Sunday Sounds - Why Heavy Metal? Part 1: The Muscianship

The answer is quite simple: it's the technicality of it all. The musicianship, the structure of the music, the emotional contexts. These are elements all forms of music encompass, but I can't imagine any style of music that focuses on these elements more so than heavy metal. But for me, a lot of my passion for heavy metal really stems from the musicianship. And to be very specific, it's all about the drumming with me.

Everyone knows guitar, whether they play the instrument or not -- it's not difficult to judge a good guitarist (especially when solos are concerned). And the musicanship of guitarists is a strong focal point for many musical styles; as such, there's little I wish to discuss about the nature of guitarists in rock or heavy metal, as both exhibit a wide range of musicianship. A little harder to dissect is the bassist -- as the bass (in most musical forms) is merely an instrument of accompaniment, but even it can be a strong focal point for many musical styles. As for the drums, which (in its basic form) is also an instrument of accompaniment like the bass, there's generally a lack of understanding on just how truly complex the instrument can be. Most people hear drums, but don't understand what they're hearing, more specifically what they're not hearing. They may hear an interesting rhythm and pin-point it as being unique, but on a whole the drums are a mysterious instrument to many.

Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of rock music from my family. I was learning percussion (drumming) during those years, and was always under the impression that all manner of drumming focused on rudiments (that is, to say, the composition of rhythm). I thought that being a drummer for a band simply meant keeping a beat, and therefore keeping time, for a song. The drummers didn't really appear to do much, despite their notoriety (i.e. Keith Moon, John Bonham, Steven Adler); but of course there were moments where drummers had a chance to shine -- most notably with drum solos. But even then I was bored. Rock drummers didn't appear to have a wide variety of skill.

The led me down a path of trying to discover the musicianship of drummers in bands. And ultimately, I was led to the discovery of drumming virtuosos (drummers with in-depth understanding of percussion and music theory). I was introduced to a variety of drummers who were extremely skilled (i.e. Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, Tony Royster Jr.), and though highly impressed with the musicianship of such drummers, I was bored with the musical style. Most of these drummers played in jazz bands, funk bands, gospel bands, et cetera.

So I was now under the impression that great drummers only played for musical styles that were of little to no interest to me. As much as I appreciated musical styles like jazz, I didn't feel said styles of music represented all of the complexities music had to offer. For lack of better terminology: it didn't rock!

So I was torn between my love for musicianship in regards to drumming, and my passion for something that rocked. It was as if I only had two choices . . . something that rocked with drummers that didn't do much save for a simple drum solo, or drummers that were insanely talented but played for bands that I found boring.

Then I discovered heavy metal. It was this style of music that I discovered the perfect blend of musicianship and music that rocks. Here was a style of music where a drummer was a focal point without having to break away into a drum solo, while at the same time adding to a style of music I found very interesting.

Case in point:

Derek Roddy . . .



George Kollias . . .



Dirk Verbeuren . . .



All of these drummers possess talent. And though they all appear to have similar abilities (which they do), you cannot proclaim their drumming ability as simplistic; nor the music as a whole as being boring (which is a topic I will save for next time).

So why heavy metal?

Well, for me, it's all about the drumming.