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Rick Dior’s Heavy Metals is a fun, exciting percussion ensemble filled with clanging groove! Taking its title from the various all-metal instrumentation, this piece requires not only a large array of unique instruments and objects, but a deep sense of groove across the ensemble. Dior recommends that the piece be performed in a theatrical and over-the-top manner with lots of body movement from the performers. He also recommends that performers should feel free to improvise on any metal objects nearby including music stands, cymbal stands, or stage rigging. Because Heavy Metals is scored for such specialized instruments, several instrument substitutions are listed in the piece and according to Mr. Dior, the piece “can be customized with any metal items available.”
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
*For the thundersheet kick drum effect, the pedal should have a very hard wood or phenolic beater. The suspended thundersheet should have a kick drum impact pad on it for maximum punch.
“Heavy Metals” is loud and colorful. Rick Dior provides specific suggestions on instrumentation but allows leeway for substitutions, so potential performers should not let the large number of instruments deter them from programming this piece. The composer introduces material in an additive fashion, allowing the ear to acclimate to the new timbre(s). An ostinato is present through most of the work, either in the form of a quarter-note pulse or continuous sixteenth notes. Most of the musical material is standard sixteenth-note based permutations, save for one section that includes a written-out rhythmic accelerando.
The material feels fresh throughout, largely due to the variety of timbres utilized, and the piece does not overstay its welcome. This work satisfies the same performance and programming needs as a traditional “drummy” piece, though there is not a single membranophone present.
—Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 6, December 2020
Rick Dior’s Heavy Metals is a fun, exciting percussion ensemble filled with clanging groove! Taking its title from the various all-metal instrumentation, this piece requires not only a large array of unique instruments and objects, but a deep sense of groove across the ensemble. Dior recommends that the piece be performed in a theatrical and over-the-top manner with lots of body movement from the performers. He also recommends that performers should feel free to improvise on any metal objects nearby including music stands, cymbal stands, or stage rigging. Because Heavy Metals is scored for such specialized instruments, several instrument substitutions are listed in the piece and according to Mr. Dior, the piece “can be customized with any metal items available.”
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
*For the thundersheet kick drum effect, the pedal should have a very hard wood or phenolic beater. The suspended thundersheet should have a kick drum impact pad on it for maximum punch.
“Heavy Metals” is loud and colorful. Rick Dior provides specific suggestions on instrumentation but allows leeway for substitutions, so potential performers should not let the large number of instruments deter them from programming this piece. The composer introduces material in an additive fashion, allowing the ear to acclimate to the new timbre(s). An ostinato is present through most of the work, either in the form of a quarter-note pulse or continuous sixteenth notes. Most of the musical material is standard sixteenth-note based permutations, save for one section that includes a written-out rhythmic accelerando.
The material feels fresh throughout, largely due to the variety of timbres utilized, and the piece does not overstay its welcome. This work satisfies the same performance and programming needs as a traditional “drummy” piece, though there is not a single membranophone present.
—Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 6, December 2020
