He even did a Collins move by taking over as Spock’s Beard’s frontman after Neal Morse left. Nick D’Virgilio is a second-generation prog drummer who can channel all the first-generation masters, harking back to Phil Collins and Neil Peart while adding some muscular energy of his own. Now in his mid-70s, Howden was still at full strength when Nektar did a rare US tour in early 2020.Ĭlick to load video 22: Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train) Listen to the storm he conjures up in the “Confusion” jam that closes part one of Remember the Future. He can do the kind of heavy pulse that Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason specializes in, but is also good at surprise fills and quick bursts of energy. If his band Nektar was better-known, Ron Howden would be recognized as one of the great prog drummers. Smith proved equally impressive doing fusion with his longtime band Vital Information, and pure prog in his one-album stint with Focus. During his two Journey stints (he returned in the mid-2010s) it was a kick to hear a great jazz drummer playing arena rock and keeping the frontline from getting too set in its ways. Yes, Journey’s prog days were largely over when Steve Smith joined in 1978, but not completely if Smith had anything to say about it. Along with a few overlooked masters on this list, some of these drummers are some of the most admired musicians in prog rock or anywhere else. Nearly every drummer here did a lot of exploring, many ventured into jazz or classical music and became better prog drummers as a result. The prog world is full of drummers who are versatile, inquisitive musicians, and sometimes the band’s resident deep thinker – and in at least one case here – they were also the band’s lyricist. But in the world of prog rock, that stereotype gets ripped to shreds. The rock’n’roll cliché says that the drummer is always the wildest, unhinged part of the band – which may be true when you’re talking about The Whoor Led Zeppelin.
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