If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if one of the world’s fastest drummers was tasked to write music for an early 90s staple from grunge legends Soundgarden, wonder no more. Drumeo set out to answer that question, putting Riccardo Merlini, a student of Mike Mangini (ex-Dream Theater, etc.) who is capable of reaching 400bpm single stroke rolls, to tackle Soundgarden‘s “Rusty Cage“. That track was the third and final single to meet a release from the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers’ 2x multi-platinum sophomore album “Badmotorfinger“.
While Drumeo first intended to have Merlini take on Avenged Sevenfold, he was previously familiar with the track, leading to him being introduced to “Rusty Cage. As is the rub in Drumeo‘s ‘For The First Time’ series, the song introduction is made via an altered version that found the percussion of Soundgarden‘s Matt Cameron removed. Below you can watch Merlini work through the track and even see a reaction from Cameron himself to Merlini‘s final take.
