Top 3 Solid Drummers

Solid. Not flash, just downright hard-hitting drummers.

Here's my three:

Danny Carey (obligatory really)
Mike Smith (big, black, and I'm guessing his snare drum cries itself to sleep every night)
The rather underrated John Merryman (Cephalic Carnage)

When I think solid downright hard hitting drummers I think of the likes of Phil Rudd, so compared to him all these mentioned are flash players  But well...

1. Dave Turncrantz - I love pretty much everything he plays on the first two Russian Circles albums, and if I'd listened to the third one enough I could probably say the same about that. A perfect package of drive and creativity. Actually he's such a favourite at the moment along with The National's Bryan Devendorf (who doesn't hit hard and thus doesn't get his own place here), that I'll just leave this like this. No other trophies given.

J-Man wrote: 2. Martin Lopez (a technical monster when he needs to be, but also uses jazz and prog influences in his fantastic drumming)

Good call. Although I always thought Prog drumming as a mixture of whatever genres a drummer can find?

The thing that's always impressed me about Lopez is the same as Danny Carey: not what he CAN do, but what he choses NOT to do. He plays for the music, not himself, and only does fills when they sound good in the music. Respect all round for the guy

lucas wrote: The Pessimist wrote: Mike Smith (big, black, and I'm guessing his snare drum cries itself to sleep every night) Impressive drummer. I saw him recently during the Suffocation gig in Paris. One of the best drumming I ever had the opportunity to witness.

Pretty much sums up why I love his drumming... Pure fucking POWER.

I can't stick to three drummers only, so this list contains more (and it's not in any specific order):

Nicko McBrain (like a machine)
Mike Portnoy ("what J-Man said")
Mark Zonder (another technical monster, yet solid as a rock)
Sean Reinert (his dynamic drumming in Cynic never seizes to amaze me - it's flashy without losing its solidity)
Vinnie Paul (I really like his bass drum work in Pantera)
Per M. Jensen (his performance on "Weave the Apocalypse" and "Dying to Live" is amazing; sure, it was technical and flashy but never at the cost of rhythm)
Phil Rudd (doesn't get more solid than that)
Simon Wright (just as solid, and his work with Dio also offered some variation in his playing)
Cozy Powell (I really like his solid performance on the three Rainbow albums he appeared on)
Vinny Appice (I really like his heavy drumming on "Dehumanizer" and "The Devil You Know")
Carsten Nielsen (no fuss, no flash, just straight ahead old school punk-thrash drumming)
Vivi Di Bap (now a folk musician, and former drummer of the alt. metal band Impotators; I've had the pleasure of watching her perform live with Impotators, and, I can tell you, she rocks!)

Forgot the two best drummers from Death...

Gene Hoglan and Sein Reinert. Both of these guys are absolute monsters!

The video speaks for itself.

lucas wrote: The Pessimist wrote: Mike Smith (big, black, and I'm guessing his snare drum cries itself to sleep every night) Impressive drummer. I saw him recently during the Suffocation gig in Paris. One of the best drumming I ever had the opportunity to witness.

^ Forgot about Brann Dailor. He's really a BIG part of what makes Mastodon enjoyable IMO.

It is shoking that not one has mentioned the hardest hitting drummer yet.