I have to ask: what the fuck is with the drumming on Virgin Steele's 'Symphony of Steele'? An actual drummer is credited with performing on that song, but it sounds like a shitty drum program. And if it IS a human drummer, then fuck that guy. Just horrible; it nearly ruins an otherwise epic song.

Gene Hoglan, Bobby Jarzombek, and Steve Zimmerman are all among my favorites. Poor Steve Zimmerman is so underappreciated too, but he was perfect for those early Fates albums. I always liked Henry Ranta's drumming on the first few Soilwork albums. He was a little cymbal-heavy, but it gave the songs a lot of energy, in my opinion.

That song doesnt have any blast beats, the only SFU song by far that has actual blast beats is None Will Escape

I always thought his drumming was just fine for a band like Six Feet Under...not trying to sound out of the box or anything, just enough to get the job done...but Im not a drummer so I dont really care that much about the drumming in my music. Either way that doesnt really matter because Greg is not in the band anymore, Kevin Talley took his place.

best: pete sandoval, yoshiki, tommy lee (seriously - he might not be technically great but fuck he pounds them)
worst: the dude that played on death's spiritual healing

Eh, the patterns are kinda stupid and boneheaded, sure, but it works in the context of the music. It's not supposed to be some sort of deep masterpiece, it's DeFeis shouting about how he's a god accompanied by all the absurd (in the best way possible) trumpets and fanfare and whatnot. It's just stupid fun to introduce an otherwise really nuanced and subtle album.

I'm no drummer but no drum performance gets me flailing away in the air more than Jorg Michael on Running Wild's "Black Hand Inn". THE FILLS!

I can't believe Flo Mounier wasn't mentioned yet for best. . .
*sob* *sob*
ya'll suck. . .

Vinnie Paul from Pantera completely sucks and is one of the most boring drummers I have ever heard. Even before his band got famous he was an average hard rock drummer.

I think you need to look a little bit closer at this thread.

no love for derek roddy?
ok, I would say mighty Gene, Reinert, Flo, Haake, Dailor, Hellhammer, Frost, Laureano, Longstreth and who ever drums for DsO always blow me away.
I think every one would agree these folks kick major ass.

Now, maybe not as well know as the dudes above, but I think the drummers from Akercocke, Ulcerate, Gojira, Cobalt and Scarve (that guy's a waste in Soilwork, just listen to Irradiant) are among the best of the the most "recent" metal bands.

Soft spots for: Inferno. Dude is not the most technical and not even the fastest there is but damn it fits the band so well, the guy has such energy and power and to see him headbang while pounding his drums into dust live will always put a smile on my face. Also, gotta mention Nicko McBrain. I mean, I grew up air drumming to this dude, so... Lots of good memories! plus, the guy has a preety sick single kick!

Crappy drummers: Maybe I'll get flammed for this, but if I want to listen to uninspired drumming I'll pick some european flower power metal. same double bass textbook pattern all over.

D'oh! I somehow managed to get both songs mixed up for some reason.

Well, his drumming on Warpath/Haunted/True Carnage is pretty bad. Not "lack of skill" bad, but in a "he could be doing so much more" way. His drumming on Maximum Violence is pretty good though, especially on the first and last tracks.

Still, even though he's not an outstanding drummer I still like SFU.

Tony Laureano's drumming on Nile's In Their Darkened Shrines really ticks me off. I mean, I love myself some hectic drumming and all but damn, the guy plays a fill every 2 seconds or so.

Not a real drummer, but the drums on the early Godflesh records are great. They fit the bleak atmosphere of the music quite well.

I'm really picky when it comes to drummers. I tend to like players who "orchestrate" and accentuate the music around them rather than "blast for 4 bars, do a sick fill" stuff. Importantly, they have to have a good drum sound; nice and round, with proper dynamics (read: 9.5/10 times triggers suck). Sometimes understated is great, too, which is probably why I prefer Scott Columbus on Into Glory Ride over the guys in Nile (the music's probably something to do with that, too ).

As far as "bad" drumming goes. Well, showy, flashy "blasting because I can" drumming is often infinitely worse than listening to someone who's maybe just not particularly technically gifted. I often hear Chris Witchhunter described as a bad drummer... not so! Chaotic playing is sometimes the absolute best thing to have. Lars Ulrich, even, I don't really think there's much wrong with his performances on the first three Metallica albums, for instance. It's not the sort of thing that excites musos, perhaps, but it's doing its required job. I wouldn't say it's great, but it's hardly outright bad.

The statement Chris Witchhunter was a bad drummer is laughable, his drumming was creative and original. He sounded like no drummer I have ever heard before or after. His playing may have been sloppy at times, but it has so much charm, it is organic and above all it is fucking POWERFUL. He was a basher, not a clicker. Every drummer after him in Sodom was more precise but clinical drumming is BORING!!!!!

Back on topic: Hellhammer is a great drummer, as is Fred Estby.

Nick Barker's playing is very cool. His work with Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and Old Man's Child is pretty killer. I completely forgot about Mike Smith. Doug Bohn's drumming on Suffocation's "Pierced From Within" was pretty amazing. Tomas Haake's work with Meshuggah is pretty godly.

For me, the worst drummer is easily Lars Ulrich. On all of Metallica's 'metal' albums (so Kill Em All to Justice and then Death Magnetic), he is the weakest part of all of those records. He's decent as a hard rock drummer on the Black album and Load/ReLoad though. My personal favorite drummers would have to be Brann Dailor (Mastodon), Inferno (Behemoth), Richard Christy (Death, Charred Walls of the Damned), Paul Bostaph (Forbidden, Testament, Slayer) Corey Pierce (God Forbid, seriously sounds amazing live), Alexandre Pelletier (Neuraxis, Despised Icon) and Mario Duplantier (Gojira).

My favourites would be Pete Sandoval, Dave Lombardo, Gene Hoglan, Vinny Daze, Steve Flynn and Rick Colacula, who is ridiculously underrated. His work on the first two Watchtower records was amazing, thrash drumming doesn't get much better than that.

Have to mention Les Binks as well. His playing on Stained Class is phenomenal, it's a true shame Priest booted him for not being boring enough.

Almost forgot about Cozy Powell, his drumming on Rainbow Rising is incredible, and considering it's pre-Phil Taylor and Les Binks, pretty intense (his drum solo on live versions of Still I'm Sad is jaw-dropping).

I never got the big deal about Gene Hoglan, the drumming on Darkness Descends is impressive in terms of speed and ferocity. But I just find it pretty flat overall.

Some of the best have to be
Igor Cavalera
Ken Owen
Pete Sandoval
Hellhammer
George Kollias
Dave Lambardo

I like Hoglan's drumming in Death's ITP and Symbolic. He did a good job with SYL too.

Seconding Nick Barker. The guy is not just fast as hell, he's precise and very technical. His drumming is what I enjoy the most from Dimmu's PEM and DCA, he also is fucking relentless with Lock Up.

Best:
Jörg Michael - He hits his drums so fucking hard and keeps a good pace
Iain Finlay - Another Running Wild drummer. This one played almost like Nicko McBrain but made a lot more interesting stuff with the drums.

Worst:
Scott Columbus after his return on Louder Than Hell. Why not use a fucking drum machine if he's going to sound like it, as well as almost never make a drum fill whatsoever? His barbaric drumming in the 80s was fucking AWESOME.

I happen to like Hellhammer's style....he might not be the best or the fastest, but he sure is versatile. I have a feeling he could play anything, and it would still sound great...

He can play anything, from jazz to black metal. His work with Winds and Age of Silence is very different from Mayhem and Dimmu's, again very different from Arcturus and Covenant/The Kovenant and always fitting perfectly with the whole atmosphere/execution.

I agree that Bill Andrews did a piss-poor job on Leprosy and Spiritual Healing, but you should definitely check out his work with Massacre. He's much more versatile on the classic Massacre material. I don't know what Bill Andrews did during his year gap between Death and Massacre, but he must have practiced a lot. Having said that, I'm also inclined to think Bill didn't give a shit about the Death stuff because there was a lot of tension between him and Chuck.

I don't really think I want to come on here and fellate any drummers already mentioned (Sandoval, Reifert, Hoglan, Christy, Witchhunter, etc.), but I really love Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains for some reason. He always throws down a chill beat. Speaking of chill beats, I'll also give props to Mark Greening (ex-Electric Wizard). I don't know what it is about Mark, but I really love his drumming on the early Electric Wizard albums.

Thirding this to the fullest. He's definitely one of my favorites; very interesting drum patterns and he's just vicious when they turn the speed up. I would say his drumming is one of the reasons that I keep going back to albums like "Gin", but with a band as next-level as Cobalt every element is just as awesome as the other.

Anyone else likes Soundgarden's Matt Cameron? That guy can both masterfully throw some awesome jazzy beats and fills and just handle a groove.

This. When i saw Absu live at Reverb in Reading i could not believe that he was singing and playing. The guy is a freaking behemoth. Coincidentally, there is a video on Youtube where he actually auditions for Slayer and drops his stick. Kerry is just like, "thanks man."

http://youtu.be/Bd8YvaSaNqE

I would say, more accurately, the dude from the best Dying Fetus albums. Killing on Adrenaline and Destroy the Opposition.

I'll skip those that have already been mentioned and name a couple drummers that are fantastic but not very well known.

Alex Tomlin from Battlemaster - Totally beastly and creative drummer. Criminally unknown for how good he is at not only handling all the typical blasty fasty stuff but writing creative drum parts that actually add to the songs instead of just being a metronome.

Beau Brandon from Withered - Beau is a god damn machine. Hits ridiculously hard and fast while still retaining a very organic overall feel. Shifts from pummeling blasts to heavy grooves flawlessly and without feeling disjointed no matter how sudden the transition.

I'd like to add Trym to the list as well, especially on Emperial Live Ceremony.

There's just something about Black Lourde's drumming in GBK that I absolutely fucking love.

The drums on Leprosy rule. Everyone else is deaf!

I agree, productionwise too!

what about Shawn Taylor Steels?, the guy took Songs of Darkness and Words of Light to the category of masterpiece.
Lars gets a lot of shit but remember he made complex albums like AJFA, and they play live some of those traks, and he play them remarkably good. I think he made great stuff in the past and now is too lazy to get back on track. Same goes for the CC guy.
I don´t like drummers that use a lot of triggers and stuff, like Hellhammer, don´t get me wrong, the guy slays, but he need to sound more natural, if you know what I mean.
Others that rule have been mentioned already like Hogland, Barker, etc.
Not metal but almost, the guy from TOOL, the motherfucker can reeeeaaallllyyyy play.
And last but not least, Mike Gasspar from Moonspell, not in the Goth tracks, but in the heavier moments he can pull out some shit!!!

Vinny Daze's drumming on Epidemic of Violence= hands down the most brutal drumming ever. Seriously he attacks the drums just so fucking hard everytime I hear Skull Fracturing Nightmare I want to destroy my house with a sledgehammer.

Anyways, other favourite drummers of mine include all the usual suspects: Tomas Haake, Pete Sandoval, Dave Lombardo etc but I think I'd have to add Andy Whale's drumming on the first few Bolt Thrower records. Just listening to the 4th Crusade now it struck me how well his drumming fits in with BT's music, sure he may not be fast or technical but he's just got so many awesome beats that perfectly match the riffs on songs like Where Next to Conquer that I cant fail to bang my head.

The only drummer that's stood out to me lately is Gus Pynn from Sacrifice. He always changes it up and keeps it interesting.

One of the poorest drummers is without doubt Olav Berland of Forgotten Woods. I've neglected to listen to anything by them lately (a quick auditory glance at Race of Cain was enough for me), but his performance on Sjel Av Natten is incredibly lame. Stupid upbeats and shitty fills abound.

David Gray from Akercocke deserves a mention in a drummer appreciation thread. His playing is so tight, blisteringly fast, and never overwhelming. He fits the band flawlessly. I don't know what else to say about the guy, other than he kicks serious ass at what he does.

I can't think really think of any drumming that was so bad it that it offended me.

You are absolutly right, that whole album is killer, perhaps the most brutal thrash album ever!!! AVALANCH!!!

I'm into Black Metal now, but i was a huge Death Metal fan for many years and i could say that Mike Smith is the greatest drummer i've witnessed! FUCK YA'LL!!!!!!!!!!!

The one where he played nothing but blastbeats?

Bollocks! He's a big part of their appeal. I can't imagine Forgotten Woods with typical black metal drums; the rock drumming is cool and he's got a nice thin tone, too.