Trumpets were skating and missing pitches from 2008
I went to the Bayou a classic in 07 in the dome and the tubas were getting cranked on by GSU. The trombones, mellophones ,trumpets were loud and carrying the band. I distinctly remember SU playing headbussas and I sat there directly across from them and thought "Wow it's really that loud." because I had been listening to SU via YouTube since 05, and wondered if they were that loud in person.
You took my whole post. SU doesn't and has never sounded nothing like a drum set, they have the laziest beats for songs, and WOAT cadences that don't even groove, and their drums just sound plain bad. Listen to the beat they put on tourist. Bass drums sound like dead paper, tenor drums have no whip, snares are dragging the groove, cymbals lazy as hell.
Then listen to JSU put the beat on Scared of The Dark. They went in, put a nice groove down, and weren't afraid to play their drums and drive the beat. Only 4 cymbals but theyre just as loud as the 10 cymbals SU has.