John Tempesta

IAN - W -

Rebel
Hello, fellows.

John Tempesta was the powerful backbone for bands such as: Exodus, Testament, White Zombie, Rob Zombie, Helmet and other. Actually he is the former drummer for The Cult, one of my favourite skin-beaters & bands. In await of your comments!

Thanks & Best Regards,

Ian
 

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He ROCKED in the Testament reunion tour DVD from England.
 
Personally, one of my favorite drummers of all time. His drumming with White Zombie was just amazing. The way he grooved on top of the constant 4 on the floor bass drum pounding in every song was nuts! Reminded me of a freight train barreling out of control.

Def one of the best power pocket players out there. One of the few of my drummer idols I haven't had the pleasure of sharing a beer with yet; hopefully someday soon.
 
John has a powerful and fast bass drum triplets, I really like his drums and cymbals set.

Cheers,
 

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Im telling ya...get that Testament Reunion DVD...John simply OWNS...

They bring their first drummer, Louis Clemente out about halfway through the set to let him finish the show and it was VERY OBVIOUS the band lost energy when JT gave up the throne. The first half of the show with JT playing is just pure freaking awesome, the show with John blazes. Testament is a band full of great musicians (Alex Skolnik is one of the greatest guitar players in the world in my view).
 
Im telling ya...get that Testament Reunion DVD...John simply OWNS...

They bring their first drummer, Louis Clemente out about halfway through the set to let him finish the show and it was VERY OBVIOUS the band lost energy when JT gave up the throne. The first half of the show with JT playing is just pure freaking awesome, the show with John blazes. Testament is a band full of great musicians (Alex Skolnik is one of the greatest guitar players in the world in my view).

Thanks a lot, mate. I will get the DVD for sure, in fact I like Testament. They played here in Venezuela, we love them!!!
 
I admired his work with Rob Zombie.

He's a nice guy too.

When I getting into playing with loops and such live, I was rather nervous about pulling it off, and I didn't even have the proper equipment yet. I just so happened to run into John at a local club. He was there with a hot girl, and a drink, but I asked him if I could talk to him for a minute. He was very nice, set down his drink, set down the girl, and we chatted a for a few minuted about playing with loops and general career advice.

I was very grateful that he took a few minutes out his rock star evening to talk to me, and his little talk gave me the confidence to go forward with what I was doing at the time. Now playing with loops and backing tracks is 2nd nature to me, but I have to thank John for helping turn that corner.
 
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Man, that was a nice experience that will live forever in you...Thanks for sharing it.
 
One of the things I like most about JT is his sound: no matter where he is, he gets a mega-tight, super punchy, incredibly aggressive sound. I don't know if it's a specific requirement of his, but results are mostly amazing, especially in "First Cuts Still Deadly"
 
I agree, Jonh's sound and effects are original.....just like the song I Am The One. I very like his drumming style on White Zombie - AstroCreep: 2000, WZ Soundtracks, Super Sexy Swinging Sounds and Rob Zombie.
 
I don't care if this is an old thread.

The first time I heard Testament 'Low' - I had the same reaction as almost everyone else.... "This drummer is incredible!". Been a fan ever since.
 
Im telling ya...get that Testament Reunion DVD...John simply OWNS...

They bring their first drummer, Louis Clemente out about halfway through the set to let him finish the show and it was VERY OBVIOUS the band lost energy when JT gave up the throne. The first half of the show with JT playing is just pure freaking awesome, the show with John blazes. Testament is a band full of great musicians (Alex Skolnik is one of the greatest guitar players in the world in my view).
Reviving an old thread again.... but ditto. That performance was simply awesome. JT sounded like he was laying down tracks he was so tight. Granted, Clemente hadn't been playing full time at that point IIRC, but there was a noticeable diff in tightness and performance when they switched.
 
John was one of my first favorite drummers. When I got my first kit back in the day it came with a Tama DVD that had a segment from him (and Kenny A) but I thought Tempesta had the coolest style. Really funky for a heavy drummer.
 
Hello, fellows.

John Tempesta was the powerful backbone for bands such as: Exodus, Testament, White Zombie, Rob Zombie, Helmet and other. Actually he is the former drummer for The Cult, one of my favourite skin-beaters & bands. In await of your comments!

Thanks & Best Regards,

Ian

Not former drummer, CURRENT drummer for the Cult. He's had that gig for many years now.
He's a great guy. I first met him back in the early 2000's. Rob Zombie came to town under a fake name, billed as "Meet The Creeper: A Tribute to Rob Zombie." They played a stripped down set at a local theatre that my bands used to frequently play. I met John after the show and he and I have stayed in touch ever since. In fact I just hung out with him at the Pro Drum Holiday Party a couple weeks ago.
When I was in high school I was (still am) a massive White Zombie fan. His drumming on Astrocreep what my introduction to him and he's been a huge influence on me ever since.
 
I was never that into White Zombie myself, but I first noticed him with Testament. In my opinion, he was the best fit for that band out of all the drummers they've had over the years (the new guy seems to be on the right path though). Yes, even the great Lombardo and Hoglan fell short of Tempesta, in my opinion. After seeing the Live In London DVD from 2005, Tempesta completely blew me away, I watched that performance so many times, almost became obsessed with it. Such a shame he didn't get to play the whole show, I guess it was cool to see their original drummer play as well, but that was quite a degrade in quality to be truthful.

Then I got the First Strike Is Still Deadly album after that, with many of their best songs with his drumming on it. In my mind, that was when I had a turning point myself, I wanted to focus mainly on "classic" heavy/thrash metal from then on, and I think my style shifted a lot, I started to play way more assertive and powerful than I did before. I was fooling around with all types of music, went to take a degree in music and everything. But it was just... Seeing him play that music, such powerful drumming and still with a groove, a flair to it. Such a musical performance , yet extreme. It was a total eye opener to me, and I've had a huge respect for the guy ever since. Would like to hear him play more thrash metal like before, but it seems like the gigs he recently stepped in for Tom Hunting in Exodus might be some of the last. Anyway, all my hats off for mr. Tempesta. The guy that knocked me off my blissfully ignorant 90's Lars phase, for good 😅
 
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