Earlier this year, pyromaniacal metal outfit West of Hell released their debut full-length, Spiral Empire. A fiery personality behind the kit, drummer Andrew Hulme offers here his picks for the five drummers who have influenced him the most.
1. Vinnie Paul, Pantera “Cowboys from Hell was the first metal album I bought when I was 12. Vinnie Paul was the first metal drummer that had a big impact on me.”
2. Nick Menza, Megadeth “I pretty much learned how to play drums to Rust in Peace. At that point I had never taken lessons. That album and Nick Menza were my drum teacher.”
3. Gene Hoglan, Death “I was about 19 when I first heard Gene. I couldn’t get over the complexity of Symbolic and Individual Thought Patterns. It was the heaviest thing I’d heard at that point. It took me years to wrap my head around what Gene was doing on those albums.”
4. Lars Ulrich, Metallica “As much as people slag on the guy for his playing, it’s the simplicity of his style that I like. It’s mostly his slow groove beats that’ve rubbed off on me.”
5. Chris Adler, Lamb of God “Ashes of the Wake was another massively inspiring album. But mainly it was the fact that I learned that he was around 20 when he first got real serious about drumming. I was about the same age when I got heavy into playing. It reassured me that I wasn’t too old to start playing at a high level.”
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Gene Hoglan (pictured left) is certainly one of the busiest drummers in metal. With Death, Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad, Opeth, and more already on his résumé, he most recently laid tracks for Testament’s Dark Roots of Earth and Dethklok’s Dethalbum III. But amidst all of this, there is a Meldrum record that was never released until earlier this year. Lifer was an album planned by Hoglan and guitarist Michelle Meldrum back in 2008. However, not long after finishing the record, Meldrum fell into a coma and died a few days later from complications of a cystic growth on her brain. We asked him to look back and pick his favorite Meldrum tracks.
1. “A Toast to Romance” “First of all, it starts off with the word ‘cunt’ in the intro, which happens to be one of Michelle Meldrum’s favorite words. Hell, we still refer to ‘Walking Point’ by its working title of ‘Cuntface.’ It then charges right into some pretty aggro metal–especially for those familiar with Meldrum’s earlier material. Michele Madden’s psychotically brutal death growl comes bellowing forth, leaving neophytes scratching their heads in disbelief that that is a woman singing. The chorus is catchy as hell, which leads into an absolute face-melter of a solo by Laura Christine. The haunting wails in the post-lead section are amazing, and then it’s topped off with another destructive solo by Laura Christine, all while sub-bombs are exploding all over the place. A pummeling opener indeed.”
2. “Paid” “Kicks right into a chunky down-picker of a riff with a killer chorus to boot. Great lyrics, too.”
3. “’68 Blonde” “Michelle wrote these killer riffs, and then Madden wrote an incredible paean to our fallen sister. The vocals and lyrics are breathtaking.”
4. “Walking Point” “A real trippy but very metal song. Some crazy bass lines. Then Laura Christine pulls off probably my favorite guitar solo of all time. I seriously can’t get over how amazing this solo is. Everything I’ve ever wanted to hear in a memorable lead is fully present. Then the tune ends in full-chaos, blast beats included.”
5. “Blackened Blue” “Punches you right in the face with a monster riff, then never lets up. Woo hoooo!”
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