# Hate Crew Deathroll Drum Setup: Jaska Raatikainen's Gear on Children of Bodom's 2003 Album

> Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Jaska Raatikainen used on Children of Bodom's Hate Crew Deathroll (2003). Complete breakdown of the Tama Starclassic Maple kit, Paiste 2002 cymbals, and Iron Cobra double pedals behind CoB's commercial and critical peak.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Jaska Raatikainen](/llms/drummers/jaska-raatikainen.md)
**Band / Album:** Children of Bodom — *Hate Crew Deathroll* (2003)
**Genre:** Melodic Death Metal

## Overview

Released on January 13, 2003, *Hate Crew Deathroll* is widely regarded as Children of Bodom's commercial and critical peak — the album that brought Finnish melodic death metal to a global audience. Debuting at number one on the Finnish charts and charting across Europe, it demonstrated that the neoclassical-meets-death-metal fusion Alexi Laiho and Jaska Raatikainen had been developing since the mid-1990s could cross over without compromise.

At the center of the album's relentless momentum was Jaska Raatikainen, co-founder and drummer since the band's formation. Recorded at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki under mixing engineers Mikko Karmila and Anssi Kippo — the production team behind some of the most important Finnish metal records of the era — the album captured Raatikainen's drumming with a clarity and precision that earlier releases had approached but never fully achieved.

For *Hate Crew Deathroll*, Raatikainen played a Tama Starclassic Maple kit — a departure from his later Pearl endorsement era and a setup that gave the album its distinctive drum character. Paired with Paiste 2002 cymbals and Tama Iron Cobra double pedals, the combination delivered both the velocity required for the album's fastest passages and the musical sensitivity needed to serve Jaska Wirman's keyboard countermelodies and Alexi Laiho's neoclassical guitar runs.

This article breaks down every component of Jaska Raatikainen's drum setup on *Hate Crew Deathroll*: the Tama Starclassic Maple shells, the Paiste 2002 cymbal selection, the Iron Cobra double pedal, and the stylistic approach that made this album a landmark in melodic death metal drumming.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Tama Starclassic Maple (Custom finish finish)
- **Snare:** Tama Tama Starclassic 14" x 5.5" Maple Snare, 14" x 5.5"
- **Cymbals:** Paiste — Paiste 2002 / Paiste Sound Edge
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra Double Pedal; Vic Firth American Classic 5A; Remo Emperor Coated; Remo Powerstroke 3
- **Heads:** Remo Emperor Coated (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium to medium-bright — attack clarity for melodic death metal without sacrificing body

### Tama Starclassic Maple: Built for Finnish Melodic Death Metal

For *Hate Crew Deathroll*, Jaska Raatikainen played a Tama Starclassic Maple kit — Tama's flagship professional series, built around six-ply maple shells that deliver the combination of attack, warmth, and sustain that melodic death metal demands. The Starclassic Maple was positioned at the top of Tama's production line, used by some of the most technically demanding drummers in heavy music, and its construction reflected that positioning.

The double bass drum configuration — twin 22" x 18" kick drums — was essential to Raatikainen's approach on this album. Children of Bodom's arrangements call for sustained double-kick velocity across complete songs, often deployed simultaneously with syncopated cymbal accents and melodic tom fills that track the guitar and keyboard lines above them. The 22" diameter delivered the low-frequency mass that gives kick drums presence in melodic death metal production, while the 18" depth added punch that cut through Finnvox's dense mix without becoming muddy.

The compact tom spread — two rack toms (10" and 12") and two floor toms (14" and 16") — gave Raatikainen the tonal range needed for Children of Bodom's characteristically melodic fill work without requiring a sprawling setup. Where pure death metal drummers often treat toms as pure timbre sources for fills, Raatikainen used them as melodic instruments, playing phrases that echoed or answered Alexi Laiho's guitar runs and Janne Wirman's keyboard lines. The Starclassic Maple's even sustain and consistent shell response across all sizes made this melody-following approach cleaner and more audible in the mix.

Tama's craftsmanship in the Starclassic line meant that every shell performed identically — critical for a drummer who needed the same response from a 10" rack tom and a 16" floor tom in the same fill at 200 BPM.

### Tama Starclassic 14" x 5.5" Maple Snare

Raatikainen's snare on *Hate Crew Deathroll* was a Tama Starclassic maple model, matched to the kit's shell series. The 14" x 5.5" dimensions balanced the competing demands of melodic death metal production: enough crack and attack for blast beat sections and fast single-stroke work, with sufficient body and sustain to sound musical in the mix alongside Janne Wirman's keyboard layers.

Maple shell construction gave the snare a warmer, slightly more complex character than steel or brass alternatives. This was a deliberate tonal choice for the album's sound — the snare needed to cut through dense arrangements without dominating them. Children of Bodom's music placed heavy compositional weight on the interplay between guitar, keyboard, and drums; a hyper-aggressive metal snare would have disrupted that balance.

Mikko Karmila's mixing approach at Finnvox captured the snare with close miking and careful EQ, preserving the maple warmth in the body frequencies while enhancing the attack transient. The result is a snare sound that is aggressive and present on *Hate Crew Deathroll* without overwhelming the melodic content — a sound that rewards close listening through headphones as much as it hits hard through club speakers.

### Paiste 2002 and Sound Edge: Volume, Cut, and Character

Jaska Raatikainen's cymbal setup on *Hate Crew Deathroll* centered on Paiste's 2002 series with Paiste Sound Edge hi-hats — a combination that delivered the volume, cut, and musical character that melodic death metal demands.

The Paiste 2002 line has been a fixture in rock and heavy metal since the 1970s. Its CuSn8 bronze alloy produces a bright, cutting sound with enough warmth in the sustain to avoid harshness — qualities that made it the choice of Lars Ulrich on *Kill 'Em All* (1983) and Dave Lombardo on *Reign in Blood* (1986), and that suited Raatikainen's melodic death metal application equally well. In the dense, keyboard-heavy arrangements on *Hate Crew Deathroll*, cymbals that cut naturally through the mix without requiring aggressive EQ were essential.

The Paiste Sound Edge 14" hi-hats paired a standard top cymbal with a rippled-edge bottom, creating a distinct "chick" sound with faster air release than traditional hi-hat designs. At the tempos Raatikainen plays on tracks like "Needled 24/7" and "Sixpounder" — often exceeding 200 BPM — hi-hat articulation at every sixteenth note demands that each stroke register cleanly. The Sound Edge design supported that precision, with consistent stick response across the full surface.

The two Paiste 2002 crashes (16" and 18") gave Raatikainen tonal variety for accents. The 16" provided the fast, explosive response needed for syncopated accents in tight melodic passages, while the 18" delivered the fuller sound for section boundaries and climactic builds. The 20" ride served both time-keeping and accent functions — the bell providing aggressive punctuation during keyboard-driven passages. The 18" China china cymbal added the trashy, upward-cutting attack essential to Children of Bodom's most aggressive moments, deployed at structural transitions rather than continuously.

## Key Facts

- Debuted at #1 on Finnish charts — Children of Bodom's commercial and critical peak
- Recorded at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki — mixed by Mikko Karmila and Anssi Kippo
- Tama Starclassic Maple kit — distinct from Raatikainen's later Pearl endorsement era
- Paiste 2002 cymbals and Tama Iron Cobra double pedals throughout the sessions
- Tracks like "Needled 24/7" and "Sixpounder" set new benchmarks for melodic death metal drumming
- Album opened the Children of Bodom / melodic death metal cluster to a global audience
- Tama Starclassic Maple — flagship professional six-ply maple shells
- Double 22" x 18" bass drums for sustained double-kick at melodic death metal tempos
- Compact tom spread (10", 12", 14", 16") for fast melodic fill work
- Distinct from Raatikainen's later Pearl Masters era — different tonal character
- Finnvox Studios recording environment captured Starclassic attack with clarity
- Estimated kit value: $2,000–4,500 (Tama Starclassic Maple shell pack, 2003)
- Estimated snare value: $350–550 (Tama Starclassic maple snare, 2003)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/hate-crew-deathroll-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-25 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*