Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon) is an American drumm… Read Full Bio ↴Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968 in Portland, Oregon) is an American drummer. He lived in Chicago in his childhood, and then later settled in Southern California. Wilk started to play the drums when he was 13 years old and got his first kit when he was 14. After placing an advertisement in a local newspaper Wilk joined Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Zach De La Rocha to form Rage Against the Machine. They went on to release four albums before breaking up in 2000. Wilk, Morello and Commerford went on to form Audioslave with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Brad is a Buddhist, and is seen by many as being very grounded and compassionate. He is also a Type 1 Diabetic, and has said in a recent interview with Countdown magazine, that if he were not making music, he would be finding a cure for the disease.

Brad's success as the drummer of Rage Against the Machine came from the failure of a different band; he once auditioned for a band called Lock Up, who released one album (titled Somethin' Bitchin' This Way Comes) through Geffen records in 1989 and broke up when the album received little media attention upon release. Former Lock Up guitarist Tom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, and called up Brad to see if he was interested in playing the drums. A short while after, the duo met Zack de la Rocha, a rapper, and through de la Rocha met bassist Tim Commerford (a childhood friend of Zack's) and Rage Against the Machine was born.

When Zack De La Rocha left Rage Against the Machine in late 2000, Brad and the two remaining members, Tom Morello and Tim Commerford, opted to stay together to form a new rock band. Producer Rick Rubin suggested they have a jam session with former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. The meeting was an immediate success and they subsequently formed a band called Civilian, which was later renamed Audioslave. Brad Wilk has been the drummer of Audioslave since its formation in 2001.

(Free Jam)
Brad Wilk Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by Brad Wilk:

Ashes in the Fall A mass of hands press on the market window Ghosts of…
Bombtrack Uh! Hey yo, it's just another bombtrack, uh! Hey yo, it's …
Born As Ghosts The hills find peace locked armed guard posts Safe from the…
Born of a Broken Man My fears hunt me down Capturing my memories The frontier o…
Calm Like a Bomb (Feel the funk blast) (Feel the funk blast) Feel th…
Maria Tha sun ablaze as Maria's foot touches tha surface of…
Mic Check Wait a minute now Wait a minute now Check To tha young …
New Millennium Homes Hungry people don't stay hungry for long They get hope from…
Sleep Now in the Fire Yeah The world is my expense It's the cost of my desire …

Snoop Bounce Just bounce to this (Snoop Dogg) Bounce to this (Snoop Dogg)…
Testify Uh! The movie ran through me The glamour subdued me The…
Voice of the Voiceless Uh, uh C'mon, check it Through steel walls Your voice i…

War Within a Breath Every official that comes in Cripples us leaves us maimed …

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

TRACKS

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Comments from YouTube:

Jake Reed

32w↑170

This is so awesome! And, yes, the hihat rejection in UNREAL! My new favorite snare mic is SNARE MIC!

LautenAudio

31w↑5

Thanks for being a part of it Jake. Can’t wait for your video!

Nate Testa

31w↑3

@LautenAudionow I can’t wait for his video 💪🏻🥁🤓

Randy Hanley

31w↑7

Dude! This is amazing. It's almost like the snare is recorded on a separate track in another room because the isolation is so darn good!

Marco Bicca Drummer

31w↑2

thanks Jake and Darrell for contributing to my debt :D ...... this Mic is FANTASTIC!!!!!!

Toro Cruz

31w↑6

Fellas what is the mic? Did I missed something? Is it th Lauten?

1 More Replies...

VC

28w↑3

Some of the most recognizable drum beats, fills, and patterns in the history of recorded music! Brad Wilk is the modern day John Bonham.

Jaxon Duncan-Savage

31w↑101

Brad doesn’t get enough love man! So much groove for one guy!!

LautenAudio

31w↑7

He’s awesome

WarPhi

31w↑5

Although I do agree with you 100%. When I heard he was playing on Black Sabbath's final album in 2013. He got the official nod of approval.

dylan adams

31w

Yeah I thought he was perfect. Very few heavy drummers could stand in for Bill Ward's feel and swing. Brad nailed it.@WarPhi

Mark

31w↑127

When you know the song just by hearing the beat. RATM. Legends forever 🙌

Eric S.

31w↑8

I was playing complicated double bass and fills and chasing Dave Lombardo at the time until Rage came about. Brad's playing showed me another way to say a lot behind the drums without speaking as much. Just power. Not overplaying.

Nate Young

31w↑1

I was about to write the same thing 😊

Yong Yea

31w

I need to learn them. I'm slaying nitty scott and the polish embassador right now.

Thomas Kauser

31w

You go with the polish ambassador he is a f'n genius!

savethefails

31w

right? nothing but the beat and groove and insta "oh hell yeah..."

2 More Replies...

abrackas1

31w↑87

Always thought their first album was Tama Bell Brass. Cool to know it was actually a Pearl.

Brian L

31w↑6

Us too! The secret is out.

ThatFemboyFelicia

28w

I think Modern Drummer also said the snare on Rage's first record was a Bell Brass, which caused misinformation to spread

Home Studio Rescue

31w↑16

This is amazing! Rage and Audioslave recorded some of the greatest rock snare sounds of all time.

Carl Kolthoff

31w↑11

I'll never forget early summer of 1996. My brother had just bought Evil Empire. We put it in the cd player, turned up the volume and pressed play. People of the Sun, just 10 seconds in to the album when Brad starts playing that beat. We were both floored! Recorded drums had never sounded better before, so powerful, so groovy and punchy. Just lovely!

RandomlyDrumming

31w↑54

One of my favorite drummers! Brad is so underrated. Powerful, yet groovy, like a cross between Chad Smith and Dave Grohl.🤘

Casanova Frankenstein

31w↑3

I agree, and with some Bonham mixed in as well...

Buckseed

31w↑2

Dave Grohl? C'mon man.

Blue Shade, the Brony

30w↑3

He’s an influence whether you like it or not.@Buckseed

Sean Thompson

31w↑26

Aw man, I play in an RATM tribute, this made my day - Brad & Tim C, baddest rhythm section in rock

George Vrachliotis

31w↑19

His playing on the last Black Sabbatrh album was outstanding!

William Perri

31w↑8

The pearl free-floating snare drum sounds phenomenal! I didn’t know that’s what Brad used, I figured it was a Tama or Gretsch. For those of you who are lucky enough to have heard The Roots “Do you want more” album Questlove told me he used a 4” Pearl free-floating brass snare drum on the whole album. The Snare drum on that album is second to none and we all know Brad got a phenomenal sound on the RATM records as well. It’s a great drum!

Philipp Vollmer

28w

Hmm, I am pretty sure it was a Yamaha SD 493.

ThePledge

30w↑2

OMG I had the brass free floating. Bought for £180 second hand. Everyone said it was too loud ❤. Loved it. When I stopped gigging the seller begged for it back 👌🏻

Charles Henderson

28w

The Pearl FFS series was so awesome, still got my 6” steal, loud AF, always wanted the brass shell to swap out the steal

J G

31w↑21

One of my favorite drummers.
All pocket just laid back groove.
Rage and audioslave

MrMmnngghh

29w↑1

"Like A Stone" is my favourite Audioslave song for that very reason.

Chan’s Music

31w↑10

I wish he got more recognition, guy is probably my favorite drummer alive

MeTuLHeD

31w↑29

Pearl still makes the full line of free floating snares.

freehaven1

31w↑2

And they're still AMAZING!!!

Luc Bergeron

31w↑2

I haven't seen it in the comments yet, so maybe it missed that someone already said this, but ... yes, there is copper in the bell brass snare (as well as the Pearl free-floater), because brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, at a ratio of roughly 68% to 32% (the ratio changes depending on the use). Great video.

GraveyardgerarD

28w↑1

It brings me great joy to know that one of my favorite snares was used on one of my favorite records.

thisisfrankie

29w↑4

Such an incredible and underrated drummer. This guy should get a lot more recognition.

Cobb the Drummer

31w↑9

Love Brad’s drumming and love that he’s playing the song from the heart.

Joseph Noga

29w

This was AMAZING! Thanks for doing this.

Rafael Gonzalez

31w↑17

The amount of history that snare has is so sick

Neil Murphy

29w

Awesome idea for a series. Would love to see an episode with Chad Sexton and his piccolo.

Charles Henderson

28w

You know how much Brad loves his snares because he’s hitting the crap out of them without ear protection.

I’ve still got my Pearl FFS steal snare and it’s LOUD

costamesa22

30w

I’ve always played and love the tone of brass snare drums. My personal favorite is a Ludwig 5x14 black beauty. ……That said the mid 80’s Pearl bell brass…. Brad plays here has incredible tone.

J W Drums

30w↑1

That Tama Bell Brass sounds amazing

goddamn zordan

31w↑16

I would LOVE to see something like this with John Otto and his 4x14 40 ply vented OCDP snare drum he used on Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish.

LautenAudio

31w↑8

Going to check that one out now

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

31w↑1

Otto is so underrated. Shame about ocdp too

The Drummer From Amsterdam

27w

That was the rock sound of my youth.

jrdindiana

31w↑1

Damn, Brad just doubled the value of my vintage brass free-floater 😆, not that I’d ever sell it.

Nick Costa

31w↑2

The off-axis rejection is bananas! Definitely looking to grab one of these ASAP - bravo, @lautenAudio !

cliffthelightning

29w

They use Brad Wilk to calibrate atomic clocks. Incredible drummer!

Gabriel Johannson

31w↑14

This cat is a legend! Brad is So underrated in my opinion. RATM was such a pivotal band.

Shanker Ramesh

31w

one of the greatest funk drummers ever imo

alan duncan

31w

I don't like the word "underrated". I get a slight back-handed compliment vibe about it. I'm pretty sure his music has been listened to and enjoyed billions of times over the last 30+ years. I don't understand how this rating system works.

Delta Xy

31w↑1

I love this drummer and I love RATM ❤❤

hotbeatz0

31w↑1

Wow, interesting to see that he doesn't (?) hit rimshots. And that he sits so low. Classic sound and groove.

Schlagzeugvideocoach

31w

Wow, great video! Thanks for sharing, great snares, studio and of course drummer! Very interesting - all the best! Greetings from Germany

LDdrums20

29w

Legendary! Beauty all along. Exquisite sound

strongbrave

31w↑2

The White Pearls from Ludwig are absolutely awesome.

Trevor Jalla

31w↑2

9:14 its crazy how even in that brief casual hit, you can hear that is indeed The Black Album snare. Obviously unprocessed, but the core sound is right there... its reminiscent of the fills in Wherever I May Roam

The_Minimalistic_Adventurer

31w↑1

The Black album snare sound was heavily sampled though, apparently changing the true sound of the snare a lot, at least from what I’ve heard through the years.

harrr53

30w

When you can recognise the song, and the exact part of the song just from he drumming. That's good drumming.

Anthony Bolaños

31w

Great drummer and band! I was playing a lot of jazz when they came out, and Brad Wilk forever changed my approach to drumming after seeing how much sound he got from so little of a kit.

Stephan Pfaff

31w↑1

What a great video, thank you so much for this! I love Brad‘s playing so much! Great drum sounds as well.

Glenn Wilson

31w↑2

Thank you so much for doing this. I have such an emotional response to his playing, it just hits you in the chest. He’s awesome. Just ordered the mic :-)

Portnoise.

31w↑2

Great snares, but that kick has so much thump to it. I've always loved how much punch he gets out of his kick playing. It's such a part of their sound.

Walton Brown Los Tambores

31w↑3

Ok this is my big moment, i got the same brass snare, bought it in the 70’s and yep, still my ‘go to’ snare today 😊

Jeremy Cummings

31w↑4

One of the most iconic albums of all time that still has relevance today!!!!
Absolutely love RATM!!!!!!!

ludovic leflon

31w↑3

So... just like that... we were in the 606 FooFighters studio watching Brad W casually talking about snares, some that he and Ross Garfield used on RATM, Metallica, Nirvana, Off Springs, and countless historic records... ..just like that...
That is friggin' amazing !! Coolest content I've seen in a while.
Thanks for sharing this gem.

Nick Lang

32w↑12

Okay this my favorite recorded example of that tama bell brass.
When they going over the hi hat rejection the mic was achieving, that was also just mind blowing!

LautenAudio

32w↑7

That's our new mic, "Snare Mic" 😄

Stereo Anthony

31w↑3

@LautenAudio Ya, gonna have to get one of these for sure!

Nick Lang

31w↑1

@Stereo Anthonyyep, bought one today!

Ricardo Santos

31w

This is pure gold content!!

Martin Dalby

31w

I loved this video. Brad is one of my favourite drummers. I play Killing and Bulls in my band and it was a real treat to see Brad play parts of those songs up close. I learned something new in each song. And I nevetr get tired of watching Brad play. Great to learn about the snares as well. Thanks 🤘😎

Bei ng

31w

Its amazing how many of these videos I watch of a drummer in a top notch studio with the best mixer/engineers and they sound great but.... Brad just has that hit record drum tone with his control and power.

30 is Dead

31w

Very cool to revisit the snare drums and sounds on iconic albums but even better to hear the stories behind them.

Andrew Ambriz

31w↑2

I ran into Brad at a party in 1997 and he was so awesome to talk to! I was just a nobody and he took the time to give me a lesson with a butter knife and a fork. After that, I felt like he opened up a new gear in my playing style. I also was lucky enough to have Ross pimp out a DW snare for me!! Makes me wana play drums again watching this

Brendan Murphy

31w↑3

That was great. I always thought the bell brass was on the first Rage record. Cool to know it was that Pearl free floater.

Brian L

31w↑1

Me too! I think we all did.

Will Smith

31w

Brad reminds me of Alex Van Halen in the way that he fills space in such an interesting way. It almost sounds like the groove’s gonna fall apart and it never does.

Loved this!

Frank Spikes

31w↑1

Loved Brad with rage. The sound engineer with grey hair is Ross Garfield if I'm not mistaken. Cool guy. He knows drums inside and out. Backwards and sideways. Lol. I almost worked for him some years ago.

drumfanatik316

30w↑1

The Holy Grail of snares! The infamous Tama Bell Brass! Often imitated, NEVER duplicated!

TheNumbrs

29w

If this video doesn't make you want a Bell Brass snare, your ears are gone. Absolutely beautiful!

Randy Maizland

31w

Been paying tribute to you Brad for over 6 years now. Guerrilla Radio Colorado. Do my best to keep it authentic and true to what you do. No more no less. I'm using an Ahead BOB snare that sounds fantastic. I'd love to have a brass free floater. Maybe one day soon. That bell brass is just way out of my budget unfortunately. I never get tired of this tribute band. So much fun to play and my bandmates kick ass too. Hope some day I can shake your hand and thank you personally for all you have given to music and myself.

savethefails

31w↑1

I've loved Lauten for a while and any time they say, "we have something good here.." I'm going to listen.
I can NOT wait for the rest of these videos. I just started playing drums a few months ago and this is incredibly cool.

I think one of the things that I love most about Lauten is how much they truly seem to care about the craft/art of the user of each of their products.

Daniel Trochei

31w

What an awesome episode!! professional as all hell, and fascinating stories behind one of the best mixed albums of all time

Mihai Moldoveanu

31w

Not even a drummer, but I enjoyed this video a lot! Looking forward to the next episode!

Garrett Brown

31w↑2

YES DUDE

I'm such a weeny for dope snares especially with back stories. I have a few of my own now and am so grateful for my tiny collection.

JTBKnuggetsauce

31w

This was such a great video from a small channel I've never heard of - nice work can't wait to see more like this!

Henrik Petersson

28w

Would love it if you made the raw tracks available for download. Not just to hear the snare mic, but also the other ones.

Fabio Remedia

31w

This concept is just on another level <3 please keep posting more episodes

Krøne

30w

Just listening to Evil Empire’s drums alone has taken me back to places. I hate this world right now.

M2kss

31w↑1

Pearl free floating snare sounds awesome.
If I'm not wrong, Jimmy Chamberlin used free floating on the first Smashing Pumpkins album.

Billy Hughes

31w

Love Brad's playing -- pocket and groove all day long. The 408 will be my next purchase.

JR59

31w↑4

And now begins my search for an 80s Tama Bellbrass

Rhythmista

31w

I like the way the Tama bell brass snare is missing an original lug next to the badge, and was replaced by a later version. It's like a war injury 💪

NintenDub

31w↑3

Brad has always been a top drummer of mine. Low key great along with john dolmayan. Brads work on sabbath 13 was awesome

LautenAudio

31w

Couldn't agree more!

Rana Drums

31w

Center stage for drums, mics and a storied drummer... keep it simple. Great job guys!

Niklas Silen

30w↑1

Absolutely genius name for the new microphone! It's sounding good too!!

Mitchell Mayer

31w

Looking forward to more from this series! Such a cool inside look

Happy Canayjian

31w

Nice of Dave to let the boys use his studio. 😁🥁🫨

LukeBass1000

31w

This. is. awesome! Instant sub 💟

clueken13

31w↑1

Brad was my favorite drummer when I first started playing…what an awesome dude 😊

DOH!

31w

Brad ‘spitfire’ Wilk, together with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Zack de la Rocha the most lethal rhythm combo in music!

Alexief Delbes

31w

I am gonna check for this snare mic ,it is insane . Those snare are sick , I own a pearl hammered brass of the90s and they are awesome too

ppwtfilms

31w↑1

That tama bell brass sounds so dang good. More videos with Ross Garfield would be epic. He’s like the invisible man behind so many great drum sounds.

LautenAudio

31w↑1

Coming soon 😁

ppwtfilms

31w

@LautenAudio That’s awesome! I’m excited.

Andrew Ambriz

31w↑1

I was lucky enough to get a personal tour around Ross's old warehouse in North Hollywood back in the day. I believe its moved to Glendale now. He is so down to earth and tells you stories behind some of the popular drums. He customized an old DW drum for me but I ended up selling it to a close friend but I can still visit my old drum lol

Brandon Uhlir

31w↑1

Im fucking in love with this series you guys are doing!! and recorded to tape!! killer.. Ugh any multitracks?? man do I wish there were, just to practice mixing a bit, just like the other video

LautenAudio

30w

We have multitracks for the 1st episode of DRUMS, but can't release the ones from these sessions. They are really good too.

Visual Nxghtmare

31w↑1

Brads playing is simple yet it’s so good

Michael

31w↑1

As a Pearl guy I was shocked he used the free floater ion the first album. Always heard it was the Bell Brass.

Matthew Cox

30w↑3

Brad Wilk has got to have zero hearing left. For reals. They are absolute cannons. I am soooooooooo jealous

Kryptonite 365

31w

crazy how a snare drum that looks like it's been neglected in a garage over many winters can look so cinematic with the right lighting, backdrop, color grading, and some depth of field tweaks lol

Adam Sliger

31w

Y’all simply don’t miss. Stoked to try this out for myself😮

Ben Williams

30w↑4

5:19 thia whole section was without click in his ears? It was like a groove driven metronome listening to him play. That was great playing. Nothing hard, but so much groove and top notch timing.

WarPhi

31w↑1

The groove and feel of this. Unreal

Alex Spano

29w

You made my day, 4 months ago I bought that Free floating snare.Year 1998.Super super cheap!!!

Marcelo Seghese

28w

Wow AMAZING sound 👏

Charles Chi

31w↑1

The garage drummer who hit it big with simple beats.

Hustlin C

31w

always loved his playing. Copeland's, Alexander's, Abruzzesse's and his. Instantly recognisable

Heavy metal

31w

This is pure gold… 🤘🏻

David Curtis

28w

This is so cool to watch! 🤘🤘

Rasell DPaz

28w↑1

One of my fav drummer \m/

Degmond

31w

this is great, plz make more of these 🙏

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

31w

This is great. For reasons that have nothing to do with music, I refuse to give $ to Tom Morello, so I haven't heard one of my favorite rhythm sections in years. More of this please

Keith Ferris

28w

Ah you don't like people who support human rights?

HBdrums

31w↑1

Great idea for a series! Three distinct snares there… proud owner of a free floater but dammit.. I really didn’t want to be compelled to get a Black beauty in my life and yet here we are.

Mr. Drums

31w↑1

I've had my Pearl Freefloater since about 87. I bought it used, and though it's not the brass shell like Brad has... the steel shell that I have is also freakin' load and ringy. I think a lot of people got rid of them because they can be a bit of a bitch to tune properly. I dusted mine off a couple of years ago and went through it with a fine toothed comb. I actually really like it now.