John Bonham
No suprises as the massively influental Led Zeppelin man finishes strongly against session ace Vinnie Colaiuta.
Vinnie, who has added his sublime chops and incredible way with odd-times to recordings by Sting, Zappa, Jeff Beck and more ran Bonzo close with over 41% of the vote, but it was always going to be a big ask against the undisputed king of hard rock.
Neil Peart
Dave Grohl was left wondering what happened after a huge response from Rush and Neil Peart fans ensured Peart's easy passage into the quarter finals.
A master craftsman, Peart’s articulate and meticulously-composed drum parts on Rush’s Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves are the high watermark of prog rock.
Dave Grohl may be considered the greatest living rock drummer having stamped his mark on some of the greatest rock albums of the last 20-plus years, but – quite simply – not enough people voted in his favour. Peart won with a landslide 90% of the vote.
Mike Portnoy
The first big shock of the round came with prog metal maestro Portnoy's victory over jazz and big band legend Buddy Rich.
Buddy Rich is unquestionably one of the greatest ever drummers, and this result simply reflects an active online fanbase when it comes to Mr Portnoy.Still, Mike thoroughly deserves his place in the last eight of the Drummer's World Cup, thanks to his truly inspirational playing with Dream Theater and current projects Adrenalin Mob and Flying Colors.
The Rev
Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan's legacy with Avenged Sevenfold made sure he progressed easily into the last eight of the Drummer's World Cup.
Dan Flint, of popular UK pop-rockers You Me At Six, fought valiantly, but with 75% of the vote, it was always going to be The Rev's game. Next up, the quarter finals where Sullivan will certainly face-off against one of the true greats of drumming.
Matt Halpern
Matt Halpern, rising drum star of the tech metal world, has secured an easy victory thanks to a huge response from his fans.
A good showing from the fans of popular Rival Sons drummer Michael Miley was not enough to defeat Periphery's Matt, who in the end comfortably progresses to the quarter finals.
Keith Moon
The irrepressible Keith Moon has pulled off a great win over session ace Steve Gadd in one of the closest-run matches of the Drummer's World Cup so far.
Moon, one of rock drumming's great characters and an indisputable beast behind the kit, is still considered one of the greatest drummers. However, Steve Gadd – session great who played on tracks such as Paul Simon's '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' and made session playing cool – polled 47% of the vote, having led comfortably in the first half. But it's Moonie who goes through.
Joey Jordison
It's looking like a metal-heavy last eight, as Slipknot's masked metal drum genius progresses to the quarters with a comfortable win over jazz fusion great Billy Cobham.
Again, it's not so much a case of Joey being 'better' than Billy; Joey's win is in part down to his popularity with modern music fans. Still, anyone who's ever properly listened to Joey's incredible playing – no matter what your genre of choice – would not dispute that Jordison thoroughly deserves his place in the last eight of the Drummer's World Cup.
Chad Smith
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' funky rocker has pulled off a late but impressive win in the Drummer's World Cup.
The legendary Stewart Copeland led the poll early, thanks to his inspirational and influential fusing of styles with the Police and impressive chops. However, the ever-popular Chad in the end secured the victory to progress into the Quarter Finals.
