Sean Kinney

Foundations — weight and space

Building a heavy, unhurried feel with plenty of space between hits.

• • Play a slow, heavy backbeat without rushing
• • Leave real silence between kick and snare hits
• • Keep dynamics consistent across a repeated 8-bar loop

Unlocks: The basic pulse under 'We Die Young'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 2 — Core grooves — half-time pocket

4 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 76 BPM

Core grooves — half-time pocket

Locking a half-time feel that stays heavy at any tempo.

Carries in from: Stage 1 — Foundations — weight and space

• • Play a half-time groove with the snare on beat 3
• • Keep hi-hat or ride steady while the snare feels slow
• • Match kick pattern to the guitar riff exactly

Unlocks: The half-time verse groove of 'Them Bones'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — syncopated accents

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 82 BPM

Signature techniques — syncopated accents

Placing accents off the beat to follow Cantrell's riffs precisely.

Carries in from: Stage 2 — Core grooves — half-time pocket

• • Play a syncopated kick figure that mirrors a riff exactly
• • Add snare accents on off-beats without losing the groove
• • Repeat a syncopated figure for 16 bars without drifting

Unlocks: The riff-locked groove of 'Man in the Box'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 4 — Fills & transitions — simple but powerful

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 88 BPM

Fills & transitions — simple but powerful

Playing short, blunt fills that hit hard without extra notes.

Carries in from: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — syncopated accents

• • Build a one-bar fill using only snare and floor tom
• • Land every fill exactly on the following downbeat
• • Practise the same fill quiet and then at full force

Unlocks: The stripped-back fills into the choruses of 'Would?'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Them Bones · Would?

Leads to: Stage 5 — Advanced coordination — cymbal placement

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 84 BPM

Advanced coordination — cymbal placement

Using crash and ride choices to create tension rather than release it.

Carries in from: Stage 4 — Fills & transitions — simple but powerful

• • Choose a cymbal for its texture, not just its volume
• • Delay a crash hit to land after the expected beat
• • Switch between ride and hi-hat to change the groove's darkness

Unlocks: The cymbal choices shaping the mood of 'Down in a Hole'.

Heard in: Man in the Box · Angry Chair · No Excuses

Leads to: Stage 6 — Song applications — riff-following grooves

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 78 BPM

Song applications — riff-following grooves

Locking kick and snare precisely to guitar riff rhythms.

Carries in from: Stage 5 — Advanced coordination — cymbal placement

• • Transcribe a riff rhythm and copy it exactly on the kick
• • Play the copied rhythm under a steady ride pattern
• • Hold the pattern through a full verse without simplifying it

Unlocks: The riff-locked verse groove of 'Angry Chair'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 7 — Advanced song studies — tension through repetition

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 90 BPM

Advanced song studies — tension through repetition

Building dread and intensity by repeating a groove without change.

Carries in from: Stage 6 — Song applications — riff-following grooves

• • Loop one groove for 16 bars, raising tension purely through touch
• • Resist adding fills where a fill would relieve the tension
• • Use micro-dynamics to keep a repeated figure alive

Unlocks: The hypnotic repetition of 'Rooster'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Them Bones · Would?

Leads to: Stage 8 — Signature performances — dynamics across a full arrangement

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 88 BPM

Signature performances — dynamics across a full arrangement

Shaping an entire song's dynamic arc the way Kinney does.

Carries in from: Stage 7 — Advanced song studies — tension through repetition

• • Map a song's dynamic levels before playing it
• • Move between acoustic-style restraint and full heaviness
• • Keep tone and touch consistent within each dynamic level

Unlocks: Full performance of 'No Excuses' from Jar of Flies.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 9 — Challenge workouts — heavy groove under fatigue

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 96 BPM

Challenge workouts — heavy groove under fatigue

Holding half-time weight and riff-locked accuracy across a long set.

Carries in from: Stage 8 — Signature performances — dynamics across a full arrangement

• • Play three half-time grooves back to back at full weight
• • Keep syncopated kick patterns accurate as fatigue builds
• • Maintain identical cymbal touch from first bar to last

Unlocks: Back-to-back playthroughs of 'Them Bones' and 'Man in the Box'.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

Leads to: Stage 10 — Mastery — the complete Kinney toolkit

5 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 92 BPM

Mastery — the complete Kinney toolkit

Combining heaviness, restraint, riff-lock and dynamics on demand.

Carries in from: Stage 9 — Challenge workouts — heavy groove under fatigue

• • Call up any groove or fill from this path from memory
• • Play a full Alice in Chains-style set with authentic tension and release
• • Follow an unfamiliar riff and lock a groove to it immediately

Unlocks: Free command of the Kinney vocabulary across any song.

Heard in: We Die Young · Man in the Box · Them Bones

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 90 BPM