Top Drumming Performances of the 2010s?

Nick D'Virgillio for Big Big Train and some Spock's Beard (also Martin Orford's solo albums but that was pre 2010's) . Big Big Train - Judas Unrepentant stands out massively.

I haven't seen them listed yet (unless I missed it) ... Craig Blundell from Steven Wilson and Steve Hackett, and Danny Carey from Tool.

moshkito wrote: verslibre wrote: ... This comes to mind instantly, though I look at this more as a stellar band effort. Simon Phillips .. (to save space) A lot was said about Bill Bruford, but he made a comment on his book that was important that no drummers pay attention to ... what to do when it is quiet and there is some silence. I would even suggest that many of the drummers listed here don't know either!

I like Marco Minniman when he jams with Paul Gilbert

I gotta admit (Mike) that the more I watch these closeup videos of extreme/tech/doom/black metal drummers, they're pretty impressive. Hard to discount the incredibly intricate work they do with their feet: I never knew they had multiple pedals per foot to "express" with! Skill, creative/artistry are definitely way more involved in their play than I ever knew/thought. Makes it kind of hard to compare these drummers with the "space-meisters" like Bruford, Jansen, Heron, Mallyon, and Coluzzi. It's like they're different breeds playing totally different instruments (in totally different universes).  

siLLy puPPy wrote: BrufordFreak wrote: I gotta admit (Mike) that the more I watch these closeup videos of extreme/tech/doom/black metal drummers, they're pretty impressive. Hard to discount the incredibly intricate work they do with their feet: I never knew they had multiple pedals per foot to "express" with! Skill, creative/artistry are definitely way more involved in their play than I ever knew/thought. Makes it kind of hard to compare these drummers with the "space-meisters" like Bruford, Jansen, Heron, Mallyon, and Coluzzi. It's like they're different breeds playing totally different instruments (in totally different universes).   Yeah, i think the extreme nature of metal alienates many so that they don't bother to explore the true genius embedded in much of it. It's the modern version of the drumming Olympics! Of course Bruford and jazz giants paved the way for the modern era of tech proggy extreme metal. In my book it's all good!

As usual, I'm here to shill for my boy Kenny Grohowski. I've heard him work in contexts from straight up jazz through jazz-fusion, improv, extreme metal and avant-prog and he feels completely right in all of them. I've put a few examples below.

^ The "surpassing" and "competing" notions of yours. I only disagree with that. Or let me give a better example again from football (soccer). A creative midfielder who lacks speed/endurance but has better technical abilities than his teammates can be likened to a jazz drummer. A very technical but less creative footballer, and this time a striker, who has amazing speed/endurance can be likened to a technical/extreme metal drummer. I'm not stereotyping. There are many metal drummers that are more creative than some jazz drummers. But, in my humble opinion (I really don't like to prove anything here, this is just a nice talk with you) extreme drummers generally lack the creativity and versatility that the jazz drummers possess. I love watching drummers. If they are exceptionally talented. Be it jazz, rock, metal or whatever. I also love how some drummers use their technical skills only to enrich the music, and not showcasing them. I used to think that John Bonham was a regular, mediocre drummer; and I watched one of his solos and was blown away. His beats/hits are also very nuanced.

One thing to add... A real artist/craftsman can be awesome in a myriad of genres. But, one should utterly dedicate his/her life to his/her art/craft. Especially if you plan to do stuff that require lots of physical endurance, your "talent" would never be enough. You always have to stay fit. Even a piano virtuoso should keep his/her fingers "fit" by lots of exercises a day. The Turkish piano virtuoso Fazıl Say said that, if he doesn't play the piano for a couple of days, it takes weeks to compensate for it and be able to play the same again. I had a jazz bassist bandmate. He once said that pop basses are extremely difficult to learn. But once you master 10-20 pop songs, the rest is a piece of cake.

Music is a deep ocean. One has to be a shark! 

Edited by Shadowyzard - November 22 2021 at 07:32