Mike Anthony’s Favorite Drummers, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan
I’ve been in radio for many years. I love everything about it. It’s fun, I get to play music and meet really great listeners. But before I was on the radio, I became a drummer. I started as a kid and have been playing ever since. It’s a great release and I find it challenging and satisfying to learn new rhythms and beats. I thought now’s as good a time as any to tell you Mike Anthony’s Favorite Drummers – Part 1.
I should mention this is in no particular order. To start I wanted to toss a name out there that many metal drummers know: Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. He was the original drummer for Avenged Sevenfold. Sadly he passed way too young and only put out a few albums with the band. But his contribution to their catalog is immense.
LAS VEGAS – APRIL 29: Avenged Sevenfold drummer The Rev performs during the Extreme Thing Festival at Desert Breeze Park April 29, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hard rock group is touring in support of the album “City of Evil.”
One of the things that made him so great was his quickness. He seemed to effortlessly do fills around the kit and hold quick double bass drum patterns against a wall of dueling guitars. But despite those intricate fills and patterns, he was never overplaying. It was almost like, that was what naturally came out of him and it worked. He also helped write some songs, which I think gave him a deeper insight into what was called for when playing a drum pattern. He had to know what would work for a song and what wouldn’t.
Live shows were amazing to watch. He had this tremendous sense of timing. I mean, the whole band was great at that, but if you want to consider him the timekeeper for the music, he was an expert. His solid drum beats held down the music and gave the audience something to bop their heads to. He was a tremendous force.
Below is one of my favorite tracks of his playing. Check out all the great fills and how they work so well with the music. He really is missed!
