Bands need many forms of leadership. Somebody has to book shows. Someone needs to write material. There should be a dynamic stage presence up there, and somebody needs to lock down the groove. Lead singers and guitarists always get their due, but it’s time to grab the spotlight and shine it on our drummers. Here are six awesome bands in which drummers wear the crown.
Formed in 1991 by drummer Damon Che, Don Cab (or the Don, as their fans call them) was originally a power trio looking for a singer and another guitarist. However, Che’s wild creativity wouldn’t wait. The band’s early rehearsals generated such amazing instrumental material that they decided to remain sans vocals.
Commonly referred to as a founding band in the math rock genre, Don Caballero clearly shows the mark of a band in which the drums play a major role in composition. Che’s playing is so powerful and so original that the drums are established as the lead instrument in the band, resulting in virtuoso pieces like the one above.
When you picture a metal band, you’re probably thinking about carpal-tunnel-inducing power chords with Cookie Monster on lead vocals. Metal also tends to feature bass guitar buried in the mix and machinelike double-bass drumming. But one of the most influential players in the genre is Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera. Far from imitating a click track, Cavalera’s playing recalls tribal percussion, with raw expressive power and time as fluid as a classical pianist’s. Truly one of the greatest players in metal, Cavalera’s the biggest reason Sepultura’s music endures among metalheads.
The Beasties are a rap group only in the loosest sense. While other rappers create tracks for their raps, the Beasties invented raps as an excuse to drop massive tracks. This group worked through so many different styles and had so many hits that many fans don’t even realize the band members played their own instruments. Keys to their sound are their amazing attention to detail in the studio and the soulful, funky pulse of Mike Diamond on drums. There’s nothing approaching a big drum solo here, no massive fills – just powerful, tasteful funk with layers of orchestrated percussion.
Like fellow drummers Phil Collins and Bruno Mars, Dave Grohl is a musician who can’t seem to find anything he can’t do. The driving force behind Nirvana’s huge sound, Grohl kept expanding his repertoire and became an outstanding rhythm guitarist, lead singer, composer, producer, and goofball star of his own videos. When his post-Nirvana band broke up, Dave turned himself into a one-man band, releasing the first Foo Fighters album with himself as the only official member. Of course, that wouldn’t work for their first tour, so Grohl borrowed the rhythm section from emo favorites Sunny Day Real Estate and assigned himself to guitar and vocals. It’s not easy to play drums to yourself in the studio, but I’d say he did okay.
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No slight to Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson – two stupendous musicians whose art has kids poring over tablature all over the world – but Rush without Neil Peart would be an entirely different band. Not only is he their most lauded and most admired member, but he also pens the band’s lyrics. Peart counts on the big-time vocal talents of his bass player to express his rock poetry, which frees him up to beat his expansive stage set to death full-time.
One of the longest-running punk bands on planet Earth, Canada’s Nomeansno started out as a duo. As guitarists have joined and left the band over the years, John Wright has kept things locked down with boulder-solid tempo, incredible technique, and the most complex parts in punk.
Jesse Sterling Harrison is an author, recording artist, and part-time farmer. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, three daughters, and a herd of ducks.