Virgil Donati amazing 9 minute drum solo

02.12.2022 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
With Panzerballet

[@TheItalianDrummer]

So much respect to Virgil. My buddy is his drum tech and Virgil stayed with him for a few months. This man Virgil gets up early, puts in at least 3 hours on drums, goes for an intense run, showers, drums for another 3-5, eats dinner (no junk food, only healthy food), and finally drums for another 3-5 before going to sleep... and he does this EVERY SINGLE DAY. Thats 9-13 hours of practice A DAY... no socializing, no bullshitting or wasting any time at all. Straight work all day, every day, to become one of the greatest of all time. One of the most disciplined practice routines and mindsets I've ever heard of. Incredible.

[@ricibatera]

Virgil is a inspiration not Just a drummer but as a human. Living to the ART.

[@ratamacueseven]

Beyond Superb ! This Gentleman is Brilliant !

[@tommes55]

Multiple brains playing together... this man is clearly not from planet earth...

[@evanpetkau7329]

no.... He's from...... PLANET X!!!

[@danielwiggins5739]

It's called lifetime dedication and lots of hard work and practice

[@erwincastillo8238]

He's from planet x from the 237th dimension

[@frankmeenzen787]

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were also from earth! Why not Virgil?

[@tommes55]

@@frankmeenzen787 they don't use their four extremities at the same time for doing their art... 😉😁

[@mjm5081]

Thank you for sharing!

[@AlexiefDelbes]

Nobody as push this instrument more than Virgil , majority of people don't understand the passion he put's in.

[@neoneherefrom5836]

Oh pls explain the passion to us peons

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

Actually Thomas lang is much better

[@morbidmanmusic]

/... but you do understand...? lol. okay.

[@morbidmanmusic]

@@dcmastermindfirst9418 just as boring, and less competent with displacement. But that isn't all there is to it.

[@calmac9720]

@@dcmastermindfirst9418 I wonder how you could possibly qualify that statement. Donati is simply miles ahead of anyone out there; technically, musically, conceptually. I've seen both Lang and Donati several times; mic'ed and unmic'ed. Lang is a bit louder than Donati, (and probably just about anyone else for that matter) but he is certainly not better! The are good friends and quite rightly don't see it as a competition.

[@by-torandthesnowdog1647]

I'll never forget seeing Virgil with Planetx on the moonbabies tour in a small nightclub in Seattle we we're right at the front and his solo was ballistic felt like being on a insane roller-coaster 🎢 ride we were literally laughing off time signature is almost unheard of 🤪

[@dewittk9404]

I saw same tour in Dallas. I will never forget it. He was playing the aqua blue Pearl kit I think?

[@PierluigivillaniMr]

SUPERRRRRR Incredibile Virgil !!!! Spaventosamente Bravo!!! UNICO

[@soul68ou1]

Honestly. !. I gave up trying to keep up with the time's !!. 👍👏👏👏. Unbelievable

[@mohomoho1]

64 years young!

[@kevinconway2417]

64 nowadays is not like it was 40 years ago. It's amazing how these guys love their craft so much, that they stay fit and play seemingly forever. Awesome/inspiring to see for anyone who's thinking about slowing down due to a birthdate.....

[@joeldrummer23]

That bass drum is killer !

[@morbidmanmusic]

record your kick cranked thru the PA.\ in your studio... get some of that.

[@robertdore9592]

I love the way he really 'lays into the kick drum'

[@gadymarcus5297]

magnifico.

[@DionAlbers]

A legend! ❤

[@steevodrums4749]

Most technical advanced drummer in the world ...cannot be duplicated ...

[@alana9832]

There are waaaaayyy better drummers out there that would mop the floor with this guy!😂

[@MrSixxen]

​@@alana9832like who?

[@sanityinaseaofmadness7353]

Look, guys and girls - listen to this with headphones. Ya know what you're gonna hear? Drums which don't come thru in the phone mix this video was made with... More than any other instrument on the stage, the drumset is the most difficult to push to the listening audience. If you're a drummer playing live in front of people, make friends with the sound guy/gal. They are literally the aural gate keeper

[@ChrisDoyle2112]

His kick sounds like a cannon!

[@dougmorato]

The master!

[@ljcaballero3428]

Flows just fine!..)

[@garryhargraves124]

I had the absolute privilege of providing the sound for a few Premier drum clinics, which Virgil was on , so pleased Ii had stopped playing myself before I met him . What a fantastic guy, standing ovation every night.

[@snorhyveln]

Planet X .. He is still untouchable!!

[@gordonvolkert2304]

Ever thought you were insane? This drummer brings it to life. His skills are incredible.

[@ico8272]

skills doesnt mean its music or that it feels good. ..

[@gordonvolkert2304]

@@ico8272 So what's the point? Get up there and show him how it's done then. Entertainment is a big part of music.

[@alana9832]

Guy isn't that good at all!

[@PeterDeLuca-rz3dv]

Agreed. Technically this is far better than anyone out there. But in a musical context it’s total trash.

[@joemama22]

Great intellectual exercise...

[@paisteplayer1040]

Beyond most olympic class athletes.

[@grahamallen9393]

Great solo and filming , just hope this stays up for a bit as it’s wonderful , was this a clinic ?

[@sokolovdt]

This is from his latest concert with Panzerballet in Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

[@SuperheroJunior]

@@sokolovdt Buddy Rich was the greatest drummer of all time. He would destroy this guy in the video in a drum battle.

[@jolemite2639]

@@SuperheroJuniorI’m gonna take a wild stab & guess you’ve got around at least 6 decades on this earth. All well & good & Buddy was a beast. But the instrument & techniques are constantly being pushed beyond the things that were possible or even understood in decades previous. Buddy was a great drummer for sure. The best in jazz & for his time. But guys like this can play anything Buddy could because THEY HAVE. They’ve studied him & pushed the instrument FURTHER. Give this man his props.

[@planetcaravan2925]

@@SuperheroJunior hi buddy

[@thomasdixon3307]

Nice!

[@olegrichi]

Неповторим👍👍👍👍

[@kennethgeer645]

Virgil is one of the greats of all time. I think his videos with Pearl drums sound better than any of the DW videos I've seen.

[@andreasbreitwieser1449]

YEAH! THEEEEE Comeback: hanging rack toms to his right.......!!!!!

[@franciscosperandeo9158]

Love to see this solo on sheet. Then someone duplicate it from reading it. Amazing

[@RichTerrana]

Super Human!!!

[@KONAMAN100]

Guess where the beat is playing style, damn. Mean as.

[@picklesgherkin]

1:10 ..oh there it is, you'll never see that hardware ever agian

[@gravitydrums1391]

Nice Approach

[@ljcaballero3428]

❤❤❤

[@stanleytunnell6486]

Thi man is a beast.

[@misaeldionisiodepena2970]

🔥🙌🏼

[@derek5168]

Not only Australia's best clinician at drum workshops but a equal peer at drumteks annual drummer's weekend with a lifetime of dedication

[@jessebillson]

Phil Collins shreds af

[@theavenger3363]

This is what a dedicated life looks like ..

[@LongLiveGameplay]

this drum has the sound of the war.

[@FelipeVanDerMer]

MORTAL...

[@maxshyt]

Don’t forget this is a 65yo boy😮

[@santyrush]

Bueno, lo de ducharse da igual la hora..., y comida chatarra engorda.. Hahaha.. Un amigo mío tocaba 8 horas de guitarra diaria. Pero éste hombre veo su destreza con las baquetas. Es muy bueno.

[@garethlorman1136]

Jasper Carrot is a great drummer 👌

[@danielgrajeda5837]

Was fortunate enough to See him twice. Once with Steve Vai and once with Planet X. And both times was just absolutely amazing and destroyed it

[@randys6466]

Yeah, he is able to switch tempo and rhythm, back and forth, with no hesitation, what so ever.

[@scottpitner4298]

Veggi Donatos

[@TT-kq3sl]

I like him alot. But No one can be better (or even need to be) than Dave Weckl. He does whatever he likes, everything...

[@kcorpora1]

Weckl has no pocket or feel. Sorry!

[@Google-caput]

Доли. Доли, но забавно, лучше в наушниках слушать... В хороших.

[@AlbertUlvmoen]

Dream theatre lost out here

[@carpediem4179]

virgil, very good drummer, is is always using a cap, is he bald?

[@robertdore9592]

Virgil looks so much like British Comedian Jasper Carrot...

[@charlesdouglas2877]

Not bad for a 64 year old - Brill

[@kevinconway2417]

😆

[@MoteurGeneral]

This is... What is this... I mean, how... What?!??

[@Tdrums8]

Excellent drummer and very talented ..But For a grove and feel give me Bonham ..thats right i went there

[@Tdrums8]

@Drummer J.L.H. haha Bonham would make this guy go back for lessons bro

[@Tdrums8]

@Drummer J.L.H. haha He was in the biggest best Rock band of all time .HAhah this guy did nothing like that yes he has talent but not even close to Bonham playing fast and odd T means nothing

[@user-hk7hz9cn7v]

John Bonham could set up the drum set for Virgil. Then quietly go take a seat. Maybe be on standby in case a drum needs to be switched out. Dude is overrated as fuuuuuuck!

[@Tdrums8]

@@user-hk7hz9cn7v haha i wouldnt say that , that much a lot of people will think your a moron ..Bonham with his groove alone can play circles around this guy .When you develop an ear you will notice that most of Virgils playing is just noise no soul or groove .Who couldnt play levee breaks if he had 50 drum lessons

[@walterrserrano]

@@Tdrums8 Nope.

[@davidvalderrama1816]

Micrometer for time keeping!

[@vincentvancoch7603]

Freak like Bill gobham

[@drummershort]

That kit sounds like God tuned and miked it.

[@morbidmanmusic]

so, no sound at all?!

[@dvldog_]

As if playing this wasn't hard enough dude has his eyes closed the whole time................

[@PeterDeLuca-rz3dv]

He’s squinting hard too. Shows the extreme level of concentration. This stuff is so hard to play that it’s literally taking everything he’s got to pull it off, and he does it brilliantly

[@TheKwaze]

All sounds great except that long reverb on the kick drum. Fine when there's space around it, but irritating when in a mix in my anything but humble opinion.

[@patrickjean1477]

A little too technical for me.

[@morbidmanmusic]

okay, we know you can count and subdivide, and have monster technique., now say something personal...

[@Shmelzig]

לא רע בכלל ואף סביר ביותר

[@chrismutlow1]

Great if you know what he’s up too. He’s put a load of different drum patterns together badly and made it sound complicated. Just watch how many times he pauses to try and knit them together when he’s lost..load of twaddle.

[@marka2520]

Ok.. I'm bored now..

[@user-hk7hz9cn7v]

Back to the top 40 for you! Not welcome here

[@2005arturik]

Не впечатлило - выдержал две с половиной минуты.

[@montywright5297]

Painful to my ears!

[@82mangini]

Thomas Lang is better by far

[@Volkl30]

Sorry but that drum solo is subpar, to say the least, in my opinion. If you want to see a drum solo that's off the charts and better than ANY OTHER DRUMMER, watch ANY Neil Peart drum solo! I guarantee you'll never see a more technical and melodic drum solo in your life. They don't call him The Professor for nothing!! R.I.P. Mr. Peart. 😪

[@aujay]

Peart is an OK drummer (in a overrated band) but sorry he is not in Virgil's league!

[@Volkl30]

@@aujay Totally disagree. But that's why everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[@alana9832]

Totally agree!This clown couldn't hold a handle to Peart,Bonham,Ginger Baker,...

[@ldcsam1]

@@alana9832 Hey Alan, how about some respect. Read the comment above from The Italian Drummer. Mr. Donati may not be your favorite drummer, but he is definitely not a clown.

[@alana9832]

Totally agree subpar at best!

[@ericjencson9489]

There is no such thing as an amazing 9 minute solo of any kind...just sayin

[@user-hk7hz9cn7v]

I just watched one…

[@walterrserrano]

Just saying bullshit. I just watched one, too.

[@hipgroove68]

Soulless

[@wrgbrn]

Choppy,disjointed,no flow

[@markroffe3967]

True.

[@OBGynKenobi]

@@markroffe3967 No, you don't get it. It's like he's playing between the raindrops. There's a method here.

[@sticktrik]

Your comment is foolish & you don’t know what you’re talking about!!! Stick to Lars Ulrich!!!..This is above your musical comprehension!!!! Stay in your lane!!

[@SuperheroJunior]

@@OBGynKenobi Buddy Rich would beat this guy in a drum battle. He was into jazz music though.

[@gravitydrums1391]

I have to actually agree

[@pixellite3413]

No groove, no flow, uninspired and he looks like he's just struggling through fitting fragments. It's not fun to listen to. Virgil used to be interesting and had a common thread in his solos, but those days are gone.

[@chrismutlow1]

Nobody knows if he knows what he’s playing. He’s ridiculous. I hope this crap doesn’t pop up again

[@tittene]

Lo he visto cansado y sin ideas, con ganas de terminar, quizá no fuera su día...

[@drummersinger5324]

Great drummer. But don't care for his coconut tom sounds

[@facciadrum]

0 emozione

[@user-vs9je8sw3h]

He should play simpler... It's not music. And importantly, he is not enjoying. Too complex phrases are confusing and make other players annoying....

[@hulkincredible8169]

If he played simpler, you would say it's not technical, too easy to play. Seems like you are the one who is not enjoying.

[@pixellite3413]

100%..signed

[@user-vs9je8sw3h]

@@hulkincredible8169 Note that I said it's too complex. Do you understand the words, idiot?

[@user-hk7hz9cn7v]

Just because you can’t keep up or understand doesn’t mean he should dumb it down for you

[@fitzcaraldozito]

Virgil Donati is a rhythm explorer. His goal is to push the boundaries of human rhythmic knowledge as far as possible. And sure he enjoys his mission. You don't play drums 12 hours a day if you're not enjoying it..