I think Virgil Donati is the main winner in this thread! He seems to be in most peoples top 10, and in a lot is at the very top... Good to see an Aussie on top where he should be!
That's true. If this were a top 10 keyboardist list he would definitely be on it. I do really like the Bal-Sagoth drum arrangements, I know it's nothing too technical but it sounds good to me... not too much else I can say that about.
I'm not a drummer so I probably don't know what I am talking about, but I think Neil Peart and Jason Rullo are both better than Portnoy.
his drumming is a lot more spectacular
I don't think it's fair to compare Rullo and Portnoy.
Portnoy is in a situation where the music he plays REALLY allows him to showcase his abilities and not make it look completely out of place.
Rullo is in a situation where he plays to suit a completely different style of music (ie. less wank-shred. Not that I don't like DT!)
But you also need to understand that a lot of what Portnoy does are just simple concepts. For example, the 2/4/6 on the hands + 2 on the feet. Any drummer with more than a year of experience can put those sorts of fills together. I can play just about ANY Dream Theater song because there is not much other than single stroke concepts in there.
On the other side of the spectrum, Rullo shows a much better technical understanding on the drums which I would say is most certainly due to his training with Sonny Igoe. The bassdrum patterns and odd-time parts of The Eyes of Medusa show a high level of disciplined practise and technical prowess. Anyone who has worked on mixing 16th note triplets or 32nd notes with 16th notes in single burst (ie.RLR L R L R L R L R LRL R L...) knows that they take a LOT of committed practise to get to a level where you are remotely comfortable with them.
I would be very interested to see Jason Rullo show off. I think that he would surprise us all.
I don't think it's fair to compare Rullo and Portnoy.
Portnoy is in a situation where the music he plays REALLY allows him to showcase his abilities and not make it look completely out of place.
Rullo is in a situation where he plays to suit a completely different style of music (ie. less wank-shred. Not that I don't like DT!)
But you also need to understand that a lot of what Portnoy does are just simple concepts. For example, the 2/4/6 on the hands + 2 on the feet. Any drummer with more than a year of experience can put those sorts of fills together. I can play just about ANY Dream Theater song because there is not much other than single stroke concepts in there.
On the other side of the spectrum, Rullo shows a much better technical understanding on the drums which I would say is most certainly due to his training with Sonny Igoe. The bassdrum patterns and odd-time parts of The Eyes of Medusa show a high level of disciplined practise and technical prowess. Anyone who has worked on mixing 16th note triplets or 32nd notes with 16th notes in single burst (ie.RLR L R L R L R L R LRL R L...) knows that they take a LOT of committed practise to get to a level where you are remotely comfortable with them.
I would be very interested to see Jason Rullo show off. I think that he would surprise us all.
I couldn't have said it better myself! Very well put, my friend!
Speaking as a drummer, I find Rullo to be better than Portnoy. Some of the stuff Rullo plays is unbelieveably difficult, and he seems to use a lot of different techniques in there. Portnoy does use the same tricks over and over again, and although I do love the guy, he really does stick to single-stroke techniques and nothing TOO difficult. I think if Rullo was given a solo spot on their upcoming DVD, he'd amaze a lot of people. His technique/posture also looks more disciplined. Another thing: I think Rullo would be the better of the two at jazz styles. Portnoy has admitted to not being able to play jazz. I get a more jazzy vibe from Rullo... plus he does listen to fusion.
As for that Eyes of Medusa pattern you listed there... I am proud to say that I can play that part pefectly with a bass drum technique I learned over the years ... I don't play it like you've written, and I don't think Rullo would either... although, I could be wrong. I play it like this:
RRL R L R L R L RRL R L R L R L
Just throw in some double-strokes