Nick Barker Drum Kit & Gear Setup — Dimmu Borgir Drummer | MetalForge
Nicholas Howard Barker (born April 25, 1973, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England) is a British extreme metal drummer who spent the 1990s and 2000s behind the drum kit for two of black metal's most prominent bands. He joined Cradle of Filth in 1993, recording The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994), Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein (1996), Dusk... and Her Embrace (1996), Cruelty and the Beast (1998), and From the Cradle to Enslave (1999) before departing in 1999. Barker then joined Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, recording Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (2001) and Death Cult Armageddon (2003) during his 1999-2004 tenure — two albums that helped push Dimmu Borgir's symphonic black metal drum set work to a wider international audience. In 1998 he co-founded the grindcore supergroup Lock Up with Napalm Death's Shane Embury, recording Pleasures Pave Sewers (1999), Hate Breeds Suffering (2002), and Demonization (2017) before leaving the band in 2020. He has also done session and touring work for Testament, Old Man's Child, Exodus, Brujeria, Gorgoroth/God Seed, Anaal Nathrakh, and Benediction.
Complete biography of Nick Barker, drummer for Dimmu Borgir (1999-2004) and Cradle of Filth (1993-1999). Explore his Sonor drum kit endorsement, grindcore work in Lock Up, and career across extreme metal.
Nick Barker Biography
Nicholas Howard Barker (born April 25, 1973, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England) is a British extreme metal drummer who spent the 1990s and 2000s behind the drum kit for two of black metal's most prominent bands. He joined Cradle of Filth in 1993, recording The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994), Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein (1996), Dusk... and Her Embrace (1996), Cruelty and the Beast (1998), and From the Cradle to Enslave (1999) before departing in 1999.
Barker then joined Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, recording Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (2001) and Death Cult Armageddon (2003) during his 1999-2004 tenure — two albums that helped push Dimmu Borgir's symphonic black metal drum set work to a wider international audience. In 1998 he co-founded the grindcore supergroup Lock Up with Napalm Death's Shane Embury, recording Pleasures Pave Sewers (1999), Hate Breeds Suffering (2002), and Demonization (2017) before leaving the band in 2020. He has also done session and touring work for Testament, Old Man's Child, Exodus, Brujeria, Gorgoroth/God Seed, Anaal Nathrakh, and Benediction.
Career Highlights
- 1993: Joined Cradle of Filth as drummer
- 1994: Recorded The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, Cradle of Filth's debut album
- 1998: Recorded Cruelty and the Beast with Cradle of Filth; co-founded grindcore supergroup Lock Up with Shane Embury
- 1999: Recorded From the Cradle to Enslave EP, his final Cradle of Filth release, before departing; joined Dimmu Borgir; released Lock Up's debut Pleasures Pave Sewers
- 2001: Recorded Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia with Dimmu Borgir
- 2003: Recorded Death Cult Armageddon with Dimmu Borgir
- 2004: Departed Dimmu Borgir
- 2017: Recorded Demonization with Lock Up
- 2020: Left Lock Up after more than two decades with the band
Style & Influences
Nick Barker's drumming spans the symphonic, blast-beat-driven vocabulary of black metal and the raw, high-velocity attack of grindcore, a range built over tenures in Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Lock Up. His playing serves each band's distinct demands — sustaining relentless blast beats beneath Cradle of Filth's and Dimmu Borgir's orchestral arrangements, and delivering the stripped-down speed grindcore requires in Lock Up.
Key Influences:
- Extreme metal blast-beat drumming: The foundation of his work across Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir
- Grindcore drumming: Shaped his high-velocity, stripped-down playing in Lock Up
Signature Techniques:
- Sustained blast beats supporting symphonic black metal orchestration
- High-speed grindcore drumming distinct from his black metal work
- Session versatility across extreme metal subgenres, from thrash (Testament, Exodus) to black metal (Gorgoroth/God Seed) to grindcore (Anaal Nathrakh, Benediction)
Gear Highlights
Nick Barker is an official Sonor artist, endorsed by the German drum manufacturer across his touring and session career in extreme metal. Sonor's own artist page credits him for his work with Cradle of Filth (1993-1999) and Dimmu Borgir (1999-2004), alongside his ongoing role in the grindcore supergroup Lock Up and session credits for Testament, Old Man's Child, and Exodus, among others.
Documented Setup:
- Drums: Sonor
Sonor's artist materials do not publish a specific kit model, snare spec, cymbal brand, or drumhead endorsement for Barker, so this profile omits those fields rather than guessing — a Nick Barker drum set breakdown at the same component-level detail as many of his peers isn't independently documented as of this writing.