Top 10 Metal Drummers of the 2020s | MetalForge

The best metal drummers of the 2020s so far, definitively ranked. Mike Portnoy, Charlie Benante, Jay Weinberg, Eloy Casagrande, Dave Lombardo and more — the decade of high-profile drum chair changes and veteran returns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best metal drummer of the 2020s so far?

Mike Portnoy is a commonly cited answer for his 2023 return to Dream Theater after 13 years away, one of progressive metal's most significant reunions of the decade. Charlie Benante earns the argument for stepping into Pantera's reunited drum chair in 2022 decades into his Anthrax career, and Jay Weinberg and Eloy Casagrande are the picks for navigating high-profile band transitions within a single year of each other.

Why has the 2020s seen so many high-profile metal drummer changes?

Several factors converged: Slipknot's 2023 lineup change sent Jay Weinberg to Suicidal Tendencies and opened a chair for Eloy Casagrande after his own 13-year run in Sepultura ended; Pantera's first reunion touring since Dimebag Darrell's death brought Charlie Benante into one of metal's most legendary drum chairs; and Mike Portnoy's 2023 return to Dream Theater closed a 13-year gap since his 2010 departure. Several 2010s-era drummers also continued extending already-long tenures, like Dave Lombardo's ongoing multi-band 2020s output.

What albums define 2020s metal drumming so far?

The most notable 2020s metal drumming releases so far include Megadeth's "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" (2022) for Dirk Verbeuren's technical foundation, Lamb of God's "Omens" (2022) for Art Cruz's first full studio statement with the band, and Slipknot's "The End, So Far" (2022) for Jay Weinberg's final studio album with the band before his 2023 departure.

Gear Deep Dives & Articles

1. Mike Portnoy — A 13-year absence ends with a triumphant return. Mike Portnoy rejoined Dream Theater in 2023 after leaving in 2010, reuniting with the band he co-founded in 1985 for one of progressive metal's most anticipated reunions of the decade, while continuing to run The Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo, and Transatlantic simultaneously.
2. Charlie Benante — Four decades into Anthrax, a legendary reunion arrives. Charlie Benante joined Pantera's 2022 reunion touring lineup — decades into an Anthrax career that began in 1983 — taking on one of groove metal's most legendary drum chairs while continuing to record and tour with his flagship thrash band.
3. Jay Weinberg — A generational handoff from one masked band to a hardcore legend. Jay Weinberg drummed for Slipknot from 2014 through 2023, sustaining the band's masked horror-metal legacy through "The End, So Far" (2022) before moving to Suicidal Tendencies in 2023, carrying his hardcore-punk-influenced technicality into a new decade.
4. Eloy Casagrande — Sepultura to Slipknot — a rare cross-legacy leap. Eloy Casagrande spent 2011–2024 anchoring Sepultura's Brazilian thrash-death standard before joining Slipknot in 2023, an unusual mid-career jump between two of extreme metal's most demanding drum chairs that confirmed his status as one of the decade's most in-demand percussionists.
5. Dave Lombardo — A thrash legend still expanding his range in his sixties. Dave Lombardo continues splitting his 2020s output across Suicidal Tendencies (2016–present), Dead Cross (2017–present), and Mr. Bungle (2019–present), a genre-spanning workload — thrash, hardcore, and avant-garde experimentation — that few drummers half his experience attempt simultaneously.
6. Art Cruz — Carrying Lamb of God's groove-extreme torch into a new decade. Art Cruz, who joined Lamb of God in 2019, delivered his first full studio statement with the band on "Omens" (2022), proving the band's groove-extreme hybrid sound could survive a drummer transition heading into the 2020s.
7. Dirk Verbeuren — Megadeth's technical foundation into a new thrash era. Dirk Verbeuren anchored Megadeth's "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" (2022), sustaining the Big Four thrash band's technically demanding drumming standard into its fifth decade of existence.
8. Jason Bittner — A new thrash supergroup, decades into a Berklee-trained career. Jason Bittner joined newly-formed thrash band Category 7 in 2024 while continuing his Overkill tenure that began in 2017, adding a fresh creative outlet to a career already spanning Shadows Fall's 2000s commercial peak.
9. Isaac Lamb — Beatdown hardcore's continuing breakdown-driven torchbearer. Isaac Lamb has continued fronting Kublai Khan TX's crushing beatdown hardcore/metalcore sound into the 2020s, sustaining the band he co-founded in 2009 well into its second decade of existence.
10. Navene Koperweis — A technical multi-instrumentalist still building his own lane. Navene Koperweis continues splitting his 2020s creative output across Entheos, his solo electronic work as "Navene K," and the technical death metal project Fleshwrought — where he performs every instrument himself — a three-way split few drummers of any decade attempt.

Visit MetalForge →