10 Greatest Drum Performances In Rock Music History
3. Panic Attack - Dream Theater
Most of the drummers that are looking for a little bit of a challenge are always going to go back to the world of progressive rock. Since rock always fixes itself to a straight tempo on the radio, it's nice to have something that tests your skills as an instrumentalist, from long extended sections of jamming to being able to tie fragments of the song together with different time signatures. You could go to people like Phil Collins's fusion style of drumming, but there's a good chance Mike Portnoy could teach his own clinic on how to bring intensity from behind the kit.
As tempting as it would be to put one of the more episodic songs from Dream Theater's catalog like A Change of Seasons or the entirety of the Mind Beside Itself trilogy, Panic Attack might have everything that a seasoned drummer is looking for in a song, almost playing what someone like Buddy Rich would have done if he decided to play rock and roll instead of jazz.
Going through each sequence of the song, your ear can almost barely keep up with what he's doing half the time, never letting up when the rest of the band is holding things out until building to the instrumental break where he and John Petrucci practically perform in lock step with each other. This song may have been about trying to capture the kind of chaotic thinking that comes with a panic attack, but the drums alone are enough to give any aspiring drummer some anxiety.