07-13-2015, 11:32 AM
(07-13-2015, 08:49 AM)djs7685 Wrote: I have no problem with people having their favorites, but it's concerning that some folks seem to think they know who the "best" is, even though they probably haven't heard of many, many drummers that are much more skilled (speaking purely from a technical standpoint).
I guess it may be because of the music I've grown up with, but I've never really been uber impressed with guys like Travis Barker. Bonham, Peart, and the other older guys are/were very, very good especially for their time. The issue there is, it's sort of hard to compare them to the newer guys, it's almost like sports where we have the new wave of more athletic guys with modern day training and whatnot. It's pretty much unfair to compare Neil Peart to a guy like Flo Mournier of Cryptopsy. If somebody says "Neil Peart is the best prog rock drummer of the 60's/70's/80's", then I'd probably not even bat an eye at that statement. When someone says "Neil Peart is the best drummer of all time", then that's just letting nostalgia get in the way of being realistic.
If you're unfamiliar with underground metal drummers, and you love to watch/hear a good musician play, here are a few to check out...
Flo Mournier
Samus Paulicelli
Matt Greiner (not really into metalcore a lot but this guy can play)
George Kollias
Mike Portnoy
Alex Rudinger
I don't think any of them are clearly the best of all time, but that's a good short list for people unfamiliar with these genres (4 out of the 6 play in tech death bands). I'm sure there's a random jazz fusion drummer that I've never heard of that's more technical than most metal drummers, so let me hear some names to check out. I'm far from closed minded musically, so I'd love to check out some playing from lesser known guys in genres I'm unfamiliar with. Hopefully others are the same in that regard.
I'm a big fan of folk/Viking metal these days and one reason is because of the drumming. There is no doubt in my mind that some of them have some insane levels of talent. This is why as a drummer I can't really pick one because out of all of the drummers out there in all the eras in all the genres, you can't compare some of that. I've said before, I'm a big Buddy Rich fan, but putting up his 5 piece (which he only used 4 of) against the monstrosity of the 54,000 piece set of Peart, or comparing his riffs, solos, and all of that to the fast paced insanity that is some metal drumming, it's all apples and oranges.
It really is a lot like athletics, and most people don't realize it. Heads and sticks are being designed better all of the time for optimal rebound and sound, drums are being designed to create compact setups to allow for faster movement between pieces, pedals are ever improving to allow for faster bass drum beats, especially when looking at double pedals removing the need for two bass drums for the fast stuff. Cymbals and drums being made in so many different sizes and shapes. The versatility available to a drummer today is amazing when you think how far it has come in 100 years, and of course today's drummers are growing up with this sort of thing, and learning it when you're young is a huge advantage.
