# Vengeance Falls Drum Setup: Nick Augusto's David Draiman-Produced Trivium Album (2013)

> Complete gear breakdown for Nick Augusto's drum setup on Trivium's Vengeance Falls (2013). Tama Starclassic kit, Meinl MB20 cymbals, and how Disturbed's David Draiman shaped a heavier, groove-focused drum sound in his production debut.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Nick Augusto](/llms/drummers/nick-augusto.md)
**Band / Album:** Trivium — *Vengeance Falls* (2013)
**Genre:** Metalcore / Groove Metal

## Overview

Released October 14, 2013 in the UK and October 15, 2013 in the US on Roadrunner Records, "Vengeance Falls" is Trivium's sixth studio album and the second and final record to feature drummer Nick Augusto before his departure from the band in May 2014. Where "Shogun" (2008) chased progressive-thrash ambition and "In Waves" (2011) leaned into raw thrash aggression, "Vengeance Falls" pulled in a different direction entirely: shorter, more direct songs built for impact over sprawl, with every track on the standard edition running under six minutes.

The album's defining twist was its producer. David Draiman — lead vocalist of Disturbed and Device — took the production chair for the first time in his career, tracking the album at his own studio, DMD Productions in Austin, Texas, during February and March 2013. It's a rare case of one prominent metal frontman shaping another band's record from the console rather than the microphone, and Draiman pushed Trivium toward a more song-focused, radio-conscious version of their sound. Mixing was handled by Colin Richardson and Carl Bown at Treehouse Studio in the UK, with mastering by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York.

For Nick Augusto, "Vengeance Falls" meant adapting his thrash-rooted, technically dense "In Waves" playing to a groove-first production philosophy — locking into pocket-driven patterns rather than showcasing pure speed. The album debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200 and reached #23 on the UK Albums Chart, backed by singles "Brave This Storm" and "Strife," the latter singled out by The Guardian as an anthemic standout in a record it called "a proud and focused heavy metal album."

This article documents the drum gear Nick Augusto used on "Vengeance Falls": the Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit, Meinl MB20 cymbals, Tama Iron Cobra 900 pedal, and how Draiman's rock-conscious production reshaped the tuning and mix approach without changing the equipment underneath.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Tama Tama Starclassic Performer B/B (Custom finish finish)
- **Snare:** Tama Tama S.L.P. Steel Snare, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl — Meinl MB20 and Classics Custom Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra 900 Double Bass Pedal
- **Heads:** Evans Genera Dry (batter), Evans 300 Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium — more body and less top-end attack than the In Waves-era tuning

### The Starclassic Stays, the Sound Changes

Nick Augusto carried the same Tama Starclassic Performer B/B he'd used on "In Waves" directly into the "Vengeance Falls" sessions — the birch/bubinga hybrid shells, the compact 4-piece tom array, the 22" kick. What changed wasn't the equipment but how David Draiman captured it: rather than the dry, punchy attack Jason Suecof favored on "In Waves," Draiman pushed for a warmer, more rock-influenced low end that suited the album's shift toward groove-driven, hook-forward songwriting.

That meant more emphasis on the bubinga layer's natural warmth in the mix, and tuning that favored sustain and body over the sharpest possible transient attack. On tracks like "Villainy Thrives" and "Incineration: The Broken World," the kit reads bigger and more open than its "In Waves" counterpart despite being the identical drum set — a production choice, not an equipment change.

The compact tom configuration remained well suited to the material: "Vengeance Falls" is built on tight, riff-locked patterns rather than extended melodic fills, and the same 10"/12" rack and 14"/16" floor tom array Augusto used on "In Waves" covered everything the record's more concise song structures required.

### The S.L.P. Steel, Tuned for Body

Augusto's 14" x 6.5" Tama S.L.P. steel snare made the jump from "In Waves" unchanged in hardware, but not in tuning. Draiman's production philosophy — shaped by his own background fronting a hard rock band built for radio — called for a snare with more body and slightly less top-end attack than the bright, cutting crack that defined "In Waves."

The steel shell's natural brightness still cuts through Trivium's dense, drop-tuned guitar tracking, but the tuning sits a touch lower and the mix processing pulls back some of the highest-frequency snap in favor of a fuller, more rock-radio backbeat. It's a subtle shift, but audible across tracks like "Strife" and "Brave This Storm," where the snare sits with more weight in the mix than Augusto's "In Waves" work.

Augusto's underlying technique — clean rimshots, controlled ghost-note work between hits — remained the constant. What Draiman changed was framing: the same drummer, the same drum, presented with a rounder, more accessible tone.

### Meinl MB20: Weight for a Groove-First Record

Augusto's Meinl MB20 and Classics Custom pairing carried over unchanged from "In Waves," and it suited "Vengeance Falls" well: the MB20 series' dark, heavy-weight B20 bronze crashes gave Draiman's warmer mix full-bodied accents rather than a thin, bright wash, while the Classics Custom hi-hats and ride kept the pattern work articulate against the album's more groove-oriented, mid-tempo material.

With "Vengeance Falls" leaning less on blast-adjacent speed than "In Waves" and more on locked-in, hook-driven riffing, the cymbal work shifted correspondingly — fewer rapid-fire accent hits, more sustained crash-and-groove interplay that matched the record's more radio-conscious song structures. The 18" MB20 China remained the go-to effect cymbal for the album's heavier breakdown moments, particularly on the extended closer "Wake (The End Is Nigh)."

## Key Facts

- Vengeance Falls (2013) is Trivium's sixth studio album — Nick Augusto's second and final record with the band
- Produced by David Draiman of Disturbed — his first production credit, tracked at his own DMD Productions studio in Austin, TX
- Recorded February–March 2013; mixed by Colin Richardson & Carl Bown, mastered by Ted Jensen (Sterling Sound)
- Debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200 and reached #23 on the UK Albums Chart
- Every standard-edition track runs under six minutes — a deliberate pivot toward song-focused writing after Shogun's epics
- "Strife" earned praise from The Guardian as an anthemic highlight of a "proud and focused heavy metal album"
- Same Tama Starclassic Performer B/B as In Waves — no equipment change between albums
- David Draiman's production favored warmth and sustain over In Waves' drier, punchier attack
- Compact 4-piece tom configuration suited the album's tighter, more concise song structures
- Bubinga shell layer's natural warmth foregrounded in the mix for a rock-conscious low end
- Estimated kit value: $2,900–3,900 (2013) / $1,600–2,300 (used today)
- Estimated snare value: $180–240 (2013)

## FAQ

**What drum kit did Nick Augusto use on Vengeance Falls?**
On Trivium's Vengeance Falls (2013), Nick Augusto played the same Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit he used on "In Waves" — birch/bubinga hybrid shells in a custom finish, with a 22" bass drum, two rack toms (10", 12"), and two floor toms (14", 16"). The equipment didn't change between albums; producer David Draiman instead shaped a warmer, more sustained drum tone through tuning and mix processing.

**How did David Draiman's production affect the drum sound on Vengeance Falls?**
David Draiman — lead vocalist of Disturbed and Device, producing for the first time in his career — pushed Trivium's drum sound toward a warmer, more rock-radio character on Vengeance Falls. Compared to Jason Suecof's dry, punchy production on "In Waves," Draiman favored more body and sustain in Nick Augusto's snare and kit tuning, with less emphasis on the sharpest possible transient attack. The equipment stayed identical to "In Waves" — the change was entirely in tuning, mic technique, and mix processing at Draiman's own DMD Productions studio in Austin, Texas.

**How much would Nick Augusto's Vengeance Falls drum kit cost today?**
Nick Augusto's full Vengeance Falls-era setup — the Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit, Tama S.L.P. steel snare, Meinl MB20/Classics Custom cymbal package, and Tama Iron Cobra 900 double bass pedal — carried a combined estimated value of roughly $5,400–7,100 at 2013 retail pricing. Buying equivalent gear used today would run approximately $2,300–3,300, with the Starclassic kit itself accounting for the largest share at $1,600–2,300 used.

**Is Vengeance Falls heavier or more technical than Shogun?**
Neither — the two albums pursue different goals. Shogun (2008) is Trivium's most technically demanding record, built around extended, multi-part compositions like the 11:39 title track. Vengeance Falls (2013) is deliberately more direct: every track on the standard edition runs under six minutes, and Nick Augusto's playing prioritizes locked-in groove and pocket over technical display. It's a heavier, more song-focused record rather than a more technical one.

**Where did Vengeance Falls chart, and what were the singles?**
Vengeance Falls debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200 and reached #23 on the UK Albums Chart, also charting in the top 10 in Australia, Germany, and Canada. The album was led by the singles "Brave This Storm" and "Strife," with "Through Blood and Dirt and Bone" and "Villainy Thrives" released as later singles in 2014. It was Nick Augusto's final studio album with Trivium before his departure in May 2014.

## Related Albums

- [Shogun drum setup](/articles/shogun-drum-setup) — 2008, Nick Augusto's technical peak with Trivium
- [Nick Augusto drum setup](/articles/nick-augusto-drum-setup) — full In Waves / Vengeance Falls era gear breakdown
- [The Sin and the Sentence drum setup](/articles/trivium-sin-and-the-sentence-drum-setup) — 2017, the next chapter of Trivium's drumming lineage
- [Double-bass drumming for metal](/articles/double-bass-drumming-for-metal) — technique context for Augusto's double-kick approach

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

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