Fill your big black boots

Nile is a band that I can only take in small doses. Mostly because they're just so damned overwhelming. So if you're someone who takes Nile in zero doses it's only fair that I attempt to at least expose you to George Kollias; a drummer from Greece who I can only assume began playing when the Acropolis was constructed and probably failed several times to have extreme drumming made an olympic event.

Things to watch for in the video:

- George, similarly to Shannon Lucas, for some ridiculous reason plays the kick with one foot during blast beats. You'll notice this at the 10 second mark. I'm sure he has good reason for this but as far as I'm concerned he's just trying to make things harder for himself (for the hell of it).

- At the 17 second mark you'll see both his left and right feet prove that big black high top boots have no effect on turning his feet into high performance pistons of fury. Again, i know there are more appropriate footwear for this but feel free to refer to the last sentence of my previous point. It's possible he went drum shoe shopping with Gene Hoglan.

- At the 1:02 and 1:59 marks you'll see him employ a second snare that's placed to the left of his high-hat. I'm sure it all has to do with ease as far as freeing up his right hand to do things that would otherwise be too difficult with the standard snare placement, but let's not concern ourselves with these details. What's important is that it looks REALLY NEAT.

- The 1:37 mark is a nice reminder that he's the kind of metal drummer who doesn't neglect his high-hat pedal. You'd be surprised at how important that actually is.

- Again at the 1:59 mark if you pay attention to his right hand you'll notice him using a technique created by civil war musician Sanford Moeller, aptly called the Moeller Technique. Essentially the hand and wrist perform a snake-like whipping motion when playing with speed that allows for accents. I'm no drummer, but apparently it's pretty tough to master so it's only fitting that our pal George here is having at it with inhuman speed.

The rest is just a blur of fills and cross-over cymbal smashing that is nothing short of exhausting to watch.

The Essential Salts: