# Ben Koller's Drum Setup on Bloodmoon: I (2021) — Converge & Chelsea Wolfe

> Inside Ben Koller's drum setup for Bloodmoon: I (2021), Converge's collaborative album with Chelsea Wolfe — the Tama Starclassic Performer B/B, Zildjian K Custom and A Custom cymbals, and the most restrained, dynamically extreme drumming of Koller's career.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Ben Koller](/llms/drummers/ben-koller.md)
**Band / Album:** Converge & Chelsea Wolfe — *Bloodmoon: I* (2021)
**Genre:** Hardcore / Atmospheric Sludge Metal

## Overview

Released November 19, 2021 on Epitaph Records and Deathwish Inc., Bloodmoon: I paired Converge with singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe for a full-length collaborative album — the most atmospheric and dynamically extreme record of Ben Koller's career. Written and performed by Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton, and Koller alongside Chelsea Wolfe, with additional contributions from Converge's longtime collaborator Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man) and Wolfe's longtime collaborator Ben Chisholm, the album pushed Converge's sound further from hardcore's blast-and-breakdown vocabulary than any release before it.

Where The Dusk in Us (2017) stretched Converge's dynamic range within a still-recognizably hardcore framework, Bloodmoon: I abandons the framework almost entirely on tracks like "Blood Moon," "Flower Moon," and "Tongues Playing Dead" — songs built on doom-paced tempos, layered vocal harmonies between Bannon and Wolfe, and long stretches of atmosphere rather than aggression. Koller's job across the record's eleven tracks is less about delivering intensity and more about shaping space: knowing when restraint serves the song and when to bring the kit's full weight to bear.

Recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts — the same room behind every Converge album since Jane Doe (2001) — Bloodmoon: I still used Koller's fully settled touring rig: the Tama Starclassic Performer B/B, Zildjian K Custom and A Custom cymbals, Tama Iron Cobra pedal, and Vater signature sticks. No new gear was required. What changed was how Koller used it — pulling dynamic range and textural nuance out of the same setup that powered Axe to Fall's all-out aggression four years earlier.

This article breaks down Ben Koller's Bloodmoon: I drum setup and examines how his most collaborative, least hardcore-oriented Converge record still required every tool in his established rig.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Tama Starclassic Performer B/B (Piano Black touring configuration finish)
- **Snare:** Tama Tama S.L.P. (Studio Legendary Percussion), 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — Zildjian K Custom / A Custom
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra (Power Glide or Rolling Glide); Vater Ben Koller Signature
- **Heads:** Evans G1 Coated batter; Evans 300 Snare Side resonant
- **Snare tuning:** Variable — medium-high for the album's harder tracks, lower tension for its atmospheric passages

### Koller's Bloodmoon: I Kit: The Settled Performer B/B, Deployed for Restraint

Ben Koller's Bloodmoon: I kit is the identical Tama Starclassic Performer B/B rig he settled into for The Dusk in Us — the same 22" single bass drum, the same compact 10"/12" rack tom and 16" floor tom spread, the same birch/bubinga hybrid shells. No gear change was needed for the album's more atmospheric direction, because the B/B's articulate-yet-warm voicing was already suited to material that asks for more than pure aggression.

What Bloodmoon: I demands differently is touch. On the title track "Blood Moon" and the slow-building "Flower Moon," Koller's kick and toms have to register at a fraction of the velocity his Converge parts usually require, without losing definition. The B/B shells' clarity at low volume — a byproduct of the same birch punch that cuts through distorted guitars at full volume — makes this possible without switching kits or reconfiguring the setup.

The single-kick approach, unchanged since Jane Doe two decades earlier, remains intact. Bloodmoon: I never asks for double-kick density; if anything, the album's pacing rewards Koller's single-foot precision more than any prior Converge record, since sparser arrangements leave every kick stroke exposed.

### The Snare: Tama S.L.P. Carries the Album's Quietest Moments

Koller's Tama S.L.P. snare — his settled choice since the mid-2010s — carries more responsibility on Bloodmoon: I than on any prior Converge record, because so much of the album asks the snare to be felt rather than dominant. On "Viscera of Men" and "Coil," tracks that retain more of Converge's traditional intensity, the S.L.P. delivers its usual cutting rimshot crack. On the doom-paced, Wolfe-fronted passages of "Blood Moon" and "Flower Moon," the same drum is tuned down and played with far less force, favoring the rounder, more resonant voice the 6.5" depth allows at lower tension.

This dual demand — full aggression on some tracks, atmospheric restraint on others, sometimes within the same song — is the clearest evidence of Bloodmoon: I's dynamic range. Kurt Ballou's mix leaves considerably more space around the snare than on a typical hardcore-oriented Converge record, letting the drum's natural resonance and Chelsea Wolfe's vocal harmonies breathe together rather than compete.

### Zildjian K Custom and A Custom — Texture Over Impact

Ben Koller's Zildjian K Custom and A Custom setup carries over unchanged from The Dusk in Us, but its role on Bloodmoon: I shifts toward texture. The K Custom Ride 21" — already Koller's tool of choice for atmospheric passages on The Dusk in Us's closer "It Rides" — becomes the album's primary cymbal voice, its complex wash and defined bell providing continuous textural support beneath Chelsea Wolfe's vocal lines on tracks like "Flower Moon" and "Tongues Playing Dead."

The K Custom Dark Hi-Hats do double duty as both timekeeper and texture, their controlled, complex chick registering as an atmospheric element in the album's quieter stretches rather than disappearing into the arrangement. The A Custom crashes and china are used more sparingly than on any other Converge record in Koller's catalog — reserved for the tracks that retain more of the band's traditional hardcore intensity, like "Viscera of Men" and "Coil," where their explosive brightness marks a genuine contrast against the album's more restrained material.

## Key Facts

- Released November 19, 2021 on Epitaph Records / Deathwish Inc.
- Collaborative full-length with Chelsea Wolfe, featuring Stephen Brodsky and Ben Chisholm
- Recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio
- Converge's most atmospheric, least hardcore-oriented record to date
- Same Tama Starclassic Performer B/B / Zildjian K-A Custom rig as The Dusk in Us
- Identical Tama Starclassic Performer B/B rig carried over from The Dusk in Us
- Single 22" bass drum — precision matters more than density on this record
- Birch/Bubinga shells register clearly at both whisper-quiet and full-volume dynamics
- No new gear required — the settled rig proved versatile enough for the album's atmospheric shift
- Estimated kit value: $1,800–2,800 (Tama Starclassic Performer B/B shell pack)
- Estimated snare value: $200–400 (Tama S.L.P. series)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What drum kit did Ben Koller use on Bloodmoon: I?**

A: Ben Koller used his settled Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit on Bloodmoon: I (2021) — the same birch/bubinga hybrid rig he used on The Dusk in Us, with a single 22" bass drum, 10" and 12" rack toms, and a 16" floor tom. No gear changed for the album's more atmospheric direction; the setup proved versatile enough to serve both the record's restrained passages and its harder-hitting tracks. Full drummer profile: [Ben Koller at MetalForge](/drummer/ben-koller).

**Q: Who is featured on Converge's Bloodmoon: I?**

A: Bloodmoon: I (2021) is a full-length collaborative album between Converge and singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, released November 19, 2021 on Epitaph Records and Deathwish Inc. It was written and performed by Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton, and Ben Koller alongside Chelsea Wolfe, with additional contributions from Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man) and Wolfe's longtime collaborator Ben Chisholm.

**Q: What cymbals did Ben Koller use on Bloodmoon: I?**

A: Ben Koller used his established Zildjian K Custom and A Custom setup on Bloodmoon: I — K Custom Dark Hi-Hats (14"), A Custom Crashes (18" and 19"), a K Custom Ride (21"), and an A Custom China (18"). The K Custom Ride sees the heaviest use on the album, functioning as a primary textural element beneath Chelsea Wolfe's vocal lines rather than a traditional timekeeping ride. See also: [The Dusk in Us drum setup](/articles/the-dusk-in-us-drum-setup).

**Q: How does Bloodmoon: I compare to Ben Koller's other Converge albums?**

A: Bloodmoon: I (2021) is the most atmospheric and dynamically restrained record in Ben Koller's catalog — a deliberate departure from the blast-and-breakdown vocabulary of albums like [Axe to Fall](/articles/axe-to-fall-drum-setup) and [Jane Doe](/articles/jane-doe-drum-setup). It extends the dynamic range The Dusk in Us (2017) introduced into a full collaborative album built around doom-paced tempos and Chelsea Wolfe's vocal presence, using the same gear Koller had already settled into for years. Full career arc: [Ben Koller at MetalForge](/drummer/ben-koller).

**Q: Who produced Bloodmoon: I?**

A: Bloodmoon: I (2021) was written, recorded, and mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts — the same studio and engineer behind every Converge album since Jane Doe (2001). Ballou's mix on this record uses considerably more room ambience than a typical Converge production, giving Ben Koller's drums space to coexist with Chelsea Wolfe's vocal layers rather than dominate them.

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/bloodmoon-i-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-07-06 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*