metal
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
J.R. Hardee of Paper Tongues
I didn’t grow up taking lessons, but I had a natural sense of rhythm from my pops, Ricky Dean, the percussionist/BBQ god, and my poppy Gary, the fishing drummer. Poppy now plays steel guitar and is the proud songwriter of…
Rick Henry of Havana Rocks
My name’s Rick, and I’m the drummer for Yorkshire hard rock outfit Havana Rocks. I thought it would be cool to share some info about me and the band with all the MD readers. Well, what can I say, I…
Chad Sexton: Tying Together 311’s Collage Of Sound
Chad Sexton anchors 311’s prog- and reggae-influenced rock with tight hi-hat/snare/bass grooves and throbbing half-time rhythms. While 311 can technically be classified as an alternative rock band, their style encompasses elements of funk, rap, metal, ska, and jazz. For a…
Jen Ledger of Skillet
Hey, all! My name is Jen Ledger. I’m twenty years old, and I’ve been playing drums for the band Skillet since Jan 2008. Here’s a quick video of my drum setup. I tend to get a little goofy when the…
Ben Shanbrom of Bushwhack
Greetings, Modern Drummer faithful! My name is Ben Shanbrom, and I play drums and (yikes!) sing in the progressive alt-metal band Bushwhack. I started annihilating pots and pans at the ripe age of two and proved too bad-ass for pre-school…
Aaron Gillespie: Hardcore Hero
Aaron Gillespie was the long-time drummer in Underoath, one of the most popular hardcore bands in the world. In early 2010 he left the group to concentrate on his more melodic side project, the Almost, for which Gillespie handles the…
Mayhem Week! Brann Dailor of Mastodon
The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour has been amazing so far. I kind of knew it would be a lot of fun when I saw the lineup. We’ve been friends with most of the bands on the bill for a…
Deen Castronovo: The Journey Of A Decade, The Career Of A Lifetime
by Mike Haid During the heyday of metal music in the ’80s, an underground subgenre known as “shred metal” emerged. The shred style focused mainly on high-energy, neo-classical instrumental rock, which required a drummer to be fast, powerful, and technically…
Steven Spence of Black Tide
Hey, everyone, my name is Steven Spence, and I'm the drummer in Black Tide. We're an old-school metal band based out of Miami, Florida, and we just finished up an eight-week tour with A7X. Prior to that, we were fortunate…
Santiago Cabakian of AplanadorA
Hello, people at Modern Drummer, it's a pleasure for me to tell you the way I've been trying to survive musically in this little big-hearted country in Latin America called Uruguay. Logically, this country's good heart and friendly people are…
Derek Roddy - Today's Most Extreme Drummer
by Mike Haid “Extreme metal is musician’s music, like fusion and jazz. That’s what has kept me in it for so long.” Blast Beats. If you’re into metal drumming, then you probably know all about ’em: blistering 16th- and/or 32nd-note…
Mark Zonder of Slavior
After spending over two decades performing in progressive metal acts such as Warlord and Fates Warning, Mark Zonder could be pigeonholed as a one-trick slammer. But if the recent self-titled release of his newest band Slavior is any indication, Zonder’s…
