The pattern
140 BPM · 4/4 · 32 step
| Instrument | Beat 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Beat 2 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Beat 3 | Step 10 | Step 11 | Step 12 | Beat 4 | Step 14 | Step 15 | Step 16 | Beat 5 | Step 18 | Step 19 | Step 20 | Beat 6 | Step 22 | Step 23 | Step 24 | Beat 7 | Step 26 | Step 27 | Step 28 | Beat 8 | Step 30 | Step 31 | Step 32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| Snare | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest |
| Crash | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
How to play it and where it comes from
The metalcore breakdown (Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive, Architects): half time with snare on 3 and china/crash on the quarter notes, while the kick follows in unison the syncopated chugs of the down-tuned guitars (3-3-2 groups), with a kick roll at the end of the phrase. Often the breakdown is 10–20 BPM slower than the rest of the song, or at least in half time. Variants: verses in fast punk two-step, blasts in the most extreme passages, sharp pauses (stops) before the restart.