10 Highly Underrated Rock Music Drummers

3. John Otto - Limp Bizkit

When a young John Otto was studying jazz drumming at college, he probably wasn't thinking about a future career as part of a rap rock band. That's precisely what happened, as Otto would meet Fred Durst whilst at school and become the first drummer for Limp Bizkit.

Despite their reputation for being loud, crude, and generally a bit talentless, Bizkit have two world class instrumentalists on their books.

Guitarist Wes Borland is widely acknowledged for his constant experimentation and strong technical ability, whilst Otto's background in jazz and avant-garde brings so much to the table.

The clearest example of this is in the song The One, which features on Bizkit's infamous Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water album. Otto's drumming on this song is sublime, expertly riding the toms and the hi-hats whilst keeping in perfect rhythm with bassist Sam Rivers.

Drumming like this on an album named after the human butthole should be illegal, but Otto is just so good that he can't help himself. Equally, if you like your Bizkit to be all bashy and crashy, then he's very good at that too.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.