10 Greatest Drummers In Rock Music History
8. Alex Van Halen - Van Halen
When you have someone like Eddie Van Halen in your band, why the hell would you care about anybody else? Since this is a guy who can practically make a symphony on just one guitar, even David Lee Roth had to be getting a little bit jealous whenever he took to the stage, At the back of the stage though, Alex Van Halen's touch on the drums had the potential to equal what his brother could do on guitar.
The real allure of Alex's sound is just how much muscle he got out of his drums, with his snare drum almost sounding like another tom based on how its tuned. Like his brother though, Alex never just found a gimmick and decided to stick with it. Hell, if you listen to the intro to Everybody Wants Some, the rock drumming goes out the window and is replaced with some weird tribal beat that perfectly sets up the song's mood.
There are even some songs that you'll wonder if they're even being played on drums, with the intro to Hot For Teacher going by so fast that it sounds closer to a diesel engine being revved up than an actual percussion part. Though there were never questions about sibling rivalry back in the day, you have to wonder what kind of musical genius is in that Van Halen DNA.