# Brooks Wackerman
**Brooks Wackerman** (born 1977 in [Long Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-beach-california)) is an American drummer best known as the drummer of the metal band [Avenged Sevenfold](https://www.edgepedia.org/avenged-sevenfold), a position he has held since the band announced his hiring on November 5, 2015[1](https://ironcharts.com/musician/brooks-wackerman) • [2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/). Before that he spent fourteen years as the drummer of the punk band [Bad Religion](https://www.edgepedia.org/bad-religion) and built a résumé spanning Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Bad4Good, Tenacious D, and session and touring work with artists including Avril Lavigne, blink-182, and Korn[2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Long Beach, California[1](https://ironcharts.com/musician/brooks-wackerman) |
| Current band | Avenged Sevenfold, announced November 5, 2015; first album with the band is The Stage (2016)[2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/) • [3](https://www.rock101.net/2026/05/20/fully-independent-avenged-sevenfold-buys-back-masters-to-the-stage-album/) |
| Bad Religion | Drummer from June 2001 to October 27, 2015; albums include The Process of Belief, The Empire Strikes First, New Maps of Hell, The Dissent of Man, and True North[4](https://drummagazine.com/brooks-wackerman-bad-religion/) • [5](https://loudwire.com/bad-religion-part-ways-drummer-brooks-wackerman/) |
| Other work | Tenacious D for about ten years; session and touring work with Avril Lavigne, blink-182, Korn, the Vandals, and others[2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/) |
| Family | Son of jazz drummer and music teacher Chuck Wackerman; brothers Chad (Frank Zappa in the 1980s) and John are also professional drummers[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold) |
## Early career
Wackerman grew up in a drumming family. His father, Chuck Wackerman, is a highly respected jazz drummer and a music teacher with more than sixty years of experience, and his older brothers Chad and John are both celebrated drummers; Chad is best known for his work with [Frank Zappa](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-zappa) in the 1980s, and John has played with artists including [Lindsey Buckingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsey-buckingham), Patrick Moraz of the Moody Blues, and the Japanese guitarist Kazumi Watanabe[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold) • [7](https://www.moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2004_MD_April_485.pdf). He took lessons with the jazz drummer Chuck Flores and with Murray Spivack, who helped shape 20th-century approaches to teaching hand development, snare drum, and drum set technique[8](https://drummerszone.com/news/exclusive-brooks-wackerman-interview/on-stage-6-5048/article//?language=2).
A magazine profile from the period noted that, though only 14, he had already played with [Suicidal Tendencies](https://www.edgepedia.org/suicidal-tendencies) and with Infectious Grooves, the funk-metal spinoff of Suicidal Tendencies[9](https://www.thebadreligionpage.net/img/media/533_article.pdf).
Through the 1990s he moved between related bands.
## Bad Religion (2001–2015)
Wackerman joined Bad Religion in June 2001, replacing Bobby Schayer, and recorded the band's album *The Process of Belief* shortly afterward[4](https://drummagazine.com/brooks-wackerman-bad-religion/) • [10](https://philpapers.org/archive/NICTMS-2.pdf). He described being the last of five drummers to audition, having recently resigned from Suicidal Tendencies; after learning a couple of the band's older songs, the chemistry was apparent and he was asked to join[4](https://drummagazine.com/brooks-wackerman-bad-religion/). Because he still owed Suicidal Tendencies a final two-week European tour in July 2001, the transition overlapped between the two bands[4](https://drummagazine.com/brooks-wackerman-bad-religion/).
His fourteen years in the band produced a run of albums: *The Process of Belief*, *The Empire Strikes First*, *New Maps of Hell*, *The Dissent of Man*, and *True North*[5](https://loudwire.com/bad-religion-part-ways-drummer-brooks-wackerman/). He brought a background in jazz and classical snare drum study to punk drumming, saying in a 2010 interview that he incorporated what he had learned into the genre[11](https://www.thebadreligionpage.net/media/item.asp?itemID=263).
## Avenged Sevenfold
Wackerman had known the members of Avenged Sevenfold since meeting them on the [Warped Tour](https://www.edgepedia.org/warped-tour) in 2004, and the band's exposure to his drumming went back further, to his teenage work on Infectious Grooves' *Groove Family Cyco*[2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/) • [6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold). After the death of the band's original drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, in 2009, the band had cycled through [Mike Portnoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-portnoy) and Arin Ilejay without finding a permanent replacement[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold).
The connection was made through a shared manager: the band's tour manager was also Wackerman's personal manager[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold). For his audition he was given five or six songs to learn, including "Nightmare," "A Little Piece of Heaven," and "Bat Country," covering both technical drumming and more feel-based material[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold). Avenged Sevenfold had been working with him for over a year following Ilejay's departure before the official announcement; one account says he technically joined in 2014, while the band's own announcement of his membership came on November 5, 2015, made by Wackerman and singer [M. Shadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/m-shadows) on [Chris Jericho](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-jericho)'s "Talk Is Jericho" podcast[12](https://blabbermouth.net/news/brooks-wackerman-how-i-landed-avenged-sevenfold-gig) • [13](https://metalinjection.net/news/how-brooks-wackerman-ended-up-as-the-drummer-for-avenged-sevenfold) • [2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/).
Wackerman said of his predecessor: "Jimmy ['The Rev'] Sullivan and I always had a mutual respect for each other's drumming styles. He was always amazing and innovative, and it's an honor to play his parts live"[2](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/). The band encouraged him to develop his own voice rather than simply emulate Sullivan[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold).
His first recording with the band was actually a track called "Jade Helm" for the [Call of Duty: Black Ops III](https://www.edgepedia.org/call-of-duty-black-ops-iii) video game, performed on a Roland V-drums kit, before *The Stage* (2016), the first Avenged Sevenfold album to feature him, which was released without any prior announcement[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold) • [3](https://www.rock101.net/2026/05/20/fully-independent-avenged-sevenfold-buys-back-masters-to-the-stage-album/). He has since played on *Life Is But a Dream…* (2023)[3](https://www.rock101.net/2026/05/20/fully-independent-avenged-sevenfold-buys-back-masters-to-the-stage-album/).
## Style and approach
Wackerman has described his approach in Avenged Sevenfold as a negotiation between density and space: "There's a lot of notes in this band for a drummer to exercise. That's always a battle, a tug of war between 'Should I play this many notes for four bars, or should I let it breathe?'"[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold). He has cited [Tommy Aldridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-aldridge) and [Terry Bozzio](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-bozzio) as influences on his double bass style[14](https://www.moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1803_MD_March_460.pdf).
Moving from Bad Religion's five-piece kit to Avenged Sevenfold's larger setup expanded his palette; he had used a double-kick setup even before discovering punk drumming, playing metal in his early teens[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold). During *The Stage* sessions he used a steel Ludwig 402 Supra Phonic snare drum loaned to him through his brother's connection with Jeff Ocheltree, John Bonham's drum technician; it was the snare Bonham played on *In Through the Out Door*[6](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold).
## References
1. [Brooks Wackerman – Bio, Gear & Career Timeline, IronCharts](https://ironcharts.com/musician/brooks-wackerman)
2. [Brooks Wackerman Joins Avenged Sevenfold, Avenged Sevenfold official news, November 5, 2015](https://mail.avengedsevenfold.com/news/brooks-wackerman-joins-avenged-sevenfold/)
3. ['Fully independent' Avenged Sevenfold buys back masters to 'The Stage' album, Rock 101, May 20, 2026](https://www.rock101.net/2026/05/20/fully-independent-avenged-sevenfold-buys-back-masters-to-the-stage-album/)
4. [Brooks Wackerman: Bad Religion, DRUM! Magazine, April 13, 2013](https://drummagazine.com/brooks-wackerman-bad-religion/)
5. [Drummer Brooks Wackerman Parts Ways With Bad Religion, Loudwire](https://loudwire.com/bad-religion-part-ways-drummer-brooks-wackerman/)
6. [Brooks Wackerman on making his mark with metal masters Avenged Sevenfold, MusicRadar, May 19, 2017](https://www.musicradar.com/news/brooks-wackerman-on-making-his-mark-with-metal-masters-avenged-sevenfold)
7. [Modern Drummer, April 2020 issue (Wackerman brothers feature)](https://www.moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2004_MD_April_485.pdf)
8. [Exclusive Brooks Wackerman interview, Drummerszone](https://drummerszone.com/news/exclusive-brooks-wackerman-interview/on-stage-6-5048/article//?language=2)
9. [What You Talkin' 'Bout, Brooks? (Bad 4 Good profile), The Bad Religion Page](https://www.thebadreligionpage.net/img/media/533_article.pdf)
10. [The Music Sound (Bad Religion drummer change), PhilPapers archive](https://philpapers.org/archive/NICTMS-2.pdf)
11. [In Their Own Words: Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion, Drum! Magazine, 2010](https://www.thebadreligionpage.net/media/item.asp?itemID=263)
12. [Brooks Wackerman: How I Landed Avenged Sevenfold Gig, Blabbermouth.net, May 7, 2025](https://blabbermouth.net/news/brooks-wackerman-how-i-landed-avenged-sevenfold-gig)
13. [How Brooks Wackerman Ended Up As The Drummer for Avenged Sevenfold, Metal Injection, May 11, 2025](https://metalinjection.net/news/how-brooks-wackerman-ended-up-as-the-drummer-for-avenged-sevenfold)
14. [Modern Drummer, March 2018 issue (Brooks Wackerman Q&A)](https://www.moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1803_MD_March_460.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Heavy metal › Heavy metal rhythm sections and instrumentalists › Heavy metal drummers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license