# Paul Mazurkiewicz's Drum Setup on Cannibal Corpse's Evisceration Plague (2009)

> Complete drum gear breakdown for Cannibal Corpse's Evisceration Plague (2009). Paul Mazurkiewicz's Pearl Reference and Meinl rig, Erik Rutan's second Mana Recording Studios production, and the band's highest Billboard 200 debut to that point.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Paul Mazurkiewicz](/llms/drummers/paul-mazurkiewicz.md)
**Band / Album:** Cannibal Corpse — *Evisceration Plague* (2009)
**Genre:** Death Metal
**Label:** Metal Blade Records
**Studio:** Mana Recording Studios, St. Petersburg, Florida
**Producer:** Erik Rutan

## Overview

Released on February 3, 2009 through Metal Blade Records, "Evisceration Plague" is Cannibal Corpse's eleventh studio album and the direct follow-up to "Kill" (2006). Produced once again by Erik Rutan at his Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, Evisceration Plague continued the low-tuned, punishing sonic identity established on Kill, while pushing Paul Mazurkiewicz's drumming to what several contemporary critics singled out as a new technical peak.

The same five-piece lineup that recorded Kill returned intact: George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Pat O'Brien, Rob Barrett, Alex Webster, and Mazurkiewicz — the band's first back-to-back stable lineup since the earlier Fisher-era run that recorded Gallery of Suicide (1998) through Gore Obsessed (2002). That continuity, paired with a second consecutive session in Rutan's own studio, let the band refine rather than reinvent the approach that made Kill such a well-received comeback.

Evisceration Plague became Cannibal Corpse's highest-charting album to that point, entering the Billboard 200 at #66 on first-week sales of roughly 9,600 copies — more than double Kill's chart position three years earlier. AllMusic's Greg Prato awarded the record 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising its "metronome-like precision drumming, razor-sharp riffing," and singling out the eight-minute-plus title track — the fifth Cannibal Corpse album to feature a title track, and the subject of an official music video — as a highlight.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Reference (mature endorsement configuration, 2009) — dual 22" x 18" kicks, 10" and 12" rack toms, 16" and 18" floor toms
- **Snare:** 14" x 6.5" Pearl Free-Floating steel-shell snare
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance (established endorsement, 2009)
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Eliminator Double Bass Pedal; ddrum Acoustic Pro Triggers in live context
- **Sticks:** Vic Firth Paul Mazurkiewicz Signature
- **Heads:** Remo Powerstroke 3 (kicks), Remo Emperor Coated (tom batters), Remo Ambassador Clear (resonant), Remo Coated Ambassador (snare batter)

### Pearl Reference, Refined

Mazurkiewicz's Pearl Reference setup on Evisceration Plague is functionally identical to the configuration documented on Kill three years earlier. With the gear itself fully settled, the second Mana Recording Studios session let Erik Rutan and the band focus entirely on performance: contemporary reviews consistently singled out the speed and control of Mazurkiewicz's blast-beat work on this record specifically, widely described as his fastest and most precise to date.

### Erik Rutan at Mana Recording Studios: The Second Session

"Evisceration Plague" marked Erik Rutan's second consecutive Cannibal Corpse production, again recorded at his own Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. With the producer relationship and studio environment both already established on Kill (2006), the sessions could focus on refinement rather than the sonic groundwork the band and Rutan had to lay down together three years earlier. AllMusic's Greg Prato praised the resulting mix's "metronome-like precision drumming" and "razor-sharp riffing."

### Meinl Byzance: The Settled Modern Arsenal

The Meinl Byzance setup that carried Mazurkiewicz through Kill returned unaltered on Evisceration Plague — by 2009 there was little left to establish, the endorsement first developing on Bloodthirst a decade earlier was fully mature. Meinl's hand-hammered bronze construction gave the cymbals the fast attack needed to stay articulate through the album's fastest blast sections.

### The Fastest, Most Controlled Playing of His Career

Where Kill's songwriting favored direct, momentum-driven double-bass patterns, Evisceration Plague's material demanded longer sustained passages at even higher tempo, pushing both Mazurkiewicz's conventional grip technique and his Pearl Eliminator setup to their functional limits. Critics at the time widely agreed the album captured his most accomplished recorded performance up to that point.

## Key Facts

- Released February 3, 2009 — Cannibal Corpse's eleventh album on Metal Blade Records, the direct follow-up to Kill (2006)
- Second consecutive album produced by Erik Rutan at his Mana Recording Studios, St. Petersburg, Florida
- Same five-piece lineup as Kill — Fisher, O'Brien, Barrett, Webster, Mazurkiewicz — the first back-to-back stable lineup since the Gallery of Suicide–Gore Obsessed run
- Cannibal Corpse's highest Billboard 200 debut to that point: #66, on roughly 9,600 first-week copies sold
- AllMusic awarded the album 3.5/5 stars; the title track is the fifth in the band's catalog and received an official music video
- Contemporary reviews widely cited Mazurkiewicz's performance on the record as his most technically accomplished to date
- Pearl Reference, Meinl Byzance, and Pearl Eliminator setup carried over unchanged from Kill (2006)
- Estimated kit value: $3,200–5,800 (2009 era, fully mature Reference configuration)
- Estimated snare value: $400–700

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

**Related articles:**
- [Kill drum setup (2006)](/llms/articles/kill-drum-setup.md) — the return-to-brutality album and the start of the Rutan era
- [Gore Obsessed drum setup (2002)](/llms/articles/gore-obsessed-drum-setup.md) — the pre-Kill bridge record
- [Tomb of the Mutilated drum setup (1992)](/llms/articles/tomb-of-the-mutilated-drum-setup.md) — the Morrisound peak
- [Paul Mazurkiewicz drum setup (modern)](/llms/articles/paul-mazurkiewicz-drum-setup.md) — Pearl Reference / Meinl / Pearl Eliminator

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