Matt Greiner, born Matthew Wilson Greiner, is an American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

drummer. He's most well known as a founding member for the band

August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of lead guitarist John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker, rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist Ja ...

. Greiner was

homeschool Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

ed as a child. Greiner cofounded the drum company ''Greiner&Kilmer'' with fellow drummer Kaleb Kilmer, which they founded in 2012. Greiner is an outspoken

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. While Greiner is best known for his drumming, he also plays the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

History

In 2003, Matt Greiner started his musical career. JB Brubaker (lead guitar) hired Greiner, Jon Hershey (vocals), Brent Rambler (rhythm guitar) and Jordan Tuscan (bass) to help form the band

. The band formed in March 2003 in Greiner's basement. The band recorded the ''Looks Fragile After All'' EP in 2004 and was released by

CI Records CI Records is an independent record label in Lancaster, Pennsylvania owned by Jeremy Weiss. Originally created to distribute the releases of his band, Stand Up, an early 1990s melodic hardcore band, CI expanded to include releases from bands suc ...

, a label local to where Greiner and the members lived. In 2005, Vocalist Jon Hershey left the band to eventually start Bells. He was replaced by Josh McManness. After McManness joined, the band signed to

Solid State Records Solid State Records is a Christian metalcore record label, an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore punk and heavy metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, ...

. On November 8, 2005, ABR released their debut album, titled ''

Thrill Seeker ''Thrill Seeker'' is the debut studio album by American metalcore band August Burns Red. It was released on November 8, 2005, through Solid State Records and was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz. A music video was released for the opening track "Yo ...

''. After the album was released, Greiner started endorsing Truth Custom Drums. In 2006, McManness and Tuscan left the band, and were replaced by

Jake Luhrs William Jacob "Jake" Luhrs is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of American metalcore band August Burns Red. Background Luhrs first entered the music scene in Columbia, South Carolina where he was the frontman for a band kn ...

and Dustin Davidson. On June 19, 2007, the band released their sophomore album, '' Messengers'' on Solid State. The album did extremely well and sold 108,000 copies by May 2011. Throughout 2008, the band toured with bands such as

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

Misery Signals Misery Signals is an American-Canadian metalcore band formed in Wisconsin in 2002. History Formation (2002–2003) Misery Signals was formed after the disbanding of several bands, including 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Hamartia, and Compromise. Having p ...

A Skylit Drive A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore band from Lodi, California. The band has released one DVD, one EP and five studio albums: '' Wires...and the Concept of Breathing'' (2008), '' Adelphia'' (2009), '' Identity on Fire'' (2011), ''Rise ...

, and

This or the Apocalypse HAWK (formerly This or The Apocalypse) is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania that formed in 2005. History ''Monuments'' (2005–2009) In 2008 the band signed to European metal label Lifeforce Records, and released the ...

. On February 24, 2009, the band released some of the tracks that were not released with ''Messengers'', titled '' Lost Messengers: The Outtakes''. ''

Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

'' came out later in the year of 2009. The band released '' Leveler'' in 2011 and '' August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill'', a Christmas album, in 2012. In 2011, Greiner started Greiner&Kilmer with local drummer and woodworker Kaleb Kilmer. On October 25, 2011, the

Christian hardcore Christian hardcore or Christcore is a subcategory of hardcore punk bands which promote Christian belief. The method and extent of doing so varies between bands. Christian hardcore bands have often openly stated their beliefs and employ Christia ...

band,

Life in Your Way Life in Your Way (also known as LIYW) is a Christian hardcore band from Connecticut. History Origins (1999-2002) The band was formed by two childhood friends Josh Kellam and Todd Mackey. Jeremy Kellam joined the band to play bass after the ...

released their fifth studio album, ''

Kingdoms Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

'', which Greiner produced the drums. The album also features Greiner's fellow ABR member, Jake Luhrs. On May 13, 2013, the

Metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band,

Texas in July Texas in July was an American metalcore band from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, formed in 2007. They released an EP, ''Salt of the Earth'', and their debut full-length album, ''I Am'', through CI Records. After signing with Equal Vision Records, they ...

released their self titled album. Greiner was featured on the album's final track, "Cloudy Minds". Later, on June 25, 2013, ABR released their sixth full-length album, called ''

Rescue & Restore ''Rescue & Restore'' is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band August Burns Red. It was released on June 25, 2013, through Solid State Records and was produced by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland. The album peaked at No. 9 on the '' ...

''. The album did extremely well, charting very high on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

charts. In 2014, ABR's only development, announced they had left Solid State Records to sign to

Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

and the band's new album, ''

Found in Far Away Places ''Found in Far Away Places'' is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band August Burns Red. It was released on June 29, 2015, through Fearless Records and was produced by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland. It is their first release on t ...

'', would be available for pre-order on April 13, 2015 along with their new single "The Wake". On June 29, 2015, the band released ''Found in Far Away Places'' on Fearless. The band was

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated for "Best Metal Performance" for their song "

Identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

Legacy

Greiner is a highly influential drummer. In the

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

genre, Greiner, as well as

Lance Garvin Lance Garvin is an American musician and, along with Bruce Fitzhugh, DJ Johnson and Jason Truby, a founding member of the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. Garvin is mostly known for using a Ride Cymbal in modern metal without making it ...

(

Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice is an American Christian metal band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1989. The band has released eight studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnso ...

Soul Embraced Soul Embraced is a Christian melodic death metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It was originally a side project for Rocky Gray and David Sroczynski. History Originally a side project of drummer David Sroc ...

), Brandon Trahan (

Impending Doom Impending Doom is an American Christian deathcore band from Riverside, California. The group has released six full-length studio albums and are currently a five piece with lead vocalist Brook Reeves as one of the two original remaining member ...

, xDeathstarx), and

Ted Kirkpatrick Ted Kirkpatrick (May 22, 1960 – August 19, 2022) was an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work with the American Christian thrash metal band Tourniquet. Primarily a drummer, Kirkpatrick was the principal songwriter for th ...

(

Tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to stop the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can be made from a stick and ...

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

) are thought to be the most influential drummers for the genre.

Personal life

Greiner is an outspoken Christian. He was homeschooled as a child, which gave him more time to practice drumming. On the album ''Constellations'', the song "Indonesia" was written as a tribute to David Clapper, who was Greiner's second cousin.

Discography

August Burns Red

* ''

'' (2005) * '' Messengers'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Leveler'' (2011) * '' August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill'' (2012) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2015) * ''

Phantom Anthem ''Phantom Anthem'' is the eighth studio album by American metalcore band August Burns Red. It was released on October 6, 2017, through Fearless Records and was produced by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland. The album peaked at No. 19 on the ''Bi ...

'' (2017) * ''

Guardians Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...

'' (2020)

Guest appearances

* ''

'' by

(2013) * ''

'' by

(2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greiner, Matt Christian metal musicians American performers of Christian music American male drummers American drummers American pianists Living people August Burns Red 1985 births People from Manheim, Pennsylvania American male pianists 21st-century American drummers