Editing Heavy metal music (section)

====Rhythm and tempo====
[[File:Heavy rythmic pattern2.png|upright=2|thumb|An example of a rhythmic pattern used in heavy metal. The upper stave is a [[palm mute|palm-muted]] [[rhythm guitar]] part. The lower stave is the drum part.{{Listen|title=Rhythmic Pattern Audio|filename=Heavy rythmic pattern audio.ogg|plain=yes|style=float:right}}]]
The rhythm in metal songs is emphatic, with deliberate stresses. Weinstein observes that the wide array of sonic effects available to metal drummers enables the "rhythmic pattern to take on a complexity within its elemental drive and insistency".<ref name=W24/> In many heavy metal songs, the main groove is characterized by short, two- or three-note rhythmic figures – generally made up of [[eighth note|eighth]] or [[sixteenth note|16th notes]]. These rhythmic figures are usually performed with a [[staccato]] attack created by using a [[palm mute|palm-muted]] technique on the rhythm guitar.<ref>"Master of Rhythm: The Importance of Tone and Right-hand Technique", ''Guitar Legends'', April 1997, p. 99</ref>

Brief, abrupt and detached [[rhythmic cell]]s are joined into rhythmic phrases with a distinctive, often jerky texture. These phrases are used to create rhythmic accompaniment and melodic figures called [[riff]]s, which help to establish thematic [[Hook (music)|hooks]]. Heavy metal songs also use longer rhythmic figures such as [[whole note]]- or dotted quarter note-length chords in slow-tempo [[power ballad]]s. The tempos in early heavy metal music tended to be "slow, even ponderous".<ref name=W24/> By the late 1970s, however, metal bands were employing a wide variety of tempos, and as recently as the 2000s, metal tempos range from slow ballad tempos (quarter note = 60 [[beats per minute]]) to extremely fast [[blast beat]] tempos (quarter note = 350 beats per minute).<ref name=Berry/>