100 Favorite Drummers - Part One

100 FAVORITE DRUMMERS - PART ONE

100. TOPPER HEADON

When talking about this guy here, Joe Strummer said that a band is only as good as their drummer and that Topper Headon could play anything they threw at him. Pretty much the best punk-rock drummer ever.

99.  RICK MAROTTA

Rick Marotta's inclusion here is basically due to his laying down one of my favorite drum grooves of all time in Steely Dan's "Peg", also my favorite Dan song period.  Marotta is all about simplicity and said groove is his shining moment.

98.  INFERNO (ZBIGNIEW ROBERT PROMINSKI)

Inferno, Behemoth's long serving battery, is an elite extreme metal drummer for his ridiculous speed and even more ridiculous accuracy behind the kit.  Dude plays like a machine and on the band's latest and greatest The Satanist offering, he has slowed down much of his attack while proving to be a formidable groover as well.

97.  ROGER TAYLOR

Queen is damn near the greatest thing ever with each member being rock royalty basically.  Roger Taylor actually has one of the most unique styles in rock music.  You are always "pulling a Roger Taylor" when you open the high-hat up a smidge when hitting the snare drum, a trick that I like to use all the time.

96.  PER MOLLER JENSEN

I really only listen to Made Me Do It and One Kill Wonder from The Haunted, but both albums contain ass-whooping drumming from Per Moller Jensen.   One of the few thrash players with a pocket groove going on at the same time.

95.   CARL PALMER

When people think of progressive rock, Emerson Lake and Palmer is at least five times out of ten the band that comes to mind.  Carl Palmer's over the top drumming fit their over the top pretentiousness to be sure and dude has chops for days.  Plus hour long drum solos, gotta give it up for that.

94.  HORGH (REIDAR HORGHAGEN)

Worry not, this list is not all metal guys.  The beast that is Horgh may be more famous to non-metal heads for the ridiculous band photos that he has taken with fellow Immortal-ite Abbath, but as a drummer he is ridiculously awesome.  Probably the biggest sounding metal drummer, Horgh's chops are just punishing.

93.  GEORGE KOLLIAS

Nile's drummer coming up on ten years now is the phenomenal, Greek born George Kollias.  From a technical standpoint, he is contestably the best extreme metal drummer working.  Unreal 250 plus btm speed, flawless technique, and fusion-worthy chops all on display right here. 

92. MANU KATCHE

Peter Gabriel's So is one of the best albums ever made and besides Rick Marotta's brother Jerry, the album's other drummer was Frenchman Manu Katché.  Manu played on the album's two most memorable tracks "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes", so yeah, there is your proof that he belongs here.

91. ERIC CARR

One cannot be as big of a Kiss fan as I and not have at least two-thirds of the band's drummers on here.  I got one more Eric on the way, (sorry Mr. Criss), but the late Eric Carr definitely belongs on this list for his expertly heavy playing and probably the catchiest drum solo of all time in "Car Jam 1981".

90.   JEAN-PAUL GASTER

On the surface, Clutch may be all about those monster blues riffs, but none of their jams would be near as memorable without Jean-Paul Gaster's slammin grooves behind them.  Bonham-esque, this guy swings his ass off and is as funky as a pocket rock drummer can get.

89. VAN WILLIAMS

When most metalheads think of Nevermore they usually think of how insanely good Jeff Loomis is and how insanely ugly Warrel Dane is.  Van Williams, the band's sole drummer, is as fantastic as he is also kind of ugly.   Dude's footwork is superb and few metal drummers rock the "big chorus" as well as he.

88.   MARTIN AXENROT

What Opeth is currently churning out fails to sit me well, but the band's third Martin, Martin "Axe" Axenrot did play on the band's very best album Watershed and knocked it out of the park.  Even as wish-washy as the band's newer stuff is conceptually, this guy's drumming remains stellar.

87. CHESTER THOMPSON

A handful of Frank Zappa alumni will be appearing on this list and first up is Chester Thompson.  An honorable mention also belongs to Ralph Humphrey since both gentlemen were Zappa drummers at the same time and both appeared on the legendary Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe albums.  Chester though wins a few more brownie points for being the go-to guy when Phil Collins does not feel like playing drums for a whole concert.

86.  TRYM TORSON

Black metal's very finest band is Emperor and full time tattoo artist/part time drummer Trym Torson is one of the genre's best.  This guy is rather relentless as his feet virtually never stop.  Stints in Zyklon and at least one tour with Satyricon, (which I happened to catch), further establish his dominance behind the kit.

85.  LENNY WHITE

Fusion pioneer Lenny White has a slew of brilliant work on his resume.  Founding member of Return to Forever besides, he was also one of the two drummers on Bitches Brew, Jaco Pastorius' debut, and the first two Al Di Meola albums.  Which just counts as the stuff that I personally own.

84.  GREGG BISSONETTE

No drummer in history has ever sprouted a more glorious mullet than Mr. Gregg Bissonette, first of all.  Yet despite the once excellent choice in hair style, Gregg is one of the most versatile drummers out there.  Being a top session guy, he has played countless styles on tons of soundtracks and with numerous bands.  When a legend like Ringo wants you backing his All Star Band, props you most certainly deserve.

83.  JASON BONHAM

Besides maybe Harry Osborn, no son has carried on his father's legacy as proudly as Jason Bonham.  The size shoes that this guy has to fill are obviously enormous, but it is also unfair to compare anyone to Bonzo, let alone his son.  Jason has carved out an impressive body of work all his own and when he does get to play his ole man's iconic grooves, he proves the very best man for the job.

82.  ANTON FIG

Kiss' unofficial forth drummer and long running CBS Orchestra member is Austrailain Anton Fig.  Obviously, this guy can play anything night after night with a gig like the latter, but of course I am mostly a fan of his from his appearances on every Ace Frehley solo album.  Totally solid, Bonham-worthy rock stuffs right here.

81.   MIKE BORDIN

Any chance I get to talk about how awesome Faith No More is I will gladly take.  Mike Bordin's tom-heavy bashing is one of the several key ingredients to said band's success.  He is at once very hard hitting and very funky and rather a metal drummer at heart, yet he is also all about the pounding groove.

80.   ERIC SINGER

The most technically proficient, (and best), drummer Kiss has ever had is their third and second Eric, Eric Singer.  A hired gun hard rock guy for years both with Sabbath and Alice Cooper to name but two, Paul Stanley took Singer with him on his first solo tour and the Reunion era notwithstanding, he has remained a Kiss member ever since.

79.   JOHN LONGSTRETH

I honestly do not listen to very much tech-death, including much Origin.  Yet I have heard and seen enough to know that John Longstreth is undeniably skilled.  Longstreth is one of a slew of blazzingly fast extreme metal drummers that triggers his entire kit and utilizes a relaxed, softer hitting approach.  "Cheating" aside though, this guy is incredibly fluid and has oodles of chops.

78.  JOHN DENSMORE

The Doors were a band made-up entirely of completely unique players, (and one very unique frontman).  On top of Ray Manzerek's octopus independence on the keys and Robby Krieger's flamenco pick-less playing, John Densmore was the rhythm machine that anchored the whole shebang.  Densmore laid down the best and most iconic Latin rhythms probably ever in rock music.

77.  JACK DeJOHNETTE

Miles Davis' main stick man during the late 60's and early 70's was Jack DeJohnette.  He was the "right side" drummer on Bitches Brew for one and if Davis asks you to replace Tony Williams then well, you best believe you have to be good.  DeJohnette is one of many influential jazz/fusion legends who has played in boatloads of groups, his "colorful" style always standing out.

76.   COZY POWELL

Rainbow is greatness for a number of reasons, but besides Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, (the only two reasons you need really), another monstrous ingredient was drummer Cozy Powell.  Another slamming rock drummer with a thunderous groove, Powell's stint with the Jeff Beck Group and a handful of others before his untimely death in 1998 further solidified his drum god status.