Your favourite albums based on the drumming?

Soldato
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I don't know about everyone else but when I listen to rock/metal and even certain types of jazz I usually focus on the drumming above everything else and in many cases the quality of drumming on a given album can make or break it for me.

Here are some favourites:

Tool - Lateralus ~ Danny Carey is easily one of the best rock drummers out there today imho. The drumming isn't incredibly technical or rediculosly fast but has huge amounts of dynamic range and texture, something missing from the a lot of the otherwise hugely complex metal bands today. Lateralus, Aenima and Undertow also happen to be well mastered albums so the drumming really jumps out and is simply a pleasure to listen to.

Death - The Sound Of Perseverance ~ First Death album I listened to and probably their best. Richard Christy is just plain awesomness on this album; rapid dynamics, odd time signatures, polyrythms ... one after the other with amazing ease.

Coprofago - Unorthodox Creative Criteria ~ Pretty new to this odd style of metal, a sort of jazz meets technical progressive death metal band I guess, like a mix of Meshuggah, Ephel Duath, Cynic, Athiest. What matters though is the kickass drumming.

Textures - Polars ~ Really been getting into this album lately and loving it. I would say it's progressive technical metal/metalcore with melodic and ambient interludes (a bit like Meshuggah but with melodic sections). Can't really say much about the drumming except that it is fast, complex and hard hitting, exactly as it should be.

Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve ~ Tech Metal from Sweden and easily my favourite Meshuggah album. I think some their later albums got a bit repetitive but on this Tomas Haake is simply untouchable when it comes to odd time signatures and rediculously mechanical drumming.

Aghora - Aghora ~ Eastern influenced technical metal from the US with Sean Reinert as their drummer (played for Death and Cynic in the past). Beautiful, effortless and jaw droppingly majestic drumming with probably some of the best cymbal work I've heard on a metal album. Great stuff thats well mastered too.

Gorguts - Obscura ~ Has to be heard to be believed tbh. :eek:

Atrox - Terrestrials ~ Progressive avant-garde metal from Norway. Hard to describe but the vocalist is completely nuts and the drummer suitably frantic, exploding unsuspectingly with incredibly fast and ferocious drumming patterns yet never overdoing it. Highly recommended but be warned!

Dredg - Leitmotif ~ I was recommended these guys as an alternative to Tool and while I'd disagree with that comparision, they're certainly just as talented. What's amazing about the drumming is the way it is recorded and mixed in with the rest of the instruments, almost like a live recording, very dynamic and bursting with energy. Highly recommended.

Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Sol Niger Within ~ Hard to obtain a copy of this album unless you're willing to pay silly amounts but it's worth it just to listen to their drummer Morgan Ågren. The guy is just freaking intense, sounds almost like he has an extra pair of hands at times. Check this youtube video for a short glimpse.

So what are your favourite drumming albums?
 
Lysander said:
Naamah - Resensement

Someone recommended me this as being similiar to Dream Dream Theater :confused: (maybe I'm just not a huge DT fan) but I'm really liking it so far. The drumming and musicmanship is top notich imho and at the very least it doesn't have any dodgy lyrics like DT; cheesy as **** if you ask me! :p
 
Jihad said:
Behemoth - Demigod.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Oey85FGHOHc

The drumming is immense.

I tried getting into Behemoth, but it's way too brutal for me. That said Cryptopsy's None So Vile sits perfectly well with me, the vocals make me giggle if anything! That and Flo Mounier is a monster drummer. :eek: Extreme death metal is hit and miss for me, yes the drumming talent is immense but the brutal vocals can be too much at times. That said I really want to explore the genre as I've already found few gems that are well worth all the wierdness you commonly get.

raz0rr said:
Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody
Abe Laboriel Jr. Now you may laugh, but Abe can lay it down, and has some sick tracks on this record.

LOL, was watching the movie White Chicks the other day on TV and I think a Vanessa Carlton song plays on it; first thing that came to my mind was "Damn, the drumming is pretty good for a pop song?!". :p Anyway, I totally agree with your list and will definitely check some of the unknowns.
 
I'd definitely recommend Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity for some insanely complex drumming. I actually dismissed the album as a collection of chaotic noise when I first listened to it a year ago, but wow, was I wrong or what! You really need to give it a fair few listens before it really sinks in and the genius of the music reveals itself. Another similar album would be Psyopus - Ideas of Reference which is more dark and extreme but still loads of fun in the drumming department; actually extreme is an understatement! :eek:
 
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