Matt Sorum

Matt Sorum

Matt Sorum is an American drummer best known for his work with Guns N' Roses. He has also played with Velvet Revolver, The Cult, Slash's Snakepit, and other rock acts across a long career in hard rock.

Quick Facts

Canonical Name Matt Sorum
Born November 19, 1960
Birthplace Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States
Country United States
Occupations drummer, recording artist, songwriter, session musician
Instruments drum kit
Gender male
Genres hard rock
Associated Acts Y Kant Tori Read, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Kings of Chaos, The Cult, Slash's Snakepit, Neurotic Outsiders, Madic
Active Years Active since 1975
Website www.mattsorum.com

Identity and Aliases

Name Type Source
Matt Sorum Canonical Name System
Matthew William Sorum Alias Wikidata

Biography

Matt Sorum is an American drummer, recording artist, songwriter, and session musician whose name is closely tied to Guns N' Roses. Born in Venice, Los Angeles, California, he works primarily on drum kit and has been active since 1975.

Sorum's career has taken him through a wide circle of hard rock projects, including Y Kant Tori Read, Velvet Revolver, Kings of Chaos, The Cult, Slash's Snakepit, Neurotic Outsiders, and Madic. He has also been associated with Hollywood Vampires as an instrumental supporting musician, reflecting a career built around high-profile band work and session activity.

Alongside his band memberships, Sorum has released MusicBrainz-listed albums connected to his name, including Hollywood Zen and Stratosphere. His catalogued recordings associated with him include titles such as "Brand New Obscene," "Goodbye To You," "Ode To Nick Drake," and "Suicide Mission."

Career Timeline

Year / Period Event Detail Source
1960 Born Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States Wikidata
1975 Career Start Active period begins Wikidata
2018–present Member of Deadland Ritual MusicBrainz
1990–1997 Member of Guns N’ Roses MusicBrainz
1994–1995 Member of Slash’s Snakepit MusicBrainz
2002–2012 Member of Velvet Revolver MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of The Power Rangers Orchestra MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of Johnny Crash MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of Hawk MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of Circus Diablo MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of Camp Freddy MusicBrainz
Date not specified Member of Madic Wikidata
Date not specified Member of Neurotic Outsiders Wikidata
Date not specified Member of The Cult Wikidata
Date not specified Member of Kings of Chaos Wikidata
Date not specified Member of Y Kant Tori Read Wikidata

Musical Roles

Matt Sorum is primarily a drummer, with additional credits as a recording artist, songwriter, and session musician. His instrumental focus is the drum kit, and his work sits firmly in hard rock.

Role Source
drummer Wikidata
recording artist Wikidata
songwriter Wikidata
session musician Wikidata

Bands and Projects

Band / Project Relationship Source
Y Kant Tori Read Member of Wikidata
Guns N' Roses Member of Wikidata
Velvet Revolver Member of Wikidata
Kings of Chaos Member of Wikidata
The Cult Member of Wikidata
Slash's Snakepit Member of Wikidata
Neurotic Outsiders Member of Wikidata
Madic Member of Wikidata

Releases and Appearances

MusicBrainz lists several release entries connected to Matt Sorum. These entries may include solo releases, guest appearances, live recordings, and catalogued metadata records.

MusicBrainz-listed Releases and Appearances

Title Year Type Classification Source
Stratosphere 2014 Album metadata_listed MusicBrainz
Hollywood Zen 2004 Album metadata_listed MusicBrainz

Recorded Performances & Appearances

MusicBrainz-listed recording entries connected to Matt Sorum include:

Song Title Artist / Group Relationship Source
[drum solo] Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
3% Solution Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Blue Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Brand New Obscene Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Circus of the Sun Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Confession Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Crawl Over Me Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Dynamite Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
Elected Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz
For The Wild Ones Matt Sorum Performer MusicBrainz

Musical Style and Instruments

Matt Sorum's work is rooted in hard rock, with a driving drum-kit style suited to large-band rock settings. His career has centered on performance within guitar-heavy groups and collaborative projects.

Genres

hard rock

Instruments

drum kit

Collaborations and Guest Relationships

Artist Relationship Source
Hollywood Vampires Instrumental supporting musician MusicBrainz

External Identifiers & Authority Control

Matt Sorum has an official website at mattsorum.com, and profile identifiers are linked to him across major music and authority databases.

Platform Identifier Purpose Source Confidence Link
Official Website https://www.mattsorum.com Official website Wikidata High View Profile
MusicBrainz 21176a1c-bdbf-43d0-aaae-5f2df97b09bd Music metadata Wikidata High View Profile
Discogs 260409 Discography database Wikidata High View Profile
IMDb nm0815247 Film/media profile Wikidata High View Profile
VIAF 59296153 Authority control Wikidata High View Profile
ISNI 0000000109771651 Authority control Wikidata High View Profile
GND 134594746 Authority control Wikidata High View Profile
Library of Congress no2010084279 Authority control Wikidata High View Profile

Semantic Graph Data (Knowledge Graph)

Subject Predicate Object Source Confidence
Matt Sorum citizenship United States Wikidata high
Matt Sorum date_of_birth November 19, 1960 Wikidata high
Matt Sorum family_name Sorum Wikidata high
Matt Sorum gender male Wikidata high
Matt Sorum given_name Matthew Wikidata high
Matt Sorum place_of_birth Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Y Kant Tori Read Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Guns N' Roses Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Velvet Revolver Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Kings of Chaos Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of The Cult Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Slash's Snakepit Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Neurotic Outsiders Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member_of Madic Wikidata high
Matt Sorum instrument drum kit Wikidata high
Matt Sorum occupation drummer Wikidata high
Matt Sorum occupation recording artist Wikidata high
Matt Sorum occupation songwriter Wikidata high
Matt Sorum occupation session musician Wikidata high
Matt Sorum genre hard rock Wikidata high
Matt Sorum member of band Guns N’ Roses MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Slash’s Snakepit MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Velvet Revolver MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Deadland Ritual MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Camp Freddy MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Neurotic Outsiders MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Y Kant Tori Read MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band The Cult MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Kings of Chaos MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Circus Diablo MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Hawk MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band Johnny Crash MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum member of band The Power Rangers Orchestra MusicBrainz high
Matt Sorum sameAs Official Website Artist ID: https://www.mattsorum.com Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs MusicBrainz Artist ID: 21176a1c-bdbf-43d0-aaae-5f2df97b09bd Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs Discogs Artist ID: 260409 Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs IMDb Artist ID: nm0815247 Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs VIAF Artist ID: 59296153 Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs ISNI Artist ID: 0000000109771651 Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs GND Artist ID: 134594746 Wikidata High
Matt Sorum sameAs Library of Congress Artist ID: no2010084279 Wikidata High

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Matt Sorum known for?

A: He is best known as a drummer with Guns N' Roses. His career also includes work with Velvet Revolver, The Cult, and Slash's Snakepit.

Q: Where was Matt Sorum born?

A: He was born in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States.

Q: What instruments does Matt Sorum play?

A: His main instrument is the drum kit. He is recognized for work as a drummer.

Q: What style of music is Matt Sorum associated with?

A: He is associated with hard rock. Much of his career has centered on rock bands and related projects.

Q: Which bands has Matt Sorum been part of?

A: He has been associated with Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult, Slash's Snakepit, Y Kant Tori Read, Neurotic Outsiders, Kings of Chaos, and Madic.

Q: What are some releases connected to Matt Sorum?

A: MusicBrainz-listed releases connected to him include Hollywood Zen and Stratosphere.

Q: What other roles does Matt Sorum have besides drummer?

A: He is also credited as a recording artist, songwriter, and session musician.

Q: Does Matt Sorum have an official website?

A: Yes. His official website is mattsorum.com.

Data Quality and Sources

Quality Score
82/100
Last Updated
May 13, 2026
Entity Stats
32 Facts
8 Identifiers
33 Relationships
Primary Sources
Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Discogs, GuitarRank Editorial