# Coma Ecliptic Drum Setup — Blake Richardson (2015)

> Blake Richardson's drum kit and gear on BTBAM's Coma Ecliptic (2015): DW Collector's Series drums, Meinl Byzance Dark and Extra Dry cymbals, and the narrative rock opera performance that charted in the UK and hit #1 on the iTunes Rock chart.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Blake Richardson](/llms/drummers/blake-richardson.md)
**Band / Album:** Between the Buried and Me — *Coma Ecliptic* (2015)
**Genre:** Progressive Metal / Progressive Rock
**Label:** Metal Blade Records

## Overview

Released July 17, 2015 on Metal Blade Records, *Coma Ecliptic* is Between the Buried and Me's most commercially visible record — a rock opera concept album narrated by James LaBrie of Dream Theater that charted in the UK, hit #1 on the iTunes Rock chart, and reached the Billboard 200. It followed [The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)](/llms/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup.md) with a different creative intention: where *The Parallax II* was BTBAM's most technically demanding record, *Coma Ecliptic* leaned further into progressive rock textures, narrative storytelling, and melodic accessibility.

Blake Richardson's drumming on *Coma Ecliptic* is the performance of a player who has fully internalized his technical tools and now deploys them in service of a narrative-driven musical context. The odd-time signatures and metric modulations are still present — this is still BTBAM — but they function as storytelling devices: time signature changes that accompany emotional state changes in the narrative, dynamic swells that mark dramatic turning points. It is Richardson's most musically mature performance, and it demonstrates technique fully absorbed into musical purpose.

Produced by Jamie King at The Basement Studio, Winston-Salem, NC — the same combination responsible for Alaska (2005), Colors (2007), and The Parallax II — but with a warmer, more open production character suited to the rock opera's progressive rock direction.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** DW Collector's Series (mature configuration, North American Hard Rock Maple)
- **Snare:** DW Collector's Series Maple Snare, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Dark and Extra Dry (full dual-series setup from Parallax II era maintained)
- **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 — warm and full-bodied, serving Coma Ecliptic's narrative emotional arc from restraint to intensity

### DW Collector's Series: A Decade of Refinement

Richardson's DW Collector's Series kit on *Coma Ecliptic* was the most fully evolved version of the configuration established on *Alaska* (2005) — 10+ years of touring and recording refined into precise calibration. The all-maple North American Hard Rock Maple shells suit *Coma Ecliptic*'s progressive rock-leaning production well: full and resonant across the album's melodically rich arrangements without the aggressive attack character that would suit a more extreme metal record.

Jamie King's Basement Studio production on *Coma Ecliptic* gave the DW Collector's Series more room to breathe than on *The Parallax II* — a production choice reflecting the album's more open, accessible musical direction. The bass drum sits with less density; the toms have more natural decay; the overall drum sound is warmer and more present. For a rock opera where the drums are telling a story rather than demonstrating extremes, this production approach was exactly correct.

Kit configuration maintained from *The Parallax II*: 22"x18" bass drum (via DW 9002 double pedal), three rack toms (10", 12", 13"), 16" floor tom.

### Meinl Byzance Dark and Extra Dry: Storytelling Tonal Vocabulary

Richardson's Meinl Byzance setup on *Coma Ecliptic* maintained the dual Dark/Extra Dry approach from [The Parallax II](/llms/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup.md), adapted to serve the rock opera's narrative emotional register:

**Byzance Dark** — warm, earthy tones for the album's contemplative and melodic passages. The 14" Dark Hi-Hats carry lyrical sections with warm shimmer suited to narrative-driven music. The 18" Dark Crash provides emotional weight during the most dramatic story moments — fuller, more sustained, carrying significance.

**Byzance Extra Dry** — controlled, focused articulation for rhythmically complex sections where clarity is paramount. The Extra Dry Ride keeps odd-time patterns cleanly defined through Richardson's metric modulation sequences.

Full setup: 14" Dark Hi-Hats, 17" Extra Dry Thin Crash, 18" Dark Crash, 20" Extra Dry Ride, 10" Dark Splash, 18" Byzance China. The Dark/Extra Dry balance gives Richardson two distinct cymbal characters for *Coma Ecliptic*'s narrative structure: warmth for contemplative passages, precision for intense sections.

### Technique as Storytelling

*Coma Ecliptic*'s concept follows a protagonist through coma-dream visions, each track a chapter. Richardson's deployment of technique across the album serves this narrative arc directly:

- **Time signature changes** accompany the protagonist's emotional state changes — disorientation in irregular meters, resolution in more stable signatures
- **Metric modulations** lift tempo during triumphant moments, slow the perception of time during introspective passages
- **Kick density variation** creates narrative tension — sparser kick during contemplative sequences, dense double-bass driving dramatic climaxes
- **Dynamic restraint** is a deliberate artistic choice: quieter passages create the tension that makes peak moments land harder

This is the same odd-time signature and metric modulation vocabulary Richardson developed from [Alaska (2005)](/llms/articles/alaska-drum-setup.md) onward, but deployed with 10 years of compositional sophistication behind it. See the [odd-time signatures technique guide](/technique/odd-time-signatures) for a technical breakdown of these concepts.

## Coma Ecliptic in the BTBAM Arc

*Coma Ecliptic* sits between *The Parallax II* (2012) and *Automata I & II* (2018) in BTBAM's catalog:

- **The Parallax II** (2012): Most technically demanding — metric modulation and compositional double-bass at maximum complexity
- **Coma Ecliptic** (2015): Most narratively mature — technique in service of storytelling, progressive rock direction
- **Automata I & II** (2018): Richardson transitions to Pearl Reference Pure kit — the gear evolution continues

The commercial success of *Coma Ecliptic* demonstrated that BTBAM's progressive ambitions could reach audiences beyond extreme metal. James LaBrie's narration brought the album to Dream Theater's progressive rock fanbase; the more melodically direct song structures gave casual listeners an entry point that *The Parallax II*'s density did not offer.

## Key Facts

- UK chart and iTunes Rock #1 — BTBAM's most commercially visible album
- Rock opera narrated by James LaBrie (Dream Theater)
- DW Collector's Series at its most mature — 10+ years from Alaska (2005)
- Meinl Byzance Dark and Extra Dry full dual-series setup maintained from Parallax II era
- Jamie King Basement Studio production — warmer, more open than The Parallax II
- Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks — Richardson's consistent stick across the entire catalog
- Estimated kit value: $3,500–6,000 (DW Collector's Series shell pack, 2015 configuration)
- Estimated cymbal value: $2,500–4,000 (Meinl Byzance Dark and Extra Dry setup)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/coma-ecliptic-drum-setup

**Related articles:**
- [Alaska drum setup (2005)](/llms/articles/alaska-drum-setup.md)
- [The Parallax II drum setup (2012)](/llms/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup.md)
- [Blake Richardson complete kit breakdown](/llms/articles/blake-richardson-drum-setup.md)

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