>You're not talking about tempo though.....
>
>I checked out those links....the first one has a slower tempo
>than the second. But you're calling it faster. T'is not.
>The drummer is playing faster...but that's different from
>tempo. Count out the beats (1,2,3,4) and you'll see the
>second link is faster.

What word should I use then? Speed?
>
>I didn't like the first link because of the drumming. It just
>sounds like a long extended snare roll.

That's blastbeats for you. It's a very static sound IMO and lacks the fast-forward motion of stuff like thrash or more regualr hardcore punk; it's not very rhythmic, more ambient in nature. It's actually not a thrash beat but rather derived from ultra-fast hardcore like early DRI, Deep Wound (which featured J Mascis on drums!) or Siege. However, I actually think Repulsion was actually the first band who played like this with everything going on at once (kick, snare, cymbals etc.) It's a very controversial beat.

>starts playing an actual rhythm, which I appreciated, but it
>didn't last long.
>
>The second link was much better to me, as you predicted.
>
>I've never liked one particular drum beat that's used in alot
>of Metal (mostly thrash). The first example that comes to
>mind is Battery by Metallica (a song I like otherwise) Here's
>a link for reference:
>
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m99ybtk4QNs
>
>The drumbeat from 1:15 and on. Notice that it breaks down to
>half-time at 1:26 and again at 1:40. IMO, those breakdowns
>should have been the beat. That 'ta boom ta boom ta boom ta
>boom ta boom' just doesn't do anything for me.

The 2-beat/polka beat. I like it but it is VERY dependent on the rhythm of the guitar. If the guitar bashs out powerchords without triplets or other patterns that add rhythmic contrast, it can get pretty dull which is one of my problems with HC punk but a less common one in metal. Metallica generally had cool rhythmic patterns in the riffs so drumming didn't need to be more than a backdrop even if Metallica would have benefitted freom a better, more intense drummer. However, I don't find a fault in the beat itself. To me, metal is primarily about the art of the riff-if the rest is dope, it obviously add some flavor but without riffs as a centerpoint, it falls flat IMO.

>All in all, it's not the speed/tempo that puts me off. But
>the beat HAS to have some sort of groove or dynamic that I can
>wrap my head around. I'm a big Motorhead fan...they played
>fast but the drums always had a groove. Alot of thrash
>doesn't.

Motörhead often played D-beat (=kick/snare/kick-kick/snare or similar variations) in the fast sections and it undeniably gave the music a lot more of a swinging rock'n'roll feel than the almost self-consciously stiff polka/hardcore beat. Bands like Metallic, Exodusa and Slayer are very much to "blame" if you don't like that type of rhythm; many other early extreme metal pioneer4s like Venom, Celtic Fr4ost, early Sodom, early Bathory etc. actually had more of a motörhead feel in the d4rumming initially even if it was mor4e OTT and sloppy...