The Avenged Sevenfold fan site AvengedSevenfoldNews.com has been posting isolated drum tracks from the band’s catalog over the past few days, and though they’ve been out in the world for a couple of years already this is my first time hearing them… so now you get the pleasure (or displeasure) of hearing them too.

It’s fun to compare and contrast the late Rev’s style with that of Mike Portnoy, who filled in for 2010’s Nightmare. In the context of the fully orchestrated Avenged Sevenfold songs on which he played, Portnoy’s style didn’t seem to be that different from The Rev’s; there were some audible Portnoyisms, sure, but really The Rev took a lot of cues from Portnoy in his playing to begin with, and Portnoy did his best to play in the band’s style. Now, though, with the microscope on the drums and everything else stripped away, it’s a lot easier to hear the differences; like, holy shit, that is SO Portnoy on “Nightmare,” there’s no mistaking it. It’s also fun to hear The Rev’s isolated backing vocals on the tracks on which he plays — he was a really talented vocalist and added a lot to the band’s sound beyond just his work on the skins.