Ranking the 5 Best Hair Metal Drummers (Plus 1 Honorable Mention)

We've shown love to hair metal singers, guitarists and bassists — now it's time to rank the top five hair metal drummers.

Hair metal — or glam metal, or pop-metal, or whatever you want to call it — is not a genre typically celebrated for its drumming virtuosity, but that's not to say the musicians behind the kit were slouches.

On the contrary, the best hair metal drummers provided the engine to countless arena-sized rock anthems. Energy, charisma and showmanship were the name of the game and the drummers on this list managed to keep the proverbial freight train chugging along at high speed while finding nooks and crannies within the songs to flex their chops.

Many hair metal drummers were raised on the '60s and '70s classic rock giants and it shows in their mammoth grooves and iron-fisted fills. Motley Crue and Def Leppard might seem a long way from Led Zeppelin and Cream, but rhythmically, Tommy Lee and Rick Allen were taking cues from giants like John Bonham and Ginger Baker.

READ MORE: The Heaviest Song by 11 Big Hair Metal Bands

And let's not forget that hair metal drummers were rarely performing in the most ... clinical environments. On the contrary, they had to stay in the pocket while doing all number of outrageous stick tricks and sitting atop moving platforms. In the most extreme cases (some of which you'll see on our list), they had to literally fly through arenas without missing a beat.

So, in celebration of musicians who hit hard and look cool doing it, read on to see our top five hair metal drummers... and one honorable mention!!