10 Greatest Drummers In Hard Rock

If you're looking to enter the world of prog drumming, you'd have better done your homework first. From the sounds of Mike Portnoy to the mammoth stylings of Phil Collins, the complex time signatures you have to memorize to keep time is almost a feat unto itself. On the other hand, if regular prog rock was like math homework, Danny Carey is advanced level calculus.

Originally joining Tool out of pity when no other drummer showed up, Carey's fills are some of the most complex the prog rock world had ever seen. From one song to the next, Carey always makes a point to take each song down musical detours, whether it's the weird sounds of Forty Six and Two to the clinic of understanding time changes on Schism. For as complex as it sounds, these often never get in the way of the track either, with the demented groove settling into your system once you get a feel for it.

In that respect, it's almost like Carey's drumming is the equivalent of a fine wine, with it getting that much better the more time you sit with it. This kind of drumming is not the most user-friendly at the outset, but when you actually get it, it becomes the gift that keeps on giving whenever you throw on the record.