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 Sonor SQ2 kit with a 22" x 18" bass drum, an 8"/10"/12"/14" rack tom configuration, and a 16" floor tom, paired with his own Sonor Mikkey Dee Signature birch snare (14" x 7.25"). His cymbal setup used the Paiste Signature Series (Sound Edge hi-hats and Full Crashes) with a 21" Full Ride for extra tonal depth, plus a 19" China for accents. He played a DW 5000 Series double pedal and used his own Wincent 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's early Motörhead records were built on Tama Artstar II/Swingstar drums, as heard on [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup), before his kit settled into the Sonor SQ2 birch-shell setup — an endorsement dating back to his pre-Motörhead King Diamond days — that carried him through *Bad Magic*. His Paiste cymbal endorsement, dating back to 1987, continued throughout, expanding from the Giant Beat/2002 blend heard on *Bastards* to the fuller Signature Series configuration used here. The 22" bass drum stayed constant across both eras, while the snare evolved from a 14" x 6.5" steel shell to his own 14" x 7.25" Sonor Mikkey Dee Signature birch snare, released in 2012. 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 drums that opened it on *Bastards* gave way over the years to the Sonor SQ2 kit heard on this final record, while the Paiste cymbal endorsement ran continuously throughout. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for the complete career picture, including his later Scorpions years.