Classical Composer Reacts to Pneuma (Tool) Live-Drum Cam | The Daily Doug | (Episode 131)

Mate! Your analysis of what's going on, together with the sporadic quotes of the song, made it so pleasant to watch, to listen to, to enjoy, and to learn. Great job!

His left hand is one of the worlds best drummers

Legend has it that Carey can actually play 5 separate rhythms at the same time but he has to have his pants down

When asked why he doesn't rock out onstage, guitarist Adam Jones said "I'm too busy counting!"

I've watched several reactions to this video. One thing never mentioned is the athleticism of Danny. You don't have to be in great physical shape to play other instruments, but to play drums at this level for a 12 minute song, and keep that pace and power going for a 2 hour show, when you're 58 years old is remarkable. He is a true athlete.

His t-shirt is a clue to the time signature!

Holy shit! You're ther only person on YouTube this far who actually nailed down the correct poly in real time, first listen. You sir, have a great ear

Every member of this band is one of the best at what they do.

One of the things you may notice during the back half of the "hypnotic trance" portion in the middle; not only does the pace speed up, but Danny also creates the illusion of speeding up. As his right hand bounces around to 5 different drums, he starts to remove one, then, another, then another, eventually leaving only the snare and one tom. As he goes from a round of 5 drums, down to 4, to 3, then down to 2, he's creating a feeling of tension and anticipation. Almost like you're subconsciously waiting for some sort of release or explosion, which of course is what we get as the double base and the strobes come in. Another testament to the 'extra' that Danny seems to do so naturally - adding another element of musicality. Oh also, if you watch closely during that same build, he bounces on the snare almost exclusively with his right, except for 1 hit. Just 1 time he brings his left. Who knows why ;-) Just food for thought. Thanks for the rad reactions!

"person behind him has a cool haircut....." f'n classic........that was Maynard

As a tool fan for 25 years I salute you sir for giving me an even deeper appreciation of the band and of Danny. Thank you.

It should be noted that I've seen plenty of drummers reacting to this who couldn't get that count of 33/8 correct, and you nailed it! Just proves that not only is you ear well attuned harmonically but also rhythmically, even when analysing something as complex and 'playful' as this one is. Kudos.

As a drummer of 12 years, this is one of my favourite drum performances ever. His mastery of time and rhythm is unmatchable. The way the time signature switches back and forth while retaining a pocket and groove is genius.

The thing I love about Tool music is that it is so complex and polywhatever and yet it is so lyrical, smooth and ethereal.

14:06 he gives TooL the greatest compliment any musician can give another

Carey has that rare talent where he can control his limbs completely, left and right leg/arm. I don’t think people realize how ridiculously hard that is to do. 99 percent of humans aren’t even capable. Legend

Dude. You're the first person I've watched that can actually follow the count. 33/8 is what they did in this song. Also, picking up the Drop D tuning...good job, bro.

Carey is on another level for drumming. Being able to do things like 3/16 over a 4/4 and to constantly change signatures within a song is amazing.

Drummer answer here to your last question: I've heard testimony that Danny never counts in detail, he just feels the arch of the song. I played in a band with long winding songs like this (with weird timings, etc.). Due to the fact that you, as a drummer, were part of the process of building the song from scratch in the woodshed with your fellow bandmates you don't consciously need to count once you know the ins and outs of the song. In fact, counting every detail, in my experience, is a hinderance. I suspect Danny doesn't count in his head the internal structure of the 33/8 part, rather perhaps he's keeping tracking of each 33/8 portion as a "chunk": "33/8 chunk #1". I do this when I'm playing banjo with a great fiddler. I can easily get lost in the feel when paying attention to the melodic variations so I free myself up to be immersed in feel within each chunk but make a concerted effort to keep track of chunks.

About halfway during the interlude when Danny starts hitting different drums w his right hand, he eventually hits the snare and starts hitting a pattern of 5 drums consecutively and gradually goes down to 4, 3, 2, and then one being the snare which transitions it to the next section with the heaviness and light change. There’s so many layers to it man Danny is a genius