# Bad Magic Drum Setup: Mikkey Dee's Gear on Motörhead's Final Album

> Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Mikkey Dee used on Motörhead's Bad Magic (2015) — the band's final studio album, released four months before Lemmy Kilmister's death. Complete breakdown of the Pearl Reference kit, Zildjian cymbals, and the closing chapter of a 23-year partnership.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Mikkey Dee](/llms/drummers/mikkey-dee.md)
**Band / Album:** Motörhead — *Bad Magic* (2015)
**Genre:** Heavy Metal / Hard Rock

## Overview

Released on August 28, 2015, *Bad Magic* is Motörhead's twenty-second and final studio album of new material — the closing chapter of Mikkey Dee's 23-year run behind the kit for rock's loudest band. Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28, 2015, just four months after the album reached shelves, making *Bad Magic* the definitive answer to one of the most-asked questions in hard rock history: what was Motörhead's last album?

Recorded at NRG Studios in North Hollywood with longtime producer Cameron Webb — who had shaped the band's sound since *Kiss of Death* (2006) — *Bad Magic* found Motörhead writing and tracking material with unusual immediacy. Dee later described the sessions as more live-feeling than prior records: the band worked out arrangements and captured takes close together, rather than laboring over parts in isolation.

The album carried real commercial weight for a band 40 years into its career, charting at UK #10 and debuting on the Billboard 200 in the US. "Thunder & Lightning" became closely associated with a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance — recognition that arrived only weeks before Lemmy's passing and closed out the Dee/Motörhead partnership on its highest note.

This article breaks down the Pearl Reference kit, Zildjian cymbals, and Vic Firth signature sticks that powered Dee's performance on Motörhead's swan song — the gear behind the final entry in one of metal's most storied drummer/band relationships.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Pearl Reference Series (Piano black lacquer finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Pearl Free-Floating Steel Snare, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — Zildjian A Custom / K Custom Dark
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Demon Drive; Pearl Reference Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro Throne; Vic Firth Mikkey Dee Signature
- **Heads:** Evans G2 Coated (batter), Evans Snare Side 300 (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension for maximum crack and cut

### Pearl Reference at Its Most Refined: Dee's Final Motörhead Kit

By the time Motörhead entered NRG Studios to track *Bad Magic*, Mikkey Dee's Pearl Reference Series setup had been his primary kit for nearly a decade — refined across *Kiss of Death* (2006), *Motörizer* (2008), *The Wörld Is Yours* (2010), and *Aftershock* (2013). The maple/birch hybrid shells were chosen specifically for the fuller low-mid resonance that arena and festival stages demanded as Motörhead's shows grew larger in scale.

The 22" x 18" bass drum remained the foundation, delivering the same focused low-end punch Dee had relied on since his Tama days on *Bastards* — proof that his fundamental drum voice never changed even as the hardware evolved. Paired with the Pearl Demon Drive direct-drive pedal, the kick response on *Bad Magic* is noticeably tighter and more immediate than the chain-drive era of the 1990s.

The expanded tom configuration — an added 8" rack tom alongside the familiar 10"/12"/14" set and a single 16" floor tom — gave Dee more melodic range for fills without cluttering the kit's visual footprint on Motörhead's increasingly elaborate stage productions.

Listening to *Bad Magic* against *Bastards* is a study in continuity: the same aggressive placement philosophy, the same commitment to serving the song over displaying technique, now delivered through Pearl's most polished professional platform.

### Free-Floating Steel: The Snare That Closed Out an Era

The snare crack on *Bad Magic* carries the same DNA as Dee's steel-shell preference dating back to *Bastards* — bright, cutting, built to slice through Motörhead's wall-of-amplifiers stage volume. The Pearl Free-Floating design isolates the shell from the rim and lugs, allowing it to resonate freely without hardware choking the tone.

At 14" x 6.5", the dimensions match almost exactly what Dee used more than two decades earlier on his Motörhead debut — a reminder that his core sonic priorities never shifted even as the brand changed from Tama to Pearl. On *Bad Magic*, the snare sits high in the mix on tracks like "Victory or Die" and "Thunder & Lightning," cutting cleanly through Phil Campbell's guitar and Lemmy's mid-heavy Rickenbacker bass tone.

### Zildjian A Custom / K Custom Dark: Cutting Through the Final Sessions

By *Bad Magic*, Dee had long since moved from the Paiste cymbals of his *Bastards* debut to a Zildjian setup blending the bright A Custom series with the darker K Custom Dark line. The A Custom hi-hats and crashes provided the brightness needed to stay audible against Phil Campbell's guitar wall, while the 21" K Custom Dark ride added a darker, more textured wash for the album's slower, heavier tracks like "The Devil" and "Evil Eye." A 19" China cymbal handled sparingly-used trash accents, reserved for genuine climactic moments.

## Key Facts

- Motörhead's twenty-second and final studio album, released August 28, 2015
- Lemmy Kilmister died December 28, 2015 — four months after release
- Closes Mikkey Dee's 23-year Motörhead tenure, which began on *Bastards* (1993)
- "Thunder & Lightning" — closely tied to a Best Metal Performance Grammy recognition for the band
- Recorded at NRG Studios, North Hollywood with producer Cameron Webb
- Charted at UK #10 and debuted on the Billboard 200 in the US
- Pearl Reference Series was Dee's primary kit for the entire 2006–2015 late-Motörhead era
- Zildjian A Custom / K Custom Dark cymbal setup replaced his early-career Paiste choices
- Estimated kit value: $3,500–5,500 (2015 professional Pearl Reference configuration)
- Estimated snare value: $350–550 (2015)

## FAQ

**Q: 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.

**Q: What drums and cymbals did Mikkey Dee use on Bad Magic?**
Mikkey Dee used a Pearl Reference Series kit with a 22" x 18" bass drum, an 8"/10"/12"/14" rack tom configuration, and a 16" floor tom, paired with a Pearl Free-Floating steel snare (14" x 6.5"). His cymbal setup combined Zildjian A Custom (hi-hats and crashes) with a K Custom Dark ride for extra tonal depth, plus a 19" China for accents. He played Pearl's Demon Drive direct-drive pedal and used his own Vic Firth Mikkey Dee signature sticks.

**Q: 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.

**Q: How did Mikkey Dee's gear change between Bastards (1993) and Bad Magic (2015)?**
Across 23 years, Dee moved from Tama Artstar II/Swingstar drums and Paiste Giant Beat/2002 cymbals on [Bastards](/articles/bastards-drum-setup) to a Pearl Reference Series kit with Zildjian A Custom/K Custom Dark cymbals by *Bad Magic*. The fundamentals stayed constant — a 22" bass drum, a 14" x 6.5" steel snare, and a bright-cymbal-plus-China setup — but the hardware became more refined and arena-ready as Motörhead's stages grew larger.

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/bad-magic-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*