Learn to playHail To The Kingas made famous by Avenged Sevenfoldon drums
The drum beat in "Hail to the King" features a steady, driving rhythm with a strong emphasis on the kick drum on beats 1 and 3, and snare on 2 and 4. It’s simple yet powerful, with occasional tom fills and cymbal crashes adding intensity, creating a classic rock/metal groove.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Hail To The King. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Hail To The King
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Intro
After 4 bars, play beats 2 and 4 on the ride. Add the kick, then hit the crashes to lead into the groove. Finish with an anticipated crash and build on the toms.
Verse
Continue the groove through the verse, watching for the crashes. At the end, pulse 1/8 notes on the kick, playing fills with the crash, and building on the toms.
Chorus
Move into the chorus groove, adding a kick on beat 3-& in the second bar. In the last 4 bars, play crashes with the backbeat, then an anticipated crash leading to toms.
Bridge
Return to the verse groove for the bridge, watching for the extra crashes. After the guitar solo, move to the toms, playing the fast groups of 5 with alternating hands.
Outro
Keep the groove straight through this final chorus. Watch for the 'over the barline' fill in bar 8. Finish on an anticipated crash.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Hail To The King
with Melodics
Behind the track
Hail To The King
by Avenged Sevenfold
"Hail to the King" by Avenged Sevenfold is a powerful, anthemic track rooted in classic heavy metal and hard rock influences. The composition features a driving rhythm in D minor, with heavy, palm-muted guitar riffs, a thunderous drum beat, and a soaring, melodic guitar solo. The song’s structure is straightforward yet impactful, with a strong emphasis on groove and dynamics, drawing inspiration from bands like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
M. Shadows delivers a commanding vocal performance, blending gritty, mid-range tones with melodic, soaring choruses. His delivery is both aggressive and emotive, perfectly complementing the song’s epic and dark atmosphere. The vocal lines are catchy and anthemic, making the chorus particularly memorable and impactful.
Tips for learning Hail To The King on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Hail To The King individually for precision mastery. With Melodics, you can slow the pace of the song and work up to full speed.
Tip 2: Review your performance
Identify growth areas: Listen to playback of your performance to learn where you need to develop your timing, technique & rhythm. Melodics provides instant feedback on your performance.
Tip 3: Practice makes perfect
Stay consistent: With regular, focused practice you'll see rapid progress when learning the song. Even a short session each day will make a huge difference.
- Get access to 100s of interactive lessons and popular songs
- Instant feedback on your performance and tracking of your progress
- The fun and effective way to stick to your drum kit
Other popular songs available in Melodics
Easy - Commodores
Lay back with this breezy swung groove from Lionel and the gang.
Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush
Get those toms galloping up that hill with this viral cult classic hit.
Chop Suey - System of a Down
Move between half, regular and double time in this heavy rock hit.
FAQs
- Hail To The King is an intermediate difficulty song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- To play Hail To The King you need a strong sense of groove and time, and understanding of anticipated and over the barline fills and crashes.
- 118 bpm.
- 4/4.
- New songs are released every week on Melodics! And we love to take requests - the best place for this is within our Discord community where you can also connect with other music learners around the world. Check out https://melodics.com/info/community.