ALEX ZILLOUX (NECROSTALKER, GATES OF PARADOX, ETERNAL CRYPT, POLYBIUS, and probably more…) *photo: Kevin Cannon
Alex Zilloux is the drummer of the Rochester NY death metal band, Necrostalker, the Rochester, NY power metal band, Gates of Paradox, and a few others. In a scene short on drummers, Alex has stepped up to the plate for make a handful of bands in Rochester come to fruition live and his efforts shall now be immortalized even further within these pages.
1. I'm always curious about the journey musicians go on to find their primary instrument. Sometimes, a musician in their prime will have multiple instruments that they play regularly, but in your case as a drummer in our underground heavy music community, recall your history with music and what led you to becoming the drummer you are today. Did you play drums first, or did you dabble with other instruments before deciding you wanted to play drums in a band?
I actually originally started with guitar around maybe 9 or 10 years old. I remember my dad sitting me down one evening and showing me the classic beginner songs like Iron Man and Smoke on the Water. I wasn't horrible but the guitar just didn't sit right with me at that age. Around the same time, my family went to a Halloween party hosted by one of my mom's coworkers. Her son had a drum set that he was letting us mess around on and I couldn't stay away from the thing. I probably wasn't playing anything coherent, but just the feel of hitting the drums itself felt so natural to me compared to guitar. My parents must have been able to tell how much I enjoyed it, because that Christmas they got a drum set for my brother and I to share. My brother eventually leaned more into guitar, but I got even more glued to the drums. I took drum lessons for about a year or so, but ended up quitting because I found it boring (looking back I wish I had taken them more seriously at that age). And I've basically been self taught ever since through learning covers of various types of music over the years and just messing around to figure out how to play certain things I've heard on various songs or ideas that pop into my head. The first serious band I was a part of was Nuclear Winter. I think going into that band I was a somewhat solid drummer, but having that ability to collaborate creatively and get feedback from other musicians on my ideas and playing really pushed my creativity and technicality as a player. I really credit my time in that band with pushing me past my musical comfort zone for the first time in my life.
2. Now that you've been an active drummer in the scene for awhile, talk about some drummers who have really intrigued you, inspired you, or who you just feel deserve a mention here. Think about drummers who have caught your attention in just the PAST YEAR, and feel free to talk about drummers from outside our local music community. These could be drummers in local bands, or huge international acts.
Eloy Casagrande from Sepultura is a drummer that's been really at the top of my list recently. He plays with so much power its insane. He's also insanely tight in live performances, which is mind blowing to me given how hard he's hitting. He has a really unique playing style that's right in the pocket while adding little rolls and fills to play off the rest of the instruments. Overall the dude is just a monster player.
3. Make a list of playing techniques or compositional approaches you've been focusing on lately when it comes to your drumming and writing drum grooves. What are some ways you've been challenging yourself as a player in just the past year?
This past year I'd say my hand technique has been something I've really been trying to improve. Rudiments at fast tempos have always given me trouble, mainly because of my left hand being weaker than my right in some departments. I've also been trying to get better at blast beats. Working on playing consistent notes for long periods of time on both hands has helped improve my endurance in my left hand substantially.
4. Talk about your favorite drum gear! If you have more than one drum kit, talk about your favorite one and why it's your favorite! Or, if you've made any recent add-ons to your main kit, we'd love to hear about those too! I usually ask gear related questions to get our readers who are also musicians thinking about upgrades (whether they've made them already or not). It's important to sound better, but also feel better about what you're playing. New gear that looks and sounds great can have a huge impact on personal morale and a person's rate of improvement as a musician. So, please, talk about any new cymbals, pedals, sticks, shells, rack mounts, etc. that have changed your life for the better!
I'd say my ride or die kit is my Gretsch Catalina Maple kit. That was my dream kit when I was in high school, and I was lucky enough to find one used at Guitar Center for a decent price. Another peice of gear id recommend is a drum tial. It's a tool that measures the tension of your drum heads to allow for much more accurate tuning and tension across the surface of your drum head. Its a piece of gear I have at every show and Id recommend it to any drummer for a super easy tuning process.
5. Who was the very first drummer you can recall hearing who made you think to yourself, "I want to do that. I want to be a drummer!"? What was it about this player that made your jaw drop initially?
It's probably super cliche, but for me it was Niel Peart from Rush. When I first heard Tom Sawyer as a kid, it blew my mind. I just loved the groove and subtle complexity of his playing. That's something I think I strive for when writing, is to keep the groove. He somehow made it easy to jam out to odd time signatures, which is something I always appreciated. Niel also knew how to accent the other instruments with interesting fills and beats, which is something I had never really heard a drummer do to that level before.
6. Give us a rundown of your "scene history". We want to know about all the bands or projects you've been involved with in the past, what band(s) or project(s) you're currently involved in, and also, what your plans are for the future musically.
The first band I was in was Nuclear Winter, which was an old school thrash metal band. We put out one full length album titled "Judgement Day", as well as a few single versions of songs featured on the album. That band was my introduction to the scene and was such a fun time in my life.
While I was a part of Nuclear Winter, I was asked to play a couple of shows for Gates of Paradox because their drummer Kenny had been involved in an accident and was unable to play the upcoming shows. Eventually I was asked to permanently join the band, which was a dream come true for me. I loved playing that style of music and constantly being pushed to play crazier and crazier drum parts was intimidating at first, but now it's a challenge I've sorta grown to love in a weird way.
Funnily enough, at a Gates of Paradox show at the Record Archive, I was asked by Oz if I would join his band Necrostalker. I told him to send me some demos to get a feel for the sound before I gave a concrete answer. The demos reminded me of old school Obituary and Bolt Thrower, which is right up my alley. We got together a few weeks later and started jamming, and we've been writing and playing shows pretty consistantly ever since.
Shortly after Nuclear Winter disbanded, I was asked if I wanted to help form a sort of experimental grind/death metal project. We chose the name Destroyah, based on the classic Godzilla monster. We wrote and recorded a full length album, but unfortunately disbanded shortly after recording. We are still in the process of getting the finished album officially release.
Eternal Crypt is another project that Zane Knight from Gates of Paradox had formed. I had been a fan since first seeing them at their cd release show. Eventually I was asked to officially join and instantly said yes. I honestly credit Eternal Crypt with getting me into black metal as much as I have.
My project Polybius is a cyber death/thrash metal band inspired by bands like Death, Cynic, Gojira, etc. It's basically just a huge homage to everything everything I love about '80s sci-fi, horror, music, etc.
As for the future, I plan to just keep playing more shows, release more albums, and get back out on the road as soon as I can. I love being apart of this scene and collaborating with so many different people to create kick ass metal.
7. Now that we've covered drummers who have influenced you recently, as well as the very first drummer you gravitated towards, tell us who your favorite drummers of all-time are. There are no restrictions. Talk about any player, from absolutely anywhere, known for performing any genre, and list as many as you'd like.
Dave Lombardo is up there for me. Even when he's playing a million miles an hour, he still finds a way to make the song groove. I've always loved the way he played double bass and his lightening fast drum fills.
Bill Ward is another one of my favorites. I love watching old footage of him playing and just seeing how much passion he put into the performance.
A drummer I constantly am inspired by is Gene Hoglan. The way he is able to accent the instruments around him with interesting double bass patterns and unique fills is the kind of drumming I love.
Richard Christy has been inspiring my playing as well more recently. I really love the improvisational feel of his playing. It's so fluid and unpredictable, he has such a unique playing style that I can't stop listening to.
8. Especially in extreme metal, there is a time and a place for drums to "shine" in songs. Sometimes it's necessary for the drums to just land "in the pocket" and follow what the guitar is doing with the most basic of grooves, and other times, excessive fills, massive drum breaks, intricate grooves etc. are called for. Talk about specific songs you've heard in your life during which the drums really stood out to you. Be as specific as possible, so we can listen to the passages you're talking about.
I'd say Overactive Imagination by Death is a song I always go back to when I need some creative inspiration. The drum parts during the chorus are so catchy and the way they play off of the bass parts adds another super interesting layer to the section.
Territory by Sepultura is another sick drum oriented song. The intro sets the mood for the song perfectly and I love the Latin style you can hear in the grooves throughout the song.
"Holy Wars" by Megadeth is such a great example of how hard metal can groove. The super recognisable fill in the intro of the song blew my mind the first time I heard it.
9. Do you remember the first cover song or part of a song you learned to play on drums? What was it?
The first song I learned all the way through on drums was Paranoid by Black Sabbath. I'm sure looking back it was a butchered version of the song, but being able to play along to a song I enjoyed listening to was really inspiring to me at a young age.
10. For aspiring drummers who want to stand out in their respective scene, what's your advice on specific techniques to master and what specific practice routines can help most with these techniques?
I'd say stand out by putting your all into your performance and really try to give the crowd a show in whatever way is truest to you. I feel like people can really get behind what your doing when you show them that you're giving them your all while playing.
The type of techniques to master really depends on what you want to play at the end of the day. So I would recommend looking into what techniques are frequently used in the genres you want to pursue and get those drilled into your playing, then branch out from there.
My favorite thing to do for practice/warmups is to use ankle weights and marching sticks to build my endurance. I wouldn't recommend trying not to go too fast as that could cause an injury, but doing constant double bass at 120bpm for 10 min will really help with your speed and endurance when playing normally.
For the track below, I intentionally chose a song Alex doesn't play drums on. lol
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