# I Worship Chaos Drum Setup: Jaska Raatikainen's Gear on Children of Bodom's 2015 Album

> Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Jaska Raatikainen used on Children of Bodom's I Worship Chaos (2015). Complete breakdown of the DW Collector's Series transition kit, Zildjian A Custom cymbals, and DW 9000 double pedal behind CoB's ninth studio album.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Jaska Raatikainen](/llms/drummers/jaska-raatikainen.md)
**Band / Album:** Children of Bodom — *I Worship Chaos* (2015)
**Genre:** Melodic Death Metal

## Overview

Released on October 2, 2015, *I Worship Chaos* is Children of Bodom's ninth full-length studio album and a record that marked a major gear transition for Jaska Raatikainen: the move from Pearl Masters MCX to DW Collector's Series drums, ending a decade-long Pearl endorsement relationship and beginning a new gear chapter in late-era CoB. Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki with producer Mikko Karmila — a new production voice replacing Anssi Kippo's long-established CoB production blueprint — the album documented two simultaneous major changes.

The DW Collector's Series' maple and poplar shell construction brought a distinctly different tonal character to the sessions: warmer low-mid presence and more open resonance compared to the Pearl Masters MCX's attack-forward profile. The Zildjian A Custom and K Custom cymbal configuration was retained from the Pearl era as the familiar constant across the transition — a decade of settled familiarity providing stability while the drum and pedal hardware changed.

Tracks like "I Worship Chaos" demonstrate the DW Collector's Series in its aggressive melodic death metal context, while "Morrigan" showcases how the DW shells' warmer character serves the more melodic, dynamic passages of *I Worship Chaos*'s varied tracklist. Both songs — and the whole album — represent a distinct sonic chapter in CoB's studio history.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** DW Collector's Series (transition from Pearl Masters MCX — new maple/poplar construction)
- **Snare:** DW Collector's 14" x 5.5" Maple Snare
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian A Custom / Zildjian K Custom (retained from Pearl era — continuity across transition)
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW 9000 Double Pedal (new — accompanying DW Collector's transition); 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 both aggressive passages and melodic dynamic range

### DW Collector's Series: A New Drum Character for Late-Era CoB

The DW Collector's Series brought a meaningfully different shell voice to *I Worship Chaos* compared to the Pearl Masters MCX of *Relentless Reckless Forever* (2011) and the Premium Maple of *Are You Dead Yet?* (2005) through *Blooddrunk* (2008). The DW's maple and poplar construction — using DW's True Pitch tuning and Edge suspension systems — produced warmer low-mid body and more open resonance where the Pearl MCX had delivered focused attack and controlled sustain.

The double bass drum configuration maintained the 22" x 18" kick drum dimensions — a point of continuity across the Pearl-to-DW transition. The DW shells' warmer character brought different beater-to-shell interaction to the sustained double-kick passages, producing a kick sound with more low-mid presence than the Pearl MCX's more attack-forward profile. The compact tom spread (10" and 12" rack toms, 14" and 16" floor toms) maintained Raatikainen's CoB fill vocabulary in the new shell character.

### Zildjian A Custom and K Custom: The Stable Constant

The Zildjian A Custom / K Custom setup on *I Worship Chaos* was the one configuration retained entirely from the Pearl era — providing familiarity as the drum and pedal hardware changed. The A Custom's bright, cutting character contrasted with the DW Collector's Series' warmer shell voice in a different way than it had with the Pearl MCX: the DW warmth and the A Custom brightness occupying distinct frequency spaces in Karmila's mix, producing a new tonal balance unique to this album.

### DW 9000: New Pedal Alongside New Drums

The DW 9000 double pedal accompanied the DW Collector's Series transition, replacing the Pearl Eliminator after a decade of familiarity. The DW 9000's floating rotor system and cam-adjustable mechanism differed from the Eliminator's established response curve — a meaningful hardware adjustment documented in the *I Worship Chaos* sessions. The DW 9000's chain-drive precision proved capable even in this transitional context, as the title track's double-kick passages demonstrate.

## Historical Context

*I Worship Chaos* (2015) sits between *Halo of Blood* (2013) and *Hexed* (2019) in CoB's discography — the penultimate studio album of a band that would release one final record before Alexi Laiho's passing in December 2020 brought Children of Bodom's career to an end. Within Jaska Raatikainen's gear arc, it represents the point of maximum simultaneous change: new drums, new pedals, new producer, same cymbals. The combination made *I Worship Chaos* sonically distinct from every previous CoB studio album.

Mikko Karmila's production at Sonic Pump — fresh ears on a familiar room — captured the DW Collector's Series with a different mic approach and mix philosophy than Kippo's established blueprint, adding the production dimension to the instrumental change.

## Key Facts

- Released October 2, 2015 — ninth CoB studio album on Nuclear Blast
- DW Collector's Series transition — end of decade-long Pearl Masters endorsement
- Produced by Mikko Karmila — new production voice, first CoB album without Anssi Kippo
- Zildjian A Custom / K Custom retained — settled continuity across DW transition
- DW 9000 double pedal — new mechanism after decade of Pearl Eliminator familiarity
- "I Worship Chaos" title track primary DW drum showcase in aggressive context
- "Morrigan" demonstrates DW Collector's warmer character in melodic arrangement
- Estimated kit value: $3,000–6,000 (DW Collector's Series shell pack, 2015)
- Part of the arc: Relentless Reckless Forever (2011) → Halo of Blood (2013) → **I Worship Chaos (2015)** → Hexed (2019)

## Related Articles

- [Relentless Reckless Forever drum setup (2011)](/articles/relentless-reckless-forever-drum-setup) — Pearl MCX peak, immediately preceding album
- [Blooddrunk drum setup (2008)](/articles/blooddrunk-drum-setup) — settled Pearl era, contrast with DW transition
- [Follow the Reaper drum setup (2000)](/articles/follow-the-reaper-drum-setup) — Tama era peak, full arc context
- [Hate Crew Deathroll drum setup (2003)](/articles/hate-crew-deathroll-drum-setup) — Tama Starclassic era, Paiste era cymbal context
- [Jaska Raatikainen drummer profile](/drummer/jaska-raatikainen) — complete gear history across CoB's career

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/i-worship-chaos-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: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*