# Top 10 Viking Metal Drummers — Complete Ranked Guide > **Last updated:** 2026-07-01 · **Source:** [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io) · [View full list →](https://metalforge.io/lists/viking-metal-drummers) --- ## Overview Viking metal grew directly out of Scandinavian black metal and melodic death metal in the late 1980s and 1990s, trading pure aggression for anthemic hooks, mid-tempo grooves built for mass singalongs, and lyrical themes drawn from Norse mythology and seafaring conquest. Amon Amarth built the genre's modern commercial template, while the Norwegian black metal and Swedish/Finnish melodic death metal scenes it grew from supplied the drumming vocabulary — blast beats and double bass deployed for scale and atmosphere rather than pure speed. These ten drummers are drawn from Viking metal itself and the closely related Scandinavian black and melodic death metal lineage it emerged from. Jocke Wallgren drives Amon Amarth's Viking-themed anthems directly, while Hellhammer's foundational Norwegian black metal work with Mayhem, Daniel Erlandsson's Gothenburg melodic death metal career with Arch Enemy, and Jaska Raatikainen's Finnish melodic extremity with Children of Bodom all represent the rhythmic traditions Viking metal fused together into its epic, folk-tinged sound. --- ## Rankings Ranked by Viking metal pedigree and influence on the Scandinavian black and melodic death metal lineage the genre grew out of. ### 1. Jocke Wallgren **Band:** Amon Amarth **Highlight:** Amon Amarth's modern Viking metal engine **Why ranked here:** The most direct Viking metal drummer in MetalForge's database, driving the genre's biggest band Jocke Wallgren joined Amon Amarth in 2016, replacing Fredrik Andersson, and drives the band's Viking-themed sound with powerful double bass patterns and groove-oriented playing built for arena-scale singalongs — the most direct Viking metal drummer in MetalForge's database. Full drummer profile: [Jocke Wallgren on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/jocke-wallgren) ### 2. Hellhammer **Band:** Mayhem **Highlight:** Mayhem's Norwegian black metal foundation **Why ranked here:** Helped define the raw, blast-beat-heavy drumming style Viking metal grew directly out of Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg has driven Norwegian black metal pioneers Mayhem since 1988, helping define the raw, blast-beat-heavy drumming style that Viking metal grew directly out of before folk melody and Norse themes were layered on top. Full drummer profile: [Hellhammer on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hellhammer) ### 3. Daniel Erlandsson **Band:** Arch Enemy **Highlight:** Arch Enemy and the Gothenburg scene Amon Amarth shares **Why ranked here:** Co-founded Arch Enemy within the same Swedish scene that produced Amon Amarth Daniel Erlandsson co-founded Arch Enemy in 1995 within the same Swedish Gothenburg melodic death metal scene that produced Amon Amarth, his Scandinavian death metal intensity and technical precision reflecting the same rhythmic tradition Viking metal draws its melodic backbone from. Full drummer profile: [Daniel Erlandsson on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/daniel-erlandsson) ### 4. Daray **Band:** Dimmu Borgir **Highlight:** Dimmu Borgir's Norwegian symphonic black metal grandeur **Why ranked here:** Delivers the theatrical, orchestral-scale extreme drumming that echoes Viking metal's epic atmosphere Daray has powered Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir since 2008, delivering the theatrical, orchestral-scale extreme drumming that shares Viking metal's taste for epic, larger-than-life atmosphere. Full drummer profile: [Daray on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/daray) ### 5. Jaska Raatikainen **Band:** Children of Bodom Jaska Raatikainen co-founded Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom in 1993, his neoclassical-melody-driven drumming part of the same Nordic melodic death metal tradition that feeds Viking metal's anthemic songwriting. Full drummer profile: [Jaska Raatikainen on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/jaska-raatikainen) ### 6. Tomas Haake **Band:** Meshuggah Tomas Haake's polyrhythmic, metronomic drumming with Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah represents the same Scandinavian extreme metal scene that produced Viking metal, even as Meshuggah's technical focus diverges from the genre's folk-melodic core. Full drummer profile: [Tomas Haake on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/tomas-haake) ### 7. Inferno **Band:** Behemoth Inferno's relentless blast beats and precise double bass work with Polish extreme metal band Behemoth since 1997 sits within the same blackened-extremity lineage Viking metal draws its ferocity from, even outside Scandinavia proper. Full drummer profile: [Inferno on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/inferno) ### 8. Morgan Ågren **Band:** Mats/Morgan Band / Kaipa Morgan Ågren, born in Umeå, Sweden, gained metal recognition for his work on Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal's solo album "Sol Niger Within," placing him within the same Swedish extreme metal orbit that produced Viking metal's Gothenburg-adjacent scene. Full drummer profile: [Morgan Ågren on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/morgan-gren) ### 9. Igor Cavalera **Band:** Sepultura Igor Cavalera's tribal-influenced drumming on Sepultura's "Roots" fused Brazilian indigenous rhythms with thrash and death metal — a folk-and-extreme-metal fusion parallel to Viking metal's own combination of Norse folk melody and black metal ferocity, even from outside the Nordic scene. Full drummer profile: [Igor Cavalera on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/igor-cavalera) ### 10. Hannes Grossmann **Band:** Obscura / Necrophagist Hannes Grossmann's classically-informed technical death metal work with Germany's Obscura and Necrophagist represents the broader European extreme metal scene that runs parallel to Scandinavian Viking and black metal, sharing its commitment to compositionally ambitious extremity. Full drummer profile: [Hannes Grossmann on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hannes-grossmann) --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: Who plays drums in Viking metal bands?** A: Jocke Wallgren has drummed for Amon Amarth, the genre's biggest and most commercially successful band, since 2016. Viking metal grew directly out of Scandinavian black metal and melodic death metal, so many of its foundational rhythmic ideas trace back to Norwegian black metal drummers like Hellhammer of Mayhem and Swedish/Finnish melodic death metal drummers like Daniel Erlandsson of Arch Enemy and Jaska Raatikainen of Children of Bodom. True Viking metal specialists outside MetalForge's current database — including Bathory's later-era session drummers and Enslaved's Cato Bekkevold — are widely credited as the genre's founding rhythmic architects. **Q: What bands define Viking metal?** A: Amon Amarth is Viking metal's biggest and most commercially successful band, built on Norse mythology lyrics and anthemic, mid-tempo melodic death metal. Bathory is widely credited as the genre's originator, particularly on 1988's "Blood Fire Death" and 1990's "Hammerheart." Enslaved bridged Norwegian black metal and Viking themes throughout the 1990s, while Moonsorrow and Falkenbach expanded the genre's folk-metal instrumentation. The genre sits at the intersection of black metal, melodic death metal, and folk metal. **Q: What is Viking metal drumming?** A: Viking metal drumming combines black metal's blast beats and raw aggression with melodic death metal's technical precision, deployed in service of anthemic, mid-tempo songwriting built for mass singalongs rather than pure extremity. Where black metal drumming sustains blast beat intensity as an end in itself, Viking metal drumming uses blast beats and double bass patterns to build scale and atmosphere behind Norse-mythology lyrics and folk-melodic hooks — epic grandeur over relentless speed. **Q: What gear do Viking metal drummers use?** A: Jocke Wallgren's Pearl Reference Pure kit with Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbals delivers the powerful low end and cutting attack Amon Amarth's Viking-themed anthems need at arena scale. Hellhammer's Pearl Masters Premium kit with dark-voiced Meinl Byzance cymbals gives Mayhem's black metal foundation its raw, atmospheric edge. Daniel Erlandsson's Pearl kit with Paiste RUDE cymbals favors bright, cutting definition that keeps Arch Enemy's melodic riffing audible through dense, fast arrangements — a shared preference across the Scandinavian scene for gear that projects clearly at both blast beat speed and anthemic mid-tempo volume. --- ## Internal Links - [Jocke Wallgren — Full Drummer Profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/jocke-wallgren) - [Hellhammer — Full Drummer Profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hellhammer) - [Daniel Erlandsson — Full Drummer Profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/daniel-erlandsson) - [Daray — Full Drummer Profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/daray) - [Jaska Raatikainen — Full Drummer Profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/jaska-raatikainen) ## Related Lists - [Top 10 Melodic Death Metal Drummers](https://metalforge.io/lists/melodic-death-metal-drummers) — [LLM Reference](https://metalforge.io/llms/lists/melodic-death-metal-drummers.md) - [Top 10 Black Metal Drummers](https://metalforge.io/lists/black-metal-drummers) — [LLM Reference](https://metalforge.io/llms/lists/black-metal-drummers.md) - [Top 10 Atmospheric Black Metal Drummers](https://metalforge.io/lists/atmospheric-black-metal-drummers) — [LLM Reference](https://metalforge.io/llms/lists/atmospheric-black-metal-drummers.md) ## More Resources - [Top 10 Viking Metal Drummers — Full List](https://metalforge.io/lists/viking-metal-drummers) - [All MetalForge Top-10 Lists](https://metalforge.io/lists) - [Top-10 Lists Overview (LLM)](https://metalforge.io/llms/lists.md) - [All Metal Drummers](https://metalforge.io/drummers) --- *Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*