Being a drummer myself, I'd have to admit I tend to hone in on his business more so than the rest of the band. It's a well known saying that "the drummer can make or break any band", but there is a lot more to it than hitting things as fast as you can to be amongst the top metal drummers of today. Much consideration went into the following list including: Agility, Diversity, Endurance, Style, Precision, Embellishment, & Showmanship.
Now, I'm not a big fan of "Top 10" lists, I personally feel there is no place for competition in music, but when Rob approached me with the idea of talking about my favorite drummers, how could I decline? I now present my 10 favorites in no particular order. (Give me a break! it was hard enough to narrow a list down to 10.)
[youtube]pzJe-EgBauw[/youtube]
How could I not include the Metal genre's rent-a-drummer? Gene has certainly made a name for himself as the go to session guy over the years, this may have something to do with the fact he's played with some of the most influential metal bands in history. Oh yeah!… and he's pretty fucking ridiculous behind the set too. Noted as entirely self taught starting at the age of 13, he has built up one giant resume ever since and shows no signs of slowing down. I remember the first time I saw Gene live it was in a small club when Strapping Young Lad's "City" LP came out. He walked on stage with a cane, and a handler because he was so piss drunk. I expected a train wreck, and instead got my face melted off by his flawless playing and incredible stick twirling charisma.
Needless to say I've been a fan ever since, so you can imagine how stoked I was when Gene played my drum set in a S.Y.L music video! One of my favorite Hoglan fun facts is his "make shift cymbal" making, using the likes of metal ashtrays, an M14 bomb shell, and boat propeller mounted to his set to create sounds no cymbal company can match.
Chances are if your a metal head you already know the name Eugene "The Atomic Clock" Victor Hoglan II, but in case your so kvlt you just don't "do" names, you might recognize him from his playing with: Dark Angel, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Old Man's Child, Opeth, Dethklok, Zimmer's Hole and many others including the new Fear Factory record due next year.
