# Daniel Erlandsson's Drum Setup on Arch Enemy's Anthems of Rebellion (2003)

> Daniel Erlandsson's drum setup on Arch Enemy's Anthems of Rebellion (2003) — Angela Gossow's first full Arch Enemy album, Pearl Masters MMX shells, Meinl Byzance cymbals, Pearl Eliminator pedals, and the Swedish melodic death metal landmark that defined the Gossow era.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** Daniel Erlandsson
**Band / Album:** Arch Enemy — *Anthems of Rebellion* (2003)
**Genre:** Melodic Death Metal
**Label:** Century Media Records
**Studio:** Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden
**Producer:** Andy Sneap, Arch Enemy

## Overview

Released October 27, 2003 on Century Media Records, Arch Enemy's fifth studio album Anthems of Rebellion marks a defining moment in the band's Angela Gossow era: the first full album where Gossow's presence shaped the songwriting and identity of the band from the ground up. Where Wages of Sin (2002) was the breakthrough that introduced Gossow to the world, Anthems of Rebellion is the album where the Angela Gossow–era Arch Enemy established its fully developed creative identity. The results — including the defining live anthem "We Will Rise" and the single "Exist to Dominate" — confirmed that the chemistry between Gossow's extreme vocal approach and the band's melodic death metal architecture was the defining formula of Arch Enemy's most commercially successful era.

Behind the kit, Daniel Erlandsson brought the compositional precision that had characterised his playing on Wages of Sin, but operating within arrangements built from the outset with Gossow's vocal style in mind. The interplay between Erlandsson's double-kick patterns and Michael Amott's melodic guitar work is sharper and more purposeful on Anthems than on its predecessor: the drums answer the vocal phrasing, frame the harmonic motion of the guitar leads, and drive the album's most anthemic moments with the locked-in precision that became Arch Enemy's trademark.

Erlandsson's setup for the Anthems sessions centred on his Pearl Masters MMX kit — Pearl's flagship mixed-shell configuration of the era, combining maple and mahogany shells for a warmer, fuller tonal character than pure-maple designs. His cymbals had evolved toward Meinl's Byzance series, bringing the hand-hammered B20 bronze complexity of that line to Arch Enemy's studio and live configuration. The Pearl Eliminator double bass pedal remained his foot technique foundation, providing the mechanical consistency that sustained double-kick passages demanded.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Masters MMX (maple/mahogany mixed shells, custom finish)
- **Bass Drums:** 22" x 18" (x2 — true double-kick configuration)
- **Toms:** 10" x 9" rack, 12" x 10" rack, 14" x 14" floor, 16" x 16" floor
- **Snare:** Pearl Free-Floating Brass 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Series (14" Traditional Hi-Hats, 16" Medium Crash, 18" Medium Crash, 20" Medium Ride, 18" China, 10" Splash)
- **Bass Drum Pedal:** Pearl Eliminator Double Bass Pedal
- **Sticks:** ProMark 5B hickory
- **Heads:** Remo Powerstroke 3 (kick batter); Remo Emperor Coated (toms); Evans Genera HD (snare)
- **Snare tuning:** High-medium tension batter — bright attack above melodic guitar density

### Pearl Masters MMX: Maple/Mahogany Warmth for a Melodic Album

The Pearl Masters MMX (Masters Maple/Mixed) combines maple and mahogany shells for a warmer, fuller tonal character than pure-maple designs — more low-mid body and slightly longer sustain that suits melodic material. For Anthems of Rebellion's more varied and harmonically rich arrangements, the MMX's fuller character provides tonal depth that integrates with Amott's layered guitar harmonics: the toms sing with more body, the bass drums carry more sub-bass warmth, and the overall kit voice complements the melodic guitar content. The double 22"x18" bass drum configuration provides the independent resonance and per-foot articulation that Arch Enemy's sustained double-kick passages require.

### Meinl Byzance: Hand-Hammered B20 for Complex Melodic Contexts

The Meinl Byzance series represents a significant shift in Erlandsson's cymbal philosophy from the Sabian AA/HH approach of the Wages of Sin era. Byzance cymbals are hand-hammered B20 bronze — producing a warmer, more tonally complex character with more overtones, longer sustain, and musical depth that rewards dynamic playing. The 14" Byzance Traditional hi-hats drive the rhythmic foundation with warm, articulate clarity; the 16" and 18" crashes provide section-entry accents with musical sustain rather than fast decay; the 20" Byzance Medium Ride delivers textured groove-passage contrast; and the 18" China maintains the aggressive Gothenburg-style riff-transition accent vocabulary.

### Studio Fredman: Close-Mic Tracking in the Gothenburg Tradition

Recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden, Anthems of Rebellion benefits from the close-mic discipline that has defined Gothenburg melodic death metal drum production since the mid-1990s. Individual dynamics on each drum component, condenser overhead pair for cymbal capture, and limited room contribution — Studio Fredman's tracking philosophy prioritised articulate, immediate drum definition rather than ambient character. The Pearl Eliminator's cam-adjustable consistency drove the sustained double-kick passages through full tracking sessions.

## Technique on Anthems of Rebellion

By 2003, Daniel Erlandsson had spent fourteen years inside the Gothenburg melodic death metal idiom — beginning with Eucharist in 1989, then through four Arch Enemy studio albums. The drumming on Anthems is his most compositionally sophisticated melodic death metal statement to that point: blast beats deployed as structural events on "Exist to Dominate," double-kick patterns that articulate guitar riff rhythmic shapes on "We Will Rise," and dynamic control across an album with more compositional variety than any previous Arch Enemy record. The MMX shells' warmer character and the Byzance cymbals' musical complexity give the performances a tonal depth that matches the album's melodic ambitions.

## Track Highlights

- **We Will Rise** — defining Gossow-era anthem; mid-tempo double-kick propulsion with dynamic verse/chorus contrast that has made it a live set closer for two decades
- **Exist to Dominate** — single; highest-velocity track with blast beats as deliberate structural events rather than constant texture
- **Dead Eyes See No Future** — mid-tempo groove track demonstrating Erlandsson's dynamic range beyond the blast showcase
- **Burning Angel** — high-energy track with interlocking of vocal phrasing and drum accents in the fully-formed Gossow-era identity

## Key Facts

- Released October 27, 2003 on Century Media Records — fifth Arch Enemy studio album
- Angela Gossow's first full album with Arch Enemy — songwriting built around her identity from the outset
- "We Will Rise" became the defining live anthem of the Angela Gossow era
- Recorded at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden — home of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound
- Pearl Masters MMX kit — maple/mahogany mixed shells, warmer than pure maple
- Meinl Byzance Traditional series — hand-hammered B20 bronze replacing the earlier Sabian AA/HH approach
- Pearl Free-Floating Brass 14" x 6.5" snare — bright cut above melodic guitar density
- Pearl Eliminator double bass pedal — sustained double-kick consistency across full studio tracking
- Follows Wages of Sin (2002) and precedes Doomsday Machine (2005) in the Gossow-era arc
- Estimated kit value: $3,000–5,000 (Pearl Masters MMX full kit, 2003 era)
- Estimated cymbal value: $1,600–2,400 (Meinl Byzance full studio setup, 2003)

**Internal links:**
- [Wages of Sin drum setup (2002)](/articles/wages-of-sin-drum-setup) — arc-opening Gossow-era album
- [Doomsday Machine drum setup (2005)](/articles/doomsday-machine-drum-setup) — Billboard-charting follow-up
- [Rise of the Tyrant drum setup (2007)](/articles/rise-of-the-tyrant-drum-setup) — commercial peak Gossow era
- [Daniel Erlandsson drum setup](/articles/daniel-erlandsson-drum-setup) — full career gear profile
- [Daniel Erlandsson drummer profile](/drummer/daniel-erlandsson) — full career context
- [How to sound like Daniel Erlandsson](/guides/how-to-sound-like-daniel-erlandsson) — technique guide

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/anthems-of-rebellion-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-27 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*