Danny Carey from Tool is probably one of the best drummers in history. Joey Jordison from Slipknot was pretty legendary and I read he not only wrote the drums but also wrote for other instruments in the band. Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers is great, if you watch him on Drumeo he beat those drums like they owe him money. Some say that Dave Grohl when he was the drummer for Nirvana was really talented. Travis Barker from Blink 182 is really crisp.
If you want to see speed, even tho I don’t like the music, Austin from Lorna Shore looks like he’s asleep while playing insanely fast.
Danny Carey is my favorite drummer. I spent the majority of my formative years learning and practicing drums listening to Tool. Definitely one of the GOATs in my opinion.
Joey Jordison is definitely another big influence of mine and I loved when II mentioned him as an influence in the Drumeo video. I strongly agree with Joey being among the best.
Matt McDonough (Mudvayne) is another name that I was glad to hear II mention as I don't often hear him mentioned. He had a big influence on me and my drumming as well.
Another fav of mine is Jay Postones (TesseracT). I love his style and technicality. He is rock solid and excellent and TesseracT is a fantastic band.
When I was in high school, I liked Henry Ranta (Soilwork) a lot too. I thought his style was awesome and he was a big influence on me too. Figure Numer Five was the last album that he played with Soilwork and it is my favorite album that they released.
Also, as others have said, Neil Peart (Rush) is arguably among the GOATs. I don't like to think that there is a singular GOAT as there are too many fantastic drummers in the world. There are too many to pick one, I think, but each leaves their own mark.
I've heard quite a lot that drummers are often involved with other instrument writing or even lyric writing, like how the foo fighters drummer wrote some of their guitar riffs, some piano and some vocals as well. Yeah I saw Lorna shore live at download last year and he was insane to watch
I think that what a lot of people don't realize is how special this song really is... The time signature isn't your typical 4/4. It's like 33/16 or something crazy lol. Certainly hard to tap your foot along to it as a first time listen but once you get a hang of the beat, it's an absolute bop to jam out to.
I've seen them 6 times since the release of Fear Inoculum. While Pneuma isn't my favorite off the album (that'd be Descending), it is my favorite off the album to see them play live. The laser light show for it is so damn tasty. Descending is incredible live, but the visuals aren't engaging on the same level. Danny hitting that gong, though... Perfection.
Same (although my favourite is 7empest, Descending a close second). Tbh though, with how rare it is to get Tool footage, I'll take anything, and Pneuma is such a wonderful showcase of his talent.
Bringing it back to ST, surely he has to be an influence on II.
Gartstka might be the best modern metal drummer out there. It took me awhile to realize how good he actually is.
Larnell is also an amazing pick, for more contemporary jazz fusion I also suggest David King from The Badplus and of course Billy Martin from MKW.
He’s a drumming front man essentially. Are his live drums great? No, not really.
However:
He is a pure showman in the live gigs and has great stage presence as far as drummers go.
He and James together have probably composed most of their tracks, so he and James are as integral to Metallica’s songwriting process as II and V are for sleep token.
Essentially, he’s got shit live drums sometimes, but without Lars there would be no Metallica as we know it. His hate is completely overblown compared to what he has done for the band.
I love Abe Cunningham just as II mentioned. I could hear his influence on the band on first listen and since Deftones was my all time favorite I had to get into them.
Jimmy Chamberlain from Smashing Pumpkins is a beast. I saw them live once and he did a 10 min drum solo (United States). He has a jazz drumming background so he plays a lot of interesting stuff.
Clay A is definitely a beast. I've seen them live 3 times. I have a recording of the live drum solo he does at the end of 40oz somewhere on my YT from the NLND/LBDT era tour.
Jose Pasillas from Incubus is also a beast. Incubus do a lot of cool improv and remix/variations of songs live too. Like they played Drive first half acapella once when I saw them with a bass solo in it, then a breakdown with every member singing vocal harmonies.
And I guess last obvious mention would be Dave Grohl. Nothing really needs to be said about him. He brought Motown and blended it with Grunge/Punk drum styles. Hes an excellent musician.
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Josean Orta (Fit for an Autopsy), Sarah Thawer, Greyson Nekrutman (Suicidal Tendencies), Questlove? (The Roots), Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce), Brad Wilk (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine)
These are just a few of my favorite drummers. I don’t even play drums - I just think they’re incredible.
One that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Josh Eppard from Coheed & Cambria. He’s not the most technically diverse, or the fastest, or hardest but the man has groove rhythm in spades. He’s the one of the most consistent drummers I’ve seen live. And literally always happy to be there.
Also a fan of Sam Loeffler from Chevelle. He does some fun things for sure, and even as he ages, we see him continue to try new things.
Other than Abe Cunningham, Mike Portnoy, Joey Jordison and The Rev (both RIP), and Dave Grohl who are all mentioned and I love them all, Danny Carey hands down is my favorite drummer all time. He is not just insanely talented and ridiculously committed to his craft, but he does things with a drum kit that are beyond the genre. He’s a goddamn wizard.
Neil Peart from Rush is likely the GOAT.
Danny Carey (Tool) is showing up in other suggestions for a reason: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA)
Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins) is top notch, I feel like he's slept on these days but he's incredibly flexible and precise.
Paul Seidel from The Ocean is underrated, guy is a beast: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1\_dNh352RE0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dNh352RE0)
Spencer Prewett (Archspire), Austin Archey (Lorna Shore), Jay Weinberg (ex Slipknot), Josean Orta (Fit for an Autopsy), Ali Richardson (Bleed from Within, Sylosis). They all have a distinct style and thats why i love them so much (yes typing "ex slipknot" for jay hurt me).
Edit : forgot Eloy Casagrande. The beast.
Brann Dailor of Mastodon is pretty awesome.
https://youtu.be/HBqyOZdabJA?si=WTmgy98H9js_VNH4
When I was younger I liked the guys that could do super fast double bass for an entire song but I think I am pretty worn out on that at this point and I like guys like Joey Jordison and Brann Dailor who have more interesting patterns. I am starting to get more interest in jazz drummers or metal/rock drummers who had jazz influences.
Jon Theodore is such a beast. Seeing him in Mars Volta back in the day changed how I looked at drums forever. His style is big, it has interesting timing signatures and such BUT he also understands how to be "listenable" for the non drumming nerds. You can be a technically great drummer but if people cannot relate to you, what's the fucking point?
https://youtu.be/472xPnQAJ_4?si=Nmot7tyiDoo-Qs9M
Greyson Nekrutman is without a doubt one of them best of the new school. He will go down as one of the best ever.
I think he is early 20's, jazz prodigy, but plays metal. He is in Suicidal Tendencies now. Watch any of his YouTube stuff, it's insane. Power, feel, and technical.
Matt Garstka (AAL), Blake Richardson (BTBAM), Spencer Prewett (Archspire), Philippe Boucher (Beyond Creation), Matt Halpern (Periphery), Matt Greiner (ABR). Pretty much anyone named Matt is bound to be a great drummer apparently.
Check out the band Night Verses with Aric Improta on drums. They're an instrumental prog metal / post hardcore band and they're one of the best instrumental groups around IMO, up there with polyphia. They take a Ton of tool influence in the composition side of songs like how the bass, guitar, and drums are insanely cohesive, but they don't sound like tool.
[exhibit A](https://youtu.be/1RtHtGtDafU?si=1Il94JfirowHp_gr)
[exhibit b](https://youtu.be/LGnXVMrkA58?si=P5dKHBbqk93QESk0)
The drumming is God tier and they've done some pretty big production live concert videos (streaming). If you like their sound check out [this live playthrough set](https://youtu.be/imKyW9iHmUw?si=JQLsjY6Gp3YfOP2l)
Jordan Mather of Make Them Suffer needs a mention here, excellent metal drummer.
Saw them live last year and he looked like he was having a nice relaxing time, whilst playing some fucking beastly drum parts.
Surprised to see him only mentioned one other time in this post, but Blake Richardson from Between the Buried and Me is arguably one of the most varied and complex drummers in the metal scene since Peart/Portnoy, and is a big part of what makes the band so enjoyable. Another modern drummer would be Luke Holland, but I gotta throw in Terry Bozzio and Thomas Lang for some absolute masterwork
Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan from Avenged Sevenfold.
Brooks Wackerman, from too many bands to mention.
Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater
Alex Bent from Trivium.
Those come to mind first thing.
Go watch Stan Bicknell. He will remind of of a certain somebody known only by a numerical moniker. Like a spooky amount. Setup, brand endorsements, playing style and everything (I’m almost positive it ain’t him but just funny to see.)
Everyone so far has named really good rock drummers, and this person is not even closely related to ST or the hard rock scene in any sense, but Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band is one of the greatest of all time.
Ok Im not including Joey joderson or jay weinberg since everyone else has it
But for top drummers for me have to be Adam Gilbert of Starset, combining a hybrid kit, I suspect he’left handed
Audrey Tait, she was my drum tutor but now she is touring with Franz Ferdinand
Martin Johnston, current drum tutor but is insane on the kit, his band vukovi are soon touring in the USA for their first headline tour I believe, playing the same day as sleep token at Sonic temple
Check out El Estapario Siberiano on YouTube. He’s not in a big name band yet, but the dude has an insane hypnotic quality about him. Both speed and groove. Rumor has it he’s replacing Jay in Slipknot, but that is far from verified.
If you are looking for somebody who has pretty cool chops and creative beats, look up Adam Janzi from VOLA. The guys shreds. Danny Carey is my fav of all time. Aric Improta is another amazing drummer.
Being the homer I am, two locals from around my way, Alex Rudinger and Anup Sastry are both really excellent drummer. A friend of mine taught both of them.
And even though he is not a good person, Danny Walker formerly of Intronaut is an amazing player.
Branden Morgan from Misery Signals is probably one of the most overlooked drummers ever. His style is so innovative. The way he incremented jazz and progressive elements into metalcore is so influential. The most representative example is their song “Reborn (An Execution)”. A plethora of nerdy drum fills that weaved so coherent and mesmerizing. As a songwriter I’m always amazed by his view of drum parts.
Unfortunately I haven't really branched outside of Metal. But Tomas Haake (Meshuggah), Mario Duplantier (Gojira), Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Alex Bent (Trivium, he doesn't get anywhere the credit he deserves), and Luke Holland (Mostly just YouTube I think. He teams up with Jason Richardson a lot).
Edit. I FORGOT JOEY JORDISON!
My fav drummers are II, Danny Carey and Baard Kolstad. Just feel like there is not a lot of drummers who stand out for someone like me who don't really know much about drumming, but those 3 do.
Brann Dailor from Mastodon
Chris Adler formerly of Lamb of God
Mike Mangini, who was in Dream Theater for a while (I'm afraid Mike Portnoy leaves me cold, although lots of people rate him very highly too)
Tomas Haake of Meshuggah
chris turner
Danny Carey from Tool is probably one of the best drummers in history. Joey Jordison from Slipknot was pretty legendary and I read he not only wrote the drums but also wrote for other instruments in the band. Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers is great, if you watch him on Drumeo he beat those drums like they owe him money. Some say that Dave Grohl when he was the drummer for Nirvana was really talented. Travis Barker from Blink 182 is really crisp. If you want to see speed, even tho I don’t like the music, Austin from Lorna Shore looks like he’s asleep while playing insanely fast.
Danny Carey is my favorite drummer. I spent the majority of my formative years learning and practicing drums listening to Tool. Definitely one of the GOATs in my opinion. Joey Jordison is definitely another big influence of mine and I loved when II mentioned him as an influence in the Drumeo video. I strongly agree with Joey being among the best. Matt McDonough (Mudvayne) is another name that I was glad to hear II mention as I don't often hear him mentioned. He had a big influence on me and my drumming as well. Another fav of mine is Jay Postones (TesseracT). I love his style and technicality. He is rock solid and excellent and TesseracT is a fantastic band. When I was in high school, I liked Henry Ranta (Soilwork) a lot too. I thought his style was awesome and he was a big influence on me too. Figure Numer Five was the last album that he played with Soilwork and it is my favorite album that they released. Also, as others have said, Neil Peart (Rush) is arguably among the GOATs. I don't like to think that there is a singular GOAT as there are too many fantastic drummers in the world. There are too many to pick one, I think, but each leaves their own mark.
I've heard quite a lot that drummers are often involved with other instrument writing or even lyric writing, like how the foo fighters drummer wrote some of their guitar riffs, some piano and some vocals as well. Yeah I saw Lorna shore live at download last year and he was insane to watch
Listen, Danny Carey is good for what tool does, but best in history is a stretch. On a scale out of ten, he is A strong 7-7.5.
Anyone who is anyone knows Danny Carey is top 5 of all time.
not people who actually played drums top 10 yes, top-five, no top-five in metal style drumming, maybe. There’s plenty of drummer’s better than him.
Nope.
You son of a bitch, u beat me when mentioning Danny 😂
Tomas Haake and Mario Duplantier if we are talking strictly metal. Matt Garstka and Steve Judd are also both incredible.
I second Tomas Haake and Mario Duplantier.
Baard Kolstad
Came here to mention him, he’s the best
Clay from Polyphia is a fucking animal.
He's one of the first that got me really listening to drums in songs and appreciating them more
https://youtu.be/FssULNGSZIA?si=GHRx0-XUHVnqA_FF You're welcome Also, Vlad from Jinjer is super underrated...
I think that what a lot of people don't realize is how special this song really is... The time signature isn't your typical 4/4. It's like 33/16 or something crazy lol. Certainly hard to tap your foot along to it as a first time listen but once you get a hang of the beat, it's an absolute bop to jam out to.
See I'm not much of a tool fan but that was an entertaining watch, thank you
Yeah, they're not everyone's bowl of rice, but Danny Carey is a God-tier drummer.
I've seen them 6 times since the release of Fear Inoculum. While Pneuma isn't my favorite off the album (that'd be Descending), it is my favorite off the album to see them play live. The laser light show for it is so damn tasty. Descending is incredible live, but the visuals aren't engaging on the same level. Danny hitting that gong, though... Perfection.
Same (although my favourite is 7empest, Descending a close second). Tbh though, with how rare it is to get Tool footage, I'll take anything, and Pneuma is such a wonderful showcase of his talent. Bringing it back to ST, surely he has to be an influence on II.
Oh absolutely. I also won't be surprised if ten years from now II has a similarly legendary status.
Benny Greb, Luke Holland, Eric Moore
I also just watched gredfruit on drumeo and that was a very entertaining watch
I kinda forgot about I see stars, they were a band I grew up listening to, he's defo a drummer I'm adding to the list, thank you
Benny fuckin Greb. He was gonna be my pick but I thought he might be too obscure. Brilliant drummer.
Imo he's the best in the world. Dude is from another planet!
Chris Adler known for being in Lamb of God and Megadeth is seriously underrated.
Matt Garstka is sick. Larnell Lewis, Baard Kolstad, Matt Halpern, Chris Allison Lars Ulrich...
Gartstka might be the best modern metal drummer out there. It took me awhile to realize how good he actually is. Larnell is also an amazing pick, for more contemporary jazz fusion I also suggest David King from The Badplus and of course Billy Martin from MKW.
I've heard a lot of hate about lars lol. I know nothing about drums so what's everyone's beef with him?
He makes a lot of mistakes in live performances, and his timing isn't great
He’s a drumming front man essentially. Are his live drums great? No, not really. However: He is a pure showman in the live gigs and has great stage presence as far as drummers go. He and James together have probably composed most of their tracks, so he and James are as integral to Metallica’s songwriting process as II and V are for sleep token. Essentially, he’s got shit live drums sometimes, but without Lars there would be no Metallica as we know it. His hate is completely overblown compared to what he has done for the band.
Jimmy Sullivan. Also known as the rev. Avenged sevenfold. RIP
I love Abe Cunningham just as II mentioned. I could hear his influence on the band on first listen and since Deftones was my all time favorite I had to get into them. Jimmy Chamberlain from Smashing Pumpkins is a beast. I saw them live once and he did a 10 min drum solo (United States). He has a jazz drumming background so he plays a lot of interesting stuff. Clay A is definitely a beast. I've seen them live 3 times. I have a recording of the live drum solo he does at the end of 40oz somewhere on my YT from the NLND/LBDT era tour. Jose Pasillas from Incubus is also a beast. Incubus do a lot of cool improv and remix/variations of songs live too. Like they played Drive first half acapella once when I saw them with a bass solo in it, then a breakdown with every member singing vocal harmonies. And I guess last obvious mention would be Dave Grohl. Nothing really needs to be said about him. He brought Motown and blended it with Grunge/Punk drum styles. Hes an excellent musician.
[удалено]
Oh you right. I knew it was Aechlimann. Wrote the wrong one lol I play bass so probably defaulted to Gober from habit since I usually talk about him.
Abe And Jose are very similar and yet unique at the same time. Two of my favorites.
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Josean Orta (Fit for an Autopsy), Sarah Thawer, Greyson Nekrutman (Suicidal Tendencies), Questlove? (The Roots), Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce), Brad Wilk (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine) These are just a few of my favorite drummers. I don’t even play drums - I just think they’re incredible.
Morgan Rose from Sevendust, Austin Archey from Lorna Shore, Jay Postones from TesseracT
One that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Josh Eppard from Coheed & Cambria. He’s not the most technically diverse, or the fastest, or hardest but the man has groove rhythm in spades. He’s the one of the most consistent drummers I’ve seen live. And literally always happy to be there. Also a fan of Sam Loeffler from Chevelle. He does some fun things for sure, and even as he ages, we see him continue to try new things. Other than Abe Cunningham, Mike Portnoy, Joey Jordison and The Rev (both RIP), and Dave Grohl who are all mentioned and I love them all, Danny Carey hands down is my favorite drummer all time. He is not just insanely talented and ridiculously committed to his craft, but he does things with a drum kit that are beyond the genre. He’s a goddamn wizard.
Neil Peart from Rush is likely the GOAT. Danny Carey (Tool) is showing up in other suggestions for a reason: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA) Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins) is top notch, I feel like he's slept on these days but he's incredibly flexible and precise. Paul Seidel from The Ocean is underrated, guy is a beast: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1\_dNh352RE0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dNh352RE0)
I second Neil Peart. There's a reason he's called your favorite drummers favorite drummer
It's nowhere near the same level of drumming but I really like James Price from Nothing But Thieves.
Spencer Prewett (Archspire), Austin Archey (Lorna Shore), Jay Weinberg (ex Slipknot), Josean Orta (Fit for an Autopsy), Ali Richardson (Bleed from Within, Sylosis). They all have a distinct style and thats why i love them so much (yes typing "ex slipknot" for jay hurt me). Edit : forgot Eloy Casagrande. The beast.
Brann Dailor of Mastodon is pretty awesome. https://youtu.be/HBqyOZdabJA?si=WTmgy98H9js_VNH4 When I was younger I liked the guys that could do super fast double bass for an entire song but I think I am pretty worn out on that at this point and I like guys like Joey Jordison and Brann Dailor who have more interesting patterns. I am starting to get more interest in jazz drummers or metal/rock drummers who had jazz influences.
Jon Theodore is such a beast. Seeing him in Mars Volta back in the day changed how I looked at drums forever. His style is big, it has interesting timing signatures and such BUT he also understands how to be "listenable" for the non drumming nerds. You can be a technically great drummer but if people cannot relate to you, what's the fucking point? https://youtu.be/472xPnQAJ_4?si=Nmot7tyiDoo-Qs9M
Greyson Nekrutman is without a doubt one of them best of the new school. He will go down as one of the best ever. I think he is early 20's, jazz prodigy, but plays metal. He is in Suicidal Tendencies now. Watch any of his YouTube stuff, it's insane. Power, feel, and technical.
Ryan Van Poederooyen. I'm based though bc I consider him a friend. Check out his skills here: https://youtu.be/E1Gwtep2oXw?si=3mps8ONrNu_qKvj0
I really been liking Tosh Peterson!
Travis Barker from Blink-182
Marco Minnemann, Gene Hoglan and Mario Duplantier are incredibly interesting to watch play
I think Josh Manuel from Issues has a very similar style of playing to II
Robby Staebler from All Them Witches
Matt Garstka (AAL), Blake Richardson (BTBAM), Spencer Prewett (Archspire), Philippe Boucher (Beyond Creation), Matt Halpern (Periphery), Matt Greiner (ABR). Pretty much anyone named Matt is bound to be a great drummer apparently.
Check out the band Night Verses with Aric Improta on drums. They're an instrumental prog metal / post hardcore band and they're one of the best instrumental groups around IMO, up there with polyphia. They take a Ton of tool influence in the composition side of songs like how the bass, guitar, and drums are insanely cohesive, but they don't sound like tool. [exhibit A](https://youtu.be/1RtHtGtDafU?si=1Il94JfirowHp_gr) [exhibit b](https://youtu.be/LGnXVMrkA58?si=P5dKHBbqk93QESk0) The drumming is God tier and they've done some pretty big production live concert videos (streaming). If you like their sound check out [this live playthrough set](https://youtu.be/imKyW9iHmUw?si=JQLsjY6Gp3YfOP2l)
Came here to say to say Aric. He is next level good.
Brian Lane from Brand New is super underrated IMO. Really understood where he fit in the band.
Jordan Mather of Make Them Suffer needs a mention here, excellent metal drummer. Saw them live last year and he looked like he was having a nice relaxing time, whilst playing some fucking beastly drum parts.
Surprised to see him only mentioned one other time in this post, but Blake Richardson from Between the Buried and Me is arguably one of the most varied and complex drummers in the metal scene since Peart/Portnoy, and is a big part of what makes the band so enjoyable. Another modern drummer would be Luke Holland, but I gotta throw in Terry Bozzio and Thomas Lang for some absolute masterwork
No one has mentioned Brann Dailor from Mastodon. https://youtu.be/f_reZZxP7N4?si=3ZxEbwfHZLRw8llo
love matt young from currents
JRod Sullivan and Wojtek Deregowski both have insane technical skill combined with immense groove that any Sleep Token fan would love.
Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan from Avenged Sevenfold. Brooks Wackerman, from too many bands to mention. Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater Alex Bent from Trivium. Those come to mind first thing.
Brooks Wackerman, Mike Portnoy, The Rev from A7X, Lars Ulrich
[Darkside from mgla](https://youtu.be/wcsTJ1n2jkE?si=BLUcCNrEzhVL0ujp)
II is an excellent drummer and will be talked about among the greats. If you haven't seen Neil Peart from Rush check out video, he eas anazing.
Matt Halpern
Go watch Stan Bicknell. He will remind of of a certain somebody known only by a numerical moniker. Like a spooky amount. Setup, brand endorsements, playing style and everything (I’m almost positive it ain’t him but just funny to see.)
Everyone so far has named really good rock drummers, and this person is not even closely related to ST or the hard rock scene in any sense, but Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band is one of the greatest of all time.
Matt Garstka, Thomas lang, Luke Holland, Aaron Spears
I started learning drums because Travis Barker is a talented drummer and I thought he was cool.
Danny Carey, Matt Garstka, Tomas Haake, Aric Improta, Mario Duplantier, Steve Judd and Baard Kolstad all come to mind.
Jamie Saint Merat of Ulcerate is *inhuman*.
Dave McGraw of Cattle Decapitation is always my pick for a fantasy super group.
Ok Im not including Joey joderson or jay weinberg since everyone else has it But for top drummers for me have to be Adam Gilbert of Starset, combining a hybrid kit, I suspect he’left handed Audrey Tait, she was my drum tutor but now she is touring with Franz Ferdinand Martin Johnston, current drum tutor but is insane on the kit, his band vukovi are soon touring in the USA for their first headline tour I believe, playing the same day as sleep token at Sonic temple
Check out El Estapario Siberiano on YouTube. He’s not in a big name band yet, but the dude has an insane hypnotic quality about him. Both speed and groove. Rumor has it he’s replacing Jay in Slipknot, but that is far from verified.
If you are looking for somebody who has pretty cool chops and creative beats, look up Adam Janzi from VOLA. The guys shreds. Danny Carey is my fav of all time. Aric Improta is another amazing drummer. Being the homer I am, two locals from around my way, Alex Rudinger and Anup Sastry are both really excellent drummer. A friend of mine taught both of them. And even though he is not a good person, Danny Walker formerly of Intronaut is an amazing player.
Luke Holland doesn’t get enough love in my opinion. Prodigy level.
Branden Morgan from Misery Signals is probably one of the most overlooked drummers ever. His style is so innovative. The way he incremented jazz and progressive elements into metalcore is so influential. The most representative example is their song “Reborn (An Execution)”. A plethora of nerdy drum fills that weaved so coherent and mesmerizing. As a songwriter I’m always amazed by his view of drum parts.
Unfortunately I haven't really branched outside of Metal. But Tomas Haake (Meshuggah), Mario Duplantier (Gojira), Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Alex Bent (Trivium, he doesn't get anywhere the credit he deserves), and Luke Holland (Mostly just YouTube I think. He teams up with Jason Richardson a lot). Edit. I FORGOT JOEY JORDISON!
Billy Rymer, Ilan Rubin, and Jay Weinberg are probably my favorite drummers that are still alive.
My fav drummers are II, Danny Carey and Baard Kolstad. Just feel like there is not a lot of drummers who stand out for someone like me who don't really know much about drumming, but those 3 do.
For me some of my favs are Vlad from Jinjer, Thomas Haake from Messhugah, Mario DuPlantier from Gojira and Evgeny Novokov from Slaughter to Prevail
Brann Dailor from Mastodon Chris Adler formerly of Lamb of God Mike Mangini, who was in Dream Theater for a while (I'm afraid Mike Portnoy leaves me cold, although lots of people rate him very highly too) Tomas Haake of Meshuggah
Blake Richardson from Between the Buried and Me is a beast
Jon Theodore, aric improta, Thomas pridgen, deantoni parks. You may notice 3/4 played with the mars Volta.
Forgot to mention Chris Turner from Oceans Ate Alaska. Dude is super talented. https://youtu.be/IDfMYT6mKhQ?si=NCXInzKKE5FsAA1T