Bad Magic Drum Setup: Mikkey Dee's Gear on Motörhead's Final Album | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Bad Magic really Motörhead's last album?

Yes. *Bad Magic*, released August 28, 2015, is Motörhead's twenty-second and final studio album of new material. Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28, 2015 — just four months after the album's release — and the band formally disbanded following his death. No further Motörhead studio album followed, making *Bad Magic* the definitive closing statement of the band's 40-year career and of Mikkey Dee's 23-year tenure behind the kit, which began on [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) in 1993. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for his complete arc with the band.

What drums and cymbals did Mikkey Dee use on Bad Magic?

On *Bad Magic* (2015), Mikkey Dee used a Pearl Reference Series kit with a 22" x 18" bass drum, an 8"/10"/12"/14" rack tom configuration, and a 16" floor tom, paired with a Pearl Free-Floating steel snare (14" x 6.5"). His cymbal setup combined Zildjian A Custom (hi-hats and crashes) with a K Custom Dark ride for extra tonal depth, plus a 19" China for accents. He played Pearl's Demon Drive direct-drive pedal and used his own Vic Firth Mikkey Dee signature sticks. For his full gear evolution across four decades, see [What's In Mikkey Dee's Kit](/articles/whats-in-mikkey-dees-kit).

Did Motörhead win a Grammy for Bad Magic?

"Thunder & Lightning," from *Bad Magic*, is closely associated with a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance recognition for Motörhead — a distinction that arrived only weeks before Lemmy Kilmister's death on December 28, 2015. It capped a 23-year run for Mikkey Dee behind the kit with the band's biggest single moment of mainstream recognition, closing out the Bastards-to-Bad Magic arc on its highest note.

How did Mikkey Dee's gear change between Bastards (1993) and Bad Magic (2015)?

Across 23 years, Dee moved from Tama Artstar II/Swingstar drums and Paiste Giant Beat/2002 cymbals on [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) to a Pearl Reference Series kit with Zildjian A Custom/K Custom Dark cymbals by *Bad Magic*. The fundamentals stayed constant — a 22" bass drum, a 14" x 6.5" steel snare, and a bright-cymbal-plus-China setup — but the hardware became more refined and arena-ready as Motörhead's stages grew larger. See the [full evolution breakdown](/articles/whats-in-mikkey-dees-kit) for the complete gear timeline.

What is the complete Mikkey Dee / Motörhead album arc, from debut to Bad Magic?

Mikkey Dee's Motörhead studio discography runs, in order: [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) (1993) → [*Sacrifice*](/articles/sacrifice-drum-setup) (1995) → [*Overnight Sensation*](/articles/overnight-sensation-drum-setup) (1996) → [*Inferno*](/articles/inferno-drum-setup) (2004) → [*Kiss of Death*](/articles/kiss-of-death-drum-setup) (2006) → [*Motörizer*](/articles/motorizer-drum-setup) (2008) → [*The Wörld Is Yours*](/articles/the-world-is-yours-drum-setup) (2010) → [*Aftershock*](/articles/aftershock-drum-setup) (2013) → *Bad Magic* (2015). *Bad Magic* closes the arc: the Tama/Paiste setup that opened it on *Bastards* gave way to the Pearl Reference/Zildjian configuration finalized on *Aftershock*, which then carried unchanged into this final record. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for the complete career picture, including his later Scorpions years.