Roger Taylor vs. Bill Ward: March Drum Madness

Roger Taylor and Bill Ward have pounded their opponents during the opening rounds of our March Drum Madness competition, but now they face their toughest battle — each other.

We placed 32 of the most famous drummers in classic rock history into our bracket. Now, we've arrived at the Elite 8, and we'll keep cutting that number in half until we arrive at your choice for the greatest rock drummer of all time.

After amassing 91 percent of the vote against Motörhead's Mikey Dee in Round One, Taylor put the beat down on Bill Bruford, taking 72 percent in their contest. Ward, meanwhile, squeaked past Phil Collins in the opening round before making quick work of Joey Kramer, mopping up against the Aerosmith drummer with a little more than 62 percent of readers' votes.

Clearly, both of these legendary timekeepers have legions of fans, and for good reason — none of those classic Queen records would have sounded as great without Taylor behind the kit, and as we saw when Ward wasn't part of the sessions or tour in support of Black Sabbath's 13 reunion album, there's a fair percentage of the faithful for whom it simply isn't Sabbath without him. While Queen arguably gave Taylor more of an opportunity to indulge in flashy technique while Sabbath offered Ward a chance to rule with raw power, they've both played with plenty of muscle over the years, and inspired countless young drummers along the way.

Unfortunately, only one of them is going to make it past this round. Who will it be? As with every other battle in this contest, it's completely up to you — and while we don't envy your choice, you can keep coming back to the polls every hour between now and when voting closes at 11:59PM ET on March 30. The ultimate winner will be revealed on April 7.

See Queen and Other Rockers in Our Top 100 Classic Rock Albums of the '70s