Best Drummer

As I noted in another similar thread, for me the determination of who is the "best" drummer (which is already a subjective idea) is made by asking a single simple question: who could play who else's parts?  For example, could Peart play Bruford's parts in Crimson, Yes or UK?  Could Collins play Peart's parts in Rush?  Could Portnoy play Collins' parts in Brand X?  Etc.

In this regard, I believe the two best drummers in prog are Marco Matteuzzi and Claudio Trotta, both of Deus ex Machina.  Either of them could easily step into Crimson, Yes, Rush, UK, Dream Theater, et al, and play those drummers' parts.  However, with the possible exception of Bruford (and possibly Collins, maybe, given his work with Brand X), none of the drummers above would last four minutes in Deus ex Machina, especially when DeM is really moving...

If you want to hear "frightening" drumming, listen to DeM's live album, Diacronia Metronomiche.  Trotta's drumming on that album is almost beyond comprehension: no matter how fast or complicated they get, Trotta does not lose one second or miss one beat.  And we're talking about live drumming, where you don't get a chance to overdub if you screw up.

Peace.