Drummers topic

In a band statement, SOILWORK says: "We are super stoked to announce Bastian Thusgaard as our permanent drummer. He's been touring with us for quite a while and has been nothing short of amazing to work with, both on a musical level and on a personal level. Taking over after Dirk must have been pretty hard, but he has proven, time and time again, through our tours through North America, South America and Europe, that he is the perfect man for the job. Bastian is only 25 years old and already possesses such great groove and fantastic technique. We can't wait to see, how his ability will take us to the next level while we write our next album. It will be a beast, there's no doubt about it. We have so much left to say musically and Bastian will be the perfect drummer to help the band evolve on our constant musical journey. Give Bastian a warm welcome, everyone!"

Thusgaard adds: "First and foremost, I would like to thank Björn, Sven, David, Sylvain, Markus and everyone else involved in the SOILWORK team for their very warm welcome. I want to thank Dirk for his guidance, support and ability to inspire young drummers like myself, to put in the hours needed in order to make it to this level. He is the reason that I've had my life's best musical experiences during these past ten months. To the fans that I've already met around the world and all the wonderful people surrounding me, thank you for your great support and positive feedback. It has truly been overwhelming.

"I am truly honoured to be given the opportunity to continuously work with SOILWORK, a band that I grew up listening to and one of the key elements of my musical education. I am 100% committed to SOILWORK and am looking forward to create music with my childhood heroes and to see what the future will bring. See you all on the road."

 
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So I'm listening to Rock In Rio right now and every time I put this on the drum performance from Nicko amazes me, particularly the bass drum work.

Songs like The Wicker Man and Ghost Of the Navigator sound like they have to be double bass. It's fast and the velocity is consistent. How does he do it? Is there a special technique for getting the single pedal to sound like this? Is it just 30 years of building endurance? Is there "slight of hand" to make it sound more impressive? How long could he keep up a straight 16th note rhythm?

I'm not a drummer, so I'm asking the experts here. :D
 
Mosh said:
So I'm listening to Rock In Rio right now and every time I put this on the drum performance from Nicko amazes me, particularly the bass drum work.

Songs like The Wicker Man and Ghost Of the Navigator sound like they have to be double bass. It's fast and the velocity is consistent. How does he do it? Is there a special technique for getting the single pedal to sound like this? Is it just 30 years of building endurance? Is there "slight of hand" to make it sound more impressive? How long could he keep up a straight 16th note rhythm?

I'm not a drummer, so I'm asking the experts here. :D
Click to expand...
A couple things- he tunes the bass drum almost as low as it will go without rattling, and has a mic inside. This makes it much easier for the bass drum to pick up the attack of each hit, meaning when he's hitting softer during the 16th note runs it's still audible. He plays with his pedal tension all the way up to get quicker response, and uses the hard plastic side of the beater as opposed to felt, which helps the "punch" come out a bit more.

And, of course, Kevin Shirley does do a fair bit of sample replacement on kick/snare especially on pretty much everything he does, including Maiden records.
 
Interesting! So there's a lot more to do with the technical set up of the drums than I realized.
 
A fucked up Ginger Baker (from the band Cream, for those sad souls who might not know) goes over some of his drum techniques in the year of 1968! Definitely a great drummer and valuable tips to know ;) Those double bass drums too there, in 68!

 
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@Lego
Neil Peart nowhere near the pure technical level of the elite session guys like Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jeff Porcaro, etc?

Now, now...!

Would you elaborate a bit more?
 
I’m SO excited- I just scored a mint condition 22” Dimensions Power Bell Ride, the exact model Nicko used on BNW/RIR/DOD!!! These are super rare, I’ve been after one for over ten years!


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