Did you work closely with Roy in writing the beats on the album?

"I have quite a bit of input on drums. Where the fills are, what kind of fills there are, what cymbal to go to, crash versus the ride. I’m pretty in on all of that. Roy trusts me so he’ll go with it. I don’t usually get much resistance from drummers. As soon as drummers figure out how into drums I am that puts them at ease."“Part of making a record is trying things. You never know until you try something and listen back to it, and Roy knows that."

Roy’s known for being a hard-hitting drummer live, is he like that in the studio?

"Even more. He’s an animal. He hits so good and hard. He’s very passionate. He eats, lives and breathes it.”

You mentioned Roy as being in the top five drummers you’ve worked with. Who else would be in there?

"Neil Peart. Taylor Hawkins. Dave Grohl. First and foremost they’re all great people, that’s step one. Everything after that falls into place.

What do you say about Neil?

"He’s from a different planet. Then you’ve got Taylor who is from the planet next to Neil, they’re from the same solar system. Then you’ve got a guy like Grohl who is one of the best drummers in the world. Nobody plays for the song like Dave Grohl does.

"Another is Sean Kinney from Alice In Chains. He’s got a sound and style that nobody else has. Then you get a guy like Roy who is so passionate and hungry and over-the-top talented."

Liked this? Now read: Slipknot's Joey Jordison's drum setup in pictures

Connect with MusicRadar: via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Get MusicRadar straight to your inbox: Sign up for the free weekly newsletter