Snake Bite Love Drum Setup: Mikkey Dee's Gear on Motörhead's 1998 Album | MetalForge
Mikkey Dee recorded Snake Bite Love (1998) on a Tama Artstar II / Swingstar kit with a Tama Artstar II Steel Snare snare.
Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Mikkey Dee used on Motörhead's Snake Bite Love (1998) — the last album produced by Howard Benson and one of th...
Frequently Asked Questions
What drums did Mikkey Dee use on Snake Bite Love?
On *Snake Bite Love* (1998), Mikkey Dee used the same Tama Artstar II/Swingstar kit he had played since [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) (1993) — a 22" bass drum, 10"/12"/13" rack toms, and 16"/18" floor toms, paired with a 14" x 6.5" Tama Artstar II steel snare. Under the album's compressed production schedule, Dee stuck with proven, dialed-in gear rather than experimenting with anything new. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for his complete gear evolution.
Why did Mikkey Dee call the Snake Bite Love sessions rushed?
Mikkey Dee has said the band was "stressed out of our minds" during the making of *Snake Bite Love*, describing a production schedule that didn't allow the time the band felt the record needed. Despite the compressed timeline, the album was completed and released on 10 March 1998, reaching #9 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart. It was also the final Motörhead album produced by Howard Benson, who had worked with the band since Dee's debut on [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup).
Was Snake Bite Love the last album Howard Benson produced for Motörhead?
Yes. Howard Benson produced four consecutive Motörhead albums featuring Mikkey Dee — [*Bastards*](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) (1993), [*Sacrifice*](/articles/sacrifice-drum-setup) (1995), [*Overnight Sensation*](/articles/overnight-sensation-drum-setup) (1996), and *Snake Bite Love* (1998) — before the band moved to a new production team for [*We Are Motörhead*](/articles/we-are-motorhead-drum-setup) (2000).
What cymbals did Mikkey Dee use on Snake Bite Love?
Mikkey Dee used Paiste Giant Beat 15" hi-hats alongside Paiste 2002 crashes (18" and 20"), a 22" ride, and an 18" China cymbal on *Snake Bite Love*. This was the last Motörhead album to feature this exact Giant Beat/2002 pairing before his cymbal setup began to shift on [*We Are Motörhead*](/articles/we-are-motorhead-drum-setup) (2000).