Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Top 15 hard rock/metal drummers

Here are my top 15 hard rock/metal drummers in a countdown to number one.

15)Mickey Dee-Motorhead,King Diamond
Just a solid, energetic drummer with both of these bands.
14)Lars Ulrich-Metallica
He has said done some things that I have not liked, but still an enthusiastic player.
13)Mike Portnoy-Dream Theater
He can keep up with some offbeat changes that Dream Theater have thrown out there over the years.
12) Phil Taylor-Motorhead
One of the first drummers to really play consistently fast and heavy.
11)Phil Rudd-AC/DC
Some may question this choice, but listen again to the albums he plays on. The beats may be simple at times, but he is solid and very important to their sound.
10)Clive Burr-Iron Maiden
Only three albums with Maiden, but he played on my two favorites (Killers,TNOTB).
9)Alex Van Halen-Van Halen
Perhaps overshadowed by his brother and Diamond Dave at one time. He had a very distinctive sound that really added to their music.
8)Tommy Lee -Motley Crue
Just all kinds of crazy energy going through this guy.
7)Ian Paice-Deep Purple
Very underrated drummer who not only kept up with Ritchie Blackmore and John Lord, but perhaps kept them on their toes.
6)Charlie Benante-Anthrax
The second best speed metal drummer of all time and one of those few guys with a real distinctive style.
5)Dave Lombardo-Slayer
His playing is like thunder, unbelievable lord of the double bass drum.
4)Nicko Mcbrain-Iron Maiden
Managed to step in for another great drummer without missing a beat (get it, drummer....beat). Very consistent player who always seems enthused and pumped.
3)John Bonham-Led Zeppelin
He was always terrific on everything and Zeppelin played some very different kinds of songs throughout their career.
2)Bill Ward- Black Sabbath
He gets overlooked sometimes. He was really playing some heavy beats and at times some real quirky beats that managed to fit in. I remember watching the Never say die video from 79 and he had hair everywhere, a huge beard and these really thick drumsticks. He looked like a viking beating the drumbeat on a slave galley.
1)Neil Peart-Rush
Rush went through numerous sound changes over the years, but Peart was always incredible. He seemed to get better with age and never stopped reaching to create different sounds. Some times drum solos can be dull and repetitive, but his solos on their live albums and videos were always intriguing and unbelievable at times.

Feel free to add your list or just a few favorites.

12 Comments:

Blogger :P fuzzbox said...

Great list. I was surprised with your number one pick. But I certainly can't disagree.

3:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a good list. A lot of my favorites are present although, I would probably trade out Alex Van Halen for Keith Moon. Keith was an animal.

Micky Dee is a highly underrated drummer. He is a machine!

5:01 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Fuzz-Thanks.

Fred-Mickey Dee has had a great career. I didn't mention that he played with Don Dokken for one album. Not a spectacular achievement, but it shows how diverse a player he is having been solid with three very different bands.

6:37 AM  
Blogger David Amulet said...

I agree with your choices and especially your #1.

In terms of pure skill, I'd have to put Portnoy even higher up the list, but so many of these guys had unique contributions that it's hard to move anyone down too much.

Some others, like Dee, are the guys that weren't in the same band for so long, and so don't get the credit they deserve. I'm thinking of journeymen like Carmine Appice.

-- david

9:37 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

David-I think Mickey Dee isn't really a journeyman anymore because he has been in Motorhead for for over ten years now. You may do make a good point about some journeymen drummers not getting as much recognition because they bounce around. I have a live King Kobra cd with a fine solo by Carmine Appice. Other really good journeymen drummers are Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy, the Nuge, Whitesnake and like 15 other bands) and the late Cozy Powell (Rainbow, MSG, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and many others).

9:55 AM  
Blogger UnHoly Diver said...

I agree 100% with your number one choice. I've never seen anyone handle the drums like Peart does. And being an old fart, guys like Appice and Powell are up there on my list also. A guy I would give honorable mention to is Danny Carey from Tool.

12:35 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Bruce-There is only one Neil Peart.

Ben-Glad to see that you are still around. I like Keith Moon and Stewart Copeland, but I don't think that I have ever heard a whole Blondie album.

8:07 PM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

I'm just not sure how Neil Peart ranks above John Bonham when we're talking about HM/HR drummers. I know that Neil Peart has the technical advantage, but he never (nor did anyone else) played with the energy that Bonham did and that's ultimately what makes a great HR/HM drummer.

12:25 PM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

And if we're talking about technical drummers, then Bill Bruford blows everyone away!

12:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I disagree with most of your list except number one.

what about Chris Adler of Lamb of God? Patrick Carlsson of Evergrey? Mike Portnoy is number two for sure. Sein Reinhart of Cynic? Thomas Stauch of Blind Guardian? Alex Holzwarth of Sieges Even. Clive Burr and Lars Ulrich and ALex Van Halen objectively are not very good drummers.

10:18 AM  
Blogger Jadis said...

I'd have expected Nick Menza somewhere in the list, as well as Inferno from Behemoth.
Peart at #1 is undeniable.
:) Nice list. Cheers.

1:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tommy Lee and Eric Singer are great too

11:40 AM  

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