Last updated: 2026-06-17 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*