Max Portnoy picks 10 essential drummers

Pedigree

To his credit, Max Portnoy, drummer with Pennsylvania proggers Next To None isn't about to hide from his enviable pedigree.

As well as supporting his esteemed drummer father Mike Portnoy's Shattered Express on their current tour, he's previously talked about how "it all kind of just came naturally for me". 

Speaking to Team Rock in 2015, he said "Growing up with dad, and always being with him when he was recording with his bands and listening to the demos, it showed me what to do in those sorts of scenarios".   

That was on the release of the band's debut A Light In The Dark, also produced by Portnoy Sr, but Max has been playing since the age of three, and grew up on the road with his dad. 

Now, two years on, at a worldly 18, Max - joined by bandmates Kris Rank, Thomas Cuce and Derrick Schneider - is about to unleash Next To None's self-produced second album, Phases. 

“We actually began to write songs for the new record as soon as we finished the first one,” explains Max. 

"We're so excited to finally be releasing our new album. We feel it's a huge step forward for the band and shows a much heavier and much more technical side.

"This album is very special to us because it's the first time we recorded and self-produced our entire album. We were able to create music that it completely our own. 

"Every note, every sound, every word, came from us and we can't wait for you all to hear it."

When we caught up with Max he picked the 10 drummers that have most profoundly influenced his nascent career, plus some of their primest cuts. First up...

Next To None are currently on tour, and their new album Phases is released 7/7/2017. For more details, head over to nexttonone.net

1. Mike Portnoy

"First and foremost, my biggest influence, not only in drumming but in music as a whole, would have to be my dad, Mike Portnoy. 

"I grew up on the road touring with my dad, watching him play to huge crowds every night. Watching him play was what got me into playing music and wanting to do this as my career, I got to see how everything worked in the industry up close. 

"Not only was watching him play very influential, but my dad was the one who introduced me to most of the bands that I grew up listening to."

2. Chris Adler

"One of the first drummers that really blew my mind at a young age was Chris Adler.

"The first time I heard his playing was on the song Walk With Me in Hell off the album Sacrament. He has such a unique sound in his playing and his kit that you can tell its him from the first 3 seconds of a song. 

"His triplet feel, use of splashes and bells and crazy foot work is really what sets him apart from many other drummers in my opinion. Also, there's his amazing snare tone that i’m super jealous of.

3. Joey Jordison

"Slipknot was the first band that I ever became obsessed with, and I still am to this day. 

"Joey was the first drummer, aside from my dad, that I looked up to for inspiration. What I love most about Joey is that he has so much energy when he's performing live, which is equally as important as playing the drums good. 

"I’m never bored when watching Joey perform, he has so much personality on stage that it’s hard to take your eyes off of him and focus on anyone else while he’s performing."

4. Mario Duplantier

"Mario is another one of those drummers that really has his own sound. He incorporates his ride cymbal in a lot of his fills which I thought sounded really cool. 

"He’s also always using a ride with a big bell on it that he adds into almost every song to give it a really awesome, unique and almost industrial sound that I love. 

"Not only are his fills and beats really cool and out of the ordinary but he has some insanely fast hands and feet, which is always a plus!"

5. Jojo Mayer

"Normally, I gravitate more towards the metal side of drumming, but there was something about Jojo Mayer’s drumming that I thought was incredible. 

"He’s very creative when it comes to the way he plays the drums, he does things that I never even thought were possible and yet he does it perfectly. 

"His left hand technique is seriously incredible, I have no idea what's going on half the time he’s playing but yet he can do it perfectly in time and is super controlled while he’s going crazy, which blows my mind."

6. Danny Carey

"The first time I listened to Tool, I noticed that the drummer's snare was off, which I originally I thought was a bit bizarre, but after I kept listening, I realized it fit the song perfectly, this song was called The Grudge. 

"Danny Carey has really become a huge influence for me over the past couple of years, he is able to make all these crazy polyrhythms sound natural and easy to follow along to. 

"The main reason I got into very syncopated beats and polyrhythms was because of Danny Carey, and he still inspires me to do more to this day."

7. John Dolmayan

"Thanks to John Dolmayan, I'm now obsessed with adding latin beats to metal songs. 

"In every single System of a Down song, John plays exactly what the song is calling for. 

"All his drum beats and fills are very memorable. What I also like about him is that so many of System of a Down’s songs are upbeat and really fast, so it takes a ton of stamina to play his parts."

8. Ray Luzier

"I first got introduced to Ray Luzier from listening to his performances on some of the Korn albums. 

"I really enjoyed his playing and decided to look up some of his stuff outside of Korn and he’s really an awesome drummer! I really love his feel and grooves and he can also play all the fast and intricate things that I love in a drummer. 

"And on top of that he’s really fun to watch live, he’s always doing these sick stick tricks which never fails to amuse me!"

9. Aoyama Hideki

"Okay, so when I first checked out Babymetal, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but after listening to a few songs, I was blown away by the musicianship on all the songs! 

"The drumming on Metal Resistance is absolutely incredible, it has everything you could want in a metal drummer. 

"From the extremely fast playing on Amore to the really difficult progressive playing on Tales of the Destinies (which is one of the hardest songs I’ve ever tried learning). Aoyama Hideki is seriously an amazing drummer, and he can play everything super tight live!"

10. Ray Hearne

"After doing two tours with this guy, I can honestly say he’s been a huge inspiration for me. 

"Not only is he playing some really difficult drum parts every night, but he has fun doing it, and he makes watching him so much fun as well. A lot of Haken songs have electronic drum parts that he plays on pads at the shows, which I thought was a really cool thing to do on top of playing a normal acoustic kit. 

"Ray is definitely my favourite drummer in the current progressive metal scene."