Matt Nicholls

Matthew Stephen "Matt" Nicholls (born 22 March 1986) is a British musician.

He is best known as the drummer of the British rock band Bring Me the Horizon.

Nicholls is featured on all six of the band's studio releases.

Nicholls was born and raised in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on 22 March 1986.

His parents divorced and his father gained custody of him and bought him a drum kit.

Nicholls is a self-taught drummer.

As he was learning how to play drums, Nicholls stated that he was never "influenced by drummers" rather, he listened to CDs and followed along with what they played.

He also never had plans to be a drummer and never took drums seriously until he was 18 when Bring Me the Horizon started.

His mother also wanted him to get a day-job instead of pursing music, however Nicholls wasn't so keen to the idea.

When he lived in his apartment block, he was never able to play drums because he was surrounded by other people complaining, so he could only play drums when he was playing at shows.

Nicholls played in the mock hip-hop group Womb 2 Da Tomb with fellow Bring Me the Horizon member Oliver Sykes and Sykes' brother Tom.

Bring Me the Horizon formed in March 2004, and the band released their debut EP, This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For, that same year.

Their debut studio album, Count Your Blessings was released on 30 October 2006.

The album peaked at number 93 on the UK Albums Chart.

Their second studio album, Suicide Season was released on 29 September 2008.

The album reached number 47 on the UK Albums Chart.

While performing live, Nicholls uses a SJC drum set, which he has been playing since 2008.

His double pedal kit consists of a Joey Jordison Signature Export kit and the Speed Cobra brand.

Nicholls owns a Roland drum kit that he uses to play and learn stuff on at home.

He also had a gong drum which SJC made for him.

Nicholls owns a variety of snares, including his main Vinnie Paul snare, a Pearl snare and an SJC snare.

He also has a 14" Black Brass and a 13" G Maple.

Nicholls has a 16" and 18" floor toms, as well as a 22"x16" kick drum to fit the "faster metal stuff" the band plays.

He has a pair of closed hats that is apart of his set up on the right side of his kit.

He perfers to mix his cymbals set up while he plays.

He used to own a China cymbal when the band was playing heavier music, but has since gotten rid of it.

Their third studio album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret was released on 4 October 2010, and debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart.

The group toured in the UK in support of the album, however, Nicholls broke his hand and was unable to continue for the remainder of the tour and Dan Searle of Architects filled in for him.

He returned to the group later that year in September and joined them on their headlining American tour.

Their fourth studio album, Sempiternal was released on 1 April 2013, peaking at number three on the UK Albums Chart.

The group's fifth studio album, That's the Spirit was released on 11 September 2015.

The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number two on the Billboard 200, making it the band's first top ten in the US.

Their sixth studio album, Amo was released on 25 January 2019.

The album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

In 2019, Music Radar named Nicholls as the tenth best rock drummer.

In October 2021, Nicholls made an appearance on BBC Breakfast, giving drumming advice for a 24-hour drumathon program for Children in Need.

Nicholls owned a Pearl Export drum kit, which he used for recording on their first album Count Your Blessings.

Following the release of that album, he bought a Tama Starclassic, which he used for recording on the group's next four albums.

On That's the Spirit, Nicholls uses an 18" A Custom EFX cymbal and an A Custom Rezo crash cymbal. He also uses his Zildjian Gen16 cymbals. As of 2019, Nicholls uses an 18" EFX and the 21" Special Dry Trash Crash. Nicholls plays with Vic Firth sticks. Nicholls' set up was inspired by Abe Cunningham from Deftones. Since the band added electronics into their music, Nicholls plays to a click using his SPD-S.

At first, Nicholls didn't learn "the proper way to drum," such as playing chops or grooves.