In the 1970s, acts like Whitesnake, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin not only paved way for a new breed of loud, beat-driven rock – they also revitalized the drum hero of the jazz-age and cemented the role of the drums as one of the pivot points around which they based their sound. Still to this day, the pummeling grooves of John Bonham, Ian Paice, Keith Moon and Bill Ward continue to inspire writers and underline the fact that in classic rock, the drums are – and should be – loud, obnoxious and play as much of a leading part as anything else in a song.

With that as a foundation, we headed back to the genre’s heydays to capture some of its unmistakable traits. Expect the big, bold mid-tempos, the doom-ridden slow songs, the hammering up-tempos – and, of course, the larger-than-life and rightfully abundant spur of fills.

These are grooves you need to make room for. Start writing.

Works with EZdrummer, EZdrummer 2, Superior Drummer 2 and Superior Drummer 3 (optimized for 1 kick, 1 snare, 1 tom, 1 floor tom, 2 crash cymbals, 1 ride cymbal).