Want to jump straight to the answer? Our choice for the Best Metal Drum Samples is the Travis Barker Drum Kit!
Metal is one of the most aggressive sounds there is in music. One main reason for that is the drums. The low end is key to creating the perfect drums in metal, they need incredible low end presence without muddying the sound. This can be difficult to achieve for a beginner which is why practicing with eq and compression on a sample can help you learn. For those who don’t have a drummer or a way to work with a drum set, these raw drum samples will be perfect for learning.
Quicklook: Best Metal Drum Samples
- Travis Barker Drum Kit
- Fear the Rock ft. Sullivan King & KJ Sawka
- Metal-Step Mayhem Vol. 1 – Disciple Samples
- Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums
- Groove Metal – Frontline Producer
- Loopcloud Drum – Studio Rock Kits – Loopmasters
- Modern & Massive – Get Good Drums
Jump to:
- Travis Barker Drum Kit
- Fear the Rock ft. Sullivan King & KJ Sawka
- Metal-Step Mayhem Vol. 1 – Disciple Samples
- Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums
- Groove Metal – Frontline Producer
- Loopcloud Drum – Studio Rock Kits – Loopmasters
- Modern & Massive – Get Good Drums
6 Best Metal Drum Samples
1. Travis Barker Drum Kit
Best for: Aggressive Drums
One of the biggest names in rock drums today is Travis Barker. He is known specifically for his work in Blink 182. His fast and precise drumming is perfect for any aggressive genre, including metal. From the ringing snare in your face to the beefy kick that hits you in the chest, you’ll have more than enough for your tracks.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? Over 329 Drum Samples including
- Glitch
- Sidestick
- Snaps
- Grooves
- FX
2. Fear the Rock ft. Sullivan King & KJ Sawka
Best for: Real Wet Drums
Working with Devin Oliver and Sullivan King, Fear the Sounds produced this killer pack full of heavy riffs and aggressive tones like you wouldn’t believe. Recorded in the 10,000 sq. foot studio A drum room at 17 Hertz Studio in Los Angeles California, these sounds are everything you need for a big mix.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 367 Drum Samples including
- Fills
- Snares
- Wet
- Grooves
3. Metal-Step Mayhem Vol. 1 – Disciple Samples
Best for: Electronic and Metal Mashups
With these samples, you can use real drum sounds with a mixture of electronic elements mixed in. It is the perfect combo of dubstep and metal sounds and the rest of the pack isn’t half bad either. Upon its release, this was PhaseOne’s largest samples pack where he shared all of his gnarly sounds for everyone to use.
Price: Available with Splice Subscription
What is included? 182 Drum Samples including
- Kicks
- Fills
- Hats
- Grooves
4. Scott Rockenfield Rock Drums
Best for: Classic Metal
Best known for his drumming in Queensryche, Scott Rockenfield was born to be a musician with that name. This entire pack was made for the producer with so many loops, one shots, and more royalty free sounds. Without a doubt this is one of the best rock/metal drum sample packs out there today.
Price: $49.09
What is included? Over 650 MB of Drum Loops including
- 265 Rock Drum Loops
- 76 Single Sounds
- Soft Sampler Patches for Halion, Kontakt, SFA, EXS24, and NNXT
5. Groove Metal – Frontline Producer
Best for: Metal Loops
Frontline Producer has put out many different sample packs mostly focused around real instruments. Groove Metal is a genre full of head bobbing grooves that make you feel motivated and want to move. This pack is reminiscent of bands such as Pantera, Fear Factory, and Rage Against the Machine.
Price:
What is included? Over 900 full kit and Fill drum samples
6. Loopcloud Drum – Studio Rock Kits – Loopmasters
Best for: Basic Kits
Rock and Metal share similar drum tones below any processing. These sounds are full of clean well recorded drums for you to edit and manipulate to match your track perfectly. This pack is made entirely of one shots that are easy to mix and program for any track.
Price:
What is included? 51 Drum one-shot Samples including
- Toms
- Rim Shot
- Crash
- Shaker
- Cowbell
7. Modern & Massive – Get Good Drums
Best for: Modern Metal Tones
The founders of Get Good Drums, Nolly and Matt, have perfected the art of drum sampling. They love to work with a multitude of genres and drummers to deliver the best sounding drums possible. They record their drums in a studio in Baltimore Maryland and then have artists like Misha Mansoor test their sounds to make sure they are as intuitive and perfect as possible for a producer.
Price:
What is included? A Multitude of Samples from many drums like
- 6 different Kicks
- 9 Snares
- 6 Toms
- 10 types of Cymbals
What To Look For When Choosing a Metal Drum Sample
Searching for drum samples can be difficult at times. Most sample websites are focused on samples for electronic music and vocals. Metal and Rock have built such a name for authenticity and real instrument sounds that it is difficult to find samples that match them.
Pricing
The pricing for metal drums is easy to understand since many of the sounds are in sample packs that are only accessible through subscription services, but there are some that are available through Loopmasters and other sites that allow you to outright purchase the rights for them.
Frequency of Use
If you work regularly with metal and rock musicians, you will be able to use these samples fairly often whether it be in the final mix or just in the scratch track. The multi use abilities makes them worth the investment.
Skill Level
Working in metal, one of the most complex parts that you can write is the drums. You can use loops to make the programming side easier, but this can raise issues when it comes to mixing because you lose the individual control of each drum.
Satisfaction
When you have the drums mixed in just right, there is something satisfying that happens in your brain. Not only do you just feel accomplished and validated in your career, but you also hear the results and it feels flawless. Drums sounds like what are in a Kublai Khan “The Hammer” have this raw aggression that pump the song to a whole other level compared to using drums that are in a song from Shinedown. Recognize where there need to be differences, but also know how to mix in any sound. That’s the sign that you are growing as an engineer.
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Jarrett is a hardcore Lover-Jazz Lover-Rock Lover-Blues Lover-just a music lover. He has the hair to match — Jarrett and provides in-depth insight into all things guitar and music engineering.