Who are your favorite metal drummers

[galacticjocko]

So many to choose from!
How about starting with...

Sean Reinert- Death, Cynic, and a few others. (the best drummer to ever play metal, seriously.)
Chris Pennie - Dillinger Escape Plan
Brann Dailor - Mastodon
Jason Roeder (but the other guys playing floor toms ruled too!) - Neurosis
John Longstreth- Origin

There's some generally unknown monster players...!

Then, a few more favs...

Richard Christy -- Death
Travis -- Aletheian (first album)
David Husvik -- Extol
Tomas Haake -- Meshuggah
Lance Garvin -- Living Sacrifice, Soul Embraced
Derek Roddy -- the man for more than a few bands
Flo Mournier -- Cryptopsy
Hellhammer -- Arcturus, Winds, Antestor, Mayhem
Martin Lopez -- Opeth, Amon Amarth
Mike Portnoy -- Dream Theatre
Asgeir Mickelson -- Borknagar
Jordan Mancino-As I Lay Dying (love the hair)
Jason Rullo -- Symphony X
rock on!

and finally, the ultimate metal drummer of all time........

The computer! [aka drum machine]
(seriously, he's played on the most metal albums of any drummer I bet and he plays with such feeling-- psyche!)  :D

[junglelord]

The Black Album has around 1400 drum edits.  
I saw Lars live once, his time sucks- all over the place.  You'd think after a couple of thousanbd gigs, he'd be pretty good....

my very good friend works for AC/DC and sells amps to many top bands (Wizard Amps). Hatfield has one or two of Ricks Wizard amps and rick said that Lars meter is so bad. Rick taught me meter far better then any drum teacher i ever had, this guy has such an ear, for so much. i have to believe rick if he said that. i never seen them live but i had binge and purge on video and thought he came off pretty good. hate to be known as a drummer with bad timming

[rox]

I only want to add that lars ulrich ain't bad. Just listen to And Justice for All.

The thing he's very good at is letting a guitar riff pound. He drums what he drums  because of the guitarriff.

Not because he learned all kind of drumskills and techniques from some fancy teacher.

So I agree he's not someone like Thomas Lang , but that's not the point when you play in a metalband like metallica.

[Hammertowndrummer]

your're right rox....you do have to play for the music. But the bigger point is that Lars' time does suck (I saw them live on tour for the black album), and justice for all is full of overdubs.

[felix]

I wish my time sucked liked Lar's.  How many platinum albums, how many world tours, how many arena gigs, how much money?  

So what an album has some overdubs and you saw one show?  I'm sorry, I don't buy that.  I've heard Lars play several times and I would have to hear him alot more live (like live with the dude in his practice and recording sessions) to start making comments like that.  

Lars "Large Oil Rigs" is the grand daddy of most of these obscure cats listed.  Have you ever even bothered to play a metallica tune live?  Especially his tougher stuff.  I'd really like to see you play Ride the Lightening and Master of Puppets cuts on an hour and a half arena gig day in and day out and still be around 20 years on the scene selling out venues.  

I don't know how long you have been playing, but how good were you in 1980's when those albums were released?  Were you even playing back then?  Maybe now you could roll Lars up and smoke him on the drums - but jeez, a little respect Pah-leese.  Lars didn't have the material we have at our disposal now to practice.  He did it the old fashioned way.

Lars and Metallica created a genre man.  A genre!  That is the mark of greatness- genius.  His cymbal playing, fills, double bass work, phrasing- revolutionary.  It might not have been all his, but he played it.  You know he helped arrange some of those songs.   Even today when I listen to a more obscure metallica song, I'm blown away.  Someone heard them in the old days and saw something great.  I remember back in the day when Metallica would play the small clubs here in town; one person even told me it was the best show they had ever seen.

Lars is a legend and doesn't have to pick up a drumstick ever again.

[CreepingDeath]

Lars Ulrich
Mike Portnoy (He's not really Metal but since others said him)
Vinnie Paul
Eric Singers cool
Lombardos ok

I don't know what you mean bad timing? Every Time I've seen him play he was on time. Lars IMO is a good drummer, sure some of his stuff is simple, but like mentioned before he has to play with the music.

EDIT: Well Said Felix. ;)

[ProudArmenian]

well said Felix and Amen to that.....

[buzz57]

Bill Ward: Sabbath

Bonham (yeah, I know, Zep may not be a pure "metal" band, but then again, metal spans many different styles, and some of Zeps stuff is as "metallic" as much of the other stuff listed above.

[7lazy8]

Here's my take in the realm of metal:

Vinnie Paul
Dave Lombardo
Danny Carey
Raymond Herrera  <----(c'mon people, can't forget this guy!)
Charlie Benante
Lars Ulrich

[Todd Norris]

I don't listen to metal anymore, but if you count hard rock from the "old days" I would list:

Tommy Aldridge with Pat Travers.  
Alex VH
Neil Peart
Steve Smith (Yes, he played on Tony Macalpine's Edge of Insanity in the late 80s.)  

And yes, Barlow played on Malmsteen's first album Rising Force in 84 or 85.  

That's about all I can recall except Vinnie Paul.  Whoa.  

[junglelord]

i want all to know that i did not agree with my friend who stated that Lars had poor time...
and i said all the things that Feix said to my friend.
i find on the Binge and Purge video that he is quite tight, and i love the energy. i like the video for the new St.Anger album, again nice and tight...besides lots of different cuts and tempo shifts, lots to remember, lots to focus on.
got to say i am never gonna touch a putdown on anyone. that was just what my friend said who had some studio time with the band, with his equipment, and my friend was comparing lars to Phil Rudd as far as that comment he told me. for that matter i felt that Phil while being incredible, was not as good as the last AC/DC drummer Chris Slade, but my friend having done one tour with Chris (his last) said that phil was tighter...but listen while i love and respect my friend, his ear is maybe too picky for me.

[Riker]

Hey I just caught this thread, I'l copy/paste what I said in the
''drummers who define their band -thread''

(1.)"Paul Mazukiewics" from "Cannibal Corpse"
many death-metal drummers have copied his sound, which later emerged into the "nu-metal" thing,(not my thing!)

(2.)"Nick Menza" from "Megadeth"
he may have had to follow guitar-oriented music, but he could still shape the uneven-Mustaine-riffs into balanced-measures allot better than "Gar Samuelson" I think, although he was better for tuff JAZZ!, But "Nick" really added on to "Dave Mustaine's" unpredictable-unrepeats & un-even staff-counts.

Also, "Nick Menza" & "Paul Mazurkiewics" both came from "Buffalo NY", wow I can't imagine my home town creating more than Hot-Chicken-Wings("Ankor Bar") & Kazoos!

[darren122]

JOEY J........................ ;D

[Riker]

Joey Ramone?

[ktthedrummer]

Joey from slipknot is mighty talented. On this dvd my friend gave me he has this solo that's just sick. I love it. Haven't seen him play live yet though. This spring they're coming to my town though, so yeah.

[Riker]

I was thinking Marky Ramone, sorry! Yeah I know that's Punk & not Metal!

I saw Slipknot in the Summer with Slayer, man Slayer has a huge set, it looks like the 3rd-rack-tom is a 16x16 or something.  And Slipknot, I couldn't hear anything but the Bass drum in their mix, the tom-toms had a thin attack, & the Snare was too faint almost not there, but the Bass drums sounded clear & better than their studio album/recordings by far.  They put some short/fast delay/echo on all the drum-channels to give it a crisp tone for attack.  It was a good show.  Slayer's Bass drum was going in & out of audibility, probably because of a compression mis-setting, but everything else was very clear!

[Dead Trooper]

Old topic, but my hat's off to Felix. Well said and boy are you 100% right!

[Louis Russell]

Lars is a legend and doesn't have to pick up a drumstick ever again.

Zackly!

[Riker]

Zack Wilde
well, he plays guitar arhythmic like percussion, I'm not a Wilde fan.  Well, his music like Black Label Society.  It's like RYTHUM is MELODY, or Rythum in place of a Melody.  When the Guitar usually hits one note, usually palm-muted, drop-detuned strings.

How about that GREEN JELLY drummer?, he's all Metal, & he too came from my home town.  Green Jelly formerly Green Jello.

[Dead Trooper]

Speaking of Zakk Wylde, Brian Tichy's drumming on the Pride & Glory cd is way off charts and is probably the greatest rock drumming discovery I had done in years.

Serious reccomendation.