# Matt Greiner's Drum Setup on August Burns Red's Constellations (2009)

> Complete breakdown of the drum kit, snare, cymbals, and hardware Matt Greiner used to record August Burns Red's metalcore breakthrough Constellations (2009). The Audiohammer-era Mapex Saturn, Zildjian A/Z Custom cymbals, Pearl Demon Drive, and the playing style that defined the ABR sound — peaking at #16 on the Billboard 200.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Matt Greiner](/llms/drummers/matt-greiner.md)
**Band / Album:** August Burns Red — *Constellations* (2009)
**Genre:** Metalcore

## Overview

Released on July 14, 2009 through Solid State Records, August Burns Red's *Constellations* was the album that broke ABR through to the mainstream metal audience — debuting at #16 on the Billboard 200, named top metalcore album of the year by multiple outlets, and cementing the Lancaster, Pennsylvania quintet as one of the most important bands in the genre. Behind the kit, Matt Greiner delivered a performance that established the technical-but-musical drumming vocabulary the band would expand on for the next decade.

*Constellations* arrived two years after *Messengers* (2007), and the leap in both songwriting maturity and production polish is audible from the first measure. Working again with producer Jason Suecof at his Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida — by 2009 already one of the most in-demand metal producers in the world — ABR sharpened their attack while expanding their compositional range. Tracks like "Marianas Trench" and "The Escape Artist" became signature singles, with Greiner's drumming functioning as the structural backbone for songs that pivoted between blistering double-bass passages, half-time breakdowns, and melodic guitar work.

For Greiner, *Constellations* was the album that fully revealed the playing identity he had been developing through ABR's earlier records. The lever-driven double bass technique was already in place. The jazz-informed ghost note layering and odd-meter facility that would later define *Leveler* (2011) were emerging in tracks like "Indonesia" and "Marianas Trench." But what *Constellations* added was confidence: Greiner was no longer just keeping up with the band's ambitious songwriting — he was actively shaping it.

The gear that powered this performance reflected Greiner's longtime endorsement relationship with Mapex. The Mapex Saturn IV — Mapex's flagship hybrid-shell kit at the time — delivered the combination of attack and warmth that the Audiohammer production demanded. Paired with Zildjian A Custom and Z Custom cymbals, a Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive double pedal, and Evans heads, the setup was unmistakably modern: bright, articulate, fast.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Mapex Saturn IV (Custom gloss / dark wrap finish)
- **Snare:** Mapex Black Panther (Maple or Birch), 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — A Custom and Z Custom
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive Double Pedal; Mapex Falcon Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro Throne; Vater Matt Greiner Signature sticks
- **Heads:** Evans EC2 (toms batter), Evans Genera HD (snare batter), Evans EMAD (kick batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension — projection with controlled body

### Matt's Constellations Kit: Mapex Saturn IV

Matt Greiner's *Constellations* kit was the Mapex Saturn IV, the flagship hybrid-shell offering that defined Mapex's professional line during the late 2000s. Mapex had been Greiner's drum sponsor since the band's early days, and by 2009 his Saturn setup had been refined into a precise instrument for what ABR's music required: explosive attack for double-bass and breakdown sections, controlled sustain for the melodic passages, and tonal clarity that could survive the dense guitar arrangements Audiohammer was building around the drums.

The Saturn IV's signature is its hybrid shell — a combination of maple inner plies for warmth and walnut outer plies for attack. The result is a drum that hits like a metal kit but speaks like a musical instrument: the toms have body and fundamental, the bass drums deliver a sharp, focused thump rather than a one-note slap. On *Constellations*, this hybrid character is audible everywhere. Listen to the opening of "Marianas Trench": Greiner's tom fills carry pitch and definition that pure birch or pure maple shells couldn't produce in the same balance.

The double 22" bass drum configuration was foundational to Greiner's playing. Unlike drummers who use a single kick with a slave pedal, Greiner ran true double bass — two fully independent drums, each delivering equivalent attack. The 22" diameter gave him the deep fundamental that ABR's heaviest passages required, while the 18" depth kept the response speed that his lever-driven technique demanded.

The four-tom configuration (two racks plus two floors) gave Greiner more compositional range than the three-piece tom setup he would use on *Leveler* two years later. On *Constellations* fills sweep across the kit in ways that the *Leveler* configuration wouldn't accommodate.

### The Constellations Snare: Mapex Black Panther

Matt Greiner's snare on *Constellations* came from Mapex's Black Panther line — the company's flagship snare drum series, built around premium single-material shells with high-end hardware. For the Audiohammer sessions, the deeper 6.5" shell delivered the body and projection the production required: enough crack to cut through the dense guitar mix, enough fundamental to anchor the heavy half-time grooves that punctuate songs like "Meridian" and "Mediator."

The Black Panther's all-maple variant produces a warmer, fuller tone with controlled sustain. The all-birch variant, alternately, delivers sharper attack with faster decay. Greiner's snare tuning on *Constellations* sits in the medium-high range — tight enough for cut and projection, but not strained to the point of choking out the natural shell character. The Evans Genera HD batter head provides controlled rebound for ghost note work while delivering reinforced durability for the punishing backbeats.

The signature snare moment on *Constellations* is the verse pattern on "Marianas Trench": Greiner's backbeat carries unusual presence in the mix, sitting forward of the guitars rather than buried beneath them.

### Zildjian A Custom and Z Custom: The Constellations Cymbal Voice

Matt Greiner's cymbal setup on *Constellations* combined Zildjian's A Custom and Z Custom series — a layered approach that gave him both the brilliance of the A Custom alloy and the heavier cut of the Z Custom line. The result is a cymbal voice that's unmistakably modern metalcore: bright, articulate, fast, and capable of slicing through Audiohammer's dense guitar layering without losing presence.

The A Custom Mastersound hi-hats define the rhythmic vocabulary across the album. Their crisp chick and clear stick attack made them ideal for the rapid 16th-note patterns and tightly controlled accents that characterize Greiner's playing on tracks like "The Escape Artist" and "White Washed."

The 18" A Custom China is one of the signature sonic elements of *Constellations*. Greiner deploys it as a punctuation accent throughout the album — that trashy, aggressive character is not optional for metalcore; it's a defining textural element.

## Key Facts

- Released July 14, 2009 on Solid State Records — ABR's metalcore breakthrough album
- Debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200 and named top metalcore album of the year by multiple outlets
- Produced by Jason Suecof at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida
- Singles "Marianas Trench" and "The Escape Artist" became signature tracks and live staples
- Matt Greiner played a Mapex Saturn IV with hybrid maple/walnut shells — the Audiohammer-era ABR sound
- Double 22" x 18" bass drums with Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive direct-drive double pedal
- Four-tom configuration (10/12/14/16) — wider tonal range than the later Leveler setup
- Mapex Black Panther snare 14" x 6.5" — either all-maple or all-birch shell variant
- Zildjian A Custom and Z Custom cymbal setup — the Z Custom 19" Rock Crash provides the heaviest accents
- Evans heads throughout: EC2 toms, Genera HD snare, EMAD kick
- Estimated kit value: $2,500–3,500 (2009) / $1,800–2,800 (used today)
- Estimated snare value: $300–500 (2009) / $250–450 (used today)
- Estimated full cymbal setup value: $1,500–2,200 (2009)

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

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*Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*