Drummers, the vibe shift has come for you.
Within the last six months it seems that every band on earth has simultaneously kicked out their drummer, despite drummers being long renowned for their reliable mien and healthy sense of personal responsibility. The virus that Stereogum's Margaret Farrell has dubbed the "drumpocalypse" has affected everyone from Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers to rising up-and-comers, leaving a sea of cold drum stools in their wake. To recap, here's an opinionated guide to which bands are going to use the opportunity to level up and which will be left holding the stick bag.
Foo Fighters
Old Drummer: Josh Freese, alternative rock's ol' reliable
Reason For Departure: Fired and told the band had decided "to go in a different direction"
New Drummer: TBA
Impact: Positive (tentative).
Look, Freese is an absolute force of nature and hands-down the most dependable hired hand in the game — something that everyone from Devo to Nine Inch Nails to Guns N' Roses to Weezer to Paramore to Sublime With Rome can attest. However, his machinelike precision means Freese's drums aren't as "distinctive" as the punishing Dave Grohl or the frenzied Taylor Hawkins. The Foo needs someone sloppier and scruffier if they're going to keep the raw energy they evoked on 2023's Grohl-powered But Here We Are.
The Who
Old Drummer: Zak Starkey, second generation rock royalty and Who drummer for nearly 30 years
Reason For Departure: The drummer was fired for "overplaying" in a band once honored by the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest band on earth; he was promptly reinstated and then fired again two weeks later
New Drummer: Scott Devours, of Roger Daltrey's solo ensemble and execrable American Pie-era post-grunge band Oleander
Impact: Negative. When all is said and done, Starkey has been in the Who longer than Keith Moon himself. He's probably the drummer most humanly capable of channeling his Uncle Keith and, at 59, he still hits harder than most of the young Bands To Watch covered on this website. Devours is a powerful drummer but seems to have no interest in channeling chaos — and, unfortunately, neither do the Who.
Guns N' Roses
Old Drummer: Frank Ferrer, 19-year G'N'R vet
Reason For Departure: Unsure, but you can only imagine what two decades of Axl might do to a man
New Drummer: Isaac Carpenter, who's done time in '90s alt-rockers Gosling, Duff McKagan's Loaded, and electro-rock megalith Awolnation
Impact: Negative, but only slightly. Every single moment of post-Appetite Guns has been backed by an absolute all-star, rock-solid drummer, starting with Matt Sorum on the Use Your Illusion records and moving through the aforementioned Josh Freese, Bryan "Brain" Mantia, and the dependable Ferrer. Carpenter is maybe a little less dynamic than Ferrer, but he's as sturdy as they come. Serious drum nerds may miss Ferrer's particular brand of finesse and subtlety, but anyone two beers deep into "Paradise City" is going to be just fine.
Oasis
Old Drummer: Touring drummer Chris Sharrock, the stick-flipping veteran of British power pop (the La's, World Party, the Lightning Seeds) who drummed on the final Oasis tour before the Gallaghers decided they couldn't be in the same room with each other
Reason For Departure: Unknown; Sharrock was a natural for the reunion gig after following both Liam to Beady Eye and Noel to the High Flying Birds, but he was not on the band line-up that leaked in March
New Drummer: Joey Waronker, dynamic drummer for Beck, R.E.M., and Roger Waters
Impact: Neutral.
Though blokes may miss Sharrock's stick-twirling theatrics, the tasteful Waronker is a reliably great addition to any band.
Primus
Old Drummer: Tim "Herb" Alexander, beloved one-man orchestra pit from their '90s heyday
Reason For Departure: After decades of on-off touring, his heart and body were no longer in the game; the reigning king of octobans and splash cymbals "abruptly" quit via email
New Drummer: John "Hoffer" Hoffman, heretofore unknown Shreveport swamp-funk pocket monster
Impact: Positive.
Emerging from a very public and very entertaining audition process, the friendly and frenetic Hoffer brought an insane work ethic and a tumbling style that sounds like someone pouring a glass of drums. His preternaturally chill demeanor and quirkily chaotic circus-funk style was an instant hit among fans, providing anticipation for a new creative energy. Peep his crispy hi-hat work on new track "Little Lord Fentanyl" and tell me you don't want to hear this lunatic tip-tapping with this band for the next 20 years.
Bob Dylan's Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour Band
Old Drummer: Jim Keltner, octogenarian session great whose occasional relationship with Dylan spans "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" to the Traveling Wilburys to Time Out Of Mind
Reason For Leaving: Who knows why Bob Dylan does anything?
New Drummer: Anton Fig, Late Night With David Letterman’s in-house drummer whose occasional relationship with Dylan spans a couple of mid-'80s albums
Impact: Mostly neutral. Keltner may have a tiny edge only since so much of American rock 'n' roll beats with his pulse, but both he and Fig are hard-driving pros that you could set your watch to. Big Zim will be fine with anyone up to the task of providing the pulse and staying out of his way.
Iron Maiden
Old Drummer: Nicko McBrain, heavy metal's original technician, whose work on 1983's Piece Of Mind is still influencing bands 42 years later.
Reason For Departure: He's still in the band, but retiring from touring after four decades of playing rapidfire bursts of machine-gun energy aside various giant Eddies
New Drummer: Simon Lawson, who plays in British Lion, hard rock side project of Maiden bassist Steve Harris
Impact: Neutral. Though obviously nothing compares to seeing the legend go bananas his absurdly large drum kit, Lawson has carved a decent niche of his own — less groove and flash, more power and propulsion.
In Flames
Old Drummer: Tanner Wayne, who joined the Swedish melodic death pioneers in 2018
Reason For Departure: That old standard, the "creative decision"
New Drummer: TBD
Impact: TBD. Wayne came from the world of post-hardcore, giving his style a little more ragged edges than your more metronomic, trigger-happy metal drummers. It proved to be a perfect compliment for 2023's Forgone, which many fans consider a return to the less-polished, glossless gnash of their '90s heyday. Whether these Swedes want to continue down that particular road to ruins remains to be seen.
Godsmack
Old Drummer: Hard rock vet Shannon Larkin, who joined the band in 2002
Reason For Departure: Larkin skedaddled along with guitarist Tony Rombola (who played in the band since their late-'90s breakout); according to a statement, they left "on good terms, but for no other reason than to fulfill their desire to live a more simple and quiet life away from touring”
New Drummer: Will Hunt of Evanescence, the Josh Freese of nü-metal
Impact: TBD. Both drummers are nuclear-powered: Larkin is a lean, athletic machine and Hunt is pure caveman bravado. Hard to tell if a little less subtlety and a little more slammage will affect Godsmack's sound positively or negatively.
Umphrey’s McGee
Old Drummer: Kris Myers, a member of the jam-funk wonks for 22 years
Reason For Departure: His impetus for resigning was left mostly unsaid, but he did undergo rotator cuff surgery in 2023
New Drummer: Technically TBD, but Ghost Light's Scotty Zwang has been filling in for their current tour.
Impact: Likely negative, but still up in the air. Myers is a monster drummer whose prog chops and jam-funk grooves will be hard to truly replace. Then again, if they survived this long without changing the name "Umphrey’s McGee," they can probably weather anything. There's probably any number of flashy Instagram drummers that could step in and add the proper umph to their mcgee.
The New Pornographers
Old Drummer: Joseph Seiders, the band's drummer since 2014
Reason for Leaving: Seiders was arrested for possession of child pornography and the band released a statement saying they "immediately severed all ties with him"
New Drummer: TBD
Impact: Karmically positive.
Paradise Lost
Old Drummer: Guido Montanarini, who became the sixth drummer for the goth-metal doombringers in 2022
Reason For Departure: Would you believe this too was a "creative decision"?
New Drummer: Paradise Lost's erstwhile third drummer Jeff Singer
Impact: Positive. I don't have the energy to compare these guys' styles, but I do like when the boys get back together like in the Blues Brothers.
Black Flag
Old Drummer: Charles Wiley, a former composition student turned TV composer turned propulsive drummer for whatever version of "Black Flag" that Greg Ginn has been hauling around for the last three years
Reason For Departure: No idea, but might have something to do with Ginn replacing the entire band with people who look like literal children
New Drummer: Bryce Weston, a 22-year-old chopsmaster who plays with Houston punk bruiser Max Diaz
Impact: Positive. Honestly, I was all ready to dump on this guy for sounding like the School Of Rock got out early, but this kid can really shred. Ginn has always been a muso at heart and, if the rest of the band has Wiley's talent, the legacy of Black Flag post-1986 might end up being something beyond people making fun of the What The… cover art and then going to see Off! instead.
Goose
Old Drummer: Jeff Arevalo, percussionist for the alterna-jam cool dudes since 2020
Reason For Departure: According to a statement from the band, "behavior in Jeff’s personal life that does not align with the band’s core values"
New Drummer: Nobody
Impact: Neutral. As far as I'm concerned, an indie rock jam band needs a second percussionist like the world needs another "indie rock jam band."
