Matt Scurfield

Matt Scurfield — British drummer — works in the metal and heavy rock circuit of the United Kingdom and Europe. The UK has a metal scene under particular conditions. It is the country where the genre was born, with a heritage including Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and the whole New Wave of British Heavy Metal; but the local market for current bands is small, and much professional activity happens in continental circuits or at festivals. That means British musicians in the genre often work outside the country — in bands based in Europe, on international artists' tours or in projects gathering players of various origins. British metal drumming carries a specific tradition: less emphasis on the continuous speed of continental power metal, more weight and variation of feel, a direct inheritance from what Bill Ward, Clive Burr and Nicko McBrain established as vocabulary. It is a style favouring groove over technical demonstration.