John Dolmayan

What you guys think about john. i think that he is very good drummer and i like system of a down a lot. tell me your opinion

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/John_Dolmayan.html

[Doom]

I like him alot and he comes across as a good drummer but he's never really impressed me. Thats not a big complaint and he certainly hasnt done anything I disagree with musically.

[slingerlandradioking55]

I think John is a good drummer. In fact, he was the guy who got me into System of a Down because i seen his drumming in the video Toxicity, and then i went out and bought the album. I love how he sounds on the new album.

yeah hes pretty good listen to his drumming in songs like chop suey , aerieals , deer dance and X hes one of my favorites

[JohnnyDrums]

Ya hes always been an awesome drummer but i dont like Mezmorized as much as there old stuff it just dosnt have the same feel.

I took the Stu_Strib test with Dolmayan. Yep, that dude can play.

The test is, you listen to the music, then try to copy the style and feel of the seemingly easy sounding bits.

And damn, is his style unique and hard to copy.

Toxicity is a perfect example. Its not physically or musically challeging, its just really hard to nail.

[darkcherryfade]

Excellent drummer. Like Stu said, he has his own unique feel, very hard to match even if you can play the technical parts, which aren't necessarily that easy.

[Wegadrummer]

totally agree.. hard drummer to cody, great drumming..

[laurence_drummer]

i think jon is a great drummer, not tht he writes his own stuff but he contributes to it so much and makes the song wat it is!

he's not one of those drummers that just thrashes out on toms the whole time (joey jordison cough cough)...

the only problem is, he's c**p live!!

whot do u think of him?

[Smoky_McPot]

I think he's a great drummer!
Has a few quick changes, tasteful double kick work aswell.

[LordQuas]

I like his unique style. He doesn't sound like a "normal" metal drummer. I like System of a Down, too.

[Dyaxe]

im not a fan of the music he plays along with (SOAD) but i definetly like his style. He's never had me say "OMG!!!!111" but he's definetly an awsome drummer.

[Blue]

He's so unique. His choice of grooves and fills are so real and somehow unrepetitive (I don't get sick of it). The band itself is amazing. To articulate that much in that kind of style is not easy to do, with all of the crunching and low tones. They somehow manage to keep it interesting and dynamic. I really respect them, and I think that the drummer somewhat makes the band. He's so dynamic and full of energy. He has great chops, great feel, great timing.

[finnhiggins]

They do need to stop that damn guitarist singing though, he's severely mediocre. Serj is a much better vocalist, I can't stand the amount of lead time they took away from him on the new album in favour of hideous screeching. Urk.

[Doom]

Hehe, I definately agree with that. I dont know what possessed the band to let him sing when he is in no way a singer. I hope the second album this year from them has less of him. Stick to what he is good at.
In fact it leads to a complaint I have about SOAD. They have all the vocals coolness in Chop Suey for example but they cannot do it live at all. I've seen and heard them live (on videos and bootlegs) and they cant do it. I dont really like it when bands record things but then cant pull them off where it really matters.

[cdawg_2010]

I love the beginning of toxicty and the whole song i-e-a-i-a-i-o espically in the chorus with the floor tom thing. I think he's a great drummer

[rock_drummer91]

I think he's a great drummer. Although I don't too much like thier two recent albums.

[my charts]

I personally have been more inspired by john than any other modern rock drummer. He was my fav during a crucial part of my learning period on drums and he continues to be one of my faves. His style is completely his and he has a mastery of time, physically and conceptually. As for system, they continue to be one of my favorite modern rock bands, although I resent Daron singing so much on the new albums. If you don't like their releases this year, check out the self titled cd.

Originally Posted by finnhiggins

They do need to stop that damn guitarist singing though, he's severely mediocre. Serj is a much better vocalist, I can't stand the amount of lead time they took away from him on the new album in favour of hideous screeching. Urk.

I love the contrast of the two.

[Reflux own your mum]

Originally Posted by finnhiggins

They do need to stop that damn guitarist singing though, he's severely mediocre. Serj is a much better vocalist, I can't stand the amount of lead time they took away from him on the new album in favour of hideous screeching. Urk.

Agreed, especially considering what a versatile vocalist serj is, i can't quite believe how much they use the other guy now. dissapointing.

[ewanlaing]

i like john's work on "sugar" from their debut album. very jazzy. by the way, does anyone else think the prison song is pretty damn hard to keep up with?

[LordQuas]

Originally Posted by ewanlaing

i like john's work on "sugar" from their debut album. very jazzy. by the way, does anyone else think the prison song is pretty damn hard to keep up with?

Yeah, I like Sugar very much. A very great song.
And yes, I totally agree with you about the "prison song".

[lfdy]

Originally Posted by Stu_Strib

I love the contrast of the two.

Yup, i agree.

And yeah, Dolmayan is a great drummer, his style fits SOAD perfectly.

[zildjian_dude101]

I love System, but there old stuff is better than their new stuff. Even though their new stuff is more complicated musically, their old stuff is more catchy. John's a great drummer, but nothing mind boggling. Most of it's simple.

[ewanlaing]

i do find some of their newer stuff i little hard to swallow at first yeah, but some mesmerise songs were very imnpressive.

[drumminfi3nd]

John is a great drummer. one thing i notice about him is that he loves to use his hi-hat alot. I gotta say he's got great coordination, for BYOB listen to what he does in the chorus. His feet are doing totally differnt things . Then throw in his hands, pretty coordinated dude.

[ewanlaing]

it was the song after that on the album that struck me for co-ordination. not sure of the title.

[rjsteinbach]

that would be revenga, I had an idea how he played then I saw them live, boy was i wrong. long story short i still cant do that damn ride bell part

[MooseMasterBass]

Saw that dude live, and i thought he might have trouble following his studio versions live. I was very wrong, that guy nailed it all spot on, he was probably one the first drummers i admired to the point of motivation enough to get into drumming, back in the Nu Metal days of my youth.... lol oh lord.

[Tamadrummer778]

I think that his style fits great with System of a Down, but I want to see him drumming by himself and see what he can really do.

[lfdy]

I've only seen live video's of them, but from what i've seen, he's really good...

[promark010]

Originally Posted by rock_drummer91

I think he's a great drummer. Although I don't too much like thier two recent albums.

I agree with you 100%, i like the old system much better

[jp!]

Howdy do,
I dig the new albums =P they're just developing their sound and the rest.
I was just reading browsing wikipedia, and the article on Dolmayan mentions he has a unique "hi-hat to snare combo" that can be heard on Deer Dance, IEAIA!O, and Question!.
Do any of you guys/gals know exactly what lick is being referred to?
Cheers.
Oh and the track She's Like Heroine is sweet. I'm not going to say either Daron or Serj is the "better" vocalist, but they both contribute really well to that tune. Check it out!

[finnhiggins]

Originally Posted by jp!

Oh and the track She's Like Heroine is sweet. I'm not going to say either Daron or Serj is the "better" vocalist, but they both contribute really well to that tune. Check it out!

Ugh. Heard it. Hated it. Burned a CD minus that track. That Daron guy just plain can't sing.

[fkleiner]

Well I can't speak much for his new stuff, I just won't waste my time on it. I can't even give the music a chance cuz of Daron Malakian's whine.... I'd much rather jam out to "Soil" from their first album, they had some real balls then.

But back on the discussion at hand, John is a very suitable member for the band. Somebody worth looking up to for new perspectives on the feel of a song.

[cdawg_2010]

I feel the same way about deron. I like some of there newer songs and when i looked at them they were all sung by serg! If you dont like deron i suggest checkin out This cociane makes me feel like im on this song, or revenga, but i think some of there better stuff was when it was heavier from toxicity and the first one

[finnhiggins]

Originally Posted by Stu_Strib

I love the contrast of the two.

You mean, if you let that screechy guy sing then Serj sounds like Maire Brennan in comparison? Yeah, I guess that kind of works.

[ewanlaing]

i am very impressed at his ability to incorporate many stlyes within the normally very constrictive genre of heavy metal. although a large amount of his stuff you could hear from many drummers, he seems to have a sort of swing to his playing, which is interesting in the context of soad.

[pinkdaffodil]

PLEASE TELL ME THAT YOU ARE JOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SOD and Slipknot uses the same drummer?????? (system of a slipknot is the title, so.,.I am hoping I am wrong)....

I have always thought of them as two different (one good, and one ....not to my liking....at all...in any way...by any strech of the word ) drummers.

I like what I hear from System of a Down, and sure, he is fast in slipknot, but fast is not always good. All he does is double pedal and around the toms (it gets really booring after the first couple of seconds). absolutely no imagination, nothing inovative, no nothing....(in my oppinion, I am sure a lot of people will like him...I mean no disrespect to them. This is my oppinion, and my taste only...and before anyone feels the need to kill me...I am no authority in music, so relax)

Ofcourse I am in no position to belitle anyone. I am sure he is better then me, but I would never listen to that...

Maybe I am too blinded by my dislike for slipknot But WOW, I would have never guessed....

I am trailing off on a sidetrack..but...wow...I am surprised. I would have never guessed from just listening to them.

[ewanlaing]

no its not the same guy. that would be WEIRD though. imagine that. in fact, i never realised how many differences there were between the two.