# Scott Travis's Drum Setup on Judas Priest's Demolition (2001)

> Inside Scott Travis's drum setup on Demolition, the final Tim 'Ripper' Owens album, released in 2001 with nu-metal and industrial influences, the only Priest album to carry a Parental Advisory sticker, and the record where Travis earned his only songwriting credit in band history.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Scott Travis](/llms/drummers/scott-travis.md)
**Band / Album:** Judas Priest — *Demolition* (2001)
**Genre:** Heavy Metal / Industrial Metal

## Overview

Released July 16, 2001 in Europe (SPV/Steamhammer) and July 31, 2001 in North America (Atlantic Records), Demolition is Judas Priest's fourteenth studio album and the second and final record to feature Tim "Ripper" Owens on vocals. Where Jugulator (1997) pivoted toward thrash and groove metal, Demolition pushes further into nu-metal and industrial territory — programmed textures, heavier riff syncopation, and a darker, more modern production. It's also the only Judas Priest studio album to carry a Parental Advisory sticker, thanks to the profanity in "Machine Man," "Hell Is Home," and "Metal Messiah."

Commercially, Demolition continued the decade's downward chart trend: it peaked at #165 on the Billboard 200 in the US, down from Jugulator's #82, though it still reached #16 in Germany and #22 in Japan. Produced once again in-house by Glenn Tipton with engineer Sean Lynch, and recorded across Silvermere Sound and Riverside Studios in England between 1999 and 2001, Demolition would be the last new Priest music before Rob Halford's return to the band began taking shape — he officially rejoined in 2003, two years after this album's release.

For Scott Travis, Demolition holds a unique distinction beyond the drum kit: he co-wrote the track "Cyberface" alongside Glenn Tipton, marking his only songwriting contribution in Judas Priest's entire history. Only one other Priest drummer, Les Binks, has ever earned a co-writing credit. It's a small but telling detail about how deeply Travis was embedded in the band's creative process by this point, no longer just the guy who replaced Dave Holland, but a full collaborator.

Gear-wise, Demolition largely continues the Pearl Masters Custom and Paiste 2002 setup Travis introduced on Jugulator, with the addition of Yamaha hardware components, evidence of a drummer fine-tuning a working setup rather than overhauling it. The result is a rig built to serve Demolition's darker, more mechanical sound while keeping the low-end weight and groove-locked control Travis had developed four years earlier.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Pearl Masters Custom (Piano Black finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Pearl Masters Custom, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Paiste — Paiste 2002
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Eliminator (x2 independent pedals); Yamaha HS-1200 Hi-Hat Stand; Yamaha System 3 Boom Stands; Pearl Throne, round seat; Vic Firth 5B
- **Heads:** Remo Pinstripe (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension, moderate snare wire tension — same setting as Jugulator

### Pearl Masters Custom, Refined

Travis carried his Jugulator-era Pearl Masters Custom kit forward for Demolition, unchanged in its core configuration: dual 22" x 18" bass drums, 10"/12" rack toms, and 14"/16" floor toms in maple/gum hybrid shells. Recorded across two studios, Silvermere Sound and Riverside Studios, over a two-year period (1999-2001), the sessions gave Travis time to dial the same kit in for Demolition's darker, more industrial-leaning material.

Where Jugulator's production emphasized a tight, dry attack to cut through downtuned thrash riffing, Demolition's nu-metal and industrial textures called for a slightly more processed, mechanical-sounding kit voice, achieved through mixing and triggering choices rather than a physical gear change. The Masters Custom's maple/gum shells provided a full, controllable foundation for that treatment: full-bodied enough to sit under programmed-sounding textures on tracks like "Machine Man" and "Cyberface" without losing the organic low end that separates real drums from a drum machine.

The consistency between Jugulator and Demolition's core kit specs, same brand, same shell material, same bass drum depth, reflects a drummer who had found a setup that worked and saw no reason to change it for a sequel session with largely the same creative team.

### The Same Crack, a Darker Mix

The same 14" x 6.5" Pearl Masters Custom snare from Jugulator returns on Demolition, tuned in the same medium-high range for attack and cut. What changes is the production context: Demolition's industrial and nu-metal-leaning tracks, particularly "Machine Man" and "Cyberface," sit the snare inside a darker, more processed mix than Jugulator's drier, more straightforward thrash-groove production.

On "Cyberface," the track Travis co-wrote with Glenn Tipton, the snare pattern is more rhythmically angular than the album's more conventional cuts, a reasonable byproduct of a drummer having direct input into the song's structure rather than simply interpreting a finished riff. The die-cast hoops continue to deliver the rim-shot definition Travis relies on for accents throughout the record, including the profanity-laced choruses of "Hell Is Home" and "Metal Messiah" that earned the album its Parental Advisory sticker.

### Paiste 2002, Unchanged

Travis's cymbal setup on Demolition is identical to Jugulator's, the same all-Paiste-2002 configuration, unchanged across both Owens-era albums. That continuity is worth noting precisely because Demolition's material pushes further into industrial and nu-metal textures than Jugulator did: rather than chase a more modern cymbal sound to match, Travis stuck with the darker, heavier 2002 voice that had already proven it could sit underneath downtuned, syncopated riffing.

The 14" Sound Edge Hi-Hats continue to provide the tighter, more controlled chick that suits groove-based material better than a bright, washy hi-hat would. The 18" China gets a heavier workout here than on Jugulator, punctuating the mechanical, stop-start rhythms of "Machine Man" and the angular patterns of "Cyberface." This is the last fully-Paiste chapter of Travis's Priest catalogue, by Angel of Retribution in 2005, he'd have moved to Sabian's HH/AA hybrid setup.

## Key Facts

- Second and final Tim "Ripper" Owens album — released July 2001, two years before Rob Halford's 2003 return
- Only Judas Priest studio album to carry a Parental Advisory sticker
- Scott Travis co-wrote "Cyberface" with Glenn Tipton — his only songwriting credit in band history
- Charted at #165 on the Billboard 200 (US), down from Jugulator's #82, but reached #16 in Germany
- Continues the Pearl Masters Custom / Paiste 2002 setup introduced on Jugulator, with new Yamaha hardware
- Same Pearl Masters Custom configuration carried forward from Jugulator (1997) unchanged
- 22"x18" bass drums remain the standard Travis would keep for the rest of his Priest career
- Recorded across two studios (Silvermere Sound, Riverside) over a two-year session (1999-2001)
- Maple/gum shells provide organic low end under the album's more processed, industrial-leaning mix
- Consistency with Jugulator reflects a settled, working setup rather than an overhaul
- Estimated kit value: $3,800-5,200 (2001)
- Estimated snare value: $450-600 (2001)

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

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