Listen and Learn

• 1). Spend some time listening to seminal thrash metal recordings, like "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, "Among the Living" by Anthrax and "Reign in Blood" by Slayer. Pay close attention to the drumming on each recording and think about how you would play the drum parts. It's crucial to remember that thrash is a style of music as well as an attitude; it's fast, mean and ruthless. Think about how to incorporate that attitude into your playing, by either striking the drums harder or striking the crash cymbals more frequently.
  
  
• 2). Sit down at your drumkit. Connect the headphones to your metronome and set the tempo at 130. Begin playing a standard rock pattern, with the bass drum playing two eighth notes on beats one and three, the snare playing a quarter note on two and four, and the hi-hat playing eighth notes on every beat. Lock in with the metronome, making sure every snare and bass drum note is the same volume and lands on the correct beat. As you become more comfortable, increase the tempo by increments of five. The goal is to play the standard rock pattern at a tempo of 180 for five minutes without stopping; this is the standard thrash metal drumbeat. Advanced players may need only one or two days to master this beat, while intermediate players may need weeks or months. For best results, practice each new tempo until you are absolutely comfortable; increase the tempo only when you are ready.
  
  
• 3). Thrash metal drummers, like Dave Lombardo from Slayer and Lars Ulrich from Metallica, are known for creating bombastic drum fills. These fills are based on the standard rock "roundhouse" fill, where a drummer plays four sixteenth notes on the snare, the rack toms, and the floor tom in succession. To practice this fill, play the thrash metal beat at a tempo of 120 for three bars, then insert a roundhouse fill into the fourth bar. Pay attention to note spacing and consistency across the drumset; each note on the snare, toms, and floor tom should be clean and equal in volume. Practice this fill until you're comfortable, increasing the tempo by an increment of five when you're ready. The goal is to play the thrash metal beat and the thrash roundhouse fill at a tempo of 180. Intermediate and advanced players alike will find this exercise difficult. Remember to take your time when practicing at each tempo; the best thrash metal drummers spent years building the speed and endurance necessary for playing this type of music.