Jimmy "The Reverend" Sullivan

Re: The Reverend

All of you that have talked about his tightness, chops, fitting with the band, obviously haven't done an A-B comparison between the City Of Evil / Waking The Fallen albums, and the Sounding The Seventh Trumpet album.

COE, and WTF are uber engineered, edited and processed which is why his kit sounds as it does and how he plays so tightly with the band, cos a protools engineer has cut the drum tracks up and moved them into place with the rest of the band. As far as I can tell, A7X's budget was slightly smaller on the STST album so we hear them as they are. Loose. Like their playing material too tricky for them. Just listen to the bass drum when it should be in sync with the guitar chugs, or his immense tom fills that dont quite end on the beat.

Dont get me wrong, I have seen them live, and they get most of it right, but as it's been said on previous pages in this thread, most of it is triggered as u can see by the mahoosive rack of samplers, midi processors, etc that sits on his left in the photos.

thats true but he's gotten MUCH better since then. ive watched a few shows lately and he's playing it all like on the albums.
 
Re: The Reverend

I think Sullivan is a good drummer, but he overplays sometimes, especially on the earlier albums. He can play well and quite fast, and I'd have to say that he's better than most metal drummers who just play really fast without any technique or creativity. Still, he's not the best in the world by any means. The Rev deserves credit as a great drummer in his area, but there are many drummers out there who are better. Regardless, I wouldn't mind having his skills, though I am more of one for technique and complexity over crowd-stunningness
 
Re: The Reverend

I have to say that I like the revs chops, I never really was into double bass until I heard the rev. His style is unique and although he is not the best drummer out there, I have learnt a lot of double pedal grooves from listening to there songs. Live though they cant really bring it, but if you watch some of their performances, they have a dreadful sound man.
 
Re: The Reverand (Avenged Sevenfold)

Ok: My opinion hardly matters......how? That's pretty rude of you to say; I did nothing to really attack him or you. Are you saying that because I've been drumming for just over 2 years, I have no right to express my opinion? Send me a person message if you have something against me or something like that.

I have listened to Avenged Sevenfold, and personally I don't like them. I have looked at the drum parts, too. In terms of creativity, everything the Reverand has played has been done before. In fact, Blake Richardson of Between the Buried and Me seems to do a better job than the Reverand does; Richardson is able to play in not only a more appealing manner, but has a better sense of grooves, as they are far more interesting.

Of course I realize a person can do whatever they want; I myself do it in my own band. I just think that the Reverand doesn't seem to incorporate other styles into his drumming, and his so-called "grooves" have been done before (listen to ...And Justice For All by Metallica, whom "A7X" cites as one of their main influences). Instead of attempting to encompass a wide array of styles, he sticks to typical hardcore grooves. I hardly consider him a bad drummer - he plays his style well - but I feel he gets far too much recognition, and is highly over-rated. His drumming is good, however, it is not a superior as everyone views it; he isn't that good where he deserves this recognition. When he can bring something new to Hardcore music (which Blake Richardson has done), then I will consider as great as everyone else seems to consider him until then, I don't.

- Marc

^ I read all these replies you people were posting until I got here, I stopped after this guy's post because he basically sums up what I totally agree with. He brings nothing creative to the whole genre, he get's stuff done, he is good but not great.
 
Re: The Reverend

I personally find his drumming interesting, but he is not that great of a drummer. some of his fills sound pretty badass though
 
Re: The Reverend

the rev really inspired me to pick up a pair of drum sticks. i wanna be able to play like him, but its hard (for me).
 
Re: The Reverend

I really dig this Band they are heavy but they also have great melody and a bit of a pop edge. His setup looks so uncomfortable but I love his playing. In learning these songs theyre not that complicated but they are fast and physically demanding. They fit perfect in this band. So I think they are my favorite newer band but I will reserve final judgement untill I see them live 3/10.
 
the dude is awsome! iv seen them live they are gr8 the jimmy sings wickid aswell as play well live too

he plays most of the songs one handed live and is compltely awsome

the only critasizum i have of him is if he is playin most of his songs one handed he aint showin us what he has got hes showin wt i show off he is so in newer albums he needs 2 step up his drumming and show us what he has really got

but yh the dude rocks
 
I'm no big fan of A7X, but I must admit that Sullivan impresses me - from what I've seen live - with his clean and tight playing. He's a good drummer and gets the job done well.
 
I can't really find anything that impresses me about him, not bad but not as astounding as everyone makes him out to be, maybe I'd like him more if he didn't look absurd or if he played in a band that I could enjoy...
 
Re: The Reverend

the rev really inspired me to pick up a pair of drum sticks. i wanna be able to play like him, but its hard (for me).

It's hard for most drummers, 'the reverend' is pretty good, pretty tight, no matter what you think of his band.
 
Finally a board about the Rev!
Avenged Sevenfold are my favourite band, and personally I think he is an amazing drummer. Not the best out there, but definately a very good drummer. He has great creativity and what he plays fits into the songs perfectly.
 
Re: Avenged Sevenfold

The drumming on Bat Country is just amazing

Seems your perception of 'amazing' differs from mine quite drastically. There are tonnes of young drummers on Youtube covering that song, and if they can all do it then I doubt the drum part is that special.

=D
 
Okay, first of all, unless your name is Jason Bittner, shut the hell up, because nothing you can play can touch the skill that the Rev has...is he the best? no, he's not the best. In case you haven't noticed, the best musicians aren't in kickass band like Avenged Sevenfold (take Michael Angelo Batio for instance, he's insanely good, but his music is literally all shred, no composition).

secondly...take it from someone who actually knows how to tune drums (and plays them as well)...
every drummer i know has been trying to get their snare to sound like The Rev's ever since Bat Country debuted...it's freakin crisp, and dry, and everything else beautiful about an awesome snare drum.

The Rev has excellent chops, technique, visual performance skills, variety, and FEEL...listen to songs like sidewinder, City of Evil was a GREAT album, with the Self-Titled album being even stronger)

reply with whatever insults or baseless opinions you have, i'd love to hear them.
 
Re: Avenged Sevenfold

Seems your perception of 'amazing' differs from mine quite drastically. There are tonnes of young drummers on Youtube covering that song, and if they can all do it then I doubt the drum part is that special.

=D

Sure, they're trying, and failing miserably.

Anyway, I think the Rev is a great drummer. He's not one of those drummers that tries to show off how good he is by playing the most complicated thing he can play for every fill, even though he could. He chooses a fill that fits with the music and I respect that. You can tell by listening to Avenged Sevenfold that he's the most talented member of the band.

Here's a link of him recording some songs on City of Evil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8E6AWnh18

The first part is Betrayed, then Bat Country.

Oh, and here's a clip of him recording Almost Easy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9fqEsVc4r8

Maybe not too impressive, but you can tell he's not trying very hard.

Also, I'm new here and this is my first post on these forums. Hi everybody!
 
Funny I find that while I really enjoy Revs playing I hate the snare sound on City of Evil. Interesting that someone above mentioned Bittner as this evening I will be at Shadows Fall and Avenged Sevenfold in Toronto.

Yeah I'm psyced.
 
The rev is insane Avenged Sevenfold is my favorite band as well. The rev def keeps in real with alot of musical talent but knows when to calm down too. Hes one of my favorites by far. A good combo of holy mother of God and clean sound
 
I rather enjoyed City of Evil. It was a great blend of 80's and modern metal.

I think the Rev did an outstanding job on that album, playing some pretty insane parts, which has made him one my favorite younger drummers.

I can't say I was impressed by the next album as much. I'd like to see them live, but every time they do a show around here, something else comes up and I can't make it.
 
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