# Judas Priest "Invincible Shield" Drum Setup (Scott Travis, 2024)

> Complete breakdown of Scott Travis's drum setup on Judas Priest's Invincible Shield (2024) — the band's highest-charting UK album ever (#2), Grammy-nominated for "Crown of Horns," and Travis's first Priest album in six years after Firepower. Covers his DW Collector's Series kit, Zildjian A Custom cymbals, and the distributed, city-by-city recording process behind the album.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Scott Travis](/llms/drummers/scott-travis.md)
**Band / Album:** Judas Priest — *Invincible Shield* (2024)
**Genre:** Heavy Metal

## Overview

Released on March 8, 2024 through Epic Records (Columbia in Japan two days earlier), *Invincible Shield* is Judas Priest's nineteenth studio album and Scott Travis's first Priest studio record since 2018's *Firepower*. It debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart — the highest chart position Judas Priest has ever reached in their home country — and opened at #18 on the Billboard 200 while topping Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart. The album's centerpiece single, "Crown of Horns," earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 2025.

Produced primarily by Andy Sneap (continuing the *Firepower* partnership), with Tom Allom co-producing the closing two tracks ("Sons of Thunder" and "Giants in the Sky"), *Invincible Shield* was recorded in near-total geographic isolation: Scott Travis and guitarist Richie Faulkner tracked in Nashville, Tennessee; Rob Halford recorded vocals in Phoenix, Arizona; bassist Ian Hill contributed his parts while on tour in Europe. Sneap assembled the pieces and re-amped guitars at his own Backstage Studios in England. Travis's drum tracks — recorded early in that process — functioned as the timing skeleton the rest of the album was built around.

Gear-wise, the album documents Travis's move to a DW Collector's Series kit and Zildjian A Custom cymbals, replacing the Tama Starclassic Maple / Sabian HHX rig he used on *Firepower* six years earlier — his most significant gear brand shift since moving from Tama to Pearl in the mid-2000s.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** DW Collector's Series (Piano Black finish) — 22"x18" bass drums (x2, independent), 10"x8" and 12"x9" rack toms, 14"x14" and 16"x16" floor toms, maple/mahogany SSC hybrid shells
- **Snare:** DW Collector's Series Bell Brass, 14" x 6", die-cast hoops
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian A Custom series — 14" Hi-Hats, 16/18/19" Crashes, 20" Ride, 18" China
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW MDD (Machined Direct Drive) (x2 — two independent pedals, no double pedal); DW 9000 Series Hi-Hat Stand; DW 9100 Throne; Vater Scott Travis Signature sticks
- **Heads:** Evans EMAD2 Clear (kick batter), Evans EC2 Clear (tom batter), Evans Heavyweight (snare batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension, tight snare wires for cut and immediate attack

### The DW Collector's Series Era

By the *Invincible Shield* era, Scott Travis had moved from the Tama Starclassic Maple kit he used on *Firepower* into DW's flagship Collector's Series, built around DW's Specialty/Standard Shell Composite (SSC) approach — maple and mahogany plies for a fuller, warmer low end than the Tama maple shells while keeping the attack controlled enough to cut through Andy Sneap's dense, modern guitar production.

The two independent 22"x18" bass drums carry over directly from *Firepower* — Travis has run two separate kick drums, rather than a connected double pedal, since the *Painkiller* era. The compact four-tom layout (10"/12" rack, 14"/16" floor) is unchanged from every Travis Priest kit since *Angel of Retribution* (2005).

### Zildjian A Custom: A New Cymbal Voice

*Invincible Shield* marks Travis's move to Zildjian's A Custom line, replacing the Sabian HHX setup from *Firepower*. A Custom cymbals are brighter-voiced and faster-responding than the darker HHX series, suiting Andy Sneap's dry, upfront modern production. The 20" A Custom Ride anchors the album's mid-tempo, groove-driven tracks like "Trial by Fire," while the crash range (16"–19") favors quick attack and fast decay for Sneap's tightly arranged riffs.

### A Band Recorded Apart

Because Travis's drum parts were recorded early in the distributed production process — before Halford's Phoenix vocal sessions and Hill's on-the-road bass tracking — they functioned as the arrangement reference for every other performance. His decades of session consistency made the unusual recording approach hold together into a cohesive-sounding album.

## Key Facts

- UK Albums Chart #2 — the highest position in Judas Priest's history
- Billboard 200 #18, #1 on Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums
- "Crown of Horns" nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, 2025 (third consecutive Priest album with Grammy recognition, after *Redeemer of Souls* and *Firepower*)
- Scott Travis's first Priest studio album since *Firepower* (2018) — a six-year gap
- Producer: Andy Sneap (Tom Allom co-produced "Sons of Thunder" and "Giants in the Sky")
- Recorded in geographic isolation: Nashville (Travis, Faulkner), Phoenix (Halford), on tour in Europe (Hill); guitars re-amped at Backstage Studios, England
- Gear shift from *Firepower*: Tama Starclassic Maple → DW Collector's Series; Tama Starphonic Brass snare → DW Collector's Series Bell Brass; Sabian HHX → Zildjian A Custom; Tama Speed Cobra → DW MDD pedals
- Travis still runs two independent bass drums — no connected double pedal, unchanged since *Painkiller* (1990)
- Estimated kit value: $6,000-8,500 (2024)
- Estimated cymbal set value: $2,000-2,800 (2024)

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

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*Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*