Meinl Cymbals - Matt Garstka - "Thoughts and Prayers" by Animals As Leaders 

Not a single song on this album that doesn't completely blow my mind, this album has some of the best drumming I think I've ever seen in all of music.

Thoughts and prayers for the family and friends of that performance, because he killed it

This song is such a sleeper but I think it’s one of the most musical they’ve had. Absolutely insane drum part.

Matt's playing is stupendous as always, but that china - that may be the best china I've ever heard in 40 years of drumming.

This is definitely my fav song off the album, love Matt’s playing on this as well the homie is killing it!

If I can possess half the talent this man has on drums then I’d be pretty happy. Tried learning “Micro Agressions” and “CAFO” and both songs are endurance tests of memory and precision.

Love this whole album! But thoughts and prayers is my jam! 🌠🌅

The power and finesse at the same time…just unreal. Garstka is in a category of his own.

Watching this after seeing them live last night, Matt is an absolute monster

So great when he does not "over play" the song!

Freaking Beautiful!!

Incredible. Crushing.

Mind Blowing!

Mesmerising!

MG - just keep working hard, you'll get there some day . . . I think my favorite part might be the beginning contemplative moment with closed eyes, before a single note is even played.

Killing it!!!

I wonder if this is one of the most didficult AAL beats Gartska has written. I've never seen him so focused before, you can literally see him counting in his head during certain parts. Amazing.

Einfach nur abgefahren 🤘🤘🤘

That's so brilliant! But i have a question: what's that white fluffy balls inside the toms?

Flawless!

Taste, fluidity, economy, dynamic. It's safe to say he hit ten thousand hours.

Monstrous

Nice. At least the drums sound real in this mix. I e.q'd the heck out of the new album to try to get the drums to sound clear but I imagine its a tall order considering the bandwidth the two guitars take up but the drum mix on the new record isnt good. Its sounds like they recorded them in anechoic chamber on two different music players I used last night. Amazing playing but he got a raw deal on the drum sound.

Wen Matt G GetGoodDrums midi pack??

what's the white round things in his toms?

What is in his mounted toms...? Looks like ping pong balls....lol....or is he using Great Foam for control on his resonant heads??? Looking at this on a small phone, I can't tell what's in there.

If u told me Matt would look like this 5 years ago I would not believe u

I imagine this with Vergil Donatti..

Rumor has it that when Matt walks near a drum set, the heads tune themselves out of respect for a walking Demi God.

B E A S T

Garstka really changed animals for the better. Don’t get me wrong they were always great and navene is a sick drummer but garstka brought the jazz/fusion element to animals and to metal honestly. Before animals had mostly fast shreddy parts with not too many dynamics and programmed drums but now they are just in a league of their own. They still maintain their heavy metal and shreddy foundation but add these awesome dynamic melodic parts in there as well.

Matt practically did a whole set for MEINL seeing as he's wearing the same dye attire throughout this series of videos. Lucky SOBs. Parrhesia is filled with good tracks and seeing Matt performs the drum parts live makes them all the more impressive. Thoughts & Prayers may not be my favorite off the album, but it's still a solid melody.

Took me a few rewatches to notice the insane foot change at 3:20. He switches from the double bass, to the hi hat pedal back to the double bass. Add that on top of it already being an insane drum part! It's things like this that cement Matt as my favorite drummer

HE MISSED ONE HIT ON THE SPLASH! HE IS HUMAAAN! XD

This song is simply gorgeous, can’t describe it any other way

I love how it’s always one take Matt is such a BEAST

No doubt he’s one of the greatest of all time. I mean…. What he does in EVERY SINGLE song of this album is completely mind boggling

This album was made for Matt, and I'm here for it. I can't get enough of these Meinl videos as they are mixed oh so perfectly. Thanks to everyone involved 👏

Hahaha amazing!!! Definitely in contention for my favorite track off the new record, and from 3:13 - 3:25 Matt literally looks like a robot playing; SO insane

Idk about y'all, but I think that Matt is looking continuesly more like a Sensei and I never want this development to end He truly is a drumming sensei

This is my favourite AAL album. A shame that it's so short

What an absolute machine. Can’t wait to see them live, come to Copenhagen/Malmo Matt!!

That change from 5 to 7 at 1:30 is so smooth.

Very cool song by AAL. Matt of course sounds fantastic, and shows what 8h practise days on drums can do. The drumming is technically impressive and the dynamic feel is awesome.

i'm so happy the whole album in regards to drum playthroughs is now online. what a gift. matt is such a beast. parrhesia is def one of, if not THE, album of the year for me.

best song on the album IMO. I have been waiting for this video to drop. I love how much this shows control and some insanely technically fills during the fast section and then it all comes back. a true PROG masterpiece in my opinion. I really enjoyed this album, the live was show was 10/10 too.

this is my favorite track on the album. thank you for making these videos, matt. what an absolute treat!

I still miss the tone of his Tama's, but inspiring playing as always!

Total perfection! I love how reflection the combination of the colours on the cymbals of his wearing. Im total fan of Matt!

My favorite track off the album

Matt Garstka literally became John Petrucci on drums

Just would you look at him..... he's meditating on Drums!! Truly a Legend💯🔥

fml

Absolutely amazing! There are not much drummers in that genre playing with that kind of musicallity like Matt does! Love his style and mix from precision and dynamics! Absolutely amazing!

I just love seeing when a musician just becomes the song. Matt is definitely that musician. Every beat, every accent, every transition through time signatures, It’s all him. He’s just so awesome to watch

Such precision,accuracy and a lot of originality and dexterity in his playing He’s a true musician

The only thing I am unhappy about is I can only like this video one time.

Is he Human? seriously

I wasn't really on board when I first heard Monomyth, but it and other songs grew on me over time. I like them now. Nothing special yet, but I guess that's greatly an acquired taste. I really like the relaxed crashing from time to time.

The way he hit the cymbals at 4:37 without even looking shows how much he’s feeling it and that gave me chills..

Tosin and Javier must have a secret program they inforce onto the Drummers who joined ASL. It seems the longer they are with the Band, the more they turn into Giga Chads with Their Drumming Skills and Physical Dominance, lol. I swear, They've all collectively gained a 4th Human being in terms of Muscle Mass and Size, haha, - Matt Halpern: Original ASL drummer for a tiny stint during Weightless. Not sure if Matt did any touring or if he just did Studio Sessions. But Im pretty sure Misha brought him in after using DFH for drums to Produce Tosin's first ASL record. Man, DFH was used for Drums on "A Lot" of records by Guitarists back then and it has since changed that whole landscape forever. Anyways, he now in a little unknown band called Periphery - Navene Koperweis: A Legendary Drummer from Animosity who was ahead of the curve even back then. Entheos is Just Insane - Matt Gartska, The Jazz Fusion Mad Scientist and the longest member of ASL, who has probably benefited from the [ASL: Super Soldier] Program the most. I think they pushed him to far and he became a Werewolf by accident. I think he was roughly 150lb soaking wet before the accident. Now he's transformed into a to 230lb+ Beast.

This man it’s not hu-man. Incredible.

Always à great day when New Matt content comes 😌

No sé del lenguaje musical, y en ese sentido menos de los laberintos de la percusión, pero siento, más allá de la rapidez o la ampkitud técnica, un sensación humana, musicalmente hablando, genial. Quizás cuánto en esto sea cerebral, sin embargo, siempre suena un corazón latiendo!

I don't enjoy the melodic aspect of the song, but I appreciate the creativity and extreme complexity of the arrangement... As for Garstka, excellent drumming...memorizing the arrangement alone is a feat...

I love all the songs on this album, but this song has something unique that makes you feel exactly like this 0:09

Welp, we did it All play throughs

Ooooh, cool title! Like when Nargis drowned 140,000 people in three hours when it pushed the Indian Ocean onto the Irrawaddy Delta while your TV was honed in on this SUPER COOL GUY and you have no idea what the fuck I'm talking about because you were 8. Or like when some shit-mouthed mush-skull uses an instrument that people you hate and want dead want to keep in case people who want them dead finally go for it. Party hard! Great skill, btw. I can hear the polyrhythms flowing like kidney stones in the well-stirred soup of notes. Astonishing, really. Hypnotic like boiling water. Seductive like lipstick on cigarette butts spilled in an oily garage. Cool title, though. Very cool title.

I'm not sure I'm intelligent enough to even listen to AAL... 3:18 is basically the facial expression equivalent of putting one's pinky in the air whilst sipping Darjeeling. In all serious though, I've listened to 5 of the tracks from this album and I've never so much enjoyed being completely lost in trying to count a rhythm.

Fuckin wicked

I'm constantly waiting for Matt's skin to break open and the alien to emerge...

I unliked Animals as Leader's songs from Spotify. Not interested in the music anymore. Been listening to Abiotic and The Contortionist Exoplanet

3:32

4:00 - 4:23 is soooo good! The rest of the song too! 🔥🔥

The most perfect drummer in the world RN.

I see this and I conclude that my willing to still playing drum is so huge that cannot make me giving up hahahaha he is a living beast legend..no words for matt

😳

That may be an absolute masterpiece but somehow i really can‘t enjoy this kind of music because i‘m struggling all the time to figure out what‘s going on and that‘s kinda ruining it…

please do a video with/without the cotton balls. they look like they're doing nothing in there

3:21 always makes me crack up 😄

Anybody holding any body`s beer while their doing this...or outdoing.

Bro is starting to look really buff. Drums are fucking fantasmagorical as always mate.

They fucking played this in Boise last night. It was awesome

anyone else notice the rocks in the rack toms?? im am perplexed and intrigued wtf is man doing w rocks in the racks?

Unedited: showed multiple camera angles cut together.

I never knew Drew Mcintyre played drums

this guy is legit praying on the drumset right here

Thank you for putting in all the work it must've taken to become such a proficient, complete drummer. The world's ears owe you one.

That 20" China is everything I want a China to sound like.

Newest Single; Cotton Balls in Your Toms

Haha do you buy or make your tye die’s? They are fuckin wonderful

cotton balls in the toms

I don't think matters one bit if you like this genre, you cannot help but appreciate the level of talent, melodies, musicianship & composition. Stupid good

I think I'm going to watch this more than Danny Carey Pneuma

can we talk about that dw kit? black and white ebony veneer over the whole drums.

The only common thing I have with Matt is the drum rug.

Phenomenal but just because you can doesn't mean you should

I wonder if he's gonna get some color veneers on his teeth that match his outfit.

Looking like Matt Portnoy with the hair and beard lol

We all came here for the "2:35 onwards" bit, let's be honest