I thought I'd start a place for everyone to share with every their favourite drummers, or particularly skilled ones. I'm not sure if there is already a place for this, but to start us off...

Personally, my favourite drummer is Robb Reiner of Anvil because of his attitude toward music, and his deathly-obvious Jazz training. Also, he was a pioneer in Double-Bass... You gotta know your roots, boys!

I like Swing Thing for obvious reasons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BzWnW0ksGw

And White Rhino has a bitchin' solo truly something you need to see to believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qxlgeYOEE

Anyways, tell me yours!
[EDIT: I think I hit the wrong place to start this... could someone move it? Not sure if I can XD]

I am an older metal head so i love mitch harris and believe it or not lars . many younger kids talk a lot of shit about him , lars but their was no drummer around like him at the time as well as the band metallica . his work on an justice for all is killer. also pete commando.

To be fair, it took Lars forever to do the drums on AJFA.

Kensel from High On Fire is pretty awesome. Very fluid and great sound.

this thread pops up every once in a while

anyway, jamie st merat

also, flo & kollias (yes, i'm that predictable)

Metal: Dave Lombardo, Fenriz, Away, Carl-Michael Eide, Bill Ward, Chris Reifert, Philthy Phil, Nicke Andersson

Non-metal: Bill Bruford, Keith Moon, Jaki Liebezeit (Can), Bobby Caldwell (Captain Beyond) come to mind.

What do you mean with no drummers like him at the time? There was plenty of fast and faster bands than metallica if that's what you mean

Bill Ward, Hellhammer and Mick Harris for me. Bill especially on Sabotage, he's beastly on that.

Randy Foxe, Les Binks, Kim Ruzz, Pete Sandoval, Dave Lombardo and Steve Flynn are the first that come to mind. It's a shame the three first have done close to nothing for the past 20 years.

Mike from Fell Voices is probably the most intense drummer that I have ever seen. Just check out this live video. He uses such a simple drum kit and his stamina is ridiculous. Also he does some of the vocals for the band by just screaming over everything else. No mic is used

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vkUUlEL8G4

My "favorite" drummers aren't exactly the "best".

One of my favorites is Sodom's Chris Witchunter, who's sloppy as hell at times, but somehow it works for me.

Also Randy Foxe from Manilla Road, who plays like Animal from The Muppets.

Matthias Rodig of Nocte Obducta. Especially for his drumming on Nektar - Teil 2: Seen, Flüsse, Tagebücher. His rhythm, tempo and signature changes inlduing long, complex and diverse patterns pretty much struck me the most of every kind of drumming I ever heard.

Yeah, I love the drumming on that album. Atme is an amazing song!

my favourite would probably be Steve Flynn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5EeFDvc8iA

- he just plays with so little effort (or so it seems) and I love the jazzy style he brings to the table

Also, although probably not quite up to Flynns level, I think Proscriptor deserves a mention as well. He was great when i saw Absu and he still does vocals live on the older tracks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjPRKFi_oeQ

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Gene Hoglan. His double bass is so distinctive it's scary, and his technical skills are incredible. His work is very recognizable, and he's the best part of some songs he is a part of. Control Denied, Death, Strapping Young Lad, the list of legendary bands and artists he's worked with goes on and on.

Gene was never in Control Denied. That band's drumming was all Richard Christy.

As for me, my top five drummers ever are as follows:

5. Lars Ulrich
4. Mike Portnoy
3. Dave Lombardo
2. Gene Hoglan
1. Derek Roddy

My top three are :

Van Williams
Pete Webber
Matt Thompson

For me, its always more about the style rather than just skill/speed

In no particular order, Brenn Dailor, George Kollias, Thomen Stauch.

J. Read (Conqueror/Revenge/Kerasphorus/Blood Revolt)

George Kollias, Dave Lombardo, Vitek, Frost, Joey Jordison, Brann Dailor, and Hellhammer, to name a few.

I like drummers who are skilled but also talented in that they are capable of writing memorable, appropriate parts that compliment songs well. The aforementioned drummers have all stood out to me at some point or another.

I'm throwing my vote in, again, for Jimmy Vanden Broek of Be'lakor. Man, that guy is so creative.

Ah, well shit, I stand corrected. Coulda sworn he was on that album. >>
In that case, Richard Christy too. Both he and Hoglan have very similar sounding drumming, IMO.

Can't go wrong with Vinnie Daze his drumming in Epidemic Of Violence is skull crushing.

Hellhammer

Eh, similar yes, but not too similar. Christy on The Sound of Perseverance was much busier than Hoglan on Symbolic and ITP, almost to the point of being the foremost instrument on that album.

This! His style is extremely distinct and recognisable hahaha.

Any drumming thread without a few mentions of Neal Peart is incomplete, so...Neal Peart.

Phil Rudd. That's what drumming is all about.

Oh, Rush.

You guys should post some links to show us your drummers in action, btw!

Flo Mounier
Hellhammer
Frost
Trym

Erik Wunder from Cobalt is by far my favorite drummer. In my opinion he's the most unique drummer in all of metal. In War Metal he showed that he can be fast as hell and play some furious blastbeats and in Eater of Birds and Gin he played some awesome tribal rhythms and no other metal drummer I've heard uses the toms as much as Erik does.

I like Hellhammer because his drumming is very clean and elegant, though he tends to overuse the plates a bit.

30 years later and my favorite drummer is still Dave Lombardo. My jaw dropped the first time I heard him, and it still drops when I put on albums like Hell Awaits, or Show No Mercy. I even thought his drumming on later albums like Seasons in the Abyss was great. I guess he is not as technical as guys like Neil Peart, I just always liked his style.

I figured Hellhammer would get mentioned alot. He's very good but not as great as legend would have it. Trym Torson is way better imo.

Musician's that immediately stand out are people like Gene Hoglan, Hellhammer, Richard Christy, Inferno (Behemoth), David Gray (Akercocke), Trym... Just a few among many greats.

Chris Reifert (Autopsy, Death)
Inferno (Behemoth, Azarath)
Bill Ward (Black Sabbath)
Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy)
Gene Hoglan (Just about every band ever)
Lille Gruber (Defeated Sanity)
Eric Park (Devourment)
Horgh (Immortal)
Tomas Haake (Meshuggah)
Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel)
Mike Smith (Suffocation)
Todd Hansen (The Berzerker)
Shannon Lucas (The Black Dahlia Murder)

Krzysztof Saran (Deivos)
Alex (Abominable Putridity)

Can you guys making lists actually elaborate on why?

Uhm....Gene Hoglan, Dark Angel and the million other thrash bands out at that time?

On CD:
Meads of Asphodel - Exhuming The Grave Of Yeshua
Meads of Asphodel - The Excommunication Of Christ
Incantation - Vanquish in Vengeance

On LP:
Ulver - Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Yes, sure.

Krzysztof Saran (Deivos) - He's not only a pounding savage on the skins, his use of various other items - such as wood blocks and the mighty cow bell - makes his style of brutal death metal drumming my favorite.

Evgeniy Novikov (Katalepsy) - Masterful use of his entire kit. His drumming blends perfectly with the music and accentuates it when it needs to and stays back when it's for the betterment of a song. He doesn't do too much all the time but can do a lot - and does - during the times it's fitting. Excellent diversity, be it blast beats, mid tempo stuff, or slow breakdowns and slams.

Alex (Abominable Putridity) - Blistering speeds across his toms, pounding double-bass, and tight, precise drumming overall with a great blend cymbals. Very technical stuff.

When it comes to classic rock my absolute favourites are quite obvious ones, Bonzo and Neil Peart, creative and skillful players.


When it comes to metal the thing is a little bit more difficult, Blake Anderson (Vektor) Away (Voivod) Gene Hoglan (especially in Death and Dark Angel) Sean Reinert (Cynic, Death) George Kollias (Nile) Peter Webber (Havok) Martin Lopez (Opeth) and Axenrot (Bloodbath, Opeth, Witchery)