Ok, I'll stick my neck out here.  Keep in mind that I'm old myself.

I think that John Bonham (from Led Zepplin) was a pioneer and could have played with anyone.  Is that considered old metal?

Their first album came out at a time when drummers were keeping the beat in the background.  Think "Creedance Clearwater Revival".  I heard their first single (in the States) "Good Times Bad Times" and was blown away.  His drums were as much a part of the music as the other instruments and often were the heart and soul of the songs.  They provided the mood, the heartbeat, the spirit of the songs.

He was using way more bass drum and with double and triple beats on a single bass, single pedal drum before anyone else.  And changing the beat patterns in mid song while holding to the same time signature and mixing his bass into the drum rolls, etc.  No one else was doing what he was doing.

Now, that's common among good drummers today to do all those things and more.  But I don't think Old Metal drummers were crappy.  Some probably, but not all.  They were still evolving if they were listening to Bonham anyway.

My 2 cents.

word

[QUOTE=master_drums]right ppl, do you think the drumming in old metal is crappy. i personally like it, it just helps to drive the song along. if u stuck portnoy in van halen it would sound stupid u know what i mean?
so what do u think - old metal drumming, good/bad
Cheers
-Gav-[/QUOTE]

Dude, Alex Van Halen could drum his ass off. Ever hear the solo for the song "hot for teacher"? Sick. Old metal deumming wasn't "crappy", it was just simpier that new metal.

SteadyEddy you're SPOT ON. Bonham was the DADDY.  A tragedy he was cut down in his prime by his own alchohol abuse.  All the members of Zep still rate him as the best drummer they've ever played with (which must smart a little for whoever they've got sitting in on their various solo projects!). If you listen to "In My Time Of Dying" from Physical Grafitti there is just SO MUCH to admire in his drumming.  It makes the song - he gets SUCH a power sound from his kit all the while varying the type of beat - and the stuff he does with the KICK!  It's a single pedal single bass - but you'd NEVER know it.  Awesome.  Imagine what he'd be doing if he was still around?  I think he'd eat most modern drummers for breakfast.

If you listen to early Motorhead Philthy Animal Taylor's drumming was fast but fairly sloppy. Not very imaginative at all and much more typical of the 70's Heavy Rock drummer.  It wasn't BAD drumming at all - just a wall of rhythm.  Listen to Mikky Dee (their new drummer) and it's a whole different kettle of fish.  He does all the old Philthy drumming in the old songs - but about 1,000,000% neater and sharper.  His live drum solo in "Sacrifice" is astonishingly fast, precise, complex and powerful.  The best heavy rock solo I've ever heard.  Sadly it's not on any of the CD's - not sure about the BoneShaker DVD as I've not seen it yet.

Uhhh....no, sorry.  Don't know what you mean.

Van Halen... Rush...Led Zeppelin ROCK!!  Those are some fantastic bands.  

BUT  they are most certainly not *Metal*...old or otherwise.  They are considered Hard Rock.

Examples of Head bangin Old Metal would be: Judas Priest,  Iron Maiden, Accept, etc.

My 2 cents.