AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Save Me - Drum Cover

This was quite a challenge! So many Mike Portnoyisms in this one. The last section is trademark Mike.
Enjoy, A7X fans. ;)
Download or stream previous works:
distrokid.com/...
distrokid.com/...
distrokid.com/...
t-shirts n stuff: teespring.com/...
be a dork and send me $2.13 for no reason: paypal.me/josh...

[@devinligtelyn915]

fast technical aggressive it's the perfect blend of drumming

[@WePeeWithTheDoorOpen]

What about groove?

[@Bbroz517]

+Moderately Confused it's got groove

[@WePeeWithTheDoorOpen]

Brandon Broz I know, but I'm just mentioning that the original commented left out one of the most important factors.

[@TheCorujax]

Devin Ligtelyn Portnoy is truly sick...

[@AndyXHDGaming]

You play it then :)

[@user-gi3zm3zs9l]

Man for drummers, 6:30 to 7:30 is the most amazing and perfect drumming part i've ever heard in my life. It has groove, complexity, skill, touch and fucking everything.

[@xXTheoriXx]

앙기모딱 its Iron Mike mate! Love him and this dude covers him perfectly

[@meatmissile019]

That's Portnoy for ya

[@xXTheoriXx]

MEATMISSILE01 it’s Portnoy to have written drums part mate

[@metalisandman]

I thought it's still The Rev who wrote the drum parts for the whole album?

[@meatmissile019]

@@metalisandman he did for a lot of it, but some of the parts were written by Portnoy. Most of this song is Portnoy. It's really obvious if you're familiar with his other work

[@troyA7Xdavis85]

Love or hate Avenged, you can't deny that his cover of Save Me is the best on KZbin and just as good as the studio version Portnoy recorded.

[@WaywardSonsBand]

TroyA7X85 Portnoy didn’t play drums on this song, the Rev did.

[@NickHollowKnives]

Christian Bryant Portnoy did the studio recording for the album.

[@mpk6664]

Christian Bryant Portnoy definitely wrote parts of this song. The entire song reeks of Portnoy's drum parts. 6:32 is an excellent example. So is 10:30 The REV also doesn't do the tom thing like Portnoy does.

[@gregtheflyingwhale]

shit. All that time I thought its The Rev's job :(

[@Jayko33]

Григорий Дубров The Demo was written by the Rev, and Portnoy finished it

[@williammiller7799]

I think this song is very under rated

[@KandaDrum]

agreed!! n theres no official live video of a7x playing this song :c

[@williammiller7799]

Iskandar Drumzz Yea which sucks because I've looked and if I found any, I dont remember if I did, they were shitty quality.

[@ezrabehrens4512]

+Nikita Khrushchev most under rated song.... my most fav song by them lol

[@braun2041]

it really is a good song. its like dream theater and avenged sevenfold.

[@braun2041]

+Andrew Canter ... mixed

[@sleepyheadmemes]

ALL HAIL THE FOOT CAMERA

[@JWall_InKc]

Hail to the foot camera

[@jonathanramirez5013]

Hail to the foot camera

[@william.baillargeon7701]

HAIL TO THE FOOT CAM

[@levin2880]

hail to the foot cam

[@kentdenzel1293]

HAIL TO THE FOOT CAMERA

[@gibaorlandini]

Finally a perfect Save Me drum cover!!! thanks bro

[@joshsteffen]

;)

[@ryanwheaton7834]

6:30 - 7:30 is absolutely insane. The paradittles mixed with all kinds of crazy rudiments with up beat ride and off beat hi-hat rolls/snare. I mean INSANE. Mike Portnoy is a god and I’m sure The Rev would be proud of this drum map.

[@matts.9644]

Learning this song was one of the hardest things for me because I actually had to map it out (10:30 ESPECIALLY). The drum fills come out of nowhere and are totally bizarre! One of my favourite moments in the video is at 9:20 when you cross your fingers....that is my exact train of thought (no dream theater pun intended) when entering into it. "FUCK...here goes nothing!" :) Wicked job Josh. Top 3 best drum covers I've watched on youtube thus far. (I've seen hundreds!) Keep it up!

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks!

[@malikadegaldoruwa4839]

Get the songssterr app bro they break it down for us

[@schnitzel438]

*Fuck yes*, literally my favourite song of all time, thanks so much for doing this.

[@schnitzel438]

+Josh Steffen a) could you release the drums only? b) If you do, can I use it in a guitar cover I might make?

[@frankallister5538]

My favourite band of all time!!!!

[@TheRyno8576]

This is my favorite A7X song, and you sir... have done it complete justice!! I'm a drummer myself and although I'm able to play this song, you blew me away. It was incredibly clean and you seemed confident on everything. I also like you how put some of your own fills in there without bogging it up and showing off too much. A lot of drummers ruin songs by doing that nowadays *cough cough* cooperdrummer *cough cough* Keep it up Josh! I look forward to seeing more covers!

[@joshsteffen]

Haha, thanks!

[@fadianurmahalani528]

Lmao

[@joelcoool]

this is the first cover I've seen of this song that gets the hi hat/ride right. you even did the barks and the bell identical to the song, thats dedication! also every single fill was identical to the original which is insane on a song like this, especially some of the ones near the end. perfect cover, well done

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks. I spent a while picking this song apart. I'm a huge Mike Portnoy fan and always listen closely. I must admit I had to take a few shortcuts on technique in order to not trash the entire song. Better safe than sorry! For example, the last fill in the we all die young section. I'd hate to fuck up 11 minutes in. Lol

[@joelcoool]

Thanks for replying! I didn't notice a difference in that fill, I usually just play it as straight 16th notes between the bass drum and snare/toms and then triplets at the end on the kick and I assumed that was right (or near enough)

[@joelcoool]

unless you meant the very last fill which is completely triplet-based, in which case yeah i'd simplify that too lol

[@joshsteffen]

ThunderHawk606 Yup, you know it.

[@nube2]

this song was the rev's last little piece of heaven for all of us to enjoy and remember him by. from 6:08 and on its probably the most technical and mature playing i've probably ever heard from A7X. It truely is the best from Dream Theater and A7X. This song out of the whole album was probably the most influenced by portnoy, the song was longer and parts were in different places it was with the help of the wonderful mind of portnoy that this song truely came to into its own. You can tell by the way Portnoy plays it that he knew when he recorded it that this song would be The Revs legacy and he knew he had to go all out on this one and if you have respect for either of the two bands you can tell. truely a master piece and you played it as well as it was written my friend. I'm sure the rev and portnoy would be proud of this cover. its way better than that POS Arin could have ever played it. great job Josh you've done us all proud.

[@joshsteffen]

+Luis Sanchez ;)

[@marcellosandoval459]

Do you think the new drummer they have can play this song good?

[@BradyHammondsDrums]

Brooks Wackerman is a phenomenal drummer imo. I think he can do this song justice, as well as the others

[@mpk6664]

Luis Sanchez Tbh Arin is a great drummer, listen to Carry On.

[@sebisk14]

You mean Sina Drums... who thinks she is the best drummer in the world because of all the simpy feedback she gets. She may be talented, but being arrogant like this will never bring her to such a level that is needed for such a performance! Its just so much of a pitty, that songs like these are just not popular enough and therefore Josh will never get the attention he would frankly deserve...

[@LsMaloo]

Someone give this guy a permanent gig!Josh you're a legend in the making buddy. I'd pay to come and watch you smash them drums. Rock on mate.

[@melechgadol]

don't you meh it's alright me, bro you absolutely killed it

[@SMOOTUBE]

nearly perfect! one of A7Xs best songs and such an amazing cover piece! i look like an amateur compared to you :D Thumbs up

[@wickedsnuk3812]

who are you again?

[@famaplay]

Why nearly perfect?

[@Damo887]

@@famaplay because no one can play a piece on drums completely perfect, there's just too many subtleties e.g. Power, exact placement of snares, toms, cymbals etc.. and even timing as much as you think you have it perfect you most likely don't (unless you are playing ACDC level shit haha). I heard a couple misplaced snares myself and some alternated beats, but that's just nit picking, at least SMOOTUBE didn't say it out of spite.

[@benjarf17]

Holy shit. You're a beast playing drums. Awesome work dude!

[@joshsteffen]

+Benjamin Rueda Flores ;)

[@Big_Funi_Official]

Jazz drummers: "lame, he needs two pedals?" Rock drummers: "how is he so good with only three toms?"

[@yeetfeet1878]

He has 4 toms An 8x8 A 10x8 12x10 And the floor tom might be a 14x16

[@yeetfeet1878]

And also you are sleeping on jazz drummers they are very technical jazz is harder to play than this same with prog.

[@veilsideRX710]

I've listened to this song so many times, but I've listened to the cover even more. This made my favorite song even better.

[@joshsteffen]

+Kamepa ;)

[@LisaSimpson2]

Same here. So many cover songs on my mp3 player (as well as originals of course) :-D

[@davebeast6020]

+Josh Steffen can you do a beast and harlot cover and the art of subconscious illusion by a7x?

[@watch-Abricot_Ultime]

One of the best drum cover on KZbin and I saw a lot of drum cover !

[@dickhole9126]

Yup, his skill is incredible.

[@romankovar692]

Josh, can you do please "exist " or "god damn " by A7X?? those songs are just amazing .. oh and what do you think about album? :)

[@KisukePlays]

creating god would be an amazing drum cover video aswell

[@metallicmonkey4519]

GOD DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lockecole57]

Yeah God Damn

[@SlavesOfManhattan]

Definitely exist!

[@IuryPoopsYTPBR2014]

Deicide Crusader .

[@vicyday11]

Damn I don't think anyone can give that a thumbs down. I know a lot of people in the metal community like to bash Avenged sevenfold but you can't deny their talent. Awesome drumming.

[@stevedrouillard1585]

Victor Hernandez apparently 68 people would like to disagree with you

[@andikardian9014]

Victor Hernandez, they thought it was a downloads button.

[@itzmeavery9854]

Without a doubt one of my absolute favorite covers on KZbin

[@lespring]

Amazing cover, just perfect!! and your kick drum sounds unbelievably tight, really well done! and hands down to MP, that fill or whatever at 10:30 is probably the best few seconds of recorded drums I have ever in my life heard, gives me shivers every time I hear it! :)

[@joshsteffen]

+David Spring yup, trademark Portnoy there.

[@Koray.K]

David Spring That fill is kinda signature move of Portnoy. So if you see some other drummer playing it, its probably because they are influenced by him back in time. Used in many DT songs as well as LTE ones. Paradigm shift intro is a good example :)

[@travissnider2536]

Omg man I agree so much! I just reminded to see if it was the fil I was thinking of and holy shit it gave me chills after hearing it again 😂

[@oliver_hill19]

funny thing is that the rev wrote this song and considered it his masterpiece. This isn't even Portnoy who wrote this, but he was one of the revs biggest influences

[@LIBERTYSINCURSION]

David Spring: Fuckin right, that's my favorite part too.

[@CarlJohnson-pz4nn]

josh you are the king of the drum cover in youtube.

[@DontHatemusiK]

dude you have the best (double) bass timing of any channel I've found of drum coverers. thank you for being fucking awesome

[@DontHatemusiK]

also the blend of the drums with the background music is perfect. great EQ setup man!!

[@joshsteffen]

+DontHatemusiK thanks!

[@Magucci13]

Honestly 9:30 to 10:40 to me is hands down some off the best coordination I've seen on a kit and some of the most raw soul, put into drum bars and licks. The whole built up and how flawless the fills are, and the down beat chokes with up beat hi-hat combined with the kick drum. Dude that's some real skill

[@SamuelZP9]

Dude, seriously, you slayed it!!! You just nailed those Portnoyisms so accurately!

[@joshsteffen]

+Samuel Zabala well, almost. Portnoy is my favorite. ;)

[@BosGaurus05]

This is a work of art

[@joshsteffen]

+Mohd Saifuddin ;)

[@felipebraga4859]

So clean 🔥 and this song is SO UNDERATED

[@veilsideRX710]

6:58 maybe someday I'll get there. I couldn't even dream of doing a Save Me drum cover.

[@reidgowan2670]

Check out the channel sodamlazy. They have a video for this song.

[@MrCowry1003]

Kamepa feel u

[@purnadika]

i know that feel

[@adamrittenhouse2767]

Practice is the key

[@wheneverifever]

Start slow, with the hands.

[@mattmcsherry761]

2:00-2:02 Probably my favorite part.

[@Cubemaster]

Yeah the crazy bass and Portnoy are the only reasons this is my favorite a7x song

[@DrumrollGaming]

Great job this was awesome! It would be cool to see you cover "Sidewinder" from City of Evil sometime in the future. Rock On!

[@SWIFTBRATZ]

Holy crap dude you're seriously amazing, I can't get over it. Once I start learning drums, you're my goal of skill level I wanna reach. c: Keep it up!

[@sxlrac_barlos3392]

Tiffany Cherish so how’s the progress?

[@iwarpu98]

Yes! I wanna know too!!

[@yeetfeet1878]

I’m 13 definitely not as good as josh yet but I am playing the songs perfect and that’s all that matters. All that matters is Groove Timing Playing the song perfect of course And HAVVINGGG FUNNNN

[@caseyhannigan170]

Dude you are freakin awesome!

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks

[@dex9406]

My fav A7X song and you nailed it bro!

[@dex9406]

Josh, plz do Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the harlot or Unholy Confession. It will be awesome :)

[@FugieGamers]

I'm so impressed! This music is so complex on the drums and it doesn't seem so hard when you're listening to the song, seeing it this way all I can say is WOW. Mike Protnoy is a legend

[@ChrisOfRivia]

Killer drumming, you are a hell of a drummer. 💪

[@joshsteffen]

+Cristian Tobar (SkaguerreroZ) Thanks

[@jonahtanner2781]

This is definitely my favorite drum cover by A7X still to this day in 2019. I sit down at my set and watch it religiously and try to learn it to my best abilities almost everyday! I agree this is a very underrated song.

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks!

[@JuanMoreno-pv3jt]

Daaaaaaamnnnn!!!! Great job man! That was simply amazing!!, it couldn't be better, very accurate and good sounding . I see you did follow our Avenged Sevenfold requests, honestly, we appreciate it a lot!

[@roryos]

The amount of footwork in this track is ridiculous :D

[@raphaelmatheus5462]

The world lost the best Drummer :'(. Perfect Cover!!!!

[@R-Josephs]

The best song of a7x and the best drum cover.

[@lucho290197]

Will you cover Blinded in Chains?

[@Carascoroscovaldo]

+Lucho.damico Yeah!

[@Carascoroscovaldo]

***** Kamém!

[@LurchyScott]

+Lucho.damico Such an under rated song.

[@SuicidalTwinkie]

+Lucho.damico Or Burn it Down lol

[@jpx8250]

+Lucho.damico need for speed most wanted!!

[@Stev0BabaGhanoush]

The way the snare picks up from just being on the 4 to the 2, 4, and the 6 in the intro is absolutely incredible. Simple and tricky at the same time. Very effective. Love it.

[@joshsteffen]

One of the things I can relate to with Portnoy is his ability to shape one riff multiple ways. One of my goals with drumming as well.

[@jonathanpeters9271]

I always got confused by the timing of that transition at 5:46 but you make it seem so easy. Now I get it. Great cover totally nailed it

[@SoloTab]

And making an eye to eye contact saying "That's how you do it bois"

[@antoniocarrion]

One of the best A7X songs. Amazing performance!

[@fixxxer3456]

The second half of the Nightmare album is an amazing collection of songs.

[@MegaTechpc]

First half is pretty great too (Buried Alive, Welcome to the Family, Danger Line, etc).

[@Drogy511]

2022 and I still remember this as the best "Save Me Drum Cover", man, this song is art and you performed perfectly!

[@dickyalmond4719]

U always make the drumming looks dat easy, except double pedal part hahahaha

[@nayeli020991]

Sir, you are AMAZINGLY IMPRESSIVE! Wow!!! 👏🏼 👌🏼

[@Apoel-jw7pu]

This is my dream goal song. If i ever manage to play it ill be so proud :) awesome cover

[@hypaz8658]

amazing cover i watch this at least every month

[@daniellopeznelson5841]

How about a drum cover of Sevenfolds "Lost", Josh? Greetings from Sweden.

[@Mrsjr1]

powerful song, and difficult...good job

[@RaynP]

I love the fact that before it gets to the huge drum solo part, you turn to the camera and cross your fingers, like "Hope I don't mess this up!!" This was the best cover I have seen. Awesome work dude. You are the type of drummer I strive to be like. :)

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks

[@brandonsavatt9888]

You sir are a badass. The Rev would be proud. GREAT cover to a GREAT song.

[@nenadrocks]

Awesome, well done Josh! :)

[@robhildebrandt5578]

Just a killer drum cover. Perfect actually!

[@GreenDayTC]

Dude you're actually incredible!!!

[@Adamhill43]

His bass pedal action is insane sounds amazing

[@ArdiaAn666]

THANK YOU for this amazing cover! At last somebody posted this song played perfectly with good sound and video quality. Thank You!

[@joshsteffen]

;)

[@52191bs]

This is seriously my favorite drum cover of all time!!! You killed it!! And on top of that it's one of my favorite songs drum wise! Mike Portnoy is amazing! And that build up on the end of the song is so perfect!!

[@joshsteffen]

+Brandon Short thanks! Mike is the man.

[@heisenberg864]

The whole video, I just looked at the foot camera 😱

[@wandersonfcastro]

Dude!!! You are absolutely incredible. My jaws are on the floor. Perfect cover man

[@dickhole9126]

" You are absolutely incredible. My jaws are on the floor." - Your "jaws"? You should really have a Doctor take a look at that for you.

[@romankovar4870]

my favorite video from you :) keep up good work man !

[@yom3r3ngu3s]

4:46 best part for me, the change of the rythm good

[@MasterReset7]

Where is Danger Line man?

[@outshined0]

Lol, que surpresa agradável encontrar o Master por aqui.

[@francyanferreira]

@@outshined0 Né isso mano

[@clintondearborn3016]

i put an 8 by 8 inch pice of card bord for a beater pad and it sound cool lot of attack but also a ton of base sound just like joshs base drum love it brothers! much love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! peace

[@awseomsauce]

i keep coming to this video because youve done an amazing job with the cover. one of my favorites here:D

[@dickhole9126]

Yup, me too.

[@LIBERTYSINCURSION]

And THAT, is why Josh Steffen is my favorite KZbin drummer.

[@joshsteffen]

;)

[@silvestreb92]

Man you just kick ass on drums, keep going like that lml

[@williamrunner6718]

My favorite is the 6:40 ish on through, all that cymbal stuff. Awesome!

[@xristoforosstefatos7249]

When I'm having a bad day, I usually rush to this point ;) 9:14

[@joshsteffen]

+Xristoforos Stefatos the end section is one of those classic Mike Portnoy moments. He has a great mind.

[@xristoforosstefatos7249]

Sure.

[@EdPaul-uc3ew]

5:48 I wanted to learn that off bass-kick pattern. Now I know! Thank you so much!! And you did a damn great job!!! 🤘🥁🤘😝

[@arevaiman6986]

DO MORE A7X PLEASE!! SUBCRIBED!

[@CG-70]

This song is a beast and so much going on it’s incredible given how young they were at the time

[@Beast1Chip]

Josh, can you try playing some of their songs with The Rev in it? It would be awesome to see you play it, and i really want to hear it lol. Afterlife or maybe Almost Easy up next?

[@Beast1Chip]

+TanaYT Or maybe so Pinkly Smooth ;D The Rev

[@kaelevi7701]

Seems like he only wanted to do A7X because of Mike Portnoy, all the covers he's done has been on their Nightmare album. :/

[@aidanmiller5697]

+Kaeden wight The Rev actually wrote the entire record himself. Portnoy just recorded it.

[@kaelevi7701]

Tell that to josh, he says differently because he knows Portnoy's style when he hears it

[@aidanmiller5697]

Kaeden wight Well the band members who wrote the song know who wrote the song. The Rev wrote the entire album on an E-Kit but died before he got the chance to record the album on an acoustic set.

[@yuuraiki]

Have been moved from sevenfold to dream theater, but hear sevenfold again give me old good memories

[@blackmanfri]

you should cover some Gojira! :D

[@willpearsonjawz36]

Yes!

[@thedrumboy78]

+Simone Manfroi Would love him to do Explosia or something like that :D

[@lucasmaia7399]

Gojira!

[@JasonDrums24]

+Simone Manfroi That's like asking him to cover Dyers Eve.

[@travissnider2536]

Flying whales

[@whoopigoldberg4660]

that was kick ass one of their best songs and you killed it

[@stellarfellar9960]

I knew this drumming sounded like Portnoy, and after doing research, it was Portnoy. I can hear in this song there is some Rev signature stuff but mostly Portnoy

[@oclayster9439]

Man that cover was killer! Keep doing what you're doing.

[@gregtheflyingwhale]

10:55 WHAT DO YOU MEAN 50/50?!!?! Its perfect song!

[@dickyleonaldo7061]

I think this is perfect (for me)... Love this cover... You did portnoy's beat very well... Good job

[@synysterprojekts2511]

4 years on, coronavirus has hit. The worlds ending as we know it. And I'm sat up at 4am watching drum covers when I cant even play 🤪

[@davidjarrels2027]

This is easily one of my favorite covers, of any type, and of all time

[@PrinceGrey]

Oh yeah, this definitely made my early morning ^_^ \m/

[@spike_26]

I still regularly come back to this cover. Definitely one of my favourites. I hope you'll make more A7X covers in the future.

[@Pillooow]

You are amazing.

[@h.saputra8421]

This song not many people know about it, thats is prefectly cover drum, #Amazing

[@sachanadhrl]

So awesome!! I like your style dude hahahaha

[@joshsteffen]

+Sachan Adharullyansyah thanks!

[@DannyTito9]

Watching in 2021 and still amazed

[@simonbarajas922]

You're incredible man... can you play a little piece of heaven??? pleaseeee :)

[@KTSDrums]

This dude went n added his own recipe of sauce n pulled it off! Hats off for u my guy

[@SeekerKing]

Very good drumming, Good video quality and 60 fps, you got one more suscriber :D

[@joshsteffen]

Thanks

[@MrNiceBuns83]

Adjusts ear piece....continues slaying

[@88fanforlife]

6:30 is where the magic starts

[@soyelmanmax]

Dalee2488 0:00 is where the magic starts

[@white89gt]

Great job! Portnoy claims that the Rev wrote this all, but I really have felt that Mike had some influence on it for sure.

[@joshsteffen]

+shane dyches even if not written by him, the delivery is all Mike in this song. The ending is trademark Portnoy

[@ZuraKazi]

Do "AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Blinded in chains" next

[@leonardoschimidt7561]

It's perfect. I like to see drummers playing in totally unique version of the song, without being with his own arrangement.