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  1. Artists
  2. Drummers

Drummer's World Cup: The 10 best Modern Rock/Indie/Punk drummers of all time

News
By Chris Burke
Published 30 November 2012

The results are in for the fourth group of the first round

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Clem Burke

Clem Burke

Innovatively fusing punk with disco, and making it all seem effortlessly cool, Clem helped fire New York new wave legends Blondie to chart success.

His grooves on the likes of 'Atomic', 'Heart Of Glass' and 'Picture This' ensured huge success for the band, and more recently he's got himself an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucester for his work with the Clem Burke project which analyses the physical and psychological effects of drumming.

He scraped into the top half of the table, joint ninth. Well done, Dr Clem.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Reni

Reni

Another close round with a lot of votes cast, this one. The bucket-hatted king of the Baggy shuffle, Reni, made an impressive start in the group but sadly lost out to the many other serious contenders in the running.

Reni's brilliant playing on Stone Roses classics such as 'I Am The Resurrection' and 'Fools Gold' put him in contention, but with just under 1% of the vote, he'll be heading home empty handed.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Tre Cool

Tre Cool

The kit-smashing powerhouse in Green Day has evolved with the band's music from playing brash three-chord punk rock to creating concept albums and Broadway musicals.

Having mounted a serious challenge, the Green Day sticksman can hold his head high, with a respectable performance that netted him 1.41% of the vote.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Matt Cameron

Matt Cameron

Proving himself the comeback kid with Soundgarden's latest fantastic album after a 17 year hiatus, Matt Cameron has performed well in the Drummer's World Cup too.

With Soundgarden, Matt Cameron redefined the parameters of grunge when his band exploded outta Seattle in the genre's heyday. Now also to be found playing with fellow grunge survivors Pearl Jam.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Dom Howard

Dom Howard

Dom Howard provides the musical beats that propel indie rock power trio Muse's expansive and ambitious sound.

Despite a recent run of good form that includes Muse's excellent new album The Second Law, the votes were found wanting for Dom when it came to the Drummer's World Cup. He's unlikely to have gained enough votes overall to progress to the last 16.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Danny Carey

Danny Carey

A master of polyrhythm and tribal beats, Danny Carey's contribution to the music of Tool has made him a firm favourite of all rock drumming connoisseurs.

Danny's made it onto the cover of next month's Rhythm (February 2013), but may not have done enough to ensure his passage to the final 16 of the competition. Still, a respectable performance in the voting bagged him more than 5% of the votes.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Travis Barker

Travis Barker

That Blink-182's genius drummer only came in fourth is something of an upset. With just under 7% of the votes, fans of his hip-hop and punk beats will surely see it as a Travis-ty, in fact.

And Travis is not the only high-profile drummer in the group to have performed disappointingly in the voting. Travis fans, hang your heads in shame if you didn't vote...

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

This one's a shock. One of the most popular drummers in modern rock thanks to his massive drum sound on Nirvana's Nevermind, plus impressive turns behind the kit for Queens Of The Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, Dave may be forced to watch from the sidelines for the rest of the tournament.

Only 8.32% of the votes means Dave trails in third in this group, which has yielded the most surprising results yet.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Dan Flint

Dan Flint

Popular punk-popsters You Me At Six have had a meteoric rise over the last couple of years, and it's in no small part due to the playing of drummer Dan Flint.

The band's popularity has ensured that Mr Flint has edged out some of modern rock's most lauded players such as Travis Barker, Dave Grohl, Larry Mullen Jr and more to go through to the last 16. Well done, Dan!

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Michael Miley

Michael Miley

Michael Miley, of groove rockers Rival Sons, has been dubbed in some quarters as 'the new Bonham', and clearly a number of you would agree.

Polling a comprehensive 49% of the votes in the Modern Rock/Indie/Punk group puts Michael in the driving seat, topping the group and progressing easily to the last 16.

Will he come up against the old Bonham?

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
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Drums
Chris Burke
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