The ultimate Guns N'Roses drummer showdown. Matt vs Steven. Who do you prefer? 😀

[mamundson]

Matt

[Asdiz]

STEVEN!!!! my fave drummer of any band ever. 

[GNR4Ever2024]

Me(I dont play drums)

[Gunner Gilby]

6 hours ago, kingcanyon said:

I think your the first person ever to actually like Frank or first I've seen 

I've always liked Frank. He's got the right mix of Steven's groove and Matt's technicality. Seen Guns with him in 07, 17 and 22. Thought he was great each time.

[ZoSoRose]

Steven as a band member, Brain as a musician

[Nick85]

1) Steven 

2) Brain

3) Freese

4) Sorum

5) Ferrer

[DarkLotus1111]

Matt is a great drummer.

Now if we're talking about who's the best GN'R drummer... Josh Freese.

[DSTK]

Matt v Steven ...the winner, Brain or josh freese

[thunderram]

10 hours ago, El Guapo said:

Matt is the "better" drummer like Bumblefoot is the "better" guitar player compared to Slash.

Funniest thing I've read all day.

[Old_school_gnr_fan]

Steven

[rebeldhipi]

1. Matt

2. Josh

3. Frank

4. Brain

5. Steven

[thunderram]

It's hilarious that anyone actually believes there's a definitive answer to subjective opinion.

Many of what are considered by the masses to be among the most technically gifted singers/musicians aren't among the most popular to listen to. There are good reasons for that. Sometimes the style of music isn't widely popular. Sometimes it's just something about their unique sound the masses just don't gravitate to.

So, if the masses don't care for it, then how can it they be the "best"?

Majority opinion is what determines what is good, great, elite, bad or terrible. Not fringe opinions from those that believe they know better than everyone else.

Majority opinion is what qualifies the likes of The Beatles and Rolling Stones among the greatest bands of all-time.  Same goes for Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton among the greatest guitarists of all-time.

When it comes to 'lil ol GN'R and their long line of drummers, there's really not any evidence out there to support one being greater than the other. Just subjective opinion based upon the individual listener's own musical tastes and preference.

Judging from the album sales isn't really a fair way to determine it, as lots of factors beyond drumming go into it.

While I'd say that several of GN'R's post-AFD drummers were subjectively better drummers in terms of technique, that doesn't qualify them as better drummers on the whole. Nor does "groove" or "feel" qualify Steven as better than the others. Again, it boils down to what the individual listener values more.

For me, while I believe that Matt Sorum was a better overall drummer than Steven Adler, my rankings would be as follows: Adler > Sorum > Everyone else.

While the various drummers from the CD era were all good or great in their own right, they're individual styles just weren't my cup of tea. And their individual styles didn't mesh as well with the "classic" era, or prime, of GN'R as either Adler or Sorum. It worked for what AXL was doing in the late 90's and early 2000's. Better than Sorum or Adler would have been for that music.

Same logic applies IMO to Gilby Clarke and his guitar style. It was better suited for AFD/LIES/UYI era stuff than any of the CD era guitarists would have been and vice versa.

[moreblack]

I say Matt

[AxlRoseCDII]

11 hours ago, Sosso said:

@AxlRoseCDII comes to my mind

What? I’m not a Frank fan. 
 

Brain all the way. Best GNR drummer by far.

[Sosso]

2 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

What? I’m not a Frank fan. 
 

Brain all the way. Best GNR drummer by far.

Sorry Kids dont drink n Text 

I just channeled my inner Pitman 

[Blackstar]

Steven.

I like Matt on Locomotive, though.

[Gordon Comstock]

Steven was the perfect drummer for AFD, but Brain was the best drummer overall.

[Karice]

13 hours ago, 2020_Intensions said:

This is supposed to be about Matt v. Steven so of course it immediately turns into a discussion about Frank 

Well, Frank is a drummer too, so it's comparing oranges, oranges, and oranges, but it would be more like comparing a mandarin orange, a naval orange, and a cutie orange. 😝😜🤪

[Powderfinger]

Sorums sound on the Illusions tour made him sound more heavy handed and metronomic than he actually is. His sound with Velvet Revolver was 1000% better, you could hear Sorum can actually skip and bounce the kit, he can’t swing like Adler could but he was a better sounding drummer with VR. 

[Karice]

3 hours ago, Powderfinger said:

Sorums sound on the Illusions tour made him sound more heavy handed and metronomic than he actually is. His sound with Velvet Revolver was 1000% better, you could hear Sorum can actually skip and bounce the kit, he can’t swing like Adler could but he was a better sounding drummer with VR. 

Matt played with Velvet Revolver? 😳😀 Today I just learned that fact from your post! 😳😀

[rumandraisin]

Brain top, of course. 

I like Sorums style but unfortunately the mix is so ludicrously over the top and the drums sound commically huge on Illusions that it's hard to overlook this. 

[drlaban]

2 hours ago, rumandraisin said:

Brain top, of course. 

I like Sorums style but unfortunately the mix is so ludicrously over the top and the drums sound commically huge on Illusions that it's hard to overlook this. 

UYI = best mix & production ever. Not kidding.

Edited September 7, 2023 by drlaban
Spelling

[Cosmo]

7 minutes ago, drlaban said:

UYI = best mix & production ever. Not kidding.

Best GnR mix and production ever, I agree. But not like... production ever out of every album in the world 

[Karice]

18 minutes ago, drlaban said:

UYI = best mix & production ever. Not kidding.

Yep, Appetite For Destruction Album has that gritty sound to it, and Use Your Illusions Albums have a more polished and clean sound. 😀 You can tell they were well versed by the time UYI Albums were released. Also, they had matured a lot from Appetite For Destruction to Use Your Illusions. Only a couple of songs from UYI sound incredibly juvenile, (Get In The Ring , Back Off Bitch, and My World) but for the most part, Use Your Illusions Albums sound incredibly mature, such as Civil War, Estranged,, November Rain, 14 Years, Don't Cry,  Knocking On Heaven's Door, are some of the deepest songs of GNR. Appetite, you could tell these were all rebellious, wild, impulsive, young early 20's boys, but Use Your Illusions, these were late 20's much more mature men who were taking life much more seriously. Axl for a prime example, was going through a divorce and mental breakdowns around the time Use Your Illusions Albums were released, whereas 1987, he just wanted to have fun. He had grown up a lot in those four years. So had Izzy, Slash, and Duff. Steven had been fired by this point for excessive drug use sadly though. And Matt had just joined. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Karice

[2020_Intensions]

1 hour ago, Karice said:

Yep, Appetite For Destruction Album has that gritty sound to it, and Use Your Illusions Albums have a more polished and clean sound. 😀 You can tell they were well versed by the time UYI Albums were released. Also, they had matured a lot from Appetite For Destruction to Use Your Illusions. Only a couple of songs from UYI sound incredibly juvenile, (Get In The Ring , Back Off Bitch, and My World) but for the most part, Use Your Illusions Albums sound incredibly mature, such as Civil War, Estranged,, November Rain, 14 Years, Don't Cry,  Knocking On Heaven's Door, are some of the deepest songs of GNR. Appetite, you could tell these were all rebellious, wild, impulsive, young early 20's boys, but Use Your Illusions, these were late 20's much more mature men who were taking life much more seriously. Axl for a prime example, was going through a divorce and mental breakdowns around the time Use Your Illusions Albums were released, whereas 1987, he just wanted to have fun. He had grown up a lot in those four years. So had Izzy, Slash, and Duff. Steven had been fired by this point for excessive drug use sadly though. And Matt had just joined. 

A lot of the songs on the Illusions were written during or before the Appetite era, including November Rain. The rest of the songs were written in and around '89. The maturity you're referring to is Axl. The rest of the band were on a way ticket to suicide with their drug & alcohol addictions.