The Best Metal Drummer

I have seen a lot of topics about this, and a lot of people tend to vote for a drummer from a great hard rock band drummer, or some European drummer that I haven't ever heard of. Or some old fart from the 80's who was pretty good for his time like Dave Lombardo. But I am pretty tired of seeing drummers like Joey Jordison and The Rev at the bottom and barely making peoples lists. I think these guys are the best we have seen in this lifetime and I have looked at a lot of different drummers. These guys just made it look easy. Not only because of technique but also because what they contributed to there bands and how big there band became because of them.

Pro-Tip: Put threads in the correct forum.

Genre shouldn't matter in the case of drummers. Neil Peart will always be the best.

Blake Richardson. nuff said.

Oh, I thought this thread was going to be about someone who plays on metal drums.

Neil Pe...

You beat me to it.

EDIT: Here:

It's all about Brann Dailor

Neil Peart could be the greatest metal drummer ever

But the greatest is probably Gene Hoglan, guy drums like a motherfucker. Personal favorite is Raymond Herrera whom Gene replaced in FF.

EDIT: And the two you mention are good to mediocre at best.

EDIT2: God dammit, I have to be the one to throw Danny Carey in here? Do you guys know drummers?

Go check out Morgan Rose, Dirk Verbeuren, Dave McClain, Chad Szeliga, Gene Hoglan, Raymond Herera, and Igor Cavalera. There are a LOT of incredible drummers out there today. Joey and The Rev are/were some amazingly talented dudes, no doubt, but there are plenty of guys out there I find far more impressive.

Also, one of my personal favorites and who I firmly believe is one of the best and most underrated drummers of all time, Kenneth Schalk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz-3DqcoNec

Well, Gavin Harrison is my favorite drummer but only occasionally goes full metal. Bobby Jarzombek is one of the best I know in terms of technique, and Portnoy had a huge role in Dream Theater getting a fanbase with all the extra stuff he did (though I'm not a huge fan).

I was a huge fan of Martin Lopez's work in Opeth. But that's more personal preference. And Vitek in Decapitated was extraordinarily talented.

And Sean Reinert from Cynic, if you dislike Europeans. He was amazing at the recent Death to All tour (well, so was Paul Masvidal and Steve DiGiorgio).

Dude, I don't know!

Ben Koller of Converge or Brann Dailir of Mastodon.

I've always been partial to Chris Pennie. Such a bummer when he left Dillinger.

Can't believe no one has mentioned this guy already.

@flacracker man you beat me to it.

In all seriousness I think Bonham was one of the best drummers ever.

@covey: Real classy, selecting your own answer as the best.

EDIT: OK, I watched some of that linked video and... it doesn't seem like anything that any other decent metal drummer can't do.

@jlev880: Man, that just seems like such cookie cutter metal drumming. So many guys do that way better and if youre going to talk about metal then George Kollias pretty much makes everything else look like childs play

@flacracker: Now I am just going to drink my sorrows after watching this video that showed up in the recommended section after watching your video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kGzQav6FJo#!

Damn kids.

@tycobb: Damn... That's some Seinfeld shit right there.

I think it's almost impossible to say the "best" of something like this. But my pick would be Kashikura Takashi. Not exactly "metal" but heavy and awesome none-the-less.

Oh and dont forget Flo Mournier

Easily the most technical metal drummer out there.

I'm a big fan of Lombardo.

@tycobb: If you can say genre doesn't matter, you have to be willing to consider Jazz drummers too and guys like Gene Krupa, Max Roach and Buddy Rich blow Peart out of the water.

Also Mel Taylor from the Ventures is better than any metal drummer I ever heard..

@commandergermanshepard: not even fucking close.

@commandergermanshepard: Thats a joke.

Throwing a punk drummer out there, but Josh Freese pretty much plays for anyone and does it better than their previous drummers.

That one from Spinal Tap that spontaneously combusted.

I am going to be an asshole and say there is a reason those 2 guys are at the bottom of a lot of those lists or very low on there...
I mean they know what they are doing but they also get a lot o attention cause their bands are so big.

George Colias from Nile is considered one of the best.

Dont listen to a lot of metal myself, but i do like Meshuggah.

Hes quite good i think

@mcghee: Thanks for posting that; those guys are HOT. I've been digging into a lot of Japanese music recently, and it's all because of these guys: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9tFcvIJzsFgZKQaYX5SyXFdDtQuooEi

They're called LITE, from Tokyo. They played in my hometown last fall with Mike Watt, and the above link is their whole set from that night. I encourage you to check it out. I was totally blown away. If you're into Japanese prog freak-out craziness that is also totally disciplined and really tasteful, I think you'll like it.

Also: any other drummers/drum enthusiasts out there think drum solos are lame? I've played drums in bands for two-thirds of my life, and I've never been inclined. I've always thought the best showcase of any musician is how well they work with other musicians to service a song/album/etc. I know solo sections have long been a hallmark of big metal shows, but one needs look no further than the drum solo section of the Mexico City set on Metallica's Live Shit: Binge and Purge boxed set to realize the practice does nothing but kill the momentum of a potentially great metal show. I'm sure there are exceptions I'm not recalling, but still. Can someone tell Neil Peart to wrap it up already? I wanna hear Red Barchetta.

Kai Hahto gets my vote...

I like Kollias a lot, but I think his fills are lacking a bit. He's done what, 4 albums with Nile now and I still find Derek Roddy and Tony Laureano's work much more memorable on their two respective album contributions. Technically he's a far better drummer than Laureano, and in terms of speed he probably beats out Roddy, but aside from certain moments in Ithyphallic I don't think Kollias has achieved as much as his predecessors terms of creative composition. Also I don't like the drum production he goes for, with the toms drowning in the mix.

The 'best' in the extreme metal scene, in terms of balance of creativity and technicality, is Inferno of Behemoth. It's an awkward choice for me because Behemoth's studio stuff is hit and miss - mostly miss, to the extent I haven't even bothered to listen to the last couple of albums - but Inferno's drumming is unquestionably on another level. His accompaniment is the only way Behemoth's music makes sense, but when it makes sense it makes a lot of sense. Headbanging to a live Inferno blast for the first time was a transcendental experience. I wish he one-footed his blasts, but with that out of the way, everything about his drumming is perfection. Excellent inventive blasts, incredible fills, incredible speed, incredible sound. He's also the best drummer I've seen live, and I've seen Kollias a few times, Bostaph, Laureano, Horgh, Doc (amazing - RIP), Vitek (also RIP), Proscriptor, James Read, (I love those last two) and a few others of note. This isn't even his best work:

Song starts around 1:45.

Note, Inferno is my vote for all around 'best' in metal, but my personal favourite in terms of personality and creativity is James Read of Axis of Advance, Revenge and Blood Revolt. If Nicholas Barker ever joined a decent band and stuck with them, he might get my vote instead, but alas. As for Jordison and whoever - no... Competent drummer in a powderpuff Kerrang band who has never done anything which stands out purely on merit, as opposed to mainstream hype.

@akeldama: Heck yes, Blotted Science.

Indeed.

And now that I'm on a laptop, here are Gavin Harrison links! I think he's incredible because not only is he technically through the roof, he's very creative, his drumming always fits the song, and he plays with a ton of feel. Lots of subtle little touches that make you appreciate his skill, too. Again, not full on "metal" but I think people in this thread already abandoned that notion.

Also, I'd like to throw in Jamie Saint Merate from Ulcerate. Crazy good death metal stuff. Oh, and 10 years ago I thought Daney Carey was godly. I also enjoy Marco Minnemann!

Mike Mangini

Bill Ward, motherfuckers.

Truth. I remember buying a Nine Inch Nails dvd and noticed Josh Freese was there. Instantly knew it'd be better than I expected. He really does elevate a live show.

Gabe Serbian is a machine! (The Locust, Cattle Decpitations)

I wouldn't call him the best necessarily, but Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale does sloppy-virtuoso like no one else:

@sinusoidal: He also has a nice collection of hoods and masks that he wears.

RIP John Peel.

@dangerloves: The Locust never seem to get their due. I've always considered their records to be a bit of a novelty (along with a lot of grindcore-derivative bands), but they are definitely a different story live; I've seen them twice and their sets are a blast, they really pull that stuff off well. I also love the fact that Serbian does all that craziness with a comparatively small kit. No need for all that china-boy, dual hi-hat nonsense.

Tomas Haake, Blake Richardson, Mario Duplantier.