# Songs with BIG tribal sounding drums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214 "2005-11-22T05:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![J.Gelert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@J.Gelert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J.Gelert)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/21 "2005-11-23T08:57:06Z")
> [@](#): > > There was a hit in the 80’s by a band - Pigbeat? Big Pig? I think that’s it - Big Pig. The song was called Getaway or something. Lots of big drums… I think you’re thinking of “I Can’t Break Away” by Big Pig. Three drummers in the band, if I’m not mistaken. Good song, though that was the only good song on their album, _Bonk_. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/22 "2005-11-23T09:27:16Z")
Well \*\*WordMan \*\*and **J.Gelert** have already said it, but I opened the thread to post the following, and by heck I still am: “any song by the band **Big Pig** ”. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/23 "2005-11-23T12:59:03Z")
Fleetwood Mac’s _Tusk_ featured the USC Trojans Marching Band (and not a high school band as listed above). They also got the USC Trojans to come onstage with them when they recorded their live album _The Dance_ in 1998. The last two songs of the album are _Tusk_ and _Don’t Stop_, and the USC band provides excellent backup on each. Another great song worth mentioning is Paul Simon’s _The Obvious Child_, which features a driving deep-throated drum beat throughout, and a massive drum breakdown in the middle that’s phenomenal. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/24 "2005-11-23T13:27:01Z")
The Lunatics have Taken Over the Asylum. By the Fun Boy Three. It’s not a very good song. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/25 "2005-11-23T13:43:24Z")
While those big drums were probably Japanese in origin, and nothing else sounds quite as fierce, I can’t pass up an opportunity to pimp one of my favorite drum-heavy bands, [Afrocelt](http://realworldrecords.com/afrocelts/) (aka “Afrocelt Sound System”) Their sound is more tribal, world-music fusion, with lots of hand drums and African rhythms mixed with celtic instruments and synthesizers (and somehow it all works together), and it has a crazy exhilarance to it that actually works on recorded media. Too often, drums sound amazing in person, but flat and dull when recorded. ACSS has gotten past that, and listening to an album is almost as exciting as being there. (Great long-distance driving music.) ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/26 "2005-11-23T14:39:21Z")
I’d offer up anything that Mickey Hart (drummer for the Grateful Dead) has recorded. He’s collected tribal recordings from around the world and released them on CD. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/27 "2005-11-23T14:44:45Z")
Yeah, I love the deep-pitched drums that make your interrnal organs vibrate myself. Off the top of my head, there’s Ecstacy, from Rusted Root’s album When I Woke. Paul Simon’s Rhythm of the Saints uses percussionists from Brazil and Africa, and as I recall he toured with a 5-man percussion section, along with a line of tribal drummers. Industrial bands like Ministry and Grotus used deep-pitched percussion to great effect to awaken the primordial groove in their audiences. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/28 "2005-11-23T14:45:51Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > [“Planet Drum”](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000009O6/104-1836641-7771109?v=glance&n=5174&s=music&v=glance) has one or two moments like that. 😉 Second vote here for Mickey Hart. On preview, make that a third. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/29 "2005-11-23T16:06:13Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Nothing beats grinding death metal with tribal drumming recorded in the Brazilian jungle by actual tribes! Give me a nice “samba de enredo” any day of the year. I much prefer it to **Sepultura** (which means “sepulchre” or “tomb” in Portuguese. Great name for a Death metal band IMHO.) “Sambas de enredo” are the sambas played by the various samba schools as they parade down the Sambadrome in Rio. Nothing beats a couple of hunred people forming the “bateria” (percussion group) and a couple of thousand people forming the choir. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/30 "2005-11-23T16:12:05Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Nothing beats grinding death metal with tribal drumming recorded in the Brazilian jungle by actual tribes! Give me a nice “samba de enredo” any day of the year. I much prefer it to **Sepultura** (which means “sepulchre” or “tomb” in Portuguese. Great name for a Death metal band IMHO.) “Sambas de enredo” are the sambas played by the various samba schools as they parade down the Sambadrome in Rio. Nothing beats a couple of hunred people forming the “bateria” (percussion group) and a couple of thousand people forming the choir. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/31 "2005-11-23T16:12:37Z")
As mentioned above (so I’m seconding or thirding or whatever), Afrocelt Sound System and Mickey Hart are both really good. Also check out anything by the Dhol Drum Foundation, a group of 10 or so Middle Eastern drummers. Some really crazy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/32 "2005-11-23T16:13:44Z")
Oops. sorry about the double post. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/33 "2005-11-23T19:22:46Z")
Not really a “song”, but you might be interested in checking out the movie “Drumline”. 95% of the movie is pretty lame. But the last 15 or so minutes covering the “BET Classic” competition down to the “drum off” finale is a lot of fun. I would love to see a competition like the one depicted. One song that comes to mind is off Phil Collins’ “Face Value” album called “Hand in Hand” (“In the Air Tonight” also has the big drum section as well). ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/34 "2005-11-23T20:08:43Z")
How about “VooDoo” by Godsmack? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/35 "2005-11-23T20:31:16Z")
The folks in Haiti tend to know a little something about drumming – check out Boukman Eksperyans – [this album](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4791FDB47A57020CE873B5DDEB17AF501CA4EFB803E2D595B92B63E45911E7AE84AF095CCB0E577B766ADFF2EA1160CD9C8E85CF9D8765D40&sql=10:nq5g8q9bbtc4) is a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/36 "2005-11-29T04:03:11Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > While those big drums were probably Japanese in origin, and nothing else sounds quite as fierce, I can’t pass up an opportunity to pimp one of my favorite drum-heavy bands, [Afrocelt](http://realworldrecords.com/afrocelts/) (aka “Afrocelt Sound System”) Their sound is more tribal, world-music fusion, with lots of hand drums and African rhythms mixed with celtic instruments and synthesizers (and somehow it all works together), and it has a crazy exhilarance to it that actually works on recorded media. They had a bit of a radio hit with Peter Gabriel singing with them. The song was called “When You’re Falling.” Gabriel’s a big fan of the world music sound, and Talking Heads and Paul Simon also incorporated that sound into their music. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/37 "2005-11-29T13:10:45Z")
[Olatungi!](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006B1RI/qid=1133269655/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0618864-9463968?v=glance&s=music&n=507846) In particular, _Akiwowo_. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/38 "2005-11-29T13:21:17Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > How about “VooDoo” by Godsmack? Good choice, I was scrolling down to see if anyone mentioned that one yet. Great drum sound in that one. ---
**Author:** ![Heroin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea666f/32.png) [@Heroin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heroin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/39 "2015-10-30T19:38:45Z")
Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks, And Cannibal Girls - White Zombie Babalu - Desi Arnaz Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow - Strawberry Alarm Clock ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/40 "2015-10-31T00:15:21Z")
> [@Heroin](#): > > White Zombie Very appropriate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214.md?page=3)