# Hexed Drum Setup: Jaska Raatikainen's Gear on Children of Bodom's Final Album

> Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Jaska Raatikainen used on Children of Bodom's Hexed (2019). Complete breakdown of the DW Collector's Series kit, Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbals, and DW 9000 double pedal behind CoB's tenth and final studio album.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Jaska Raatikainen](/llms/drummers/jaska-raatikainen.md)
**Band / Album:** Children of Bodom — *Hexed* (2019)
**Genre:** Melodic Death Metal

## Overview

Released on March 8, 2019, Hexed is Children of Bodom's tenth and, as it turned out, final studio album. Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki with producer Mikko Karmila — continuing the partnership established on I Worship Chaos (2015) — the record documents Jaska Raatikainen's last studio performance with the band before he departed Children of Bodom in November 2019, months after the album's release, as internal tensions that would soon end the group altogether came to a head.

For Jaska Raatikainen, Hexed meant a settled continuation of the DW Collector's Series setup introduced four years earlier: the maple/poplar shells, the DW 9000 double pedal, and the long-running Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbal configuration that had survived every gear transition of his career, from the Tama era through the Pearl Masters decade and into the DW chapter. Where I Worship Chaos had documented an adjustment period to unfamiliar equipment, Hexed captures that same DW rig four years into full command.

Tracks like "Hecate's Nightmare" showcase the DW 9000's double-kick precision at full maturity, while "Under Grass and Clover" — one of the album's lead singles — demonstrates the DW Collector's warmer resonance serving CoB's melodic death metal songwriting one last time. This article breaks down every component of Raatikainen's setup on Hexed — the DW Collector's Series shells, the Zildjian cymbal configuration, the DW 9000 double pedal, and the Sonic Pump Studios session that closed out his thirteen-album run behind the Children of Bodom drum kit.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** DW DW Collector's Series (Custom finish finish)
- **Snare:** DW DW Collector's 14" x 5.5" Maple Snare, 14" x 5.5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — Zildjian A Custom / Zildjian K Custom
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW 9000 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 — DW maple character balanced for aggressive passages and melodic dynamic range

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

For Hexed, Jaska Raatikainen played the same DW Collector's Series configuration introduced on I Worship Chaos (2015) — twin 22" x 18" bass drums, 10"/12" rack toms, and 14"/16" floor toms in DW's maple/poplar shell construction. Four years after the initial Pearl-to-DW transition, the adjustment period documented on I Worship Chaos was long finished: the DW shells' warmer, more open resonance had become as familiar to Raatikainen as the Pearl Masters MCX had been for the previous decade.

Mikko Karmila's now-established approach to capturing the DW Collector's Series at Sonic Pump Studios meant the shell character on Hexed required none of the exploratory EQ treatment of the 2015 sessions. The DW True Pitch tuning system and Edge suspension mounts — the engineering that had initially set the kit apart from Pearl Masters — were fully dialed in, producing a tom and kick sound with confident low-mid body across the record.

The double bass drum setup maintained the 22" x 18" dimensions carried since the Pearl era, giving "Hecate's Nightmare" and the album's other high-tempo tracks a consistent double-kick foundation. The tom spread continued CoB's melodic fill vocabulary in the DW shells' rounder voicing, closing out Raatikainen's studio drumming with the same compositional instincts he had brought to the band since Something Wild (1997).

### DW Collector's 14" x 5.5" Maple Snare

Raatikainen's snare on Hexed was the same DW Collector's maple model used on I Worship Chaos — a 14" x 5.5" shell delivering the fuller body and warmer upper-mid character that had distinguished the DW era from the Pearl Masters MCX snare of his earlier catalog.

By Hexed, Mikko Karmila's treatment of the DW snare was a fully settled part of the Sonic Pump production process, four years removed from the fresh-ears approach of I Worship Chaos. The snare handled the same dynamic range CoB had always demanded: full-velocity backbeat work on "Hecate's Nightmare" and the more restrained, melodic phrasing of "Under Grass and Clover" and "Soon Departed."

### Zildjian A Custom and K Custom: The Constant Across Every Era

Jaska Raatikainen's Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbal setup on Hexed was the same configuration that had anchored every Children of Bodom album since Are You Dead Yet? (2005) — the one component of his rig that survived both the Premium Maple-to-MCX shell refinement and the far more dramatic Pearl-to-DW drum transition documented on I Worship Chaos.

By 2019, this cymbal setup represented fourteen years of continuous use across five studio albums and two entirely different drum kits. On Hexed, the A Custom's bright, cutting character continued to interact with the DW Collector's warmer shell voicing exactly as it had on I Worship Chaos: cymbals occupying the high-mid frequency space while the DW toms and kick filled the low-mid body, a balance Mikko Karmila had fully mastered over two album cycles.

The K Custom 20" ride's darker presence is especially prominent on "Under Grass and Clover" and "Soon Departed," where its textural warmth complements the DW shells' resonance in the album's more melodic, mid-paced material — a pairing that, in retrospect, closes out Raatikainen's cymbal choices for the entirety of his Children of Bodom career.

## Key Facts

- Released March 8, 2019 — Children of Bodom's tenth and final studio album
- Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki, with producer Mikko Karmila — continuing from I Worship Chaos (2015)
- DW Collector's Series kit — the same maple/poplar shells introduced on I Worship Chaos, now four years mature
- Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbals — the long-running configuration retained across every gear transition
- DW 9000 double pedal — fully commanded after four years, following the adjustment period documented on I Worship Chaos
- Jaska Raatikainen's last studio album with Children of Bodom before departing the band in November 2019
- DW Collector's Series — same kit introduced on I Worship Chaos, now four years into full command
- DW True Pitch tuning and Edge suspension fully dialed in — no exploratory treatment needed
- Double 22" x 18" bass drums drive "Hecate's Nightmare" and the album's fastest passages
- Compact tom spread (10", 12", 14", 16") carries the melodic fill language into the final CoB album
- Last studio kit of Raatikainen's Children of Bodom tenure before his November 2019 departure
- Estimated kit value: $3,000–6,000 (DW Collector's Series shell pack, 2019)
- Estimated snare value: $450–700 (DW Collector's maple snare, 2019)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What drums did Jaska Raatikainen use on Hexed?**

A: On Hexed (2019), Jaska Raatikainen played DW Collector's Series drums — the same maple/poplar shell configuration introduced on I Worship Chaos (2015), now four years into full command. The setup centered on twin 22" x 18" bass drums, rack toms (10" and 12"), and floor toms (14" and 16"). This was Raatikainen's last studio kit with Children of Bodom; for his complete gear history, see the [Jaska Raatikainen drummer profile](/drummer/jaska-raatikainen).

**Q: What pedals did Jaska Raatikainen use on Hexed?**

A: Jaska Raatikainen used the DW 9000 double pedal on Hexed (2019) — the same pedal introduced on I Worship Chaos (2015), now four years past the initial adjustment period documented on that record. "Hecate's Nightmare" showcases the DW 9000 at full command. See the [I Worship Chaos drum setup](/articles/i-worship-chaos-drum-setup) for the pedal's earlier transition context.

**Q: What cymbals did Jaska Raatikainen use on Hexed?**

A: On Hexed (2019), Jaska Raatikainen used Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbals — A Custom 14" hi-hats, A Custom crashes (17" and 18"), a K Custom 20" ride, and an A Custom 18" China. This cymbal configuration had been in continuous use since Are You Dead Yet? (2005), surviving both the Pearl Masters MCX era and the DW Collector's Series transition. For cymbal continuity across the full catalog, see the [Jaska Raatikainen full kit guide](/articles/jaska-raatikainen-drum-setup).

**Q: Was Hexed Jaska Raatikainen's last album with Children of Bodom?**

A: Yes. Hexed (2019) is Children of Bodom's tenth and final studio album, and it was Jaska Raatikainen's last studio recording with the band before he departed Children of Bodom in November 2019. The album continues the DW Collector's Series and DW 9000 setup introduced on I Worship Chaos (2015). See the [Jaska Raatikainen drummer profile](/drummer/jaska-raatikainen) and the [I Worship Chaos drum setup](/articles/i-worship-chaos-drum-setup) for the DW era that Hexed closes out.

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

**More LLM resources:** [Site index](/llms.txt) · [Full database](/llms-full.txt) · [Master FAQ](/llms/faq.md) · [Drummer index](/llms/index.md)

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