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Alternate patterns are also used occasionally, including two kicks and one snare ( Dave Culross ), one kick and two snare ( Pete Sandoval), full speed double-bass drum and snare ( Andy Whale, Dave Culross ) or the so called "hammer-blasts" where the snare, bass drum and ride are played at once. The technique is also used less extensively in other genres of metal.

Some people maintain the bass drum should be played with one foot for the best effect; others use dual bass drum pedals.

Blast beats have their roots in hardcore punk as well as thrash metal. Early blast beats were generally quite slow when compared to today's standards.

One of the first important metal albums to use blast beats was Cryptic Slaughter 's Convicted ( 1986). Though the execution was fairly sloppy (some say that's what made them so good), their role in the song and speed (it was some of the fastest drumming around at the time) greatly influenced death metal, grindcore and black metal. Cryptic Slaughter's legacy is probably heard more in death metal, black metal and grindcore than hardcore-influenced thrash metal that they themselves played.

But the very first band playing a blast beat was the Stormtroopers Of Death on the song "Milk" on their Speak English Or Die album from 1985. However, it was played double-handed on the snare, instead of a typically single-handed. Later on Live At Budokan it was played single-handed.

Recently, some have critisised drummers for using blast beats too often, particularly in black metal were some drummers play whole songs as simply one long string of blast beats. Critics claim that these drummers lack creativity and simply replace it with sheer speed.