It's become pretty clear to me that the vast majority of drummers in black metal aren't anything special. Not because they're sloppy (well, in some cases they are) but because they are almost always the most bland, uninteresting and uncreative drummers to listen to. From the repetitive, constant blast beats to the stupidly simplistic, minimalistic and boring grooves, black metal drummers put me to sleep. Yes, blast beats can make a part sound very aggressive, but if that's the only thing you know how to do your playing becomes pretty stale. Even with some bands that I really like, I still hear their drummer and think "Really? Is that really the best you can do?" (and this is coming from a guitar player)
Now I'm not saying every drummer has to be like Brann Dailor of Mastodon (I think he's an amazing drummer. His style obviously wouldn't fit with Dark Funeral for example, but his principle on creativity could really turn a few bands in the right direction), but even if they still made an effort to do a little more they can really make the band as a whole more enjoyable to listen to. Fortunately, there are a few drummers out there that make that effort, and as a result they add a certain flare that improves the band as a whole (although this doesn't mean adding in a cool fill every so often. How interesting are their beats?).
So my question to you guys is, who do you guys think are some of the best drummers in the black metal genre?
OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD (meaning there may be a few that I can't think of right now), I have a few answers in no particular order:
1: PROSCRIPTOR MCGOVERN - ABSU: Now I just saw Absu last night in Toronto and was front and center, and if I didn't take in before how good he was I certainly did during the show. He's the perfect example of an extreme black metal drummer who puts in the effort to make interesting beats and adding subtle intricacies to turn decent parts into great parts.
2: GARGHUF - ex-ENTHRONED: This is probably one guy that most people wouldn't think of, but he was on Enthroned's most recent 2 albums, Pentagrammaton and Obsidium (side note, I don't understand why everyone shits on Pentagrammaton. That was a killer album). This case is similar to Proscriptor, but to a lesser extent. However, while he's not the MOST diverse drummer in black metal, he's still great at adding just enough to a part to make it interesting, exciting and creative without overplaying anything. For example, listen to the beginning of the song Nehas't from Pentagrammaton. I'm willing to bet that 99.9% of black metal drummers (including popular ones) would've just done a simple 4/4 or 2/4 groove. He added some nice tom rhythms though, which really spiced it up. Come to think of it, Enthroned have usually had a pretty good drummer, especially after the first few albums, but I think Garghuf was their best. I'm so sad he's not in the band anymore
3. CATO BEKKEVOLD - ENSLAVED: This might be a bit debatable considering how proggy Enslaved is nowadays, but he's one of the reasons why I think newer Enslaved is way better than their old stuff. He's done some stuff that not many black metal drummers have ever thought of doing and he really spices things up.
4. VLAD - DRUDKH: While a lot of the time he's just doing enough to fill in the parts of the songs well, there are moments where he really shines and creates some really interesting ideas and brings out the best in the whole band. Like the tom rhythms in Furrows Of Gods, and also the beginning of Forests In Fire And Gold. He's done that beat in a few of their songs, and I always know it as "the Drudkh beat."
5. HELLHAMMER: While I'm not huge on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, most of the stuff he's done has been pretty elaborate and he's shown how diverse he can be.
6. TRYM TORSON - EMPEROR: Similar case to Vlad and Garghuf I'd say. He's got solid technique, he's very tight and when needed he can pull off some pretty cool stuff.
Also, don't try to tell me that "real/true black metal must have simple drumming because that's how it's supposed to be." That is total bullshit. Listening to some of the early black metal albums, there are definitely ways you can add more to it and make parts sound WAY better.