Drummer · Hong Kong
Drums · Recording · Teaching
A working Hong Kong metal drummer. I record and tour with Parallel Horizons, Perish of Empyrean, ARKM and Dismembered — and I teach the people who want to play like it matters.
About
I was born in Hong Kong, grew up in a Filipino household, and found metal early. I helped start Parallel Horizons as a teenager — we walked into a city-wide Battle of the Bands and took Best Drummer, which was the first time anyone outside the metal scene told me this might be something.
That band became one of Hong Kong's most visible heavy exports: a debut album the South China Morning Post named among the year's best indie releases, a headline slot at a festival in Manila, and a decade of shows on The Underground's stages.
Since then the work has stacked up. Drums for Perish of Empyrean, who credit me with finally letting them record and play again. Drums across Mind Rot's Hymns of Despondency. Guest sessions, dep gigs, a collaboration EP with the IDM artist Loisey, and a new Parallel Horizons single.
I play a Tama Starclassic Bubinga Elite, a wall of Zildjian Ks, and I record with no samples on the kit — just triggers blended into the kick. What you hear is what I played. That standard is what I teach.
“Drums are loud enough — you don't have to hit them loud.”
Shaun Apellido, The Insight Out, 2021
Bands & projects
Years of simultaneously holding down several working bands — from progressive metalcore to symphonic black metal. Every one of them records and plays live.
Progressive melodic metalcore from Hong Kong. Debut album Dissonant Echoes (2017) was named by the South China Morning Post among the year's best indie releases. New EP Consecrated Anguish with Loisey (2025), and the 2026 single Exile. Headlined Finite Fest in Manila.
Symphonic black / death metal with orchestral layering. Singles Call From the Abandoned, Inborn Decadence and March of Plaint. Shared bills with Mayhem in Hong Kong and played Black Devotion Fest in Bangkok.
Hong Kong metal band. Heavy, down-tuned and relentlessly live.
Hong Kong death metal.
Hong Kong slamming deathcore. Played drums on the entire EP Hymns of Despondency, produced and mixed by Naseem Khan.
Also known as Project 9. Current project, listed on my Instagram. Links coming soon — message me for details.
Solo drum project. Includes the Acolyte drum playthrough.
New heavy project out of Hong Kong.
Latest release: sativa (2025).
Live
From a city-wide battle-of-the-bands final in Hong Kong to festival stages in Manila and Bangkok, and opening for the bands I grew up listening to.
Track record
Parallel Horizons formed
Hong Kong progressive metalcore band founded. First shows follow in 2015.
Best Drummer — Battle of the Bands
The Underground × Parsons Music, at the AIA European Carnival. Thirty bands entered; Parallel Horizons swept the instrumental prizes. First recognition outside the metal scene, at 17.
Dissonant Echoes — debut album
Eleven tracks. Cited by the South China Morning Post as one of the year's best indie releases. Same year: first acting role, in Dagger's music video for All Hope Is Gone.
Guest vocals — Cryogenic Defilement
Featured on track 6 of Worldwide Extermination.
Finite Fest, Manila
Parallel Horizons headline Finite Fest: The Gathering at 123 Block, Mandaluyong City. Covered by ABS-CBN.
Featured interview — The Insight Out
Season 1, Episode 1: on metal, band life, the Hong Kong scene and writing for foreign markets.
Joins Perish of Empyrean
Debut show on drums in October 2022. The band credit the line-up change with letting them finally focus on recording and playing shows.
Drums on Hymns of Despondency
Full EP for Hong Kong deathcore band Mind Rot. Produced, mixed and mastered by Naseem Khan.
Consecrated Anguish
Four-track EP with IDM artist Loisey, released via Ghostflame Cathedral. Lead single Amor.
Exile
New Parallel Horizons single. Continues to record, play live and teach.
The rig
The exact setup from my recent drum playthroughs — because if you're booking a session or taking lessons, you should know what you're getting.
On sound: the kick runs blended triggers. Everything else is the raw kit — no samples on any other drum. This is also how I record student progress videos: what you hear is what was played.
Watch
Band playthroughs, metal covers, and the songs everyone already knows. Tap any one and it plays right here — or head to the channel for all of them.
Most watched firstBand playthroughs Metal coversSongs you already know
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On the kit
Frame grabs from the playthroughs and live drum-cam footage — click any one to watch the take it came from.
Reflections — Good PushLive cover · ft. Aaron Mordeno
The Contortionist — Language IDrum cover
Parallel Horizons — CrescentBand playthrough
Crystal Lake — PrometheusDrum cover
Currents — WitheredDrum cover
CVNCER — AcolyteDrum playthrough
CVNCER — Acolyte, liveLive drum cam
Northlane — Quantum FluxDrum & bass cover
Riffs in progress, live clips, new gear and whatever I am working on right now.
Reel
“Yeeaa a lil sloppy but eh, whatever.”
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“New riff.”
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“Have you guys seen the extended look of GTA 6 yet?” — “Inner Light”
Reel
“Playing with myself.”
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“Always in R&D mode” · #90bpm
Photo
“@momlivehouse 10th anniversary — thank you so much for having @parallelhorizons.”
Reel
“@tynt__ — Diamond live (drum cam). My favourite song to play on the drums. DnB beats!”
@shaunapellidohk — 2,363 followers and counting. New clips most weeks.
Follow on InstagramDrum lessons
I teach in Hong Kong and online. Beginners are genuinely welcome — so are players who can already play and want to get serious about metal, recording, or getting into a band.
Show up, play (or don't), and let's find out where you are. You leave with a plan and a realistic idea of how long it will take. No obligation.
Grip, posture, throne height, kick and hi-hat control, your first grooves, reading basics, playing to a click — and your first full song.
Independence, dynamics and feel. Fills, song structure and the styles you actually want to play. You'll record a drum cover at the end of the block.
Double kick, blast beats, odd time, stamina and triggers. Playing to backing tracks, breakdown timing, and staying tight when everything speeds up.
Recording discipline: click and multitracks, mic and DAW basics, tone, overdubs, and session etiquette. This is the job I do — I'll show you how.
Repertoire, audition simulation, stage presence, in-ears and click, how to find bandmates — and how the Hong Kong scene actually works.
| Lesson | Format | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Trial / assessmentGet a plan before you commit | 30 min · 1:1 | Free |
| FoundationsBeginners, ages 6+ | 45 min · 1:1 | HK$360 |
| StandardAll levels | 60 min · 1:1 | HK$500 |
| Heavy / Studio ReadyMetal, technique, audition prep | 60 min · 1:1 | HK$680 |
| Group class3–4 students, per person | 60 min · group | HK$260 |
| OnlineFrom anywhere | 60 min · 1:1 | HK$420 |
| Band / audition coachingWhole band or solo | 90 min | HK$900 |
| Custom chart or play-alongWritten for your song | Per track | HK$300 |
Package discounts: 5% off a prepaid block of 4 lessons, 8% off a block of 8. Fees are payable in advance. Refer a friend and get HK$200 credit when they enrol. Session and recording work is quoted per project — just ask.
No. Beginners can start on a practice pad and a stool at home. When you're ready to buy, I'll help you choose a kit that fits your room, your budget and the music you want to play — and save you from the mistakes I see most often.
Around six, for the Foundations programme — it depends more on attention span than on size. There is no upper age limit. Plenty of my students are adults who always wanted to play and finally decided to.
No. Metal is what I do professionally, but I teach rock, pop, funk and general technique. That said, if you want double kick, blast beats and a sound that hits hard, you're in the right place.
In Hong Kong, in a properly equipped studio, in a district we agree on. Online lessons run over video call with a clear camera angle on the kit, so I can see your hands and feet.
Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and you get a make-up lesson. Later than that, or a no-show, the lesson is forfeited. One make-up per block of four lessons, and unused make-ups expire after two months. Unused lessons are non-refundable. Stop whenever you like — just give two lessons' notice.
Yes — this is a large part of what I do. I record and tour professionally, and I'm set up to track drums properly. Send me the song, the tempo and the reference and I'll quote you.
I record student progress videos with permission — it's the best way to see your own improvement, and it's how I send you away with proof of what you can now play.
Get in touch
Fill this in and it will open an email to me, already written. Tell me what you want to play and I'll tell you how we get there.