Hey, not sure if anyone is reading this, but it’s all good either way. I have, once again, been silent for almost an entire year since my last major post. I spent a lot of time during early 2025 writing posts and feeling inspired, only to get 95% of the way there and then not see a point in doing the last 5% to get it ready for the site. I had an entire article written about the new You Win Again Gravity album within 3 days of its release, only to sit on the mostly-completed article for months until I didn’t feel like posting it anymore.
I think this is an issue I have in many parts of my life, and as I’ve found this past year, it also applies to writing music. I’m good at starting lots of things and getting excited about them, but I’m so bad at following all the way through and seeing things to completion. I’ve spent the past year working on myself as a musician, and it made me realize some things about this site. I originally made TheProgDrummer because I wanted to write about bands I cared a lot about, and “give back” in some way to the scene (so much that’s done). I also wanted to connect with other people about music I’m super passionate about, and I did at least make one friend through my posts here. I also recently received an email from someone plugging their band, which I absolutely love to see, and very much welcome. What I’ve realized, though, is that I was somewhat disingenuous about the Drums part of my site. It’s true that I play drums, and I’m alright, but I’m not great. I’m definitely not an expert. I also think my article about drum sticks is a piece of shit post where I was just hoping to get some web traffic and clicks on amazon affiliate links (I’m deleting it right after I write this post). All of this is to say, I want to start over with the drums part of my website. I spent the last year growing as a musician and practicing harder than I ever have before, and while I still don’t think I’m great, I definitely can share what I’ve learned so anyone else who finds this place can make the process easier on themselves.
I recently heard someone say that when you write about something, you eventually write enough and learn enough that you become an expert on the topic. I’ve been absorbing drum culture and prog and hardcore drumming for a long time, and I’m definitely not an expert, but I have a lot of knowledge that I could share, especially if I continue to learn now and share new things I come across.
This year I’ll try to share some of the things I learned about drums in 2025. Of course, I’ll also try to pick back up with sharing sick music with the world, even if one or no people see it.
Here are some of my top albums from 2025:
- Don’t Leave Me Here pt. 1 – You Win Again Gravity
- Your Neighborhood – The Toxhards
- Knowing the Ending – Mesker
- A Search That Never Ends – Knife Dance
- Mend – Eidola (This one grew on me)
- Bite Reality – Cafuné
- I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven – The Callous Daoboys
- The View From Up Here – Saving Face
- Burnout – Good Terms (this was technically December ’24 but I listened in 2025 so)
Check these bands out, have a good 2026, stay tuned for more from me.
Yo man! Good to see you posting again. First of all, don’t be too hard on yourself. Seeing your diligence in writing these articles has been awesome, even when the payoff doesn’t seem as apparent on the surface.
I was going through my Spotify shuffle the other day and finally listened to Open Arms by Horizons, a recommendation I had gotten from this site. They’re great! Been listening to them nonstop and even as I type this. Music has this amazing way of being to impact and influence us, and you having a hand in sharing that music is huge. You never know how far-reaching something may be.
Also, you gotta stop downplaying your drumming skills. Just like weightlifting, social media has made everyone think that unless you’re doing the most complex crap and intense stuff imaginable then you’re just not THAT good, but that’s a distortion. I’ve seen your stuff and you’ve definitely got it. You definitely inspire me in my playing!
I’m looking forward to more articles from you this year, because tbh I feel like I’ve fallen out of love with a lot of the bigger bands I once enjoyed much more like Invent Animate, but your recommendations have helped keep my interest alive.
I find myself leaning more toward prog metal these days, but I will say that my most anticipated release this year is Oh, Sleeper. Hbu?
God bless,
Ayo