# In the Court of the Dragon Drum Setup: Alex Bent's UK Top-5 Trivium Album (2021)

> Complete gear breakdown for Alex Bent's drum setup on Trivium's In the Court of the Dragon (2021). Pearl Reference kit, Meinl Byzance cymbals, and the progressive songwriting behind the band's UK #4 studio album.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Alex Bent](/llms/drummers/alex-bent.md)
**Band / Album:** Trivium — *In the Court of the Dragon* (2021)
**Genre:** Progressive Metal / Metalcore

## Overview

"In the Court of the Dragon," released October 8, 2021 on Roadrunner Records, is Trivium's tenth studio album and Alex Bent's third full recording with the band. Produced once again by Josh Wilbur and recorded at Full Sail University in Orlando in the fall of 2020, the album pushed the progressive ambitions of "What the Dead Men Say" even further, built around longer, more structurally complex songs than anything the band had released since "Shogun" (2008).

The album opens with the instrumental "X" before launching into the nearly eight-minute title track, followed by songs like "Feast of Fire," "A Crisis of Revelation," and the multi-part closer "The Phalanx." Commercially, it was one of Trivium's strongest chart performances in years, peaking at #4 on the UK Albums Chart — the band's best UK showing since "Shogun" in 2008.

For Bent, the album's structural ambition demanded the widest dynamic and technical range of his Trivium tenure to that point: extended instrumental builds, tempo shifts within songs, and the kind of compositional complexity that echoed the progressive death metal he'd come from before joining the band. His gear, by contrast, stayed almost entirely unchanged — the same Pearl Reference and Meinl Byzance setup he'd used since his 2017 debut.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Reference Series (Matte Black), double 22" x 18" bass drums, 10"/12" rack toms, 14"/16" floor toms — unchanged across three albums
- **Snare:** Pearl Reference Snare, 14" x 6.5", maple/birch hybrid shell
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Brilliant — 14" Medium Hi-Hats, 16"/18"/19" Medium Thin Crashes, 21" Medium Ride, 18" China
- **Pedals:** Axis A21 Longboard Double Pedal
- **Heads:** Evans EMAD/EQ3 (kick), Evans G2/G1 Clear (toms), Evans EC Reverse Dot/Hazy 300 (snare)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium-high tension for articulation across extended song forms

### The Reference Kit, Three Albums Deep

By his third Trivium album, Bent's matte black Pearl Reference Series kit was a known quantity — the same double 22" x 18" bass drums and compact 4-piece tom array from 2017 and 2020. What changed was the demand placed on it: "In the Court of the Dragon" is built around longer, multi-section songs like the title track and "The Phalanx," requiring sustained double-bass stamina across extended instrumental builds rather than the shorter, riff-tight bursts of earlier records.

### Meinl Byzance Brilliant, Full Setup

This album features Bent's fullest Meinl Byzance Brilliant setup across the three albums, adding a third crash size (16", 18", and 19") to cover the wider dynamic range of the record's longer songs. The extended instrumental sections of the title track and the multi-part "The Phalanx" lean heavily on the 21" ride's clean articulation and musical wash.

## Key Facts

- Trivium's tenth studio album, released October 8, 2021 on Roadrunner Records
- Alex Bent's third full studio album with the band
- Produced by Josh Wilbur; recorded at Full Sail University, Orlando, fall 2020
- Peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart — Trivium's strongest UK chart showing since Shogun (2008)
- Longer, more structurally ambitious songs than any Trivium record since Shogun
- Bent's gear remained unchanged from The Sin and the Sentence and What the Dead Men Say
- Estimated kit value: $5,000-8,000 (2021)

## FAQ

**What drum kit did Alex Bent use on In the Court of the Dragon?**
Alex Bent used the same matte black Pearl Reference Series kit he'd played since his 2017 Trivium debut — double 22" x 18" bass drums, 10" and 12" rack toms, and 14" and 16" floor toms with maple/birch hybrid shells. It was his third consecutive Trivium album on the identical configuration.

**How did In the Court of the Dragon perform commercially?**
In the Court of the Dragon peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart, Trivium's strongest UK chart performance since Shogun in 2008. The album was released October 8, 2021 on Roadrunner Records, produced by Josh Wilbur and recorded at Full Sail University in Orlando in the fall of 2020.

**What is Alex Bent's cymbal setup on In the Court of the Dragon?**
Alex Bent played Meinl Byzance Brilliant series cymbals: 14" Medium Hi-Hats, 16", 18", and 19" Medium Thin Crashes, a 21" Medium Ride, and an 18" China. It's his fullest Byzance Brilliant setup across his three Trivium albums, adding a third crash size to cover the wider dynamic range of the record's longer songs.

**How does In the Court of the Dragon compare to What the Dead Men Say?**
In the Court of the Dragon (2021) pushes further into progressive songwriting than What the Dead Men Say (2020), built around longer, multi-section tracks like the nearly eight-minute title track and the closer "The Phalanx" — the most structurally ambitious Trivium material since Shogun (2008). Alex Bent's gear stayed identical across both records, but the extended song forms demanded more sustained double-bass stamina and a fuller cymbal setup.

**Who produced In the Court of the Dragon?**
In the Court of the Dragon was produced by Josh Wilbur, who also produced The Sin and the Sentence (2017) and What the Dead Men Say (2020) — all three of Alex Bent's studio albums with Trivium to that point. It was recorded at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, in the fall of 2020.

## Related Albums

- [What the Dead Men Say drum setup](/articles/trivium-what-the-dead-men-say-drum-setup) — 2020, the record that preceded this one
- [The Sin and the Sentence drum setup](/articles/trivium-sin-and-the-sentence-drum-setup) — 2017, Alex Bent's Trivium debut
- [Shogun drum setup](/articles/shogun-drum-setup) — 2008, Nick Augusto's earlier chapter in Trivium's drumming history
- [Alex Bent kit profile](/articles/whats-in-alex-bents-kit) — complete career gear overview

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/trivium-in-the-court-of-the-dragon-drum-setup

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