# Alex Bent vs Matt Garstka — Drum Kit & Gear Comparison | MetalForge > Side-by-side gear comparison between Alex Bent (Trivium, 2017–2025) and Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders, 2012–present) — modern technical metal's two leading approaches. **Category:** Progressive Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/alex-bent-vs-matt-garstka Alex Bent vs Matt Garstka — technical death metal precision versus jazz-fusion progressive drumming. Two of modern metal's most technically demanding drummers, compared gear-for-gear and technique-for-technique. --- ## At a Glance | Spec | Alex Bent | Matt Garstka | |------|-----------|--------------| | Drums | Pearl Reference Pure Series | Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch | | Cymbals | Zildjian K Custom Hybrid | Meinl Byzance Series | | Snare | Pearl Reference 14x5" Brass | Tama S.L.P. 14x6" G-Maple | | Pedals | Axis A Longboard Double Pedal | Tama Speed Cobra 910 Double Pedal | | Sticks | Vic Firth American Classic 5B | Vic Firth Matt Garstka Signature | --- ## Gear Deep Dive ### Alex Bent Setup - **Drums:** Pearl Reference Pure Series - **Cymbals:** Zildjian (14" K Custom Hybrid Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Custom Hybrid Crashes, 21" K Custom Hybrid Ride, 18" A Custom China) - **Snare:** Pearl Reference 14x5" Brass - **Pedals/Hardware:** Axis A Longboard Double Pedal, Pearl D-3000 Throne - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5B - **Heads:** Remo Bent built his foundation in technical death metal with Brain Drill, Arkaik, and Battlecross before joining Trivium in 2017. His Pearl Reference Pure kit and Zildjian K Custom Hybrid cymbals deliver a dark, complex tone with fast response, suited to Trivium's melodic-metal songwriting, while the Axis A Longboard double pedal supports the fast, extreme-metal-trained footwork he brought to the band's more accessible arrangements. ### Matt Garstka Setup - **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch - **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Series (15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, 22" Dual Ride) - **Snare:** Tama S.L.P. 14x6" G-Maple - **Pedals/Hardware:** Tama Speed Cobra 910 Double Pedal - **Sticks:** Vic Firth Matt Garstka Signature - **Heads:** Evans Garstka, a Berklee College of Music graduate, joined Animals as Leaders in 2012, replacing Navene Koperweis. His Tama Starclassic kit and Meinl Byzance cymbals deliver the warmth and complex overtones needed for Animals as Leaders' polyrhythmic, djent-adjacent instrumental music, while his Vic Firth signature sticks are built for the ghost-note-heavy, jazz-informed patterns central to his playing. --- ## Style & Technique Comparison Alex Bent's technique centers on technical death metal blast beats performed with clarity and control, complex fills that serve the song rather than showcase chops, and powerful double bass patterns adapted to Trivium's more melodic, arena-scaled songwriting. His work on *The Sin and the Sentence* (2017), *What the Dead Men Say* (2020), and *In the Court of the Dragon* (2021) elevated Trivium's rhythmic complexity while keeping the band's hook-driven songwriting intact. Matt Garstka's technique draws on jazz fusion and metric modulation — intricate ghost-note patterns, complex polyrhythms, and linear independence that treat the kit as a compositional voice within Animals as Leaders' instrumental djent framework rather than a purely rhythmic engine. His playing across *The Joy of Motion* (2014), *The Madness of Many* (2016), and *Parrhesia* (2022) has made him one of the most studied drummers in progressive instrumental metal. Both drummers represent the modern technical metal generation, but from opposite directions: Bent moved from extreme metal underground toward mainstream melodic songwriting, while Garstka moved from jazz-academic training into a purely instrumental progressive framework. --- ## Key Differences Bent's Pearl Reference Pure kit and Zildjian K Custom Hybrid cymbals are voiced dark and complex with fast response — built to punch through Trivium's dense, riff-driven mixes without losing articulation at speed. Garstka's Tama Starclassic kit and Meinl Byzance cymbals are voiced for warmth and layered overtones, suited to Animals as Leaders' textural instrumental arrangements. Bent's Axis A Longboard pedal reflects his extreme-metal roots, built for speed and durability on tour; Garstka's Tama Speed Cobra and signature sticks are tuned for the ghost-note sensitivity his jazz-informed style demands. --- ## Influence & Legacy Bent brought technical death metal legitimacy to a melodic metal band's mainstream audience, showing that extreme-metal-trained drummers could elevate arena-scale songwriting without diluting technicality — a template followed by drummers moving between underground and mainstream metal scenes. Garstka has been named among the most influential drummers of his generation by multiple publications, and his jazz-fusion-informed approach to progressive metal has become a reference point for the djent and technical instrumental metal scenes that overlap heavily with Periphery and Meshuggah audiences. --- ## Verdict Alex Bent and Matt Garstka represent two branches of modern technical metal drumming. Bent is technical death metal precision applied to melodic, riff-driven songwriting — extreme-metal chops in service of Trivium's arena ambitions across three studio albums. Garstka is jazz-fusion virtuosity applied to instrumental progressive metal — polyrhythmic complexity as the primary compositional voice in Animals as Leaders' djent-adjacent sound. Bent proves technical death metal training scales to mainstream metal; Garstka proves jazz-educated musicality can drive an entire instrumental genre forward. --- ## FAQ **Q: Who is technically more skilled, Alex Bent or Matt Garstka?** A: Both are elite modern technicians from different traditions. Alex Bent's skill set is rooted in technical death metal — extreme-speed blast beats and complex double bass patterns performed with clarity. Matt Garstka's skill set is rooted in jazz fusion — polyrhythmic complexity, metric modulation, and linear independence. Garstka is more often cited in "most technical progressive drummer" discussions; Bent is more often cited for extreme-metal speed and precision. **Q: What is each drummer's signature technique?** A: Alex Bent's signature is technical death metal blast beats executed with clarity inside melodic song structures, developed across Brain Drill, Arkaik, and Battlecross before he joined Trivium. Matt Garstka's signature is jazz-fusion-informed polyrhythmic independence and metric modulation, which he uses to treat the drum kit as a compositional voice in Animals as Leaders' instrumental music. **Q: Who has influenced more drummers, Alex Bent or Matt Garstka?** A: Matt Garstka has been named one of the most influential drummers of his generation by multiple publications and is a widely studied reference point in the djent and progressive instrumental metal scenes. Alex Bent's influence is more concentrated within technical death metal and the melodic metal audiences he reached during his 2017–2025 run with Trivium. **Q: What gear do Alex Bent and Matt Garstka use?** A: Alex Bent plays a Pearl Reference Pure Series kit with a Pearl Reference 14x5" Brass snare and Zildjian K Custom Hybrid cymbals. Matt Garstka plays a Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit with his Tama S.L.P. 14x6" G-Maple snare and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, driven by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal. --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/alex-bent-vs-matt-garstka](https://metalforge.io/vs/alex-bent-vs-matt-garstka)* *[Alex Bent drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/alex-bent)* *[Matt Garstka drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/matt-garstka)* *[In the Court of the Dragon drum setup (Alex Bent)](https://metalforge.io/articles/trivium-in-the-court-of-the-dragon-drum-setup)* *[What's In Matt Garstka's Kit](https://metalforge.io/articles/whats-in-matt-garstkas-kit)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-02 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*