Top 10 Metal Drummers Playing Meinl Cymbals | MetalForge
The metal drummers with verified Meinl cymbal setups, ranked. Brann Dailor's Byzance Brilliant crashes, Chris Adler, Matt Halpern, Matt Greiner's five-piece Byzance rig, Derek Roddy's Byzance/Mb20 mix, Hannes Grossmann, Martin Axenrot, Navene Koperweis, Chris Turner, and Matt Garstka — sourced from MetalForge's own gear guides, not guesswork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which metal drummers play Meinl cymbals?
Brann Dailor (Mastodon) mixes dark and Brilliant-finish Byzance cymbals, Chris Adler (Lamb of God) and Matt Halpern (Periphery) both run fully dark Byzance setups, and Matt Greiner (August Burns Red) plays the most extensive five-piece Byzance rig in MetalForge's data. Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal/Nile), Hannes Grossmann (Obscura), Martin Axenrot (Opeth), Navene Koperweis (Entheos), Chris Turner (Oceans Ate Alaska), and Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders) round out MetalForge's most extensively documented Meinl artists.
What makes Meinl Byzance cymbals different from Zildjian or Sabian?
Meinl's Byzance Series is hand-hammered using a traditional B20 bronze process similar to its competitors, but Meinl leans harder into the darker end of the tonal spectrum by default — most of the drummers on this list run a "Dark" or "Traditional" finish rather than the brighter A Custom or AAX lines that dominate MetalForge's Zildjian and Sabian rankings. That darker default voice is why Byzance shows up so often among progressive, djent, and technical death metal drummers who want a complex wash rather than a bright, cutting attack.
Why does Derek Roddy mix two different Meinl cymbal lines?
Derek Roddy pairs Meinl's nuanced Byzance line (hi-hats and china) with the louder, more metal-specific Mb20 line (crashes and ride) to get both articulation and raw cutting power in the same setup — a combination purpose-built for the blast-beat velocity his death metal work with Hate Eternal and Nile requires. It's the only mixed-line Meinl setup MetalForge has documented, where every other drummer on this list commits to Byzance throughout.
Gear Deep Dives & Articles
1. Brann Dailor — Meinl Byzance Series — Mastodon's brightest-and-darkest hybrid setup. Brann Dailor runs a Meinl Byzance setup that mixes dark 14" hi-hats and an extra-dark Ghost Ride with a pair of brighter Brilliant-finish heavy hammered crashes, giving Mastodon's expansive, melodic tom work both cutting accent and a controlled, complex wash underneath it. That deliberate mixing of Byzance's darker and brighter finishes in a single setup is more tonally varied than most Meinl rigs on this list, which tend to commit to one finish throughout. Dailor earns rank #1 as the most recognizable and tonally distinctive Meinl artist in modern metal.2. Chris Adler — Meinl Byzance Dark — groove metal's cutting, controlled attack. Chris Adler runs a fully dark Meinl Byzance setup — 14" dark hi-hats, 18" and 19" dark crashes, a 21" Transition Ride, and an 18" Extra Dry China — built for the precise, riff-locked groove metal patterns that define Lamb of God's sound. The Transition Ride splits the difference between a bright, cutting stick attack and a darker wash, giving Adler's ride work clarity without the harshness a brighter cymbal line would add under Lamb of God's downtuned guitars. Adler earns rank #2 for one of groove metal's most influential and consistent Meinl setups.3. Matt Halpern — Meinl Byzance Dark — Periphery's djent-defining wash. Matt Halpern runs a dark Meinl Byzance configuration — 15" dark hi-hats, 18" and 20" Extra Dry Medium crashes, and a 22" Transition Ride — sized up from Chris Adler's setup for the extra low-end weight Periphery's djent-founding, heavily downtuned material demands. The Extra Dry Medium crashes trade some sustain for a quicker, more controlled decay that keeps Halpern's accents from washing out under Periphery's dense polymetric layering. Halpern earns rank #3 for one of progressive djent's most influential Meinl setups.4. Matt Greiner — Meinl Byzance Series — the deepest five-piece rig on this list. Matt Greiner runs the most extensive Meinl setup MetalForge has documented — 15" dual hi-hats, 18" and 19" dual crashes, a 21" Transition Ride, an 18" Extra Dry China, and both 10" and 12" splashes — a five-piece spread built to cover August Burns Red's dense, technically demanding metalcore arrangements across albums like "Messengers" and "Phantom Anthem." That splash-heavy configuration gives Greiner quick, articulate accents that a simpler three- or four-piece Meinl setup couldn't provide. Greiner earns rank #4 for the broadest and most versatile Byzance rig in MetalForge's database.5. Derek Roddy — Meinl Byzance & Mb20 — the only mixed-line Meinl setup on this list. Derek Roddy is the one drummer here who blends two separate Meinl lines in a single rig — 14" Byzance Heavy hi-hats and an 18" Byzance China for articulate attack, paired with 18" and 19" Mb20 Heavy crashes and a 21" Mb20 Heavy Ride for the extra crash weight and cutting power his blast-beat-driven death metal work with Hate Eternal and Nile requires. Mb20 is Meinl's louder, more metal-specific line, and pairing it with the more nuanced Byzance hi-hats and china gives Roddy both raw power and articulation in the same setup. Roddy earns rank #5 for the most tonally hybrid Meinl configuration in MetalForge's data.6. Hannes Grossmann — Meinl Byzance Traditional — technical death metal's controlled clarity. Hannes Grossmann runs a lean, three-piece Byzance Traditional setup — 14" Byzance Traditional hi-hats, 18" and 19" Byzance Brilliant crashes, and a 21" Byzance Traditional Ride — built for the tightly articulated, classically-informed technical death metal he plays across Obscura, Necrophagist, and Alkaloid. The Traditional finish trades some of Byzance's darker complexity for a slightly brighter, more controlled voice that stays legible through his intricate, ghost-note-laced fills. Grossmann earns rank #6 for one of the most precisely tailored Meinl setups on this list.7. Martin Axenrot — Meinl Byzance Traditional — Opeth's progressive death metal texture. Martin Axenrot runs a Byzance Traditional setup — 14" traditional medium hi-hats, 16", 18", and 19" crashes, a 22" Traditional Ride, and an 18" China — sized for the graduated crash weights Opeth's shifts between progressive death metal aggression and mellower progressive rock passages demand. The extra 16" crash gives Axenrot a lighter accent option between his hi-hats and his larger crashes that several other Meinl setups on this list don't include. Axenrot earns rank #7 for a Meinl rig built specifically around Opeth's wide dynamic range.8. Navene Koperweis — Meinl Byzance Series — Entheos's progressive technical death metal wash. Navene Koperweis runs a dual-hi-hat Meinl Byzance setup — 15" dual hi-hats, 18" and 19" Extra Dry Medium crashes, a 21" Transition Ride, an 18" Extra Dry China, and a 10" splash — for the progressive, technical death metal he plays with Entheos and formerly with Animals as Leaders. The added splash gives Koperweis a quick, bright accent that cuts through the same dense, polymetric arrangements his former Animals as Leaders bandmate Matt Garstka also builds his Meinl setup around. Koperweis earns rank #8 for a Meinl rig purpose-built for progressive technical death metal's dynamic range.9. Chris Turner — Meinl Byzance Series — progressive metalcore's dual-ride setup. Chris Turner runs a Meinl Byzance setup — 15" dual hi-hats, 18" and 20" Extra Dry Medium crashes, and a 22" dual ride, with an 18" Extra Dry China — built for Oceans Ate Alaska's progressive metalcore, where the dual ride gives him two distinct stick-response zones for switching between driving verse patterns and more textured breakdown sections. Turner earns rank #9 for a Meinl setup that mirrors the dual-hi-hat, dual-ride template several other progressive-leaning drummers on this list also favor.10. Matt Garstka — Meinl Byzance Series — Animals as Leaders' instrumental precision. Matt Garstka runs a three-piece Meinl Byzance setup — 15" dual hi-hats, 18" and 20" Extra Dry Medium crashes, and a 22" dual ride — the leanest configuration on this list, reflecting Animals as Leaders' instrumental, odd-meter-driven progressive metal where precision and note clarity matter more than a large number of auxiliary cymbals. Garstka earns rank #10 for proving a stripped-down Meinl setup can anchor some of metal's most technically demanding material.
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