# August Burns Red 'Guardians' Drum Setup (Matt Greiner, 2020)

> Complete breakdown of Matt Greiner's drum kit, cymbals, and gear on August Burns Red's Guardians (2020). Pearl Reference Pure kit, Meinl Byzance Extra Dry cymbals, Pearl Demon Drive double pedal — the record that filled the gap between Phantom Anthem and Death Below in ABR's discography.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Matt Greiner](/llms/drummers/matt-greiner.md)
**Band / Album:** August Burns Red — *Guardians* (2020)
**Genre:** Metalcore

## Overview

Released on April 3, 2020, on Fearless Records, *Guardians* is August Burns Red's ninth studio album and one of the band's strongest commercial performances — debuting at #53 on the Billboard 200 and topping the Billboard Christian Albums chart. Produced once again by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland at Think Loud Studios in York, Pennsylvania, *Guardians* arrived preceded by three singles — "Defender," "Bones," and "Paramount" — that gave fans an early look at Matt Greiner's playing on a record built around dense, riff-driven arrangements and some of the band's heaviest material in years.

*Guardians* sits at a pivotal point in the ABR discography documented in this archive: it arrives after *Phantom Anthem* (2017) established the Zildjian/Sabian cymbal detour and after the Pearl Reference Pure kit had fully settled as Greiner's foundation, and it precedes *Death Below* (2023) by three years. On *Guardians*, Greiner's cymbal setup returns decisively to Meinl Byzance — specifically the Extra Dry and Dual series that would carry through, unchanged, into *Death Below*. That continuity makes *Guardians* the clearest evidence of when Greiner's modern, still-current cymbal identity actually locked into place.

Opening track "The Narrative" and lead single "Defender" showcase the blast-to-groove vocabulary at a level of aggression that critics noted as some of the band's heaviest songwriting since *Leveler* (2011). Underneath that aggression, the ghost note density and odd-meter phrasing that define Greiner's mature style are fully present — a drummer fifteen years and eight albums into his career, playing with total command of an now-settled gear configuration.

For drummers tracing Matt Greiner's equipment history, *Guardians* closes the gap between the Grammy-nominated *Phantom Anthem* era and the fully mature *Death Below* setup — confirming that the Pearl Reference Pure / Meinl Byzance Extra Dry-Dual / Pearl Demon Drive configuration wasn't a one-album pairing, but the stable foundation of an entire era of ABR's discography.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Pearl Reference Pure (Piano Black finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Pearl Matt Greiner Signature, 14" x 6"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl — Meinl Byzance Extra Dry and Dual series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Demon Drive Double Pedal; Pearl H-2050 Demon Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro Throne; Vic Firth Matt Greiner Signature
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension — bright attack with full dynamic range for ghost notes and power accents alike

### Matt's Guardians Kit: Pearl Reference Pure, Fully Settled

By *Guardians* (2020), the Pearl Reference Pure kit was five years into its run as Matt Greiner's primary instrument, dating back to *Found in Far Away Places* (2015) and continuing through the Zildjian/Sabian cymbal detour of *Phantom Anthem* (2017). The maple/mahogany hybrid shell construction remained unchanged: bright, articulate attack from the maple plies, focused low-end authority from the mahogany, a combination built to cut through dense, guitar-heavy metalcore mixes without losing the fine detail of ghost note work.

*Guardians*' production leaned into some of ABR's heaviest, most riff-forward songwriting since *Leveler* (2011), and the Reference Pure's tight shell response handled that density without muddying. On tracks like "The Narrative" and "Defender," the toms punch through layered, downtuned guitar arrangements with a clarity that a warmer, more resonant shell construction would struggle to match.

The double 22" bass drum configuration remained Greiner's non-negotiable foundation, powering the extended double-kick sequences that "Bones" and "Extinct By Instinct" build around. Five years into the Reference Pure era, his lever-driven technique and this specific shell/hardware combination had become an entirely internalized relationship — no adjustment period, no recalibration, just the accumulated command of a drummer who had already proven this exact kit across two prior studio albums.

### The Guardians Snare: Pearl Matt Greiner Signature

Greiner's Pearl signature snare continued unchanged onto *Guardians* — the same 14" x 6" steel-shell drum, with its custom bearing edge tuned for ghost note sensitivity, that had defined his sound since *Found in Far Away Places*. On a record built around some of the band's heaviest riffing in years, the snare's job was to stay audible and precise beneath dense, downtuned guitar layers without losing the dynamic range Greiner's ghost note vocabulary requires.

On "Paramount" and "Ties That Bind," the snare alternates between full-force backbeat accents and subtle ghost note textures within the same phrase — the kind of dynamic control that a purpose-built signature drum makes dependable across an entire album cycle. The steel shell's bright, focused attack continued to be the right choice for a mix that, on *Guardians*, pushed guitar saturation and low-end weight harder than *Phantom Anthem* had three years earlier.

### Meinl Byzance Extra Dry / Dual: The Guardians Cymbal Voice Locks In

*Guardians* is the clearest documented moment where Matt Greiner's cymbal setup shifted decisively back to Meinl Byzance after the Zildjian A Custom / Sabian AAX detour of *Phantom Anthem* (2017) — and the Extra Dry and Dual configuration introduced here would carry forward, unchanged, into *Death Below* (2023). The Extra Dry philosophy — raw, unlathed surfaces producing dark, fast-decaying tones — suited *Guardians*' dense, downtuned production far better than the brighter Zildjian/Sabian pairing had suited *Phantom Anthem*'s more compressed mix.

The 15" Byzance Dual Hi-Hats anchor the technical hi-hat vocabulary across the record, their layered alloy construction providing tonal complexity for the rapid open/closed work that drives verses on "The Narrative" and "Lighthouse." The Extra Dry crash pair (18" and 19") speaks fast and clears out just as quickly — essential in a mix where guitar density leaves little room for lingering cymbal wash to muddy the rhythmic picture.

With *Guardians*, the Meinl Byzance Extra Dry/Dual setup stops being a single-album experiment and becomes Greiner's stable, ongoing cymbal identity — the same configuration documented three years later on *Death Below*, making *Guardians* the record where his current cymbal voice was fully established.

## Key Facts

- Released April 3, 2020 on Fearless Records — August Burns Red's ninth studio album, debuting at #53 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on Billboard Christian Albums
- Produced by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland at Think Loud Studios, York, Pennsylvania — the same producing team behind Phantom Anthem and Death Below
- Matt Greiner's cymbal setup locks into Meinl Byzance Extra Dry and Dual series — the same configuration carried forward unchanged into Death Below (2023)
- Three pre-release singles — 'Defender,' 'Bones,' and 'Paramount' — previewed some of the band's heaviest material since Leveler (2011)
- Pearl Reference Pure: five years into its run as Greiner's primary kit, dating to Found in Far Away Places (2015)
- Maple/mahogany hybrid shells cut cleanly through Guardians' dense, riff-forward production
- Double 22" bass drums continue to anchor the extended double-kick sequences on tracks like 'Bones'
- No gear transition period audible — full command of an already-proven kit configuration
- Estimated kit value: $3,500–5,500 (2020) / $2,500–4,000 (used today)
- Estimated snare value: $400–600

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What drum kit does Matt Greiner use on Guardians?**

A: On *Guardians* (2020), Matt Greiner plays his Pearl Reference Pure kit — a maple/mahogany hybrid shell configuration with dual 22" x 18" bass drums, 10" x 7" and 12" x 8" rack toms, and a 16" x 16" floor tom. By *Guardians*, this had been his primary kit for five years, dating back to *Found in Far Away Places* (2015). For the complete current setup breakdown, see the [Matt Greiner drum setup guide](/articles/matt-greiner-complete-drum-setup).

**Q: What cymbals does Matt Greiner use on Guardians?**

A: On *Guardians* (2020), Matt Greiner plays Meinl Byzance Extra Dry and Dual cymbals — 15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18" and 19" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, a 21" Transition Ride, and an 18" Extra Dry China. This is the same cymbal configuration that would carry forward unchanged into [Death Below (2023)](/articles/death-below-drum-setup), making Guardians the record where Greiner's current cymbal voice locked into place after the Zildjian/Sabian setup of Phantom Anthem (2017).

**Q: How did Guardians perform on the charts?**

A: *Guardians* (2020) debuted at #53 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Christian Albums chart — one of August Burns Red's strongest commercial performances. It was preceded by three singles: 'Defender' (February 6, 2020), 'Bones' (February 26, 2020), and 'Paramount' (March 26, 2020), ahead of the album's April 3, 2020 release on Fearless Records.

**Q: Where does Guardians fit in Matt Greiner's gear timeline?**

A: *Guardians* (2020) sits between *Phantom Anthem* (2017) and *Death Below* (2023) in Matt Greiner's documented gear history. It marks the point where his cymbal setup shifted back to Meinl Byzance Extra Dry and Dual series after the Zildjian A Custom / Sabian AAX pairing used on *Phantom Anthem*, while the Pearl Reference Pure kit and Pearl Demon Drive pedal continued unchanged from the *Found in Far Away Places* era. That full configuration — kit, cymbals, and pedal alike — is the same one documented on [Death Below (2023)](/articles/death-below-drum-setup). See the [Matt Greiner drummer profile](/drummer/matt-greiner) for the complete career arc.

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

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*Last updated: 2026-07-06 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*