# Jason Bittner's Drum Setup on Shadows Fall's Threads of Life (2007)

> Complete breakdown of the drum kit, snare, cymbals, and hardware Jason Bittner used to record Shadows Fall's Threads of Life (2007), the Atlantic Records album featuring the Grammy-nominated "Redemption." Tama Starclassic kit, Sabian cymbals, DW double pedal, and Nick Raskulinecz's production at Dave Grohl's Studio 606.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Jason Bittner](/llms/drummers/jason-bittner.md)
**Band / Album:** Shadows Fall — *Threads of Life* (2007)
**Genre:** NWOAHM / Metalcore

## Overview

Released April 3, 2007 through Atlantic Records, Shadows Fall's *Threads of Life* is the album that closes Jason Bittner's commercial-peak run with the band — bookending the arc that began with *The Art of Balance*'s NWOAHM breakthrough in 2002. The album's lead track, "Redemption," earned Shadows Fall a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2008, the band's second Grammy nod in four years following *The War Within*'s 2005 nomination for "What Drives the Weak." *Threads of Life* debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard 200, moving roughly 24,000 copies in its first week.

The band recorded *Threads of Life* with producer Nick Raskulinecz — known for his work with Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver — at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, with mixing handled back home at Planet Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts, and mastering at Sterling Sound in Chelsea, New York. Raskulinecz's production brought a bigger, more polished rock sensibility to Shadows Fall's NWOAHM foundation, matching the band's jump to a major label. For Bittner, that meant performing the same technical vocabulary that defined *The Art of Balance* and *The War Within* — sustained double-bass, dynamic snare placement, compositional tom work — inside a bigger, more radio-conscious production frame.

"Redemption" is the album's drumming centerpiece: the Grammy-nominated track where Bittner's double-bass work and dynamic control made the strongest individual case for his playing on the record. The gear behind those performances — a Tama Starclassic kit, Sabian cymbals, a DW double pedal — was, by 2007, a fully refined version of the setup Bittner had been developing since *The Art of Balance*.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Performer B/B (birch/bubinga hybrid shells)
- **Snare:** Tama Starclassic Steel 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Sabian — HH and HHX Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW double bass pedal; Vic Firth 5B sticks
- **Heads:** Remo Powerstroke 3 (kick batter), Remo Ambassador Coated (toms batter), Remo Ambassador Coated (snare batter)
- **Snare tuning:** Tight and articulate, consistent with Bittner's Art of Balance / War Within-era setup

### Threads of Life Kit: Tama Starclassic Performer B/B

By the time Shadows Fall recorded *Threads of Life*, Jason Bittner's Tama Starclassic Performer B/B had been his primary recording kit for five years and three albums — the same birch/bubinga hybrid shells that defined *The Art of Balance* and *The War Within* before it. Nick Raskulinecz's bigger, major-label production approach needed a kit that could deliver both attack definition for rhythmic clarity and tonal warmth for the record's more melodic, radio-conscious moments.

The double 22" x 18" bass drum configuration continued to anchor the sustained double-bass work that drives "Redemption" and "Burning the Lives." The four-tom spread (10", 12", 14", 16") gave Bittner the same compositional fill range he'd used since *The Art of Balance* — by 2007, an established part of his arrangement vocabulary.

### Snare: Authority Inside a Fuller Major-Label Mix

Bittner's steel snare on *Threads of Life* carried the same functional requirement it had on prior albums: cut through a dense metal mix with immediate upper-frequency attack. Nick Raskulinecz's production is fuller and more layered than Zeuss's dry early-2000s approach, which made consistent snare projection even more important as a fixed point of rhythmic authority. "Redemption" is the clearest showcase: the snare anchors the song's structure through both its aggressive verses and its more melodic, arena-scaled chorus sections.

### Sabian: Definition Inside a Bigger Production Frame

Bittner's Sabian HH and HHX setup carried forward the same combination that had defined his playing since *The Art of Balance*, now working inside Raskulinecz's bigger, more layered major-label production. The hi-hats drive the rhythmic foundation on "Redemption" and "Burning the Lives," locking tight with the double-bass patterns beneath them. The 16" and 18" HHX crashes split structural duty, the HH ride carries the album's more melodic sections, and the china cymbal supplies the harshest accent for the record's heaviest moments, including "Venomous" and "Dread Uprising."

### DW Double Pedal: Five Years of Refined Double-Bass Precision

By *Threads of Life*, Bittner's DW double bass pedal setup represented five years of refinement on the same mechanical platform he'd used since *The Art of Balance*. The dual-chain drive system's matched action remained the foundation of his sustained double-bass work — most prominently on "Redemption," where the verse and chorus patterns demand the same metronomic evenness between feet that made "Idle Hands" a technical landmark five years earlier.

## Key Facts

- Released April 3, 2007 on Atlantic Records — closes the commercial-peak arc that opened with The Art of Balance (2002)
- "Redemption" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards (February 10, 2008); the award went to Slayer's "Final Six"
- Debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 24,000 copies in its first week
- Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) at Dave Grohl's Studio 606, Northridge, California
- Mixed at Planet Z Studios, Hadley, Massachusetts; mastered at Sterling Sound, Chelsea, New York
- Jason Bittner played a Tama Starclassic Performer B/B with birch/bubinga hybrid shells — the same kit since The Art of Balance
- Double 22" x 18" bass drums with a DW dual-chain double bass pedal
- Four-tom configuration (10", 12", 14", 16") for compositional fill range
- Tama Starclassic Steel snare 14" x 6.5"
- Sabian HH and HHX cymbals throughout
- Vic Firth 5B sticks
- Remo Powerstroke 3 kick heads, Ambassador Coated toms and snare batter heads

## FAQ

**Q: What drums did Jason Bittner use on Threads of Life?**
A: On *Threads of Life* (2007), Jason Bittner played the same Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit — birch/bubinga hybrid shells — that had defined his playing since *The Art of Balance* (2002): a double bass drum configuration with two 22" x 18" kicks, two rack toms (10" and 12"), and two floor toms (14" and 16"). See [Jason Bittner at MetalForge](/drummer/jason-bittner) for full career gear context.

**Q: Who produced Threads of Life?**
A: *Threads of Life* was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, known for his work with Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver. It was tracked at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, mixed at Planet Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts, and mastered at Sterling Sound in Chelsea, New York — Shadows Fall's only album produced by Raskulinecz.

**Q: Was Threads of Life Grammy nominated?**
A: Yes — "Redemption" from *Threads of Life* received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, held February 10, 2008 (the award went to Slayer's "Final Six"). It was Shadows Fall's second Grammy nomination in four years, following *The War Within*'s nomination for "What Drives the Weak" in 2005.

**Q: What makes Redemption a distinctive drumming showcase?**
A: "Redemption" pairs sustained, metronomically even double-bass — built on the same DW double pedal precision that defined "Idle Hands" five years earlier — with a dynamic shift into a more melodic, arena-scaled chorus. That combination of technical double-kick control and structural dynamic range is what earned the track its Grammy nomination.

**Q: How did Threads of Life perform commercially?**
A: *Threads of Life* debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 24,000 copies in its first week — Shadows Fall's first album released through Atlantic Records following the band's major-label signing. While it did not match *The War Within*'s No. 43 debut, the Grammy nomination for "Redemption" made it one of the most critically recognized records of Bittner's Shadows Fall tenure.

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/threads-of-life-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-30 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*