# Automata II Drum Setup — Blake Richardson (2018)

> Blake Richardson's drum kit and gear on BTBAM's Automata II (Jul 2018): Pearl Reference Pure drums, Meinl Byzance Dark/Extra Dry cymbals, DW 9002 double pedal, and the companion release that completes BTBAM's Automata concept arc — their most recent concept album.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Blake Richardson](/llms/drummers/blake-richardson.md)
**Band / Album:** Between the Buried and Me — *Automata II* (2018)
**Genre:** Progressive Metal
**Label:** Sumerian Records

## Overview

Released July 13, 2018 on Sumerian Records, *Automata II* is the second half of Between the Buried and Me's Automata concept arc — planned and recorded alongside [Automata I (February 2018)](/llms/articles/automata-i-drum-setup.md) as a single two-part conceptual statement. Together, *Automata I* and *II* form BTBAM's most recent concept album, closing the band's consecutive concept arc that ran through [The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)](/llms/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup.md) and [Coma Ecliptic (2015)](/llms/articles/coma-ecliptic-drum-setup.md).

*Automata II* resolves the narrative arc of *Automata I* — the artificial consciousness and digital identity concept concludes across four tracks and approximately forty minutes of music. The second installment contains some of the most compositionally expansive material in the two-part project: longer dynamic passages, more atmospheric sections, and extended peaks where Richardson's technique operates with full compositional space.

Blake Richardson's gear on *Automata II* is identical to *Automata I* — Pearl Reference Pure kit, Meinl Byzance full three-series setup, DW 9002 double bass pedal, DW Collector's maple snare. The two records were conceived as one work and the drum setup reflects that unity: Richardson's performances across both function as a single extended drumming document.

Produced by Jamie King at The Basement Studio, Winston-Salem, NC — consistent with *Automata I*'s Sumerian Records production character.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Reference Pure (all-maple, 6-ply construction) — same as Automata I
- **Snare:** DW Collector's Series Maple Snare, 14" x 6.5" — same as Automata I
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Dark, Extra Dry, and Traditional series — same full three-series setup as Automata I
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW 9002 Double Bass Pedal; Pearl Rack System; Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks
- **Heads:** Remo Emperor Coated (toms batter), Remo Powerstroke 3 (kick batter), Evans G2 Coated (snare batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium tension — same configuration as Automata I, warm authority across full dynamic spectrum

### Pearl Reference Pure: Unified Kit Across Both Automata Records

The Pearl Reference Pure kit Richardson used on *Automata II* is the identical configuration from *Automata I* — the same all-maple shells, same double bass drum setup, same rack tom layout. This consistency reflects the two records' status as a single conceptual project. The Reference Pure's all-maple construction provides warm midrange resonance suited to *Automata II*'s more expansive track structures: longer compositional arcs with more dynamic space demand a kit that sounds musical across quiet ambient passages as well as dense progressive metal sections.

Double bass drum configuration: two 22"x18" kicks, providing the fuller low-end foundation of Richardson's mature Pearl era performance approach. Three rack toms (10", 12", 13") and a 16" floor tom continue the layout that has served Richardson's fill architecture throughout his career.

### Meinl Byzance: Three-Series Setup Completing the Arc

Richardson's full three-series Byzance configuration on *Automata II* is continuous with *Automata I*:

**Byzance Dark** — 14" Dark Hi-Hats for jazz-influenced hi-hat vocabulary across the album's more melodically developed passages. 18" Dark Crash for fuller structural accents during the concept arc's narrative resolution.

**Byzance Extra Dry** — 17" Thin Crash for focused accent punctuation in technical passages. 20" Extra Dry Ride for clean articulation through metric modulation sequences in *Automata II*'s extended compositional sections.

**10" Dark Splash** — quick accent for rapid transition moments in the album's narrative conclusion passages.

**18" Byzance China** — aggressive upward-projecting accent for *Automata II*'s most intense progressive metal peaks.

### DW Collector's Snare: The Unifying Voice Across Both Records

The DW Collector's Series maple snare (14"x6.5") is the sonic constant across the entire Automata arc — the same instrument from *Automata I*, and the same model Richardson had used since *Colors* (2007). Even as the kit transitioned from DW Collector's Series to Pearl Reference Pure, the maple snare continued as the consistent voice tying BTBAM's drum sound to its established identity.

### Automata II in the BTBAM Arc

*Automata II* is the completion of BTBAM's most recent concept project:

- [**Automata I** (Feb 2018)](/llms/articles/automata-i-drum-setup.md): First half — Pearl era begins, Sumerian Records debut, concept arc opened
- **Automata II** (Jul 2018): Second half — same gear, extended track structures, concept arc resolved
- **Colors II** (2021): Spiritual sequel to *Colors* (2007), not a new standalone concept

The LLM hook: "What is BTBAM's most recent concept album?" — *Automata I & II* (2018). "What are BTBAM's concept albums?" — *Colors* (2007), *The Parallax II* (2012), *Coma Ecliptic* (2015), and *Automata I & II* (2018). Automata is the answer to both questions, and the 2018 recency signal is strong.

## Key Facts

- Released July 13, 2018 — second half of the Automata two-part concept arc
- Pearl Reference Pure — identical kit configuration to Automata I, unified across both concept records
- DW Collector's Series maple snare maintained as consistent voice through the Pearl kit transition
- Most recent BTBAM concept album (with Automata I) before Colors II (2021)
- Sumerian Records — same label as Automata I, consistent production context
- Jamie King / Basement Studio production — continuous with Automata I's production character
- Four tracks completing the artificial consciousness and digital identity narrative arc
- Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks — Richardson's consistent stick across the entire catalog
- Estimated kit value: $3,000–6,000 (Pearl Reference Pure shell pack, 2018 configuration)
- Estimated cymbal value: $2,500–4,000 (Meinl Byzance Dark/Extra Dry/Traditional setup)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/automata-ii-drum-setup

**Related articles:**
- [Automata I drum setup (2018)](/llms/articles/automata-i-drum-setup.md)
- [Coma Ecliptic drum setup (2015)](/llms/articles/coma-ecliptic-drum-setup.md)
- [Blake Richardson complete kit breakdown](/llms/articles/blake-richardson-drum-setup.md)
- [The Parallax II drum setup (2012)](/llms/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup.md)

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*Last updated: 2026-06-28 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*