10 Favorite Metal Drum Performances
The most bombastic and stupendous drumming performances in my library. Seriously, this shit's impossible for normal people. |
| 10 | | Dimmu Borgir
The Serpentine Offering (Hellhammer)
First off, Hellhammer is the coolest name ever. More importantly, Blomberg's drumming is machine-like in its precision and the variation he creates within a song makes his work a lot of fun to listen to. |
| 9 | | 3 Inches of Blood
Forest King (Alexei Rodriguez)
It's a shame Rodriguez punched that dude from Saxon, because he's a tremendous musician. Forest King is a prime example of his varied and powerful drumming that kept 3IOB's music interesting through all the ridiculous screaming and heavy-metal worship. |
| 8 | | Dragonforce
Soldiers of the Wastelands (Dave Mackintosh)
Yes, they're corny...and yes, they play the same song over and over...and over. But it's the seemingly superhuman Mackintosh that keeps that incredibly technical and fast music charging along, and I'll be damned if he's not the only musician in Dragonforce that can back up his studio work on stage every time. |
| 7 | | Dethklok
The Gears (Gene Hoglan)
So they're a cartoon band...but Gene Hoglan is about as real as drummers come. His work with Strapping Young Lad and Dethklok has earned him the names "The Atomic Clock" and "The Machine", and The Gears is a perfect example of his impeccable work even at blindingly fast speeds. |
| 6 | | Meshuggah
Rational Gaze (Tomas Haake)
Haake is the heartbeat of Meshuggah, though it takes quite a bit of patience and effort to understand his genius with the drumset. In fact, Meshuggah's acclaimed "I" EP was born out of Haake's random jamming that the rest of the band built a song around. |
| 5 | | Cynic
Uroboric Forms (Sean Reinert)
Terminally under-appreciated outside of death and prog metal circles, Reinert has created some of the most creative and powerful drumming in the business since his work with Cynic in the early 90's. |
| 4 | | Judas Priest
Painkiller (Scott Travis)
Travis almost single-handedly refueled the career of the Metal Gods when he joined the band in 1990, and let the world know his presence from the opening whirlwind on Painkiller's title track. |
| 3 | | Behemoth
Slaying the Prophets ov Isa (Inferno)
More tornado than human, Prominsky's trademark is blending speed and precision, and Slaying the Prophets ov Isa is the perfect exposition of his mind-numbing skills. |
| 2 | | Opeth
Blackwater Park (Martin Lopez)
Only the most versatile and intense drumming could power such a thunderous song, and Lopez come up in spades here. The overall effect is an equally crushing and triumphant masterpiece. |
| 1 | | Mastodon
Battle at Sea (Brann Dailor)
The rolling swells of the first part of the song are hypnotizing enough, but all bets are off when Dailor gets going with his incredibly fast fills that power the second half of the song. A stupendous display of skill, speed and creativity. |
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