Top 10 Best 2000s Metalcore Drummers | MetalForge

The best metalcore drummers of the 2000s, ranked. Matt Greiner, Ben Koller, Jason Bittner, Blake Richardson and more — the drummers who built metalcore's defining decade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best 2000s metalcore drummer?

Matt Greiner of August Burns Red is the most commonly cited answer — he co-founded the band in 2003 and his technical double bass work set the decade's benchmark for what metalcore drumming could be. Ben Koller of Converge is the alternative answer for the genre's more hardcore-rooted wing, with "Jane Doe" (2001) still cited as a landmark of the era. Jason Bittner is the answer for commercial impact, having earned a Grammy nomination with Shadows Fall's "The War Within" (2004) during metalcore's mainstream breakthrough.

What made 2000s metalcore different from metalcore today?

2000s metalcore emerged directly from the fusion of hardcore punk aggression with New Wave of American Heavy Metal and melodic death metal influences, built around Warped Tour and mainstream rock radio crossover. It leaned heavily on the half-time breakdown, machine-gun double bass, and a specific technical-but-accessible songwriting style exemplified by August Burns Red and Killswitch Engage. Modern metalcore, by comparison, has absorbed far more djent, electronic, and even pop influences — bands like Spiritbox and Bad Omens sound meaningfully different from the genre's 2000s commercial peak.

Which bands defined 2000s metalcore?

August Burns Red, Converge, Shadows Fall, Between the Buried and Me, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and Darkest Hour are among the most frequently cited bands that defined metalcore's 2000s wave, alongside crossover-adjacent acts like Lamb of God and Fear Factory whose 2000s output shaped the surrounding scene. Periphery and Kublai Khan TX, both founded in 2009, mark the transition point between the decade's established metalcore sound and what came after.

How did 2000s metalcore influence the genre's next decade?

Several drummers who built their reputations in the 2000s carried metalcore's technical, double-bass-driven vocabulary directly into the 2010s — Nick Augusto joined Trivium in 2010 after working as the band's drum technician during the decade's final years, and Matt Halpern co-founded Periphery in 2009, fusing 2000s metalcore technicality with djent's polymetric influence to help define the genre's next chapter.

Gear Deep Dives & Articles

1. Matt Greiner — Founded the decade's technical metalcore gold standard. Matt Greiner co-founded August Burns Red in 2003, right at the start of metalcore's biggest decade, and his blazing double bass patterns and intricate fills on the band's early-to-mid 2000s output set the technical benchmark every metalcore drummer since has measured against. His combination of blistering speed with creative dynamics defined what "technical metalcore" would mean for the rest of the decade and beyond. Greiner earns rank #1 for founding one of the 2000s' most influential metalcore acts from day one.
2. Ben Koller — Jane Doe and the decade's hardcore-metal blueprint. Ben Koller's run with Converge through the 2000s — "Jane Doe" (2001), "You Fail Me" (2004), and "No Heroes" (2006) — combined hardcore punk fury with metal technicality in a way that became foundational to the entire metalcore movement's more aggressive wing. His blistering speed and creative dynamics gave the decade's heaviest metalcore bands a template for raw, uncompromising intensity. Koller earns rank #2 for a run of 2000s albums still cited as genre landmarks.
3. Jason Bittner — A Grammy-nominated decade with Shadows Fall. Jason Bittner joined Shadows Fall in 2001 and powered the band's commercial breakthrough through the decade, including the Grammy-nominated "The War Within" (2004) and its follow-up "The Art of Balance" — albums that helped push metalcore's NWOAHM-adjacent wing into the mainstream. His technical precision and raw power earned him multiple "Best Metal Drummer" awards from Modern Drummer during exactly this stretch. Bittner earns rank #3 for a decade-defining, award-winning run at metalcore's commercial peak.
4. Blake Richardson — Progressive metalcore's technical ceiling, set in 2005. Blake Richardson joined Between the Buried and Me in early 2005 and immediately began expanding metalcore's vocabulary on albums like "Alaska" (2005) and "Colors" (2007), fusing death metal precision with jazz-influenced complexity and odd time signatures. That progressive expansion pushed the genre's technical ceiling higher than almost any other 2000s metalcore act attempted. Richardson earns rank #4 for redefining how technically ambitious metalcore could be within the decade.
5. Matt Halpern — Closing out the decade as a founding djent-metalcore architect. Matt Halpern co-founded Periphery in 2009, right as the decade ended, bringing a Berklee-trained technical foundation to the progressive metalcore and djent fusion that would define the genre's next chapter. His arrival at the tail end of the 2000s marks the moment metalcore's technical wing began absorbing djent's polymetric influence. Halpern earns rank #5 for founding one of the decade's last — and most influential — metalcore-adjacent acts.
6. Chris Adler — Groove-metal crossover that shaped the metalcore scene's sound. Chris Adler's Lamb of God, though rooted in groove metal, released "Ashes of the Wake" (2004) and "Sacrament" (2006) at the height of the 2000s heavy music boom, touring alongside and directly influencing the era's metalcore bands with machine-gun double bass and crushing precision. His crossover appeal made Lamb of God a constant presence on the same festival bills and mixtapes as the decade's core metalcore acts. Adler earns rank #6 for a genre-adjacent influence that shaped the sound surrounding 2000s metalcore.
7. Raymond Herrera — Industrial breakdowns that shaped metalcore's vocabulary. Raymond Herrera's work with Fear Factory on "Archetype" (2004) and "Transgression" (2005) brought mechanically precise, breakdown-heavy industrial metal into the same decade metalcore was building its own breakdown vocabulary — and the two sounds cross-pollinated on shared festival bills throughout the 2000s. His rigid, machine-like double bass patterns influenced how a generation of metalcore drummers approached the genre's signature half-time breakdown. Herrera earns rank #7 for an industrial-metal influence embedded in metalcore's 2000s development.
8. Isaac Lamb — Beatdown hardcore founded right as the decade closed. Isaac Lamb co-founded Kublai Khan TX in 2009 in Sherman, Texas, launching the beatdown hardcore/metalcore band right at the close of the decade metalcore built its identity in. His crushing breakdowns and heavy groove carried the 2000s metalcore movement's breakdown-centric philosophy directly into the genre's next era. Lamb earns rank #8 for founding a band that bridges the decade's ending to metalcore's ongoing breakdown lineage.
9. Nick Augusto — A drum tech turned metalcore drummer as the decade turned over. Nick Augusto joined Trivium in 2010 after initially working as the band's drum technician, stepping in as a fill-in drummer right as metalcore's 2000s wave handed off to the genre's next generation. His thrash-metalcore attack on "In Waves" (2011) carried the decade's technical, double-bass-driven sound forward into the 2010s. Augusto earns rank #9 for a transitional credit that shows how the decade's metalcore vocabulary carried past its own timeline.
10. Brann Dailor — Atlanta's progressive crossover into the metalcore-adjacent scene. Brann Dailor's Mastodon built "Leviathan" (2004) and "Blood Mountain" (2006) during metalcore's commercial peak decade, and though rooted in progressive sludge metal, the band shared festival bills, touring cycles, and a heavy-music audience with the era's core metalcore acts. Dailor's jazz-influenced fills and technical ambition paralleled the same decade's push toward more progressive, technically demanding heavy music. Dailor earns rank #10 for a genre-adjacent 2000s crossover that expanded the audience surrounding metalcore's core scene.

Visit MetalForge →