Cowbell
 

Does a cowbell (and/or tamborine, blocks, etc.) have any place in metal?



:banger:

I think the proper question is "Does a cowbell have a place in any music ever?"

And the answer is Yes. Cowbell is the universal language of awesome.

the a very brave decision in accessories

use it wisely

cowbell is essential in anything under the category of 'amazing'.

Guess what : i've got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Xl3bUr_kQ

Cowbell can be very useful if applied wisely. It's very hard, though, for me to incorporate it in fills. Not because my own ability prevents me, but it's positioned in a place hard to get to. I would put it someplace a little more accessible, BUT the mount I have for it is a bass drum mount.

What would be the best way to use a cowbell in metal?

I can only think of one example at the moment where cowbell is used; Pantera's "Drag the Waters." There's also cowbell being played in All That Remain's "Deepest Gray."

I use it in this one song. The guitars just play natural harmonic 8th notes on the 5th fret. The first time they do this (before the verse), I hit the cowbell on beats 2 and 4. Then the second time they do it (after the chorus), I hit it on each down beat. That's the best I can explain it.

I guess the best way to use it is to accent certain beats, and possibly in more softer parts of the song. Just experiment. Take a song you know, and put some cowbell in it. Maybe ride on the cowbell instead of the hi hat. Maybe roll on it when doing a kit roll or a fill.

My friends got me another cowbell, and they keep getting me to bring it with me whenever I go see them. I "accidently" leave it at their house. It's the same pitch, and it doesn't even have the plastic rim on it like mine does. Plus, I don't have neither toe room for it nor the patience to go get a mount for it.

Aside from Cowbell just being awesome, it does, just don't do hyper cowbell blasts. I think All Shall Perish opens a song with one..Might be on their myspace or something too, I forget. I can see it coming to use, solo's perhaps..But of course if you want to use it in Extreme Death Metal or something, it could be awkward. I couldn't ever imagine a band like Spawn of Possession using a cowbell..

ive heard pantera, exodus and down use it

as quaternotes or all the "and's" inbetween.

we are talking about a highly explosive drumbeat here, be careful.

some death metal band used them alot

goregasm? goresore? gorerotted? goratory?

one of them. understandably, i cant remember which.

Gorerotted using a Cowbell would be hilarious..I can see it too. A grind blast with a cowbell being a helpless victim to the battering.

Thinking about it... Cattle Decapitation should use the cowbell :D

:rofl:

I always give a chuckle when my drummer hits his cowbell. It's hilarious and gives the whole band some punch.

play it in a breakdown instead of a china or as many people have started using the splash.
id still say cowbells are shite, i cant ever see myself using one. when i was in a misfits cover band using the guitarists drums id use the cowbell in stupid places to make the others laugh.

i might join a hip hop band and get a cowbell chrome plated and use it as a blingin ass chain fo sho.

COWBELL !!!
 

Yeah I use that on the outro of a goretrack I've made... But I've put it there to add a bit of a comical feel to the ending...

Not the most brutal thing on a drumkit but can add different dynamics if that's what your after, maybe just sit on your kit one day and experiment with it and if you have no joy just give it to your local farmer ARR !!! Or pirate farmer even, ARRRR !!!

:rofl:

I think Insision are fans of the cowbell. I'm sure one of the blasts in 'We Did Not Come To Heal' has a cowbell...

Cowbells work for any cheesy heavy metal-type song that has a tempo of roughly 130 dotted quarter notes per minute.

If used correctly its awesome...