Jimmy "The Reverend" Sullivan

I respect that a lot of you have different opinions, cause everyone does. BUT it is not true that The Rev doesnt incorporate different styles. Blinded in Chains has badass metal drumming, Almost Easy has a latin beat in the verses, and Scream has some funky-almost hip hop stuff. I think he's a very underrated drummer, hes not your average "im gonna play as fast as i possibly can!" metal drummer
 
Any of you guys tried playing Bat Country? That song is crazy hard! Well I have only been playing for two years, that might be another reason why :p

It seems to me that it's not near as hard as some of their other songs, but some songs seem harder to different people. It still has a fantastic beat though. I wish I could come up with fills like he could...
 
Well all in all I will forever The Rev as one of my top drum idols including guys like Mike Portnoy (who btw is recording with A7X!) Dave Lombardo, Todd Sucherman, Jason Bittner, Akira Jimbo and Gavin Harrison. The thing about The Rev not only did he have chops but he also had FANTASTIC taste which is hard to find in any drummer.
 
Also that double ride thing he does in "Almost Easy" is one of my favorite things about the last album plus its hella hard to do also ;p
 
One of THE BEST Metal drummers all time. Had to get my chip in here now that Im on these boards lol. The Rev is definitely one of my biggest influences/inspirations. RIP brotha!
 
I know he may not be a legend or he is everybody's favorite, but he was one of my inspirations for drumming. It was a shame losing him at a very young age.

What do you guys think about him?
 
This deserves a huge 'bump'.

15i0s3m.png


I've only recently got into Avenged, but man, I loved Jimmys drumming. He never used his third kick, it was only more for a filler. He didn't even change the skin on it from stock, haha.

He has had a major influence on my drumming. I can do Afterlife, Almost Easy, Nightmare (Mike Portnoy, drums created by Rev), Welcome to the Family (Mike), and Bat Country.

RIP Jimmy.
 
Re: The Reverand (Avenged Sevenfold)

^ Originally Posted by tambian89
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 aOs 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.

I may not so much be a drummer I admit, but I am a musician. I've played guitar for three years now. I believe everyone has a right to free speech, but you can't say the rev isn't as good as other because what he does/did in their songs wasn't original. If you think about it almost everything has been done. For guitars almost every chord progression has been used. For drums almost every rhythm and/or beat has been used. All in all, I think the rev was an amazing drummer, song writer, and musician. He had a lot of talent!
R.I.P James Owen Sulivan (Jimmy "The Rev" Sulivan) Dec. 28 2009.
 
The Rev was the reason I started drumming in the first place, I told my self that one day I wanted to play drums as good or better than him. He was not the most technical drummer, nor did he play as fast as others but his placement of accents and grooves suited the music perfectly. I've never listened to an Avenged Sevenfold song with Jimmy playing where I've thought that the drum track could really use any tweaking. So he's not the best drummer ever, he's not my hero or idol, but he's what inspired me to start playing and I'll never forget that.
 
The one from Avenged Sevenfold who plays a triple bass drum kit. I like how be does a backup vocals in the bridge part of Afterlife. Really a nice guy.😓😞
 
The one from Avenged Sevenfold who plays a triple bass drum kit. I like how be does a backup vocals in the bridge part of Afterlife. Really a nice guy.😓😞
I've been listening to some old a7x songs, it feels like i've known the rev forever. R.I.P Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. May he rest in peace.
 
Back
Top