12 Best Hard Rock Drum Solos

12. Drum Solo - Dream Theater

For many fans of prog, Dream Theater almost need to be put in their own separate category. It's one thing to make epic songs, but the amount of musicianship that each member of this band possesses is beyond anything most rock musicians can even fathom. Though guitarist John Petrucci may be looked at as the musical genius of the group, Mike Portnoy's drumming is where the real mind-blowing elements of the band really come into view.

Taken from their live album Once in a Livetime, Portnoy's drum solo comes on at the midpoint and takes every rock drummer to school on how to wow an audience. The way that he is able to build up his drum parts almost sounds like there are multiple drummers at play during this one performance. What's even more impressive is the sheer power behind some of these hits, with Portnoy combining the complexity of someone like Neil Peart with the absolute stomp of John Bonham.

For any menial drummer who tries to attempt a performance like this, the amount of work required will leave your body exhausted and your brain fried. Whereas most drummers just provide a heavy groove in 4/4, this type of performance almost requires next level calculus expertise to be performed right.