12 Best Hard Rock Drum Solos

When Led Zeppelin first broke on the British rock scene, John Bonham truly was God's gift to drummers around the world. His approach to playing felt less like watching a fully formed musician playing an instrument and more like a feral animal being let loose behind the kit.

Any one of Bonham's performances could have made for an iconic drum part in itself, from the echoey sounds of "When the Levee Breaks" to the high-energy stomping groove of "Rock and Roll." However, if you want to see Bonham for the true monster that he is, one needs to look no further than the studio or even the live version of "Moby Dick." While the song contains one of Zeppelin's most thunderous riffs, Bonham's end-of-song showcase makes everything that has already been played feel tame by comparison.

As the riff fades, you can practically feel the tension in the air as Bonham begins to tear his kit apart as he lays into the groove and pushes his drums outward. By the end of the song, Bonham doesn't deal with the luxury of sticks, as he proceeds to pummel his kit using nothing but his hands and legs. There had been technically sophisticated drummers before and after Bonham, but no one had the same kind of brutal intensity that he brought to all of Zeppelin's cuts.