# Brann Dailor's Drum Setup on Mastodon's Leviathan (2004)

> Mastodon's Moby-Dick concept album — Grammy-nominated for "Blood and Thunder," produced by Matt Bayles at Studio Litho in Seattle. Brann Dailor's Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit, Sabian HHX cymbals, Tama Iron Cobra double pedal, and the jazz-trained fill vocabulary that turned a sludge metal record about a whale into one of the defining metal albums of the 2000s.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Brann Dailor](/llms/drummers/brann-dailor.md)
**Band / Album:** Mastodon — *Leviathan* (2004)
**Genre:** Progressive Sludge Metal

## Overview

Released on August 31, 2004 on Relapse Records, Mastodon's *Leviathan* is the Moby-Dick concept album that transformed the Atlanta four-piece from underground sludge metal upstarts into one of the most critically celebrated heavy bands of their generation. Built around Herman Melville's whaling epic — with each track corresponding to a chapter or theme from the novel — *Leviathan* earned a Grammy nomination for "Blood and Thunder" (Best Metal Performance, 2005) and topped numerous year-end lists, including *Revolver* magazine's Album of the Year. It is the record on which [Brann Dailor](/drummer/brann-dailor) became one of metal's most talked-about drummers.

Recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, Washington — Stone Gossard's studio, the room where Soundgarden and Pearl Jam shaped a generation of Pacific Northwest rock — *Leviathan* was produced by Matt Bayles (Isis, Botch, Pearl Jam). The Seattle setting is what distinguishes *Leviathan* from Mastodon's later [Crack the Skye](/articles/crack-the-skye-drum-setup) (2009), which was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with Brendan O'Brien. Bayles' post-metal recording sensibility gave *Leviathan* its dimensional, physically present drum sound — among the great document-style metal drum recordings of the 2000s.

What makes Dailor's performance on *Leviathan* extraordinary is the density of musical ideas per minute. Trained in jazz from his Rochester childhood, Dailor brought a fills-as-lead-instrument approach almost no metal drummer had attempted at this scale. The opening seconds of "Blood and Thunder" — the song that earned the Grammy nomination — feature a cascading tom phrase that functions as a melodic statement rather than a rhythmic count-in. Across the album, his fills weave between the riffs as a third melodic voice alongside Brent Hinds' and Bill Kelliher's guitars, a compositional role that would deepen across [Blood Mountain](/articles/blood-mountain-drum-setup) (2006) and reach its full expression on [Crack the Skye](/articles/crack-the-skye-drum-setup) (2009).

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Bubinga (six-ply African bubinga shells, Star-Cast mounting)
- **Configuration:** 2x 22" x 18" bass drums (double kick); 10"/12" rack toms; 14"/16" floor toms
- **Snare:** Tama 14" x 5.5" Brass — bright fundamental with strong projection
- **Cymbals:** Sabian HHX Series — 14" Groove Hi-Hats, 17" Evolution Crash, 18" X-Plosion Crash, 21" Groove Ride, 18" China, 10" Splash
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide Double Pedal; Tama Iron Cobra Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro Throne
- **Sticks:** Vater 3A Wood Tip — Brann's signature stick choice on the Leviathan era
- **Heads:** Evans Genera G2 Clear (toms batter), Evans Genera HD Coated (snare batter), Evans EMAD Clear (bass batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension — bright attack with controlled ring, projection for dense mix

### The Tama Starclassic Bubinga: A Heavy Wood for a Heavy Album

For the *Leviathan* sessions at Studio Litho in 2004, Brann Dailor anchored his setup around a Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit — the flagship bubinga line that Tama positioned as a heavier, more aggressive alternative to the Starclassic Maple favoured by jazz and pop session drummers. Bubinga, a dense African hardwood, produces shells with a powerful low-end fundamental, focused mid-range punch, and a controlled, projecting top end. For an album as physically intense as *Leviathan*, bubinga was the architecturally correct choice.

The six-ply construction gave the shells the structural rigidity required for high-tension tuning and the consistent attack response that close-miked metal recording demands. Tama's Star-Cast mounting system allowed the shells to resonate freely — meaning the toms produced full melodic pitches rather than dampened thuds. For a drummer whose entire philosophy hinges on the toms being heard as melodic voices, that resonance was not optional.

The double bass drum configuration — two 22" x 18" kicks rather than the single-kick approach Dailor would later adopt on [Emperor of Sand](/articles/emperor-of-sand-drum-setup) (2017) — drove the album's most physically demanding passages. "Blood and Thunder" opens with a galloping double-kick pattern; "Iron Tusk" sustains relentless 16th-note kick work; "Hearts Alive" builds across nearly fourteen minutes with extended double-kick architecture impractical on a single pedal.

The four-tom configuration (10", 12", 14", 16") is the architectural foundation around which Dailor's cascading fills are built. When the *Leviathan* fills appear to "tumble" across the kit — most famously on "Blood and Thunder" and "Aqua Dementia" — that tumbling effect is a function of having four adjacent tom pitches close enough to read as melodic intervals.

### Sabian HHX: Brann's Mid-2000s Cymbal Voice

The Sabian HHX series — Sabian's hand-hammered "extreme" line — was Dailor's cymbal of choice through the early-to-mid 2000s, before his later transition to Meinl Byzance for the *Crack the Skye* era and beyond. HHX cymbals use a brilliant finish, intensive hand-hammering, and a distinct bell-and-bow shaping that produces a brighter, more cutting sound than the darker Turkish-style cymbals Dailor would later prefer.

For *Leviathan* specifically, the HHX series was the correct musical choice. The album is denser, more abrasive, and more directly aggressive than Mastodon's later atmospheric records — and bright, cutting cymbals were essential for the drum kit to remain intelligible above the layered guitars. The China cymbal in particular is constant throughout the album: aggressive trashy accents marking riff transitions in "Blood and Thunder," section boundaries in "Iron Tusk," and the closing intensity of "Hearts Alive."

### The Snare: Brass Crack for the Whale Song

The snare on *Leviathan* is one of the album's recognisable sonic signatures: a tight, cracking voice that punches through Matt Bayles' dense guitar wall without overwhelming the melodic content of Dailor's tom work. The 14" x 5.5" brass shell delivers the brightness and projection the album's mix demanded. Brass responds quickly with a bright top-end character that contrasts cleanly against the dark bubinga shell fundamentals. The 5.5" depth (shallower than the 6.5" snare Dailor would adopt for *Crack the Skye*) prioritises attack over body, suiting the album's more direct mix.

## Key Facts

- Released August 31, 2004 on Relapse Records — Moby-Dick concept album
- Grammy-nominated for "Blood and Thunder" (Best Metal Performance, 2005)
- Recorded at Studio Litho, Seattle — produced by Matt Bayles (Isis, Botch, Pearl Jam)
- NOT recorded at Doppler Studios — that was Crack the Skye (2009) five years later
- Topped Revolver magazine's Album of the Year — one of the defining metal records of the 2000s
- Tama Starclassic Bubinga — six-ply African bubinga shells, Star-Cast mounting
- Double 22" x 18" bass drums — visceral low-end physicality for the album's intense passages
- Four-tom melodic palette (10", 12", 14", 16") for cascading fills
- Sabian HHX cymbals — bright cutting attack, Brann's mid-2000s cymbal voice before Meinl Byzance
- Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide double pedal — consistent action for sustained double-kick passages
- Vater 3A Wood Tip sticks — Brann's signature stick on the Leviathan era
- Origin point of the Mastodon arc through Blood Mountain (2006) and Crack the Skye (2009)
- Estimated kit value: $3,500–6,000 (Tama Starclassic Bubinga shell pack, 2004 spec)
- Estimated snare value: $400–700 (Tama brass snare)
- Estimated cymbal value: $1,400–2,000 (Sabian HHX setup)

## FAQ

**What drums did Brann Dailor use on Leviathan?**
Brann Dailor recorded Mastodon's Leviathan (2004) using a Tama Starclassic Bubinga drum kit — Tama's flagship bubinga line, featuring six-ply African bubinga shells with the Star-Cast mounting system. The configuration was a double-kick setup with two 22 inch by 18 inch bass drums, 10 inch and 12 inch rack toms, and 14 inch and 16 inch floor toms. The dense, focused fundamental of bubinga shells suited the album's heavy concept-record character. Some sources have cited DW Collector's Series for this album, but the historically accurate kit for the 2003-2004 Leviathan sessions is the Tama Starclassic Bubinga — Mastodon's Tama endorsement relationship dates from this era.

**Why is Leviathan considered Mastodon's breakthrough?**
Leviathan (2004) is considered Mastodon's breakthrough because it elevated the band from underground sludge metal status to international critical acclaim. The album earned a Grammy nomination for "Blood and Thunder" (Best Metal Performance, 2005), topped Revolver magazine's Album of the Year list, and appeared on numerous year-end critic polls. As a Moby-Dick concept album with serious compositional ambition, Leviathan announced Mastodon as a band capable of writing thematically coherent records that worked both as headbanging metal and as music for listeners who valued the more progressive elements of the genre.

**What cymbals did Brann Dailor use on Leviathan?**
On Leviathan (2004), Brann Dailor used Sabian HHX series cymbals — Sabian's hand-hammered "extreme" line, prized for its bright, articulate, cutting character. His setup included 14 inch HHX Groove Hi-Hats, a 17 inch HHX Evolution Crash, an 18 inch HHX X-Plosion Crash, a 21 inch HHX Groove Ride, an 18 inch HHX China (heavily featured throughout the album), and a 10 inch HHX Splash. He later switched to Meinl Byzance cymbals for Crack the Skye (2009) and every subsequent record.

**What is the song "Blood and Thunder" about?**
"Blood and Thunder" is the opening track of Mastodon's Leviathan (2004) and the song that earned the album its Grammy nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards. Like the rest of Leviathan, the song draws directly from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick: the lyrics narrate Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of the white whale, with lines like "White whale, holy grail" referencing the central image of the novel. Musically, it features a galloping double-kick pattern under the central riff, a cascading tom fill at the opening that functions as a melodic statement, and bright, trashy HHX China cymbal accents that mark every riff transition.

**Where was Leviathan recorded?**
Leviathan was recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, Washington — Stone Gossard's studio. The album was produced by Matt Bayles, the engineer-producer who had worked with Isis on Oceanic (2002), Botch on We Are the Romans (1999), and engineered for Pearl Jam. Note that Leviathan was NOT recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta — that was Crack the Skye (2009) five years later with Brendan O'Brien. The Studio Litho sessions and Bayles' post-metal recording sensibility gave Leviathan its dimensional, physically present drum sound.

## Related Content

- [Brann Dailor drummer profile](/drummer/brann-dailor)
- [Blood Mountain drum setup](/articles/blood-mountain-drum-setup) — Mastodon's 2006 Atlantic debut
- [Crack the Skye drum setup](/articles/crack-the-skye-drum-setup) — Mastodon's 2009 Grammy-nominated masterpiece
- [Emperor of Sand drum setup](/articles/emperor-of-sand-drum-setup) — Mastodon's 2017 Grammy-winning album

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

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*Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*