Chad Szeliga (born December 23, 1976) is an American drummer from

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio, southwest of Cleveland. The population was 52,656 at the 2020 United States cens ...

. Formerly the drummer of rock band

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

, he joined Black Label Society in 2013, replacing Mike Froedge. In 2017, Szeliga replaced

Jimmy DeGrasso Jimmy DeGrasso (born March 16, 1963) is an American heavy metal drummer. DeGrasso played with Mama's Boys and Lita Ford before eventually working with Y&T and Megadeth and as a session and touring musician for Ozzy Osbourne (1986), White Li ...

in Black Star Riders, leaving the band in 2021. He currently drums for NEPA band, Turning the Tide. Szeliga cites

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

, Dennis Chambers, Tony Williams, Manu Katché, Stewart Copeland and

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

as his main influences.

Career

Breaking Benjamin

While with Another Path, Szeliga recorded an audition video for Breaking Benjamin playing drums for the song " So Cold". The video submitted happened to be the only VHS tape submitted. Ben Burnley was forced to borrow a VCR from his neighbor to view the tape. After Burnley reviewed the tape, the band decided he was the right guy for the job. His first official recording with the band was for the full-band version of the song "

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

" from '' We Are Not Alone'' in mid-2005, which was sent to modern radio, and later appeared on the band's cover of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's " Who Wants to Live Forever". He recorded with Breaking Benjamin on their 2006 album ''

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...

'', which was released on August 8, 2006. He also joined the band on their tour supporting that album. Szeliga left Breaking Benjamin in April 2013 due to creative differences with frontman Ben Burnley and notified his fans via a Facebook post on April 22, 2013.

Other ventures

He went on to drum with Black Label Society until 2014 and also recorded and toured briefly with

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

frontman Scott Stapp. On May 5, 2017, Szeliga was announced as the new drummer for Black Star Riders, replacing

. In 2018, Szeliga announced the start of a new project, Walking with Lions, in collaboration with guitarist Kevin Hicklin of 3 by Design. In 2020, it was announced that Szeliga had joined rock act Weapons of Anew sometime after the release of their debut album, replacing Chris Manfre. Szeliga currently plays with the band Turning the Tide.

Equipment

As of July 2020, Szeliga endorses Tama Drums, Evans drumheads,

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Switzerland, Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish language, ...

cymbals, Vater Percussion drumsticks, and Audimute. He largely uses the Starclassic Performer Bubinga series as well as the new line of Tama's S.L.P Dynamic Kapur kit and has a tendency to put the mid rack tom to the left of his kit preceding the high rack tom, claiming that it encourages him to be more creative with his fills. His previous endorsements were Yamaha Drums, DW Drums,

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

drumsticks

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

drumheads and Zildjian cymbals. Drums: Tama Starclassic Performer Bubinga in blue nebula blaze: * 22"x18" bass drum * 8"x6" rack tom * 10"x6.5" rack tom * 12"x7" rack tom * 14"x12" floor tom * 16"x14" floor tom * 13"x7" starphonic steel snare. Cymbals: Paiste: * RUDE 14" hi-hats * Formula 602 Modern Essentials 10" splash * 2002 5.5" cup chime * Masters 17" dark crash * Masters 18" dark crash * Signature 6" splash * Signature Dark Energy 8" mark 1 splash * RUDE 20" mega bell ride (custom made in purple colorsound finish) * PST X 14" swiss flanger stack * Formula 602 Modern Essentials 19" crash * 2002 19" wild china. Cymbals circa 2019: * RUDE 14" hi-hats * Signature Dark Energy 8" mark l splash * Signature 6" splash * Signature Dark Energy 17" mark l crash * Signature Dark Energy 18" mark l crash * 2002 5.5" cup chime * 2002 6" cup chime * Signature 22" blue bell ride * PST X 14" swiss flanger stack * Signature Dark Energy 19" mark l crash * Masters 22" swish.

Discography

With Breaking Benjamin * '' We Are Not Alone'' (full-band version of "

" only) (2004) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Dear Agony'' (2009) With Black Label Society * '' Catacombs of the Black Vatican'' (2014) With Switched * '' Subject to Change'' (2002) * '' Ghosts in the Machine'' (2006) With Forever Oeuvre * ''EP Unfinished'' (2008) With Casey Honig * ''Tragic Uprise'' EP (2016) With Sworn II Silence * ''Sworn II Silence'' (2003) With Black Star Riders * '' Another State of Grace'' (2019) With DRAGONFLY EFFECT
INFECTED
(Single - Drums) (2023)
Article
With Turning the Tide * '' Currently Untitled'' (2024/2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szeliga, Chad 1976 births American alternative rock drummers American heavy metal drummers Breaking Benjamin members Living people Drummers from Ohio Drummers from Pennsylvania People from Elyria, Ohio People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Black Label Society members Switched (band) members Black Star Riders members 21st-century American drummers