This might be a little unconventional, but hear me out: Music, specifically songs that really get the blood pumping and amp you up a bit with some internal rage (not too much; moderation is good), is great for range days and tactical training.
And no, I’m not talking about the old American staples like John Denver, Skynyrd, or Springsteen. As much as I’d love to clear a room to “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” it just doesn’t quite match the vibe.
I’m not even talking about the classic rock gods like AC/DC, Zeppelin, or The Ramones.
I’m talking about stuff that absolutely thumps. Stuff with bass lines so heavy they could bend steel and guitars that sound like someone grinding an E-tool against a tank hull. Songs that hit you in the chest like a breaching charge and make your pupils dilate like you just stepped into a low-light shoot house with a flickering strobe.
Your eye twitches. Your breathing oddly becomes more controlled, and you start moving with more purpose. Not because anyone’s watching, but because Dean Bernardini’s (Chevelle) bass line just prodded something primal in your lizard brain and your inner voice is chanting, “You want peace? PREPARE FOR WAR!“
Oh, that’s just me? Maybe I should talk to someone…
Anyway, music is syncopation. And syncopation sharpens your edge and keeps you in the zone longer. So, next time you’re packing and planning for a little training session, feel free to queue up one of my curated playlists and drop targets faster and with more control than you’ve ever felt before… with a little hint of primal rage.
Unconventional, I know. But then again, I’m pretty unconventional… so it makes sense. Right?
Let’s get rockin’.
What’s Music Got to Do with It?
Using music to amplify your training regimen is twofold. On the one hand, it heightens your senses and keeps you engaged. It’s the same effect as when you crank up the tunes during your post-workday gym session. You’re more in tune with your body and, if you’re at all like me, you can go harder, longer.
On the other hand, though, music can help simulate the stress and chaos of a combat mission, a self-defense scenario, or some other high-stakes shooting environment. Think about it: in a real-world scenario, and a dynamic combat/defensive environment, you’ve got 6,000 things going on around you all at once.
It’s hard to think. Your ability to communicate clearly falls apart. And your hands start to shake, and your body movements become more jerky and disjointed as your blood pressure skyrockets.
It’s chaos, and you have to be able to think clearly through it all. Think clearly, control your breathing, and move with precision. That’s nearly impossible to really prepare and train yourself for.
But, with the right playlist (and a few other environmental factors), you can get pretty damn close. The more you train under stress, the better you perform under stress. That’s my logic, at least.
The Bridge: Music Choice Matters
I kind of alluded to this earlier, but your music choice matters. As much as I love me some of those oldie bops, they just don’t have the same effect on the range.
John Denver, sing your heart out… just not right now.
It might not be your cup of tea, but metal and hard, modern rock is where it’s at, man.
I’m talking about bands like Chevelle, Russian Circles, TOOL, Disturbed, Metallica, Megadeth… stuff that melts faces and will make you want to go to church twice on Sundays.
It’s fun to listen to, and under the right range conditions, it’ll make you a more proficient defensive shooter… but not without first instilling a little bit of that primal rage we talked about earlier. It syncs up with the kind of focused intensity you want to cultivate when you’re running drills.
Your blood pressure’s up, your senses sharpen, and suddenly, that Mozambique drill doesn’t quite feel like a chore anymore. It feels like a John Wick-style statement.
In essence, the right track can flip that internal switch from passive prey to seasoned predator, and training under that shift in mental posture can mean everything in a real-world scenario, where seconds count.
Good stuff, Maynard.
Train Like You Mean It
I can’t stress this enough: train like you mean it. Treat your range playlist as a tool, not a commodity by which to relax and unwind.
Use the balance of syncopation and controlled chaos to your advantage to sharpen your senses and learn to operate outside your comfort zone. Real-world threats don’t come gift-wrapped in silence or predictability, so why should your training?
Music introduces a layer of unpredictability. The rhythm, tempo changes, or lyrical intensity can push you to adapt under pressure, split your focus, and reinforce discipline in managing distractions.
For me, the playlist is never in the same order, and volume levels are left outside of my control. That’s by design. When you don’t know what’s coming next, your ability to stay focused, identify targets, and control your breathing becomes more intentional. Deliberate. Calculated.
The Methodology: Turn it up!
If I’m training solo, I’ll wear my wireless earbuds tucked under my Safariland Liberator HP 2.0 earmuffs. They block out range noise while still letting those funky bass lines tickle my ossicles (the tiny little bones in the inner ear).
The music adds an extra level of input my brain has to process, forcing me to stay locked in on fundamentals like sight picture, trigger control, and shot cadence, despite Dave Mustaine’s lyrical genius and grungy undertones trying to pull my attention elsewhere.
When I’m working with a group, on the other hand, I’ll connect to my Ecoxgear Bluetooth speaker and crank it up just enough to challenge communication, not kill it.
The idea is to complicate verbal commands and nonverbal coordination just enough to make the group work for it. Are you still clearly calling out your reloads, threats, or transitions? Can you maintain clean, controlled breathing when some beefy bass line punches you in the gut mid-drill?
If not, tighten it up. Controlled auditory interference is a little unconventional, but an effective way to train and condition yourself to perform in a chaotic home invasion or gas station dust-up.
The music isn’t a vibe. It’s a variable. Treat it like one.
“click, click, pull”: The Playlist
You’ve made it this far. You might as well reward yourself with some bangers. But first, a few specific suggestions as you build your personal range day playlist:
An Evening With El Diablo – Chevelle
Parabola – TOOL
Your Betrayal – Bullet For My Valentine
Feel Invincible – Skillet
Comanche – In This Moment
Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth
Pretty Handsome Awkward – The Used
Take My Bones Away – Baroness
Outro
So, that’s that, metalheads.
It’s unorthodox. It’s different. And it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I get that.
Just don’t knock it until you try it. Even if it’s too much of a distraction at the range and you don’t ultimately integrate a range day playlist into your training regimen, it can’t hurt to jam out and amp yourself up a bit before you get to the range. Right?
Either way, just remember: moderation and control. You’re here to train, not black out and wake up mid-speed reload with no memory of how you got here. Now get to it, Cobain. Train hard; rock harder.
