Drums like this is why I play bass!

[James Hart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBRyB4GA_GI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9gokjOjf6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqy4DTHGqg


Sure Geezer is my first real bass idol... and Tony Iommi is one of my all time favorite guitarists..... Ozzy never could get the words right to the tunes but he is/was an interesting frontman with a cool voice.

But Bill Ward is THE drummer I want to jam with The first 4 Sabbath albums were about all I listened to very early on in my playing. Bill's drumming will always be what I want to hear drum wise.

Any other fans of Bill Ward on TB? Most people I mention this to don't agree or throw Moon, Baker and Bonham back at me. I think Bill was the best of the era/genre.

[fourstringdrums]

I'm a drummer too and Bill Ward has always been an influence. The Hand of Doom video takes me back because I used to always jam to it.

I saw them back in '98 on their Reunion Tour and while they were incredible, he has lost a few steps. Alot of old licks and fills he just wasn't able to pull off, ones that technically aren't even that difficult. He also used a huge double bass kit which from that performance besides that fact that it does look better on stage than a smaller kit, I felt was to hide the fact that he isn't quite up to it anymore. It's harder to hide your playing behind a 4-piece kit IMO.

It's strange watching these videos of Ozzy before he really started wrecking himself too.

[James Hart]

Originally Posted by Joshua

I never "got" Moon or Baker. There are a few others from that era that I really like but let's leave this thread for Bill; a great rock drummer!

Cool! I am also a big Floyd, Tull, Led Zep, Traffic and James Gang fan... but Sabbath was my band back in the day.

Scary that that footage was recorded when I was 2 years old!!!


fourstringdrums: 98 was Bill as a older man then his actual years... he was a drunk living on the streets for most of the decade prior. From what I've heard, he's actually stayed sober and has made marked improvements. I can't wait to hear the new Dio / Sabbath stuff.

[Matt Till]

Huge fan. He's the groove that made Sabbath HEAVY. He's awesome.

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by Joshua

I wonder if you caught him on a bad show. My wife and I caught them on Ozzfest in either 98 or 99, and the whole band was spot on. So much so that we were really surprised. And my wife was paying extra special attention to Bill as she's a drummer.

Of course, there's always a chance that we happened to catch a better show, and others might not have been so good...

I don't think I really meant to make it come off as if he was terrible then, I just think that compared to how he used to be he's a shell of his former self.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by James Hart

But Bill Ward is THE drummer I want to jam with The first 4 Sabbath albums were about all I listened to very early on in my playing. Bill's drumming will always be what I want to hear drum wise.

Any other fans of Bill Ward on TB? Most people I mention this to don't agree or throw Moon, Baker and Bonham back at me. I think Bill was the best of the era/genre.

I was a drummer first, guitarist second, and now play bass, and I have to say that That style of drumming ROCKS. Keep it simple, heavy, and GROOVY.

The only thing I didn't like was the changes in groove. I love time signature changes, and a whole bunch of different prog elements, but changing immediately into a different groove is pure A.D.D. But I don't blame Bill for it...

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by Joshua

Could be, but not the day I saw him. He was en fuego that day.

I only wish I got to see him back in the day of the first few recordings...

It could be that as a drummer too I'm alittle more picky

[Mike Money]

Every metal band owes everything to Black Sabbath.

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by Joshua

Actually, I play a little drums myself, and my wife has played for 3 decades.

Then you probably know where I'm coming from :d