# The Great Misdirect Drum Setup: Blake Richardson's BTBAM Colors-Arc Closer (2009)

> Blake Richardson's drum kit and gear on BTBAM's The Great Misdirect (2009): DW Collector's Series drums, Meinl Byzance Extra Dry cymbals, DW 9002 double pedal, and the performance that closed the Colors era's pre-Parallax arc.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Blake Richardson](/llms/drummers/blake-richardson.md)
**Band / Album:** Between the Buried and Me — *The Great Misdirect* (2009)
**Genre:** Progressive Metal
**Label:** Metal Blade Records

## Overview

Released October 6, 2009 on Metal Blade Records, *The Great Misdirect* is Between the Buried and Me's fifth studio album and the record that closed the pre-Parallax arc that *Colors* (2007) had opened. Where *Colors* was the definitive statement — one continuous 65-minute composition that redefined progressive metal's ambitions — *The Great Misdirect* was the refinement: a more concentrated record that demonstrated BTBAM had fully absorbed the compositional lessons of *Colors* and could execute the same range of ideas with more focused intensity.

Blake Richardson's drumming on *The Great Misdirect* is the performance of a drummer who had spent two years touring behind *Colors* and arrived at the studio with complete command of every technique the earlier record had showcased. The album's standout drumming moments center on 'Desert of Song' and the nearly 18-minute closing epic 'Swim to the Moon' — the most demanding performance on the record and the most demanding pre-Parallax performance of Richardson's career.

This was BTBAM's first Metal Blade Records album and the last entry in Richardson's foundational gear era before the setup began evolving toward the expanded Byzance Dark configuration of the Parallax period. Produced by Jamie King at The Basement Studio in Winston-Salem, NC — the same producer and studio as *Alaska* and *Colors*.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** DW Collector's Series (Custom lacquer, North American Hard Rock Maple)
- **Snare:** DW Collector's Series Maple Snare, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Extra Dry series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW 9002 Double Bass Pedal; Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (toms batter), Remo Powerstroke 3 (kick batter), Remo Ambassador Coated (snare batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium tension — same dialed-in Colors-era configuration, full body and ghost-note sensitivity across extended compositions

### DW Collector's Series: The Colors Era Configuration at Full Maturity

The DW Collector's Series kit Richardson used on *The Great Misdirect* was the same foundation he had built on *Alaska* (2005) and *Colors* (2007) — two years of post-*Colors* touring had refined every aspect of the setup to its most precisely calibrated state. The North American Hard Rock Maple shells provide the warm, resonant fundamental that suits the album's dynamic requirements. 'Swim to the Moon' alone requires the kit to serve death metal intensity, jazz-inflected passages, and ambient textures within its nearly 18-minute duration — the DW Collector's Series maple handles all of these from a single tuning.

The single 22"x18" kick via DW 9002 double pedal continues the compositional double-bass approach that had defined the *Colors* era. On 'Desert of Song,' Richardson's kick deployment is particularly musical: sparse in the ambient sections, increasingly dense as the track builds toward its peak intensity passages, and pulling back again during the most exposed melodic moments. Three rack toms (10", 12", 13") and a 16" floor tom give Richardson the wide pitch range his melodic fill architecture requires across both extended tracks.

### Meinl Byzance Extra Dry: The Colors Arc's Final Statement

Richardson's Meinl Byzance Extra Dry cymbal setup on *The Great Misdirect* was the final appearance of the purely Extra Dry configuration that had defined the *Alaska* and *Colors* era. By *The Parallax II* (2012), he would expand the setup to include Byzance Dark voicings — but on *The Great Misdirect*, the Extra Dry series remained the primary cymbal voice throughout.

The Extra Dry series' controlled decay — additional lathing and hammering that removes excess wash — is precisely suited to *The Great Misdirect*'s extended compositional demands. 'Swim to the Moon' is the test case: a nearly 18-minute track whose rhythmically complex passages require every cymbal stroke to speak cleanly without sustaining into the next note. The 14" Extra Dry Hi-Hats anchor Richardson's hi-hat independence approach; dual Extra Dry crashes (17" and 18" Thin Crashes) provide differentiated accent voices for the record's structural moments.

Setup: 14" Extra Dry Hi-Hats, 17" Extra Dry Thin Crash, 18" Extra Dry Thin Crash, 20" Extra Dry Ride, 18" Byzance China.

### DW 9002: Peak Refinement of the Colors-Era Kick Foundation

The DW 9002 continues as Richardson's kick foundation on *The Great Misdirect* — the same pedal configuration that had driven *Alaska* and *Colors*, now at peak refinement after the post-*Colors* touring cycle. On 'Swim to the Moon,' the 9002's adjustable cam allows Richardson to vary kick density continuously across nearly 18 minutes — from sparse ambient sections through the full double-bass intensity of the death metal passages.

## Why The Great Misdirect Matters for Drummers

*The Great Misdirect* offers:

- **Colors technique at full refinement**: two years of post-*Colors* touring behind every performance — the most technically precise Richardson had been to this point
- **'Desert of Song'**: compositional coherence across radical feel changes sustained over an extended track
- **'Swim to the Moon'**: the most demanding pre-Parallax performance in the BTBAM catalog — nearly 18 minutes calling on every technique Richardson had built since 2004
- **The final Extra Dry era**: last documentation of Richardson's purely Extra Dry Byzance setup before the Dark series expanded the palette

## FAQ

**What album follows BTBAM Colors?**
*The Great Misdirect* (2009) is the Between the Buried and Me album that directly follows *Colors* (2007). Released on Metal Blade Records — BTBAM's first album on that label — it closes the pre-Parallax arc that *Colors* opened. It features Blake Richardson's most compositionally mature pre-Parallax performances, particularly on 'Desert of Song' and the nearly 18-minute closing epic 'Swim to the Moon.' The next record is *The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues* EP (2011), leading to *The Parallax II: Future Sequence* (2012). See the [Colors drum setup](/articles/colors-drum-setup) and [The Parallax II drum setup](/articles/the-parallax-ii-future-sequence-drum-setup) for the surrounding records.

**What kit does Blake Richardson use on Great Misdirect?**
Blake Richardson played a DW Collector's Series kit on *The Great Misdirect* (2009) — the same North American Hard Rock Maple configuration he had used on *Alaska* (2005) and *Colors* (2007), at its most refined state after two years of post-*Colors* touring. Configuration: single 22"x18" bass drum driven by a DW 9002 double bass pedal, three rack toms (10", 12", 13"), and a 16" floor tom. Meinl Byzance Extra Dry cymbals completed the setup. Full drummer profile at [Blake Richardson at MetalForge](/drummer/blake-richardson).

**When did BTBAM release Great Misdirect?**
*The Great Misdirect* was released on October 6, 2009, on Metal Blade Records — Between the Buried and Me's first album on that label, following *Colors* (2007) on Victory Records. The album was produced by Jamie King at The Basement Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, maintaining the same production context the band had used across *Alaska* and *Colors*. It sold out venues on the progressive metal circuit and is considered the closing chapter of the band's foundational Colors era before the Parallax concept began in 2011. See the [Colors drum setup](/articles/colors-drum-setup) for the preceding record.

## Key Facts

- BTBAM's fifth album — follow-up to Colors (2007), first Metal Blade Records release
- Released October 6, 2009
- Blake Richardson's most technically complete pre-Parallax performance
- DW Collector's Series all-maple shells — Colors-era foundation at peak refinement
- Meinl Byzance Extra Dry cymbals — final album before the Parallax-era Dark series expansion
- DW 9002 double bass pedal — compositional kick control across Desert of Song and Swim to the Moon
- Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks — Richardson's consistent stick across the entire catalog
- Produced by Jamie King at The Basement Studio, Winston-Salem, NC
- 'Swim to the Moon' (nearly 18 minutes) — most demanding pre-Parallax drum performance in the BTBAM catalog
- Estimated kit value: $3,500–6,000 (DW Collector's Series shell pack, 2009 configuration)

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

**Related articles:**
- [Colors drum setup (2007)](/llms/articles/colors-drum-setup.md)
- [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: 2026-06-28 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*