Part 1: “Malignant Narcissism” When it comes to breaking down the drum parts on the instrumental song “Malignant Narcissism” from Rush’s 2007 studio album, Snakes & Arrows, there’s no better place to go than the man who played it, Neil Peart. Neil orchestrated his parts on the drumset specifically to how they fit into the song’s arrangement. And when creating his educational course for DrumChannel.com, Peart appropriately titled it “Frontiers of Composition and Articulation.” We’re starting this four-part tribute series with a breakdown of “Malignant Narcissism,” in Neil’s own words. In coming issues, we’ll further explore Peart’s creativity as we analyze his drum solo piece “De Slagwerker,” an improvised warm-up solo, and his performance of “YYZ” from one of the Buddy Rich Memorial concerts. “The opening drum pattern of ‘Malignant Narcissism’ came about in some interesting ways,” said Peart. “As we were working through the arrangement, this song was maybe […]

September 2020 Issue