Ever wonder how busy a metal drummer is?

[Vagabond142]

Nicko McBrain, one of the worlds best metal drummers, showing off a little Just watch both his feet, as well as how he will switch the hands doing the snare in the middle of verses!

I found this vid to be a cool little insight into something that a lot of us music/metal fans take for granted, as it is usually the highly visible guitarists that take most of the spotlight

[rage2]

Meh, Run to the Hills would've been a better choice to show how crazy shit looks visually.

[Vagabond142]

yeah, it would have, but I can't find an isolation track like Nicko has for The Trooper for the original vid I posted

[xnvy]

That requires so much dexterity to get to the point Nicko Mcbrain is at.

The intro to this song is crazy. During the verses it doesn't get any easier because your left foot is operating two pedals at the same time. 2nd bass pedal and the hi-hat.



My favourite piece of drumming to watch someone play is this bit of Eulogy that starts at 6:50. Ridiculous.



I wish I could find nice footage of Danny Carey. The amount of polyrhythms that guy can do at the same time is ridiculous.

EDIT:

First minute or so but there is more footage of drumming throughout.

[sr20s14zenki]

Danny Carrey is definately the best in my books. Wathing him drum is mind boggling for sure. What about this one



Cobus is fucking amazing, as far as accuracy, and throwing in extras into his covers, really enjoy watching this guy




Luke Holland, big time up and commer if you ask me, simply amazing. Always finds time to do flips and spins with the sticks.

[xnvy]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki
Danny Carrey is definately the best in my books. Wathing him drum is mind boggling for sure. What about this one

1st vid

Cobus is fucking amazing, as far as accuracy, and throwing in extras into his covers, really enjoy watching this guy

2nd vid


Luke Holland, big time up and commer if you ask me, simply amazing. Always finds time to do flips and spins with the sticks.

3rd vid

I love Rosetta Stoned, Forty Six and 2 is another one of my favourites. I've tried to learn a number of Tool songs but the only ones I've got down are Schism, Prison Sex, and Forty Six and 2 (minus the drum solo). I can play Eulogy except for that crazy part in the vid above.

I've never heard of the two other drummers you posted but they are definitely impressive. The perfect drummer needs a balance of showmanship, dexterity, and creativity and those guys definitely have it.

Ever heard Stratus by Billy Cobham?

[core_upt]

I've got a ton of respect for Nicko as a drummer; his stamina alone is amazing.
But as far a technical and 'showcase' drummers, he wouldn't come to the top of my mind.
Something like this shows what prog metal drummers go through when writing - the mayhem starts at about 0:29 :


Either way, there are tons of great drummers out there, especially in heavy metal.

[DeeK]

Technical busy drummer. Check out Tony Royster Jr.
Here he is at 12 years old. This is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard. The ability to change time signatures is hard enough for most people, but to change to something ridiculous like an 11/16 time without even a hiccup. That's just crazy.

[mgwatson]

Funny Rage.. Run to the hills is actually a joke to play on the drums haha, just looks a little flamboyant is all.

Bar none, Neil Peart is regarded as the best all around drummer. You will have a hard time finding any current drummer who wouldn't say they've been inspired by Neil.

I was lucky enough to see him live when Rush came to Calgary a while back.

Here's a decent vid of one of his solos. Enjoy.

[xnvy]

Originally posted by core_upt
I've got a ton of respect for Nicko as a drummer; his stamina alone is amazing.
But as far a technical and 'showcase' drummers, he wouldn't come to the top of my mind.
Something like this shows what prog metal drummers go through when writing - the mayhem starts at about 0:29 :


Either way, there are tons of great drummers out there, especially in heavy metal.

Mike Portnoy is great drummer, I saw him with A7X and he banged off a pretty good drum solo. I feel that he is more skilled than Danny Carey but the problem is Mike Portnoy sounds like many other drummers, that is he lacks his own personal style, while to me, Danny Carey's drumming (at least with Tool) is instantly recognizable. I also believe that Danny Carey just sounds better while Mike Portnoy, although more technical, is more frenzied.

Originally posted by DeeK
Technical busy drummer. Check out Tony Royster Jr.
Here he is at 12 years old. This is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard. The ability to change time signatures is hard enough for most people, but to change to something ridiculous like an 11/16 time without even a hiccup. That's just crazy.

I always wonder if guys like that count in their head or just have some crazy amount of natural rhythym. Like you said though, flawlessly switching between weird time signatures is just crazy.

Originally posted by mgwatson
Funny Rage.. Run to the hills is actually a joke to play on the drums haha, just looks a little flamboyant is all.

Bar none, Neil Peart is regarded as the best all around drummer. You will have a hard time finding any current drummer who wouldn't say they've been inspired by Neil.

I was lucky enough to see him live when Rush came to Calgary a while back.

Here's a decent vid of one of his solos. Enjoy.

Neil Peart was one of the best but now I feel he's just a shade of his former self. While no doubt lacking technical skill he definitely lacks in creativity now. His drum kit is just ridiculously huge and without it I doubt he'd sound all that great. If we put the above drummers on a starter kit (1 crash/ride, 3 toms, snare and bass) I think the order of better drumming would go something like this.
Danny Carey (yes I'm a fanboy), Tony Royster Jr., Mike Portnoy, Nicko McBrain, and Neil Peart.
In the end I don't think it matters, prog drummers are underrated.