Brent 'Ned' Niemi's drumming career started in the late '80s to late '90s playing the club circuit throughout Canada and the United States with the band STRAITJAKKET which garnered interest from several recording labels at the time.  They signed with MAGADA Records and had success in the European market.

After a 5yr hiatus to attend University (Nursing) he was called to join the Canadian hard rock outfit HELIX in 2006, and then toured with Alice Cooper, Queensryche, Tesla, UFO, Quiet Riot, Vince Neil, Dokken, along with other major Canadian artists. 

Fast forward to 2016 where his "fun time" band of friends SANDMAN had been paying tribute to the mighty METALLICA for decades as an outlet to blow off steam that caught the attention of the band itself.  Ultimately, they inked a contract with METALLICA, and they are known as the "Officially Sanctioned Metallica Tribute".

He is being a PEARL Artist since 2016.