Aftershock Drum Setup: Mikkey Dee's Gear on Motörhead's Grammy-Nominated 2013 Album | MetalForge
Mikkey Dee recorded Aftershock (2013) on a Pearl Reference Series kit with a Pearl Free-Floating Steel Snare snare.
Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Mikkey Dee used on Motörhead's Aftershock (2013) — the band's highest US chart placement to date and the album...
Frequently Asked Questions
What drums and cymbals did Mikkey Dee use on Aftershock?
On *Aftershock* (2013), Mikkey Dee played a Pearl Reference Series kit with a 22" x 18" bass drum, a 10"/12"/14" rack tom configuration, and a 16" floor tom — unchanged from [*The Wörld Is Yours*](/articles/the-world-is-yours-drum-setup). What changed was a new Pearl Free-Floating steel snare (14" x 6.5"), an expanded Paiste Signature Series cymbal configuration (adding a wider 21" ride), and a new Pearl Demon Drive pedal replacing the Pearl Eliminator. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for his complete gear evolution.
Did Motörhead win a Grammy for Aftershock?
"Heartbreaker," the lead single from *Aftershock*, was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, held February 8, 2015, but lost to Tenacious D's cover of Dio's "The Last in Line." It remains a significant recognition for the band regardless — Motörhead's first Grammy nomination in years, and validation of *Aftershock* as one of the most acclaimed records of their later career.
How did Aftershock perform commercially?
*Aftershock* debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 in the United States — Motörhead's highest chart position on that chart to date — on first-week sales of roughly 11,000 copies. It also reached #3 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart and #2 on Independent Albums, plus top-five debuts in Germany and Finland, where it was later certified Gold. The album released October 18, 2013 in Germany, October 21 across Europe, and October 22 in North America.
Did Mikkey Dee's cymbal setup change on Aftershock?
Dee's Paiste artist relationship — dating back to April 1987, more than 26 years before *Aftershock* — continued uninterrupted, but the cymbal configuration itself expanded on this record: a wider 21" Signature Series ride joined the familiar Sound Edge hi-hats, Full Crashes, and China. The change arrived alongside a new Pearl Free-Floating steel snare and a new Pearl Demon Drive pedal, making *Aftershock* the site of the most concentrated hardware turnover in Dee's Motörhead career. The resulting expanded Paiste Signature Series setup carried forward unchanged through [*Bad Magic*](/articles/bad-magic-drum-setup) (2015).