The Five Best Death Metal Drummers, Chosen by Alan Cassidy (TBDM)

Who’re the perfect loss of life metallic drummers? The Black Dahlia Homicide’s Alan Cassidy is right here to make his picks!

The 34-year-old Cassidy has been behind the equipment with the loss of life metallic icons since 2012, making his debut on 2013’s Everblack. As a extensively revered drummer in his personal proper, we needed to know extra concerning the others within the scene he admires essentially the most and why. And he does not disappoint, making some excellent choices, which you’ll be able to see under.

However first…

What You Must Know About The Black Dahlia Homicide

From: Detroit, Michigan (initially)

First Album: Unhallowed (2003)

New Album: Servitude (out Sept. 27)

For greater than 20 years, The Black Dahlia Homicide have been leaders within the twenty first century period of loss of life metallic. Developing amid the rise of metalcore and deathcore, the band was usually lumped in there as nicely, regardless of taking part in an apparent and inarguable model of melodic loss of life metallic.

The legendary shrieks of late vocalist Trevor Strnad, alongside his twisted macabre storytelling, helped separate The Black Dahlia Homicide from different melodeath teams as nicely. Admirably, within the face of this tragic loss, the band welcomed again guitarist Ryan Knight as founding guitarist Brian Eschbach has risen to the problem as frontman. Preserving it within the household and never bringing in any new first-time members was well-received by followers additionally reeling from the 2022 lack of the lovable Strnad.

READ MORE: The Greatest Dying Metallic Albums of 2024 (So Far)

Servitude (out Sept. 27 on Metallic Blade) is greater than an album — it is a pillar of energy and resilience. The Black Dahlia Homicide are understanding of their distinctive place in loss of life metallic and what this band means to their followers. To ship at a stage equivalent to this one, within the wake of such tragic circumstances, is just exceptional.

“Greater than pressures or expectations from the fanbase, I really feel their belief and help,” guitarist Brandon Ellis feedback. “We’ve all the time finished what we do for them, and so they’ve appreciated our consistency through the years. The worldwide outcry following Trevor’s passing has proven us how vital the band’s music has been to so many individuals, and the way vital it’s that we proceed in his honor. Underneath all that weight, I feel all of us knew what wanted to be finished.”

Watch the music video for “Aftermath” under. “It’s a few meteor that fucks up the entire planet,” Eschbach says of the music, “however there’s nonetheless folks dwelling. Sort of like The Strolling Useless, however with no zombies—so that you get proper to how folks cope with it. And by the top, they’re consuming one another.”

See Alan Cassidy’s picks for the 5 greatest drummers in loss of life metallic additional down the web page.

Get your copy of ‘Servitude’ on the Metallic Blade webstore. Comply with The Black Dahlia Homicide on Instagram, X, Fb and Spotify and go to the band’s web site to see all tour dates.

The Black Dahlia Homicide, “Aftermath” Music Video

The 5 Greatest Dying Metallic Drummers, Chosen by The Black Dahlia Homicide’s Alan Cassidy

Mike Heller

Bands: Malignancy, Raven, Beneath (studio), Abigail Williams, ex-Concern Manufacturing facility, ex-System Divide, ex-Success Will Write Apocalypse Throughout the Sky

Mike is likely one of the hardest working drummers I’ve ever met. He by no means stops studying, practising and discovering new tasks. He was a graduate of “The Collective” in NYC the place he honed his percussive information and chops at a younger age and has continued to construct upon them since.

Two of my private favourite examples of his work are his releases with Beneath and Malignancy. He takes the already insanely advanced brutality of Malignancy and intensifies it with a ceasless, spastic, barrage of technical stickings and patterns for his fills, blasts and drum beats that really feel virtually unattainable to study by ear.

With Beneath’s 2017 album Ephemeris, he lays thick grooves down with guitar accentuating fusion fills and blast beats inter-spliced between.

Total, whichever band he performs for, he performs components that any superior drummer would admire.

“Brutal” Dave Billia

Bands: ex-Putridity, Beheaded, Vomit the Soul, ex-Hour of Penance, ex-Septycal Gorge, Antropofagus, Xenomorphic Contamination

When you’ve ever listened to any of the listed bands and his releases with them, you’ll know why they name him “Brutal Dave”.

Davide’s discography and session historical past exhibits that he lives and breathes loss of life metallic. Quite a lot of his album’s characteristic mind-melting blasting and kick runs at close to 300BPM static tempos in addition to head-spinning riffs and music buildings.

His relentless hammering and stamina command your consideration your complete music or album along with his inhuman talents.

George Kollias

Bands: Nile, ex-Contrarian

After I first noticed and heard the music video for “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” at 15 from Nile’s Annihilation of the Depraved, I used to be instantly floored by his precision and skill to play insane speeds I didn’t suppose had been potential for anybody on the time.

After that, I knew I needed to take my taking part in extra severely. I purchased his DVD Intense Metallic Drummer and discovered his swivel approach for taking part in quick double bass drum and practiced it religiously.

Kollias’ distinctive and brutal approaches to loss of life metallic proceed to encourage me and his work with Contrarian exhibits that he has no scarcity of concepts in terms of his taking part in.

Lille Gruber

Bands: Defeated Sanity, Ingurgitating Oblivion

Lille’s drumming will be described by his band’s appropriately chosen identify Defeated Sanity. While you hear one in all their songs for the primary time you shortly turn out to be mentally exhausted with all of the twists and turns of his extraordinarily technical and groove-oriented taking part in.

His numerous drumming influences and information are proven each second all through his discography, however particularly on the band’s 2016 launch Disposal Of the Useless // Dharmata. The primary half of the album is a technical brutal loss of life metallic album and the second half is way more progressive impressed materials.

I imagine he and the band have all the time recorded their albums within the studio collectively in a single room, on the similar time. If that’s not a testomony to the person’s exact technical talents, I don’t know what’s.

John Longstreth

Bands: Origin, ex-Angelcorpse, Dim Mak, Gorguts (studio)

Except for George Kollias, John was the different excessive loss of life metallic drummer that I used to be launched to whereas going additional down the rabbit gap of loss of life metallic. His virtually ceaseless 240+BPM kick runs, blasting, kick and snare bursts, and black metal-esque hello hat clasping accents additional motivated me to push the restrictions of my taking part in.

A couple of years later after I first joined TBDM, Trevor confirmed me one in all John’s different bands, Dim Mak. Listening to his method to a special loss of life metallic band with extra groove-focused components was an pleasant shock. That very same 12 months, Coloured Sands by Gorguts was launched, showcasing an much more unusual facet of his taking part in that I hadn’t heard earlier than. It was stuffed with slower, extra dynamic and restrained rhythms that gave the songs added heaviness.

Even right now, John’s drumming continues to be a few of the most intense and demanding within the style.