27 Rock + Metal Drummers Influenced by John Bonham

Here are 27 rock and metal drummers who were influenced by late Led Zeppelin legend John Bonham.

There are few drummers in music history that have had as large of an impact as Bonham. The Zeppelin icon took a thunderous approach to the drums, and his kit, just like the band, grew in size by the year as they toured the world.

“I’ve wanted to be a drummer since I was about five years old. I used to play on a bath salt container with wires on the bottom, and on a round coffee tin with a loose wire fixed to it to give a snare drum effect. Plus there were always my Mum’s pots and pans,” he is quoted as saying in Mick Bonham’s John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin.

After years of practicing on pots and pans, Bonham’s father bought him his first kit when he was 15 — and the rest is history.

Bonham developed a style over the years that was so unique and such a big part of Led Zeppelin’s sound, that his untimely death on Sept. 25, 1980 marked the end of the band. His surviving bandmates simply felt Bonham was irreplaceable, and in order to respect the legacy they had created together, they needed to leave it as it was.

“We wish it to be known, that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were,” Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones wrote in a statement after he died.

READ MORE: 12 Bands That Called it Quits After the Loss of a Member

Though the drummer’s career was cut short, he was still a massive source of inspiration for rock and metal drummers in the decades that followed including Lars Ulrich, Dave Grohl, Matt Cameron, Mike Portnoy and even the late Neil Peart of Rush, who’s often put up against Bonham in debates over the greatest rock drummer of all time.

To celebrate the life and legacy of Bonzo, check out other rock and metal drummers who have spoken about his influence on them below.