The evolution of the drum battle culminates in Dave Grohl vs. Animal!

There have been epic drum battles for thousands of years, most of which, unfortunately, went unrecorded. Somewhat more recently, the jazz scene in Kansas City in the ‘30s highlighted cutting contests for every instrument.

The first famous drum battle to make it to video was the great face-off between Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Krupa came to prominence following the epic 1938 Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall shows, Rich a few years later. This is from 1966, but they had battled long before that.

But that famous drum battle was superseded when Rich faced off with… Animal! Judge for yourself.

And now, more than 30 years later, Animal is still in top form. His most recent battle? Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, naturally! This is not the first time Grohl has pounded the skins with the Muppets. Perhaps you remember the “Animool” playing with The Moopets in 2011’s The Muppets:

Here is the real battle: Animal vs. Dave Grohl! It’s a tough call!