Issei (NAZARE)
Yuu (NEGA)
Kazuharu (Reign)
Kanta (Deviloof)
Rui (Grieva)
Takashi (D. I. D.)
Yusuke (DADAROMA)
Ayuto (SAVAGE)
Matsuri (Noulla)
Ayame (Zetu)
Luchat (Undeux)
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izumi (kagrra,)
machi (lareine)
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As all of you know, VK - even to outsiders - tends to be all about peculiar vocals, bass, and sometimes about all things guitar. But what about them drums though?
Okay - you might be thinking, “gee, we do have threads about favorite drummers already? What’s the deal now?”. But this time, to borrow @zeus ’ approach per the prior modern classic thread, we are going redefine the rules and reasoning for this topic.
Instead, think of anything VK drum-related that will stand the test of time in your favs. Using my picks as an example, it can be…
A type of drum intro that keeps you “locked in” whenever you hear it, e.g.,
or a type of drum groove that is carved into your memory (or heart),e.g.,
or a type of drum sound / mixing that sounds like heaven in your ears. E.g.,
Just go with any template you want - or you can use mine (intro, groove, sound) to describe what fancies you and ONLY you. No need for technical flexing here 
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Naoki (ex-DEATHGAZE, ex-DEXCORE) beats the drum kit like it owes him money. Usually I’m into the guitars and vocals but when DEATHGAZE or early DEXCORE pops up, it’s all about those drums.
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Okay so here’s my personal list. The following vids will be songs i feel that reflect their talent. Drums for me i have a very specific ear for them because the GOD damn Cymbals are always loud 
List in order:
Number 5: 律-ritsu- (Ex-Gossip, VARYL (ヴァリル))
I loved the old drummer from this band but when this dude joined he cranked the drumming up to 11 for some of these crazy moments in thier songs. Both drummers were talented in this band. Tbh accounting for Saku weirdness im sure is a bit of challenge.
ゴシップ(Gossip) - pill
ゴシップ(Gossip) - SAKURAN
Number 4: Yusuke (裕介) (Ex-NAINE, DADAROMA)
In terms of skills i felt as tho at time this drummer carried hard. He has a rather unique way he played i felt. From the moment i heard dadaroma for the first time i instantly heard the drums and was like wow. Of course the guitar is amazing in this band but early dadaroma drummer was a super power. I cant think of anyone else to put in this spot:
DADAROMA - ベルカとストレルカ (Belka and Strelka) - (No not that re-recorded watered down version of this song)
DADAROMA - Morphine #3
Number 3: Issei (Ex-D.I.D, DIMLIM, Nazare)
Man i really dont like this dude but he is SUPER talented. Has been threw so many heavy and known V-kei bands he is here at least at or around this spot. One of the best drummers in V-kei talent wise.
NAZARE - 幸福論 (Koufukuron)
D.I.D - Paranoid Personality
DIMLIM - Mad [K]
Number 2: Kanta (幹太) (Deviloof, Zera)
Man the early Deviloof days is nothing to sneeze at despite this bands weird progression i put Kanta at this spot because even when the old drummer left he showed to everyone his skill can rival Hiroto plus his drumming in Zera. How they are as a band now, well eh. Im hoping they get better but these dudes when they started, man they came in and brought upon chaos and hell everywhere. These drum playthrough for kanta really blew me away:
Deviloof - ESCAPE (Drum playthrough)
Deviloof - Damn (Drum Playthrough)
Number 1: Ryo (Ex-Awoi)
At a certain point anyone can play fast but the execution this drummer has makes him the best in my opinion. Youtube doesn’t have the songs i wanted to showcase here but these are enough for the moment.
For some reason i found him to have such great tonality of drumming, precision, and timing with everything he does. He knows what tones to use and strike in the right moments of the song. This paired with such a great vocalist and guitarist. I know ive mentioned this drummer before in the past. Super talent he has when drumming and hasnt stopped yet.
To give a decent comparison. Honorable mention old Xaa-Xaa drummer Roji (ロ弍). He also has similar approach to his skills.
アヲイ(Awoi) - 絶望の太陽 (Zetsubou no Taiyou)
アヲイ (Awoi) - Marry-San
アヲイ (Awoi) - Black hole
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Mika def. deserves a mention here. This guy has been on top of his game for quite a while and can execute on pretty much anything the other guys throw at him. I love his grooves, his great sense for tasteful fills and his technical finesse. One of the GOATs!
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I totally agree with you, Mika is a very subtle and sensitive drummer. His game stands out particularly from the rest vk scene. A drummer that i also like a lot is Nero from MERRY. An crazy energy, very technical and a damn good style too.
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Mika’s work on Houmonsha X is Bruford-esque, and I do not throw that comparison around lightly.
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Yes, YOSHIKI takes first place, you don’t even have to ask why, it’s enough to hear
It’s incredible, it’s like he’s drumming on my soul 
And S.A.B He is also on the level of Yoshiki in terms of talent for me
Kanta – the only modern drummer worth paying attention to
Nobu is also very sweet, when I hear him play the drums I feel happy
I can talk about them forever :3
Easily Ruka from ナイトメア, tho perhaps the curse of being a guitarist has me understand to understand & especially not articulate a damn thing about the whole rhythm section.
I show my drummer friends his work and say he’s my favorite and they say he’s come from jazz; he doesn’t play a single note that’s not absolutely necessary.
Naito’s track メアリー is maybe the most distilled example of how if it was any other drummer, the whole song would fall flat. Especially that ending. It’s just bonk bonk bonk bonk on the snare with no ornamentation but it pulls the full emotion out of the guitars, more then existed otherwise.
I’m always trying to learn how to write from Ruka but for over a decade the guy’s remained a complete mystery.
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Hold up, Issei didn’t play on Chedoara.
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omg THANK YOU for such a beautiful, detailed write up on Ruka!! I’m a completely music noob so I cannot even begin to touch on any technicalities when it comes to him, but I can tell you he’d be so thrilled to know someone’s spotted his incredible skills and inclinations! I’d love for you to explain more as well!!
He’s a lot more willing to share behind (obviously) various paywalls in my sense - but if I come across anything I’ll be happy to share! (or @mmm any help hahaha)
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Can I just say about Sakura, he’s such a sweet dude and an inspo, SORA from Dezert calls him Dad (or old man) 
(if he is actually Sora’s dad (which I doubt so since I know there’s at least one other dude that also calls him oyaji like this)) someone pls correct me)
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ohh do you mean he talks about drum composition (??) on their paid blogs?
i’m a guitarist who doesn’t know shit about drums, so the chance to learn sometimes what my fav drummer says about his craft would be extremely worth paying for!
Not sure on my end so gotta get info from those here who knows better, but I wanna hope so for you! I think he does seem more willing to talk in those paid streams and blogs so I wonder if there’s something useful for you there
Also @ ruka if you’re lurking drum school like sakura pls
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Sometimes he would answer but sometimes he won’t. He mostly pays attention to paid super chat, and you will need to make a pretty detailed question in Japanese. Like the other day a fan asked him if the new songs are hard to play, he just answered yes it’s hard/no it’s not. But there were some livestreams where he was in the mood and he would talk a lot about backstage stuff even if no one asked. And when somebody asks how he writes songs, he often answers ‘I don’t think much, I write whatever I want at that moment’???. Anw I don’t think there has been anyone who asked him about drums technique.
Btw Ruka is unexpectedly friendly and talkative in person so you may meet and ask him a lot in an event or something
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My next submission is Tadashi “Kyuuhouji” Teramae from Demetori. This man is insane on the drums.
Ability-wise it would be Kami (Malice Mizer), Yuki (Versailles) and Hiroki (D). Soft spot-wise it would be Machi (Lareine)
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I don’t really listen to L’Arc-en-Ciel too much, but I have a huge soft spot for yukihiro’s drumming, especially these days in PB. I really like how he’ll approach heavy sections with a sense of restraint, he seems to tend to build an interesting groove rather than laying into the drums as hard as possible. I do wish he would sometimes hit the snare a bit harder, but the drum parts he writes are so musical and complements the rest of the instrumentation so well I can forgive it lol
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He hits the snare perfectly, if you watch lives show of L’Arc, PB. One of the most tight drummer ever.
You are more talking about a mixing preference.
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