And when I say fast, I say the speed of their double bass kicks and their snare grinds? Has it ever been measured? I know the drummer for Cryptopsy is up there in speed.
A couple of insanely fast drummers (measured by the speed of their double-kick and blast beat) are Pete Sandoval from Morbid Angel and Mitch Harris from Napalm Death. However, I think the fastest guys around are the Norwegian black metal guys – the drummer on Immortal’s first four albums was simply ridiculous.
Kevin Talley who used to play for Dying Fetus is insane as well. I’m actually good friends with John Gallagher who is now the only original member left.
All of the previously mentioned are awesome, and I’d just add Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse and Inferno from Behemoth aren’t to be forgotten.
<pompous Doper>I think this is probably the wrong forum for this discussion. It probably should be moved to the Cafe…</pompous Doper>
Not necessarily… he’s looking for measured speed, there is a factual answer.
Well so far measures have been “insanely fast… simply ridiculous… awesome”. Not trending toward an actual factual answer…
Trym’s up there, but he’s a black metal drummer. Do they count?
See my post upthread regarding Immortal. They have to count. Also, Hellhammer from Mayhem.
Joey Jordison from Slipknot is very tight and impressive, I wonder if being 5’3’’ helps or hinders? The drummer from Avenged Sevenfold is very good as well. Its amazing to see how double bass has evolved from straight runs to being much more complex in nature.
If it weren’t for Slipknot (OK, and Napalm Death) I’d swear you were all make these band names up.
The guy from Stinky Finger is fast, but the guy from Wounded Taint is smokin’!
Not if the OP is very strict about limiting it to death metal drummers. Immortal is probably on record as the fastest band ever, but they definitely only played black metal.
The fasting drumming I know of comes from the drum machine in Anaal Nathrakh, but I don’t think they count here.
I agree re: Joey from Slipknot. Regardless of what I think of the band pure unadulterated suckage he is a legitimate powerhouse of a drummer too bad he has to share space in the mix with clowns scratching turntables and beating on oil drums and his double-kick work is extremely fast and precise.
Oooo I just realized the rules are ambiguous on this point!
I’ve posted a thread about it here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7716897#post7716897
-FrL-
I agree, but I think the same of Emperor.
That’s the thing – a good drum machine can play faster and more precisely than any human. And sampled kick drum sounds cut through better and are more consistent than “live” drum sounds in a blast beat setting.
There’s a lot more black metal known on the boards than I would have imagined…and I’m alright with that.
I don’t disagree with any of that, but getting a high BPM from a drum machine just isn’t all that impressive.
Yes, there is a factual answer here. Speed can definitely be measured on bass drum kicks and snare blasts. And yes, I am looking for the fastest Death Metal Drummer ever recorded. There are people out here who record these types of records and test speed, agility and accuracy on drum kits for death metal.
Yes, but the question is whether you’re willing to accept fast drummers from other styles of extreme metal. There are at least two other major styles–black metal and grindcore–that are not death metal and feature very fast/technical playing.