Derek Roddy has forever changed the face of Extreme Metal drumming and has fast become one of the more influential drummers in that field today.
A native of South Carolina, Derek grew up in a musical family and took to drumming at an early age - influenced by a variety of music. Originally inspired by his family, He was also inspired by drummers such as Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Billy Cobham, and Tony Williams, moving on to rock drummers like Peter Criss, Tommy Lee, Eric Carr, and Nicko McBrain. Derek took an interest in metal music as a teenager but also discovered fusion players such as Dave Weckl and Vinnie Colaiuta , and began to hone his skills playing in bands and along to recordings.
Derek first toured at the age of 18 as the drummer for punk rock pioneers Bedlam Hour. By his early 20s he was a working musician, playing in a variety of bands, teaching drum lessons and working in the music retail field to support his interests. In 1996, he moved to South Florida and joined Malevolent Creation, with whom he recorded and toured.
Derek is by no means the originator of the blast beat but, one of its biggest innovators, pioneer and educators, propelling blast beat drumming to the forefront of modern playing in ways no other extreme drummer had done before him.
Over the next 10 years, he continued to record and tour with many ground breaking Extreme Metal bands such as Nile, Hate Eternal to name a couple - cementing his reputation as a phenomenal drummer in the Extreme Metal community. During this period, he produced his first instructional VHS for drummers, which went on to sell thousands of copies with virtually no promotion, advertising or help.
In 2002, Derek launched his own website along with an online discussion forum dedicated to drumming and related topics. His popularity continued to grow with the rise of websites such as YouTube, where fans often uploaded footage of his playing.
After parting ways with Hate Eternal in 2006, Derek broke new ground as a music educator. His 2006 instructional book, The Evolution of Blast Beats, was the first of its kind - documenting the history and composition of extreme drumming. In 2007, he teamed up with Hudson Music and released an instructional DVD titled, “Blast Beats Evolved” and in 2010 “Playing With Your Drums”.
In a music industry battered by changing times and new technology, Derek's career has not only remained intact - it's flourished! Videos of his drumming continue to garner millions of views on the web. He has become one of today's most popular clinicians - performing for audiences all over the world. In 2008, he was a featured performer at PASIC and the Modern Drummer Festival….and, has played on most every major drum festival worldwide since. He has inked endorsement deals with Drum Workshop, Meinl, Vater Percussion, Axis Percussion, Shure, and Remo.
In 2004, frustrated by the non acceptance of extreme metal vocals outside of the genre, he formulated the idea of Serpent's Rise - an instrumental extreme metal band. Serpents Rise has 4 recordings to date.
Derek’s Signature Sound
- Meinl Serpent's Ride Cymbal and Hi Hat
- Axis A21 Drum Pedal
- Vater Signature Model Drumsticks
Since 2008 we've worked with Derek Roddy in developing the Derek Roddy Signature Edition drum pedal. Available as single or double, in either black or silver color.
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