Nicholas Barker

[J.G.O.]

No, he isn't Steve Barkers brother

I think he's the best drummer of the extreme metal genre.

Take a look to the site of his band, exspecially to the video of Inferno festival in Oslo

www.dimmu-borgir.com

[Motor League]

from Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and Old Man's Child. Absolutely phenomenal drummer, hands down one of, if not the best in metal. His double pedal work is mindblowing.

[The_Antman]

indeed. Nick is amazing. His best work IMO is in Dimmu. In of all the vidoes ive seen of him live hes so relaxed and smooth. Insane speed aswell. Definiely one of the top 5 metal drummers

[CartersChops]

Incredable studio metal drummer... he is so creative. he gets an unbelivable sound out of his drums. i love the splash accents he uses with quick double bass. My favorite is Black Seeds on Virgin Soil, his performance is amazing. I have to admit, i even stole one of the fills in my own bands recording..(www.purevolume.com/veronafair (http://purevolume.com/veronafair) www.mysace.com/veronafair (http://myspace.com/veronafair)). However i have seen a few live videos, althought he looks extremely relaxed, his performance is much weaker than on the records, but i sure as hell give him credit, it isnt easy to keep up 850 bpm+ bass drum patterns for a whole concert.

[zildjian_dude101]

He's amazing in Dimmu. His best drumming hands down. His feet are incredibly fast.

[DMNofDSTRCTN]

Awesome speed on his feet! Dimmu r a great band

[Ramsh]

I started playing drums after the P.E.M. CD, he uses so much good things for his drumming, speed with hands and feet and alot of cymbal work too (this small 6"to 10" splashes) and he's really really tight, also live.
On the Dimmu DVD are some studio clips and I saw a Far Beyond Driven cd on the table, maybe for mixing and for the drum sound. I think if the Far Beyond Driven would be faster like the 240bmp Dimmu songs the drums would almost sound like Nick.
Second I saw that they played all drum parts per midi over his TD-10 trigger module and recorded the bassist voice at this time, so I understand why his doublebass is so correct on the PEM cd and there're alot doublebass parts...
Besides he joined now this band:
www.dust-band.com

[jhomer]

Indeed, Nick is one of the best metal drummers. Best drumwork he's done is in Death Cult Armaggedon. Dimmu Borgir is one of my favorite bands but I think Hellhammer will do just as well, or even better. Let's wait and see.

[Symbolic]

Nah, Nick's better on PEM than DCA. Listen to Kings of Carnival Creation. That songs drummer work is better than any of DCA's songs.

[jhomer]

That's good to hear cause Kings of Carnival is one of my favorite songs to play. Yeah it's groovy but in my opinion not his most creative and definitely not the most difficult.

Cheers!

[Jalmar]

Baker, in my opinion, is one of the worst drummer in the extreme metal scene.
He has great endurance and speed, but no variation and no feeling in his playing, even if it only involves grinding his wrists off.

[CartersChops]

Baker, in my opinion, is one of the worst drummer in the extreme metal scene.
He has great endurance and speed, but no variation and no feeling in his playing, even if it only involves grinding his wrists off.


i absolutely disagree
for proof, see his work with old man's child
it's fast, but the creativity and feeling is more present

and in dimmu borgir, how can you say theres no feel compared to the other black metal bands. it fits 100%

[Jalmar]

i absolutely disagree
for proof, see his work with old man's child
it's fast, but the creativity and feeling is more present

and in dimmu borgir, how can you say theres no feel compared to the other black metal bands. it fits 100%

The first error in this post is that Dimmu Borgir never "were" or "is" an black metal band and for the second of all: Nicholas Barker is as frigid and sterile as a rock. No feeling because of the endless fills with rythmic dysfunctionality and the largest flaw in his playing is his frantic abuse of double bass. I like double bass rolls as much as anybody in here, but with Barker, something feels wrong.

[Ramsh]

I think dynamic on drums is uesless in a band like Dimmu Borgir because they sound like Dimmu Borgir because of Nick Barker and I just listen to a concert in 2005 with Tony Laureano and he has dynamics because of less triggers, but his accuracy/correctness of fills , doublebass and rhythms is far less than Nick Barker did on albums and live too, I saw him live and he's a damn good correct player, he knows what he plays. The whole concert (with Tony) sounds like a concert of a noname band. I prefer the way of Nick Barker's drumming because he tries to get close to a drumcomputer and uses less dynamics. I think it's alot more to practice to play straight than to say, well I wanted a fill, dynamic things or the doublebass this way because with triggers you can hear every mistake in fills and doublebass and to play doublebass in different tempos as good as Nick, well, not everyone can reach this level of drumming. My point of view.

[Lambo]

Baker, in my opinion, is one of the worst drummer in the extreme metal scene.
He has great endurance and speed, but no variation and no feeling in his playing, even if it only involves grinding his wrists off. I 100% disagree. Nick has his own sound in the metal scene. He is excellent, and drummers such as reno killerich and tony laureano (who both had to fill his shoes) said that they found it challenging and were admirable of his skills.

Worst!?!?! FOR SHAME!!!!!

[Alucard]

You all talking about Nicholas Barker, but you don't know a real little thing: Nik Barker uses an electronic drums, his double bass are artificial, he doesn't play the double bass himself... Some fans of Dimmu Borgir know this thing, and i assure you it's a REAL thing, that it's a really BAD thing for the world of the drummers...

[Ramsh]

Jesus, he use triggers, but he plays live all alone, no drum machine added. Nick is one of the best metal drummer, he got his own style and he plays a long time metal, so he knows about that business.
Triggers: just take the impulse of one stroke and a module plays a sample, so every stroke sounds the same and you have to play more correct doublebass and other thing than on acoustic because triggers show how good you really are.
I play with triggers and it's another style and playing, it needs alot and hours of practice to get a good doublebass as Nick and sure, Tony too.
The second last Nile cd isn't bad at all, nice playing by Tony, but the live bootleg with Dimmu, you know...

[Alucard]

Jesus, he use triggers, but he plays live all alone, no drum machine added. Nick is one of the best metal drummer, he got his own style and he plays a long time metal, so he knows about that business.
Triggers: just take the impulse of one stroke and a module plays a sample, so every stroke sounds the same and you have to play more correct doublebass and other thing than on acoustic because triggers show how good you really are.
I play with triggers and it's another style and playing, it needs alot and hours of practice to get a good doublebass as Nick and sure, Tony too.
The second last Nile cd isn't bad at all, nice playing by Tony, but the live bootleg with Dimmu, you know...
I'm not talking about trigger, he use another trick... However, i agree with Jalmar, Barker it's nothing special, like Laureano...

[giant_mtb]

Nick Barker is one of my favorite drummers. He's fast as hell with both his hands and his feet. His blast beats are amazing. He's so creative, too. I have Deathcult Armageddon by Dimmu Borgir and he drums in it and it boggles my mind how skilled he is. A lot of people tell me that his drumming is just a bunch of fast double bass pedal and a bunch of noise. That's incredibly stupid, this guy's awesome!

[Alucard]

Plus, the true drummer of Dimmu Borgir are Tjodalv... He's quite better than Barker, he's more creative and personal... However, Nicholas Barker it's a worst drummer...

[Jalmar]

Plus, the true drummer of Dimmu Borgir are Tjodalv... He's quite better than Barker, he's more creative and personal... However, Nicholas Barker it's a worst drummer...

In this case, I agree. Even though that Barker maybe is faster than Tjodalv, Tjodalv knows how to put a little bit more feeling in his playing.

[CartersChops]

The first error in this post is that Dimmu Borgir never "were" or "is" an black metal band and for the second of all: Nicholas Barker is as frigid and sterile as a rock. No feeling because of the endless fills with rythmic dysfunctionality and the largest flaw in his playing is his frantic abuse of double bass. I like double bass rolls as much as anybody in here, but with Barker, something feels wrong.

no offense
but if your talking about frantic abuse of double bass being a flaw then i wouldnt exatcly think you know much about black metal
dimmu borgir certainly is black metal, its symphonic black metal, the lyrics and ambient elements are unmistakebly black metal

[CartersChops]

In this case, I agree. Even though that Barker maybe is faster than Tjodalv, Tjodalv knows how to put a little bit more feeling in his playing.

the earlier recordings have very very sloppy blasts. nick is much more solid..hes out of the band anyway
rumor has it hellhammer is recording for their new album. i cant wait to hear what he throws down

[snake54198]

ah my 2nd favourite drummer after hellhammer and before dave lombardo,this guy may not be near as fast as hellhammer(check out jon axel blomberg in drummers) but his feet can make the most complex double kicks in the black metal scene at the min and the drum sound on ALL his albums is truely amazing,his drums on cradle of filths VEMPIRE and CRULTY AND THE BEST is just brill,i look up so much to this drummer its unreal,i didnt hear any of his work for dimmu boiger yet but i hear it it even better than privious work,

to all those who think he uses a drum machine,your all so so wrong i know at lest 8 people who watched him live quite a few times and even though in only SOME gigs he sometimes slows the songs down they all say all he uses is his two hands and to feet

i think right now he formed a REAL over the top hardcore black metal band which is so underground all ther music is banned,but i could be wrong

[ventor]

The first error in this post is that Dimmu Borgir never "were" or "is" an black metal band and for the second of all: Nicholas Barker is as frigid and sterile as a rock. No feeling because of the endless fills with rythmic dysfunctionality and the largest flaw in his playing is his frantic abuse of double bass. I like double bass rolls as much as anybody in here, but with Barker, something feels wrong.
You are not soooooo right here... They were a black metal band, indeed. Only after the Godless Savage Garden EP they started with their new sound, but the first three LPs were pure, slow and cold black metal... And Nick is an extremely good, fast drummer. But I have recently heard that he is kinda nuts, psychopathic... He can´t control his aggressions or so...

[tambian89]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=94mUtOAFAKI&search=Nick%20Barker

I thought I should add this clip; it is a bit lengthy, and Dimmu Borgir is a pretty ridiculous band (I think their ok), but Nick is very good. I was really surprised with the bassist; he can sing well and his fingerpicking is very fast ( I think Cannibal Corpse's bassist may have faster fingerpicking though). Anyway, I hope you guys like the clip.

- Marc

[ventor]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=94mUtOAFAKI&search=Nick%20Barker

I thought I should add this clip; it is a bit lengthy, and Dimmu Borgir is a pretty ridiculous band (I think their ok), but Nick is very good. I was really surprised with the bassist; hecan sing well and his fingerpicking is very fast ( I think Cannibal Corpse's bassist may have faster fingerpicking though). Anyway, I hoppe you guys like the clip.

- Marc
Oh you are damn right, the Cannibal bassplayer is one of the best ones in death metal, gotta say this though it doesnt belong to this thread. Almost as good as Steve DiGorgio... By the way, their drummer, this Markuwiecz (??) is also amazingly fast and has great ideas...

[tambian89]

I know it's off topic, but he is really good.

I was watching the video for ideas about speed. For his hands, it's just good old fashioned practice, but his feet are a different story. I have no idea what Nick does with his feet that he can go so fast.

- Marc

[Slavets]

Many people know Travis Barker as a great drummer. But not many people heard about English drummer Nicholas Barker, who played in Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir as well as Brujeria, Old Man's Child and Lock Up. Now he plays in Benediction. He is one of craziest drummers I know!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a small clip of his play http://youtube.com/watch?v=pVl9amMcNfY

[sssssssss]

Nick Barker is huge, really. I am not a great fan of black metal, actually I'm no black metal fan at all, but after hearing Nicholas Barker's beats on Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, I really became a Dimmu Borgir fan! He's got phenomenal hands - extremely precise and blindingly fast blast beats, but also a lot of colorful fills and independence stuff going on. He's got a great sense of using the cymbals in a personal, unconventional way. However, as far as his footwork goes, I'd have to say I noticed on a video that he's really abusing the trigger thing a bit :)) - namely, he barely touches the bass drums at very high tempos. He reaches that speed, it's no trick, he really plays that fast, but really doesn't have any power in fast double bass playing - if he'd play on a miked kit - or acoustically - you couldn't really hear his feet along with his hands. In any case, he is a very precise, very inventive and very fast drummer. I've seen a video of him playing acoustically and he's absolutely 100% accurate and fast with his hands. However, once again, I couldn't really hear the bass drums.
He is one of the great metal drummers out there and he might have the very fastest hands for blast beats, as well as excellent feel (which doesn't necesarily mean dynamics, it means pulling out emotion and making the song sound better when you're playing, by whatever means), but because of the feet thing, I'd say the good old death metal legends Pete Sandoval and Derek Roddy are better in terms of double bass.
And as far as the overall metal crown goes, I'd say Vinnie Paul is the most powerful drummer out there. No blasts, but sheer strength, feeling and totally individual style and sound. MO.

[7DaysToTheWolves]

Nick Barker is one of my most influential metal drummers as far as inspiration goes. I really got into Dimmu after hearing Stormblast (revised edition) and that drumming made me really want to learn to work better with my hands.

[sssssssss]

And he's definitely got an interesting (and well-suited for metal) charisma :P

[Therma lobsterdore]

Nic is definitely a damn fine drummer, but best metal drummer? Hell no! He's very good though, but seriously there are plenty of better drummers in the tech death scene, maybe he'd be the best drummer if you only listened to dimmu and that kind of rubbish. But yeah I'm not knocking him though, great skills and speed, shame he's played in so many crappy bands though.

[kjsm]

Nick Barker is one of my most influential metal drummers as far as inspiration goes. I really got into Dimmu after hearing Stormblast (revised edition) and that drumming made me really want to learn to work better with my hands.

pretty certain that's hellhammer. i wish it was nick in some ways.

[sssssssss]

So are there any news on Nick Barker? It was such a confusion what band he's playing in after "being removed from the Dimmu Borgir lineup" (which is another interesting topic) and what band he's left in a very short time after entering it, that I really don't know where to look for him anymore. Is he just a session drummer at this time or is he the stable drummer of any band at all?

[7DaysToTheWolves]

pretty certain that's hellhammer. i wish it was nick in some ways.

He worked with Dimmu though.