The Drums of Destruction EZX was produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Josh Wilbur together with Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. Individually, they have been forerunners with several groundbreaking works in their respective fields for close to two decades and together, widely acclaimed for having shaped the sound that’s made Lamb of God a mainstay force on the modern metal scene.
The Drums of Destruction EZX comes with two full kits, one of which is Chris’ personal Mapex set while the other is a Pearl Reference kit that was handpicked by Josh and used on several of his productions. In addition, it includes five snares, one extra kick as well as Chris’ trademark abundance of cymbals. It was recorded through an SSL4064G+, various chains of analogue outboard and captured with carefully selected microphones at Josh’s studio of choice, Hybrid Studios in Orange Country, CA. With its perfectly treated one-thousand-square-foot live room, it has proved time and time again in countless sessions to be an ideal location for ambient but still tight and defined drums that have a transparent character.
Combined, the Drums of Destruction EZX gives you Chris with his forceful, driving and unique style of drumming paired with Josh’s cutting edge but still organic-sounding production style. Add to that a broad collection of custom presets, both those engineered by Josh himself, resembling a selection of highlights from his catalogue, as well as those engineered from the ground up without any reference.
No matter how crushing your guitars or bass may be, a strong foundation of drums is a key factor in any metal mix. These are drums designed to destroy. Prepare for havoc and utter destruction. You have been warned.
FEATURE SPOTLIGHT
- Two kits (Mapex, Pearl), three kicks and five snares
- Recorded at Hybrid Studios, Orange Country, CA
- Engineered/produced by Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Megadeth, Korn, Gojira)
- Sampled by Chris Adler (Lamb of God)
- 14 mix-ready presets as well as five custom “No bus FX” presets designed for multi-out purposes
- A selection of Lamb of God songs in MIDI format, performed by Chris Adler
THE STUDIO.
Hybrid Studios in Orange County, CA, is a marvel of modern studio craftsmanship. In addition to boasting a nine-hundred-square-foot control room stocked with the royalty of consoles, the SSL4064G+, a to-die-for collection of outboard gear and microphones it also houses a perfectly treated one-thousand-square-foot live room, ideal for capturing drums.
“Hybrid is a great place to make a sample library. The room is designed and tuned to be perfectly neutral. It really showcases exactly what the drums are giving you. Each cymbal becomes perfectly clear and not lost in a wash. That’s always important to me when tracking drums.” commented producer Josh Wilbur on why Hybrid was his number one studio pick for this project.
THE MICROPHONES & SIGNAL CHAINS.
Josh breaks down his microphone positioning and signal chain philosophy!
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Kicks: |
Shure BETA 52A –> Neve 1073 –> Distressor |
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Snares: |
SM57 and Shure BETA 98A (blended on top) –> Sennheiser e 609 on bottom –> all Neve 1073 –> Distressor bussed together through the SSL G+. |
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Crashes: |
All crashes were through API mic pres. The only EQ is minimal high pass filter. For microphones, I used: AKG C451 B on the crashes AKG C414 on the ride Octavas on splashes Neumann KM84 on hats Neumann TLM 170 for room |
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Toms: |
Shure BETA 98A on top and Sennheiser MD421 on the bottom rack toms and AKG D112 on the bottom of the floor toms tops and bottoms were bussed together with EQ through the SSL G+. |
The cymbal microphones are positioned more as spots rather than overheads. It gives me more control over each individual crash and splash. The only compression was on the kicks and snares. The toms and overheads I never compress going in.
INSTRUMENT LIST
KICK 1
16×22″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
18×24″ Pearl Reference
18×22″ Pearl Masters Studio
KICK 2
16×22″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
18×24″ Pearl Reference
18×22″ Pearl Masters Studio
SNARE
5.5×12″ Mapex “Warbird” Chris Adler Signature
6×13″ Mapex Black Panther Nomad Brass
6.5×14″ Mapex Black Panther Hammered Brass
6×14″ Pearl Reference
8×14″ Gretsch USA Custom
HI-HATS
14″ Meinl Soundcaster/Meinl Byzance
14″ Sabian AA
RACKTOM 1
7×10″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
9×10″ Pearl Reference
RACKTOM 2
7×12″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
9×12″ Pearl Reference
FLOORTOM 1
15×16″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
14×14″ Pearl Reference
FLOORTOM 2
16×18″ Mapex Versatus Prototype
16×16″ Pearl Reference
X-HATS
14″ Meinl Soundcaster/Meinl Byzance
RIDE
24″ Meinl Byzance Pure Metal Ride
21″ Sabian AA Rock Ride
21″ Zildjian Z3 Mega Bell Ride
CHINA 1
14″ Meinl Generation X Filter China
SPLASH FX
12″ Meinl Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash
SPLASH BELL
8″ Meinl Candela Bell
CYMBAL 1
14″ Meinl Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash
15″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Thin Crash
SPLASH 1
8″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Splash
CYMBAL 2
14″ Meinl Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash
17″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
CYMBAL 3
16″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash
SPLASH 2
8″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Splash
8″ Sabian AA Splash
CYMBAL 4
18″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash
19″ Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
CHINA 2
18″ Meinl Byzance Traditional China
20″ Zildjian A Custom China
CHINA 3
16″ Meinl Generation X Filter China
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.
- 3 GB free disk space, 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended).
- A working EZdrummer 2.1.7 or Superior Drummer 3.1.2 (or above) installation.
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