Keyboardists in hard rock/metal
I play keyboards in a metal band. Figured I'd list some of my biggest influences and favourite players. Feel free to suggest others I've missed out. I've tried to stick to bands that feature live keyboards rather than studio-only players. |
| 1 |  | Deep Purple
Fireball
Jon Lord - a very early influence for me and to this day I'm still yet to properly emulate his "hammond organ through a marshall stack" sound which was pivotal to the classic Deep Purple records. |
| 2 |  | Faith No More
Angel Dust
Roddy Bottum - another early influence who introduced me to the idea of keyboards creating textural soundscapes as opposed to extra girth with the guitars. His playing on Midlife Crisis is still sublime to this day. |
| 3 |  | Deftones
Saturday Night Wrist
Frank Delgado - As much a DJ/sampler as a keyboard player. Frank helped to elevate Deftones from a nu metal band to the shoegaze-laden titans they became known for. His sampling and keyboard work on Saturday Night Wrist and Ohms is a personal favourite of mine. |
| 4 |  | Dream Theater
Awake
Jordan Rudess - My first introduction to the world of metal keyboard virtuoso. Rudess' playing is always impressive and he has also been pretty innovative in regards to software and technology. |
| 5 |  | Between the Buried and Me
The Great Misdirect
Tommy Giles Rogers Jr - This was the band that got me interested in the idea of metal frontmen who sang and played keyboards. Tommy's combination of proggy keyboard playing and his versatile vocal performances blew me away the first time I heard this band, and it still impresses me to this day. |
| 6 |  | Type O Negative
October Rust
Josh Silver - Some of the most iconic and memorable keyboard motifs of all time, with Love you to Death being the obvious example for me. Also an incredibly underrated producer. |
| 7 |  | Leprous
Bilateral
Einar Solberg - Similar story to BTBAM really. Some have accused Einar of becoming a bit of a control freak with more recent Leprous albums, but it's hard to deny the man's talent both behind the mic and on the ivories |
| 8 |  | Nightwish
Once
Tuomas Holopainen - This band has fallen hard in terms of quality in recent years but it's impossible to talk about metal keyboardists without mentioning Tuomas and Nightwish, and yeah, those earlier Nightwish albums are absolute classics. |
| 9 |  | Within Temptation
Enter
Martijn Westerholt - He was only on the first few Within Temptation albums but those early ones were the best, and his stuff in Delain is also an early influence for me. |
| 10 |  | Opeth
Ghost Reveries
Per Wiberg - Most of the classic Opeth albums don't feature keyboards but Ghost Reveries introduced keyboards to the mix in a great way. The organ playing on Baying of the Hounds is phenomenal. |
| 11 |  | Rammstein
Mutter
Christian Lorenz - Before metal I listened to a lot of electronic music so industrial metal was my first big gateway drug. Lorenz is a great keyboardist and also a fantastic composer, having written most of Rammstein's music along with Richard Kruspe. |
| 12 |  | Nine Inch Nails
The Fragile
Trent Reznor - Kinda twisting my own rules here because Reznor usually doesn't play keyboards live, but the man is a master of every instrument he plays and his approach to songwriting is something I have tried, and so far failed, to emulate. |
| 13 |  | Yes
Close to the Edge
Rick Wakeman - It's Rick Wakeman, do I really need to explain why I love his playing? |
| 14 |  | Underoath
Define the Great Line
Christopher Dudley - Another subtle and arguably underrated entry. Christopher's playing has become a bit more prominent on their newer stuff but the subtlety on albums like DTGL was part of what made Underoath a step above most other metalcore bands in the late 2000s/early 2010s. |
| 15 |  | ISIS
Panopticon
Bryant Clifford Meyer - Again might be bending my own rules a little as Bryant switched between guitars and keys, but the keyboard parts on ISIS records just work so well, and they work when they need to. |
| 16 |  | Cult of Luna
A Dawn to Fear
Kristian Karlsson - Similar story as with ISIS. The best post-metal bands have keyboard players that create fantastic sonic and textural layers in the music. |
| 17 |  | Rolo Tomassi
Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It
James Spence - James' keyboard work and vocals are always a joy to listen to, ranging between wild and unhinged to subtle and delicate. |
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