GENE HOGLAN: 'I've Always Tried To Bring New Concepts To Drumming'

In a new interview with Czech Republic's Metal & Rock Zone, Gene Hoglan, who has been raising the bar in extreme metal drumming for decades, was asked to name the "most challenging" album or band or style that he has been involved with. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): I've always referred to this certain album by the band MECHANISM. The album is called 'Inspired Horrific'. It was one of my many bands, but it was a band that I featured on my first DVD. But that band had the most challenging drums I had done up to that point, and I don't think I've done much that's more challenging since. I always do try to challenge myself with all the projects that I do, but some music just lends itself to more insane things. So, the MECHANISM album 'Inspired Horrific' was... Definitely it was my 'Human' [by DEATH] sort of thing, doing some crazy odd-time things... Learning an OPETH set in an afternoon to play with them, that was a challenge. And playing with FORBIDDEN, that's a killer challenge — playing not only Mr. [Paul] Bostaph's stuff, but Mr. [Steve] Jacobs's stuff as well. I'm always up for any kind of challenge. And the STRAPPING [YOUNG LAD] material, like 'City', that was a pretty crazy record. And that was pretty much my next album after [DEATH's] 'Symbolic'. I remember when we put out 'City', a lot of people were complaining about my drumming on it, just going, 'What happened? His drumming on 'Symbolic' was killer, and now it's not a million notes at all times.' It's a different approach. You have to serve the song, and I understand how people don't quite understand about serving a song. They just want you to show off at all points of everything. But if you check out 'City', there's no lack of intensity on that record, man. That's a punch to the face a thousand times. So, there you go there. And then the next album was 'Demonic' from TESTAMENT. That was me learning how to really serve a song. [TESTAMENT guitarist and main songwriter] Eric Peterson was not looking for 'Symbolic' drums or STRAPPING drums. He wanted drums for his project. So those are three different-sounding records that sound different from the drum approach, and that's where I was just learning, like, you gotta really serve the song. You don't have to show off, but make sure that what you're doing makes sense within the parameters of the song. So that's what I tried to do with those."

After the interviewer noted that Hoglan is "in some sense a jack of all trades in drumming", Gene said: "That would be something that I would much prefer to be known as, like, just a well-rounded drummer. Like, 'He could play some really soft, nice, beautiful little passages or the brutal, brutal stuff.' But that, to me, that's more of a compliment than, 'Wow, he's the fastest,' or, 'He's got this or that.' I've always tried to bring new concepts to drumming back from the DARK ANGEL days, from the DEATH days, from the STRAPPING days, just all the way, even in approaches live and things like that, and on record."

Hoglan continued: "I've mentioned this before, that drummers are supposed to steal. There's not a lot you can do on the drums in the concept of songs. So we all steal, but I've always felt like if I'm gonna steal something, then I'm gonna have to put two things back into that pot. So, whether it be beats that nobody's heard. I always tried to do that with DARK ANGEL, tried to write beats that nobody's played before. With DEATH, with 'Individual Thought Patterns' to start, tried to play some beats that nobody's done. And along with 'Symbolic', and then STRAPPING as well, just keep going with that sort of approach, the two rides and that sort of thing, just always trying to elevate just myself, really, and if it elevates everybody else, then kick-ass. But I'm just, like, 'Hey, let me try some things that I've never seen before. It works for me,' kind of thing. So that was really just my approach. I wasn't trying to make a big sea change in the drumming community, but I just tried to bring changes to what I could do and place myself out there in certain parameters where, 'Hey, nobody's tried this. Nobody's tried that. Nobody's tried that.' Like the double-bass pattern that goes along with the riff. I started that back in, like, 1987 or something, '86, when I was writing riffs. And I could write guitar riffs. I could write patterns on the drums. So combine both of those… And I was, like, 'Hey, that's something I've never heard anybody do before.' I mean, it could be somewhere, but I'm not familiar with it, so try that. And so I did a lot of that. And now that's kind of a trope in metal. A lot of folks do that, and that was me, was just, like, 'Hey, maybe this could be DARK ANGEL's little, like, add a little something into the pot. Hey, they brought this style. Nobody's doing this. But it seems to have caught on, so there you go."

Hoglan is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms (using what he calls "kick triplets"). His highly technical playing is extremely accurate at very high and challenging tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine". He is best known for his works with Devin Townsend, DARK ANGEL, DEATH, DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, TESTAMENT and FEAR FACTORY.

Hoglan got his first drum kit when he was 13 and is completely self-taught. He started jamming along to his KISS and RUSH records. In 1984, Hoglan began his music career as a roadie (lights engineer) for the thrash metal band SLAYER, where he also played the drums during concert soundchecks. He was also part of the band WAR GOD with Michelle Meldrum. At the end of the same year he was asked to join the thrash metal band DARK ANGEL as the drummer. He penned most of the lyrics for DARK ANGEL's next three albums. He achieved greater fame during the mid-1990s playing with DEATH, at the same time that bandleader Chuck Schuldiner was taking that group into a more progressive style. Subsequently, he recorded several albums with the thrash metal band TESTAMENT, and made the acquaintance of Canadian multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend, forging a lasting friendship. He has since recorded several albums with Townsend, both as part of the speed/industrial/death metal band STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and under Devin Townsend's name.

For the past decade and a half, Hoglan has been working with DETHKLOK, the band from the animated TV show "Metalocalypse". The show was co-created by stand-up comedian/actor/musician Brendon Small, who also composes or performs all of the music.

Gene joined FEAR FACTORY in 2010 and played on the band's "Mechanize" album.