Andrea
In the world of metal drumming, speed and energy are everything. One of the drummers who always got it right was James Owen Sullivan, AKA, The Rev. Although his life was cut short tragically in 2009 – he died from a drug overdose – the drummer had left a legacy behind that is hard to ignore.
His works with Avenged Sevenfold will forever remain a point of reference for those who wish to know what great drumming is all about. He left no stone unturned in pursuit of success as a drummer. He also played with ska and Suburban Legends.
Every great drummer has to begin somewhere. And the Rev is no different. He started playing at a very young age. The Rev got his first pair of drum sticks when he was only five-year-old. At age 12, he was already a good drummer and with his own drum kit.
The Rev played in many bands while in high school. That is one of the ways through which his skills improved. Sullivan was a founding member of the Suburban Legends before exiting to join Avenged Sevenfold.
He was 20 years when he recorded his first album with the band. The album was called “Sounding the Seventh Trumpet” and has remained one of the best projects he worked on.
And a memorable vocalist
Avenged would certainly sound like a very different band should Ms. Shadows be credited for creating an unorthodox sound, but so too without vocal interaction between the frontman and Rev.
The drummer offers a range of musical inspiration on critical acclaim afterlife and The Beatles and has Although their single, unreleased album — 2001’s excellently-titled Unfortunate Snort — has not yet been widely available (youtube is your friend there), Syn stated in January 2018 that he might revisit his original project someday.
The Rev might have been given this name of his power, precision, and smoothness behind the kit. Every song has ever played offers an incredible insight into what a great drummer should do.
He was born on Feb 9, 1981. The Rev is a short version of The Reverent Tholomew Plague. He was an American musician known best for his drumming and songwriting skills.
He was one of the founding members of a heavy metal band called Avenged Sevenfold. It is easy to assume that he was the glue that held this band together and drove them from glory to glory. The Rev is a name that was critically acclaimed for his duty on all the band’s albums. He composed all the songs and played the drum for them.
He was ridiculously talented – even as a kid
While most people who are fortunate enough to have good knowledge generally require the necessary tools to hone their craft, Jimmy quickly began to become proficient at the use of the sticks.
He would start learning Metallica and eventually even read Larsulrich’s work, with relatively good results. Eventually he developed his abilities and moved from punk to prog to funk. I guess it’ll take him to 13 to be so great.
His back tattoo was awesome
How do you get your surname printed on sportswear and other apparel? Very normal. What about tattooing? That’s all Reverend does. Jimmy wore a huge ‘Sullivan’ with the numbers 0 under his skin as well as many other memorable tattoos including the words ‘Fiction’ down his torso and two handcuffs around his throat.
“Jimmy wore tattoos that said that when people followed his life it would look like fiction” he told once
His personality was infectious
A decade later, the 2011 tribute film from Avenged Sevenfold brings pain in the throat. Jimmy s smile and his smile seemed to lighten up every single moment and he seemed to be happy with every moment and it shows in his attitude that his humour is believable. It was my favorite time to be ready.
M. Shadow mutters when he hears footage of his friend being shot. It’s lovely, but it’s heart-wrenchingly sad.
Apart from drumming, the Rev was also the lead vocalist/pianist in Pinky Smooth. This was a side project where he was known as Rated.
the rev performing
The Rev was an amazing songwriter
The Rev songwriting credits can be found by doing a search online. Jimmy exhibited an own drumming style but in 2007 he even helped out writing — including piano songs, lyrics and vocals, guitar riffs for his selftitled album ‘White Album’.
And he even created his own signature move (which made him look like a “fucking octopus weirdo”)
It was a dual ride because it had no more definition. ) Generally speaking it means the Rev will use two Kick Drums and two Cymbals at one time. It’s difficult to stay on the bell if there’s not a chance to look, he said.
Over the decades that The Rev worked as a drummer, he placed his hands on many projects. He was known for the signature move he called “the double-ride thing” or “The Double Octopus.”
His speed was unlike anything you may have seen from another drummer. In short, The Rev was a drummer, composer, songwriter, vocalist, and pianist for his band. These are talents you will not find easily in one person.
He had a triple-bass drum kit… as you do
The left bass drum was just to look badass and this was what the Rev needed if he needed 3 feet of space. Bonus information: the last kit Jimmy built also included 12 cymbals with 7 toms. It sounds reasonable, right?
In the following years, two different kits were donated at the Hard Rock Café.
Jimmy was a true friend to all of us
“He went for several days and never got sleep because of friends,” said Joe in an interview. Barbara said the 30 genuinely looking guys were his friends. We had people tell me he’s the only man to go to prison for a visit.
We had people on a flight calling us who said they knew him because of his name.
He was influenced by drummers like Frank Zappa and King Crimson. In an interview with Modern Drummer, The Rev says he was “ raised on the stuff like rock and metal.”
And with that, he became one of the best drummers the world has ever seen. Later on in his life, The Rev found more inspiration from drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio.
How good of a drummer was the Rev?
The imaginative and energetic drum work complemented the music of the band. It was a lot about power and hard strikes. The drummer has great ideas. Listen with and without the drumming. “
Despite being more “advanced” than his future bandmates, he still happily joined A7X
A spokesman for M. Shadow said he and guitar guitarist Zacky Vengeance were recruiting members for Avenged Sevenfold and are looking for superstars to help develop the program. When we started the band, we wanted him to play, but we wanted him to play a lot more than we did in high school — and we had 7th and 8th grade,” he said later.
He unknowingly taught his bandmates to be better people
After Jimmy died, he told Loudwire that the A7X would make everything possible for the family. He added that the singer wanted to learn from the quality he has been bringing back.
