Rhythm — Post-Prog-Metal

Rhythm (12)

Polymeter Same pulse, different phrase lengths. The grid lines align; the downbeats do not.

a riff whose phrase length is seven beats rolling over a drum pattern in four, landing differently every repetition

Polyrhythm (cross-rhythm) Same span, different subdivisions. The downbeats align; the grid lines do not.

the same bar divided into three by one instrument and four by another, crossing inside the bar and resolving on the one

Metric modulation (tempo modulation) A subdivision of the old tempo becomes the new pulse, via a non-duple pivot.

triplets from the old tempo becoming the new main beat, so the pulse relocates rather than merely slowing

Half-time Note lengths double while the underlying pulse is unchanged; only the backbeat placement is reinterpreted.

the drums halving while the underlying tempo stays the same, so it feels twice as slow without slowing down

Displacement The same pattern offset by a constant amount against the reference layer.

the same figure landing consistently a beat late against the drums for a whole section

Compás The cyclical accent framework of a flamenco form. For soleá, conventionally accented on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 of twelve — though sources genuinely disagree.

a twelve-beat cycle with accents falling unevenly, marked by handclaps and body taps rather than a drum kit

Sebene (seben) The instrumental section where the guitars foreground themselves over a cyclic progression and the intensity climbs.

an extended instrumental section over a repeating cycle where interlocking guitars build continuously in intensity

Cavacha The driving snare and hi-hat pattern under the sebene.

a driving, insistent snare and hi-hat pattern with a rolling forward momentum

Skank The chord placed on the offbeat, with the downbeat left empty.

chords struck only on the offbeats with the downbeat conspicuously empty, short and clipped

Motorik An unvarying eighth-note pulse with the accent structure held rigidly constant.

an unvarying hypnotic pulse held with machine consistency for the entire piece with no fills

Laying back Playing consistently behind the beat without changing tempo.

played consistently a fraction behind the beat, dragging without slowing

Interlocking parts Two or more guitar lines whose attacks fall in each other's gaps, forming one composite pattern.

two guitar parts whose notes fall in each other's gaps so that neither is complete alone and together they form a single pattern