15 Greatest Drum Intros of All Time

There’s nothing like kicking off a killer track with a powerful drum intro. This was such a tough list to rank that we expanded our picks to 15! So let’s get nerdy about our favorite drummers.

What band on earth writes arguably their greatest song on album No. 12? It’s unheard of, but Judas Priest pulled it off with “Painkiller.” Scott Travis sure knew how to make an impact, as “Painkiller” was the first song fans ever heard with the drummer behind Priest’s kit. Needless to say, fans embraced Travis immediately.

Mike Portnoy crushed this intro on his Pokemonster drum kit, but it’ll always be celebrated as one of the highlights of Dream Theater's Train of Thought. Portnoy was truly inspired on this song, turning a fairly simple instrumental intro into something divine from the prog gods. No wonder Portnoy has a wall covered in Modern Drummer awards.

We’ve got to talk about Danny Carey: Tool’s drummer sounds like a human octopus. Carey is always dropping jaws with his complex and polyrhythmic work, but “Ticks & Leeches” will always stand out as one of Carey’s signature beats. This drum intro just has so much character to it, leading a huge portion of the song while Justin Chancellor and Adam Jones weave their parts around Carey.

Check out our picks for the 15 Greatest Drum Intros of All Time in the Loud List above.

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