Irrespective of his speed, he's a well above average bass player. Ross Friedman is a guitar legend, he helped found The Dictators, arguably one of the top 3 protopunk acts ever, and Manowar, both to which he contributed nothing short of stellar musicianship. Scott Columbus, though far from the most technically impressive drummer, has an excellent sense of fills, and without a doubt is among the hardest striking drummers I've ever heard.
Interesting, I didn't know that about Ross the Boss. But yeah I'm still not feeling the virtuosity with any of them. Playing fast and hitting hard were things I found impressive when I was a teen, not so much now.
Ross's strength isn't virtuosity, just listen to the guitar work on those classic Dictators and Manowar records. He's got a knack for really good, 1, 2 punch riffing, riffs that just whip your ass, and he's a more than competent soloist. As for Scott, I never said he was virtuosic either, in fact, I made sure to clarify that wasn't the most technically impressive when it came to drumming. He was a competent drummer, excellent at keeping a four on the floor beat, and with a knack for superb drum fills now and again. Once you have that as a drummer, hitting hard is an excellent addition to your technique and playing, not comparing the two, but look at John Bonham's strikes, the dude may as well have been using Thor's hammer instead of drum sticks. With Scott, they literally had to get him steel drum tops because by the end of a gig he'd have decimated a normal kit beyond use.
To be honest, I don't know what you want from me that would prove it to you. They all possess a rather unique approach to their instruments, and though not always exceedingly notable on a purely technical level, demonstrate certain unique capacities on their instruments that just aren't commonplace. Ross especially is an immutably distinct guitarist, whether it be his choices in phrasing, his knack for riff composition, or the general flavor of his playing style. He's not going to pull a Malmsteen and shred Bach, but his skill lies elsewhere.
Cool. I'll definitely check out some Dictators, are you familiar with their stuff? Recs?
I'm absolutely familiar, love 'em. Bloodbrothers is a stone cold classic, so you probably wanna start there if you wanna start strong. Same for Go Girl Crazy!, their debut album. Their middle, sophomore album, Manifest Destiny is good, but not a classic like the other two. Beyond that they've got some live albums, which aren't terribly essential, but not bad listens if you honestly just want to take a look. Their fourth album, D.F.F.D., is decent, but just doesn't live up to their original three 70's records for me. Likely because it was their first studio record in 23 years, and they were past their creative prime.
