Top 10 Songs with the Greatest Metal Drumming Performances

The Top Ten
Painkiller - Judas Priest

Imagine drumming the 13-minute extended version. Pain all around.

Mind-blowing, technical, extremely fast, and skillful drumming by the greatest drummer heavy metal has ever seen: Scott Travis. He is the best, no comparison. And Painkiller is the greatest performance in both rock and heavy metal for drumming, guitar works, and undoubtedly vocals. Rob's a monster. So, Painkiller wins without a doubt.

Mad drum intro by Scott Travis.

Bleed - Meshuggah

Thomas Haake is not a drummer. He is an alien from another planet. He came to Earth to enlighten all drummers from this world and show them the true meaning of limb autonomy.

If you can play this, then you are not human.

Honor Thy Father - Dream Theater

Brilliant double bass in 3 parts of the song. The song itself has such great lyrics. The hardest song to drum played by the best drummer ever!

Really good fill-in at the beginning. Portnoy is technically one of the greatest drummers ever!

Ticks & Leeches - Tool

Freakish drumming by Danny Carey!

War Ensemble - Slayer

War Ensemble has double bass nearly all the way through, crazy stuff, and Raining Blood is even faster on drums. Slipknot's Joey Jordison is great too, but I don't know why they picked Before I Forget down there, that's a pretty slow Knot song.

This has the best drum work in the history of metal. It always sends shivers down my spine every time I play this song.

Hangar 18 - Megadeth
The Dance of Eternity - Dream Theater
Your Betrayal - Bullet For My Valentine
Eyeless - Slipknot
Where Eagles Dare - Iron Maiden

Beastly drummer, that one-foot action. One of those metal drummers who never went to double kick through principle. And Dyers Eve isn't a "drum performance", unless you count drum programming. He can't even play it live. Silly Lars.

What the hell? Why is this song at 16th? This is genius. Amazing single bass and tom work.

Very fast and technical abilities professionally shown by Niko McBrain.

The Newcomers

? Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy In Eight Parts - Manowar

Once you listen to this, all other items on this list will seem wrong.

? Fear of Napalm - Terrorizer

One of the best drum performances I've ever heard.

The Contenders
The Essential Salts - Nile
Four Walls - While She Sleeps
Cast Down the Heretic - Nile
The Violation - Fleshgod Apocalypse
Art Of Dying - Gojira
Blacken The Cursed Sun - Lamb Of God
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due - Megadeth

Nick Menza, though slightly underrated, can really drum even in fast songs like this.

Haunted - Annihilator

Epic and skillful drumming by Mike Mangini. Awesome intro - fast and long (50 seconds).

Battery - Metallica

Really fast, intense metal drumming by Lars Ulrich!

Ratamahatta - Sepultura
One - Metallica
Never Enough - Dream Theater

Mike Portnoy's drumming rhythms are really groovy in this.

Bushpig - Anvil

What an intro! It makes me smile every time I hear it. Rob Reiner is the best!

Chasing The High - Annihilator

Mike Mangini - unmistakable musicality and technical skills.

Before I Forget - Slipknot
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