Megadeth drummer listens to The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ for the first time, perfectly recreates drum track

Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren has performed his own take on The Killers‘ ‘Mr. Brightside’ after hearing the track for the first time.

For a Drumeo series on YouTube, the thrash metal drummer was tasked with listening to a song – without drums – once before recreating the track’s drums. In this instance, Drumeo’s team selected The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’, which Verbeuren claims he had never heard before.

As he listens to the track, the camera pans to the Drumeo crew, who are shocked that the Megadeth drummer doesn’t recognise the extremely popular song.

Verbeuren then goes on to perform a single-take of the song, with his own drum composition. His take on ‘Mr. Brightside’ slows things down a little, but still maintains the core beat of the original.

Watch Megadeth’s Dirk Verbeuren listen to then perform ‘Mr. Brightside’ for the first time.

Before performing the track, Verbeuren was asked if he knew the song or the artist, and he admitted that he had no idea who the band was. However, he had broken down the song’s structure, which would allow him to play along upon one listen.

After performing, Verbeuren finally asked the crew what song and band he had listened to. When told he had listened to The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’, he told the crew that he had heard of the band, but wasn’t sure if he had heard the song before.

The Drumeo crew then said that they would send Verbeuren’s take to The Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr., before the Megadeth drummer quipped: “Ronnie, don’t hate me. I did my best, man.”

After listening to the original version, Verbeuren said: “Badass. I have to say, I can see why it’s a classic. It’s a killer song. I can totally see how that would rule on stage and people would go crazy. Great drum parts, very well balanced.”

Megadeth most recently released their 16th studio album ‘The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!’ in September 2022. The Killers on the other hand, released their seventh album ‘Pressure Machine’ in 2021.

The Killers’ Brandon Flowers most recently made headlines when he joined Elton John onstage to perform ‘Tiny Dancer’ for the latter’s Glastonbury set last month.