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Been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden lately.
Because obvs, duh.
The thing that’s struck me during this recent binge has been to do with Nicko. Loads of people will tell you he’s a great drummer, which is true. Most of them don’t realise WHY though.
Because obvs, duh.
The thing that’s struck me during this recent binge has been to do with Nicko. Loads of people will tell you he’s a great drummer, which is true. Most of them don’t realise WHY though.
Lots of drummers are as fast or faster than him.
Plenty of them are more technically proficient (not that Nicko is a slouch on that score!)
Where Nicko McBrain stands head and shoulders over a very, very large amount of his peers is in his musicality.
Plenty of them are more technically proficient (not that Nicko is a slouch on that score!)
Where Nicko McBrain stands head and shoulders over a very, very large amount of his peers is in his musicality.
There’s a very real sense that Nicko plays for the song, every single time - he doesn’t lack for flash, but the tech always, always serves the music and rarely comes at the expense of swing or groove.
Check out ‘The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner’ for prime examples…
Check out ‘The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner’ for prime examples…
That song has him casually smashing out bass drum patterns that would keep ‘better’ drummers awake at night under straight-4s on the hats/snare for over 6 minutes with hardly any let up.
I imagine this is a large part of why they never play it live :D
I imagine this is a large part of why they never play it live :D
I mean, the whole Somewhere In Time album is a masterclass in rock drumming - check out Nicko’s selection of grooves on ‘Stranger In A Strange Land’ and the lightning-fast techy fills in ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Heaven Can Wait’, for example.
And he only gets better with age!
And he only gets better with age!
