DRUM BATTLE: Lombardo vs Portnoy

Dave Lombardo (born February 16, 1965 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking[1] 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise.[2] Lombardo's music career has spanned more than 25 years, during which he has been involved in the production of 29 commercial recordings spanning a number of major genres with bands such as Grip Inc., Fantômas, and Testament in addition to Slayer.[3]
Lombardo's musical interest was sparked by playing along to a Santana record with bongo drums and was later influenced by the musical styles of Led Zeppelin and Kiss.[1] Lombardo is known as an aggressive heavy metal drummer and his use of the drums have been called "astonishingly innovative"[4] and earned him the title "the godfather of double bass" from Drummer World. Over his career, he has had a significant influence on the metal scene and has inspired many modern metal drummers.

Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Known for his drumming prowess and technical skill, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He co-produced six Dream Theater albums with guitarist John Petrucci, starting from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory through Black Clouds and Silver Linings. From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy had been writing a significant amount of Dream Theater's lyrics. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame (at 37 years of age).
Besides his work with Dream Theater, Portnoy is known for his many side projects and tribute bands. He is a founding member of Liquid Tension Experiment, an instrumental progressive rock band featuring fellow DT members John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess along with bass legend Tony Levin. He is also a founding member of Transatlantic, a progressive rock "super-group" featuring Spock's Beard keyboardist/vocalist Neal Morse, Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt and Marillon bassist Pete Trewavas. Portnoy has also recorded and/or toured/performed live with Avenged Sevenfold, Neal Morse, OSI, Hail!, Stone Sour, Fates Warning, Overkill and G3. Over the years, Portnoy has also created tribute bands to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and The Who, which has allowed him to perform the music of his four favorite drummers.
On September of 2010, Portnoy announced that he had left Dream Theater after 25 years. He was replaced by Mike Mangini. Since his departure, Portnoy has started three new projects. One is with Symphony X singer Russell Allen and guitarist Mike Orlando, called Adrenaline Mob, which has an album scheduled to be released in March of 2012.[1] He has also started a band with Steve Morse, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue, and Casey McPherson called Flying Colors, which also has an album scheduled to be released in March of 2012.