When Metal Drummers Collide (Final Eight)

Here's the moment that you - all three of you - have been waiting for: the Final Eight of the Metal Drummers series!

Here they are, in the order that they were 'promoted' from their groups: Marco Minnemann, Gene Hoglan, Flo Mounier, Neil Peart, Mike Mangini, Tomas Haake, Tim Alexander and Peter Wildoer. These eight elite musicians will battle it out in groups of four, and from each group of four one drummer will be selected to compete in the Grand Final.

The groups are as follows:

GROUP A: Neil Peart, Gene Hoglan, Mike Mangini and Flo Mounier
GROUP B: Marco Minnemann, Tomas Haake, Tim Alexander and Peter Wildoer

GROUP A [PEART, HOGLAN, MANGINI & MOUNIER]

1. Neil Peart


Kicking off the action is the grizzled veteran Peart. In this clip (taken from a 2011 edition of the Letterman Show), Peart sends out the message that he isn't just here to run along with the young ones; he's here to grab them by the collars and show them a thing or two. Peart's timeless musicianship and excellent phrasing are on full show here, which is a testament to his professionalism as well - playing five-minute-long drum solos on Letterman is much like reading Hamlet to a bunch of four-year-olds; the target audience just doesn't quite get what they are seeing and hearing.

2. Gene Hoglan

The Atomic Clock enters the fray next, and this time we see an excerpt off his DVD titled - you guessed it - 'The Atomic Clock'. Gene's trademark precision is there for all to see - he even breaks it all down into little digestible bits for lesser musicians like ourselves. The bass work here is pretty neat, as are the subtle shifts in time signature and sticking patterns.

3. Mike Mangini


Quick analogy: if we were to take all the history's elite swimmers and make them race the 100m freestyle, would that be fair? Logic says no, since different swimmers excel at different strokes and distances. Similarly, not very many drummers are as comfortable as Mangini in 'contests' of this format. Mangini's drum solos are always a treat: fast, energetic, technically impressive and powerful. Again, there is nothing that this dude cannot play.

4. Flo Mounier


At speeds like those reached in this video, many drummers tend to play out of control and let pure muscle memory take over. Not Flo. The man is in control of whatever he does; he makes playing at over 200bpm for minutes on end look like taking a nap. His fill-work in this song (and pretty much the majority of his discography) is, while fast, much more creative and refreshing than is typical for his genre. Flo is a spectacular drummer and musician who combines speed and technique with taste and substance.

GROUP B [MINNEMANN, HAAKE, ALEXANDER, WILDOER]

1. Marco Minnemann


Minnemann starts off Group B with some extremely high-level stuff which is at once rapid, creative, groovy and entertaining. The last quality is Minnemann's biggest draw: rarely will you find someone who gets bored listening to the man. Hell, he could be counting out 4/4 on his ride cymbal, and even that would sound interesting. Minnemann plays with such feel and musicality and genuinely establishes himself as the man to beat in this group from the get-go.

2. Tomas Haake


And boom. Right after Minnemann comes his evil twin, Tomas Haake of Meshuggah. Haake, like Minnemann, is powerful and fast, but at the same time musically diverse and creative. In this video, we don't see much of Haake's signature rapidfire polyrhythms; we see a groovier, funkier side of his playing that is perhaps even more entertaining and intriguing. This is getting real hot.

3. Tim Alexander


The above clip is an excerpt off the Primus song 'Jellikit'. Herb is in good form here, showing off some exceptional stick work and incredible timing, tightness and accuracy in a live setting. Herb hails from the old school of fundamental drumming (think dynamics, timing and rudiments over mind-blowing speed and fancy tricks) and it clearly shows in his playing. No surprise at all that a certain Neil Peart is one of Herb's biggest influences.

4. Peter Wildoer


The second Swede in this group of four rounds things off with some blazingly accurate and powerful metal stuff. More known for his progressive drumming, Wildoer shows everyone that he is equally at home in a more 'traditional' metal setting, displaying his full array of blast beats, double kick patterns, fills and flams. Will that be enough to haul him into the Grand Final?

Verdict

Group A: For sheer speed, versatility and diversity, Mike Mangini makes it into the Grand Final.
Group B: A tougher bunch to pick from. Marco Minnemann would have won pretty much any other group, but is edged out by the wonderful Tomas Haake. I feel empty having to eliminate one of these guys.