# Flo Mounier vs Tomas Haake — Drum Kit & Gear Comparison | MetalForge > Side-by-side comparison between Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) and Tomas Haake (Meshuggah). **Category:** Extreme / Technical Death Metal vs Djent · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/flo-mounier-vs-tomas-haake Flo Mounier and Tomas Haake are two of metal's most technically demanding drummers — yet their approaches couldn't be more different. Mounier defined technical death metal with Cryptopsy's *None So Vile*, pushing blast beat velocity and jazz-influenced complexity to extremes. Haake invented djent drumming with Meshuggah, building polyrhythmic machines out of kick, snare, and cymbal patterns that cycle independently of the guitar riff. This comparison explores both worlds: extreme speed vs extreme complexity. --- ## At a Glance | Spec | Flo Mounier | Tomas Haake | |------|------------|-------------| | Drums | Tama Starclassic Maple | Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech | | Cymbals | Sabian AAX & HHX Series | Sabian HHX & AAX Series | | Snare | Tama S.L.P. 14x6.5" G-Maple | Sonor Custom 14x6.5" Steel | | Pedals | Tama Iron Cobra 900 Double Pedal | 2× Tama Speed Cobra Single Pedals | | Sticks | Vic Firth American Classic 5A | Vic Firth Tomas Haake Signature | --- ## Kit Comparison ### Flo Mounier Setup - **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Maple - **Cymbals:** Sabian AAX & HHX Series (14" AAX Stage Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" AAX X-Plosion Crashes, 22" AAX Stage Ride, 19" HHX Evolution O-Zone China) - **Snare:** Tama S.L.P. 14x6.5" G-Maple - **Pedals:** Tama Iron Cobra 900 Power Glide Double Pedal - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5A Mounier's Tama Starclassic Maple delivers warm, projecting tone even at the extreme speeds Cryptopsy demands. Maple shells maintain tonal clarity through rapid-fire technical passages — critical when ghost notes and fills must register in a dense death metal mix. His Iron Cobra 900 double pedal is trusted throughout the extreme metal world for consistent response under heavy playing. Combining both Sabian AAX and HHX lines gives Mounier a richer sonic palette than most death metal drummers employ — AAX for controlled bright attack, HHX for broader tonal character. ### Tomas Haake Setup - **Drums:** Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech - **Cymbals:** Sabian HHX & AAX Series (14" HHX Evolution Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" HHX Evolution Crashes, 22" HHX Legacy Ride, 18" HHX Evolution O-Zone China) - **Snare:** Sonor Custom 14x6.5" Steel - **Pedals:** 2× Tama Speed Cobra HP910LS Single Pedals (not a double pedal) - **Sticks:** Vic Firth Tomas Haake Signature Haake's Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech shells are among the most projection-focused drums available — essential for Meshuggah's heavily detuned, dense sonic environment. His most distinctive hardware choice is his refusal to use a conventional double pedal. Instead, Haake runs two independent Tama Speed Cobra single pedals — a self-imposed constraint that forces his feet to operate as truly independent polyrhythmic voices rather than a unified double-bass unit. His steel snare reinforces Meshuggah's clinical, cold precision aesthetic. --- ## Style Comparison Flo Mounier brought technical death metal blast beats to a new level of complexity with Cryptopsy. His performance on *None So Vile* (1996) combines extreme blast beat velocity with jazz-influenced ghost notes and compositionally complex fills that defined an entire genre. Mounier's gravity blast technique uses wrist tension variation to control stick rebound, enabling sustained speeds with tonal nuance and fluidity. This jazz crossover quality — the swing and timing underneath the brutality — distinguishes Mounier from pure speed players. Tomas Haake invented djent drumming with Meshuggah's *Destroy Erase Improve* (1995) and perfected it across *Chaosphere*, *Nothing*, and *obZen*. His playing is defined not by speed but by polyrhythmic architecture — kick, snare, and cymbal patterns that cycle through groupings independent of the guitar riff, creating hypnotic rhythmic tension that defies conventional counting. Haake's machine-like consistency — maintaining complex polyrhythmic structures across full compositions and live sets — is his most remarkable quality. Both players push against limits, but in opposite directions: Mounier toward the outer edge of velocity and technical complexity within the death metal framework; Haake toward the outer edge of rhythmic complexity within a mathematically structured djent framework. --- ## Career Comparison Flo Mounier joined Cryptopsy in 1992 and became the band's defining voice. *None So Vile* (1996) established him as one of extreme metal's greatest drummers, and he has maintained that status through Cryptopsy's evolution across more than 30 years. He has released instructional content and maintains an active online presence teaching extreme drumming technique to the next generation. Tomas Haake is a founding member of Meshuggah, formed in Umeå, Sweden in 1987. His development of the djent rhythmic vocabulary — polyrhythmic kick patterns cycling against the guitar riff — transformed not just Meshuggah's music but created an entire sub-genre that spawned Periphery, Animals as Leaders, and a wave of modern metal bands. His *Chaosphere* (1998) and *obZen* (2008) performances are studied by drummers worldwide as textbook examples of polyrhythmic mastery. --- ## Who to Listen to For... - **Fastest blast beats:** Flo Mounier — *None So Vile* (1996) remains a benchmark for extreme velocity combined with technical complexity. - **Polyrhythmic complexity:** Tomas Haake — any Meshuggah album from *Destroy Erase Improve* onward, especially *Chaosphere* and *obZen*. - **Technical death metal drumming:** Flo Mounier — Cryptopsy's catalog from *Blasphemy Made Flesh* through *None So Vile* is the essential technical death metal drum curriculum. - **Djent drumming:** Tomas Haake — the inventor of the genre's rhythmic vocabulary; every djent drummer starts here. - **Jazz crossover in extreme metal:** Flo Mounier — his ghost-note density and timing reveal jazz vocabulary beneath the brutality. --- ## Influence & Legacy Flo Mounier's influence is strongest in technical death metal. *None So Vile* remains a benchmark album studied by serious extreme metal drummers worldwide. His jazz-influenced approach to brutality — ghost notes, swing timing, compositional complexity — influenced a generation of Canadian and international death metal drummers who sought more than pure speed. Tomas Haake's influence extends across modern metal. He is credited as the primary inventor of djent drumming — a sub-genre that defines much of 2010s metal. Periphery's Matt Halpern, Animals as Leaders' Matt Garstka, and every modern djent drummer traces their rhythmic DNA back to Haake's polyrhythmic templates with Meshuggah. --- ## Verdict Flo Mounier and Tomas Haake are two of the most technically demanding drummers in metal history — approaching technical excellence from opposite directions. Mounier is the blast beat king, the gravity blast pioneer, the death metal drummer whose *None So Vile* set a ceiling that has not been matched in 30 years. Haake is the polyrhythmic architect, the djent inventor, whose mathematical precision created an entirely new genre. The debate is speed vs complexity — both extremes are extraordinary. --- ## FAQ **Q: Is Flo Mounier faster than Tomas Haake?** A: Yes — Flo Mounier specializes in extreme blast beat velocity. His gravity blast tempos on *None So Vile* represent some of the fastest recorded death metal drumming. Tomas Haake is not primarily a speed player; his genius lies in polyrhythmic complexity and machine-like consistency across odd time signatures. Mounier wins on raw blast beat speed; Haake wins on rhythmic complexity. **Q: What drums do Flo Mounier and Tomas Haake use?** A: Flo Mounier plays Tama Starclassic Maple drums with Sabian AAX & HHX cymbals and Tama Iron Cobra 900 double pedals. Tomas Haake plays Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech drums with Sabian HHX & AAX cymbals and uniquely uses two Tama Speed Cobra single pedals rather than a conventional double pedal. **Q: Which drummer is more technical: Flo Mounier or Tomas Haake?** A: Both are among the most technically demanding drummers in metal history — but in different dimensions. Mounier's technicality is speed, ghost-note density, and jazz-influenced complexity within brutal death metal. Haake's technicality is polyrhythmic independence and mathematical precision — maintaining interlocking patterns across time signatures most drummers cannot navigate. They represent different technical universes rather than positions on a single scale. **Q: What is Meshuggah's Chaosphere drum setup?** A: Tomas Haake recorded *Chaosphere* (1998) on a Sonor kit with Sabian cymbals, already using his signature two-single-pedal approach. See the [Chaosphere drum setup](https://metalforge.io/articles/chaosphere-drum-setup) article for full details. --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/flo-mounier-vs-tomas-haake](https://metalforge.io/vs/flo-mounier-vs-tomas-haake)* *[Flo Mounier drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/flo-mounier)* *[Tomas Haake drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/tomas-haake)* *[None So Vile drum setup](https://metalforge.io/articles/none-so-vile-drum-setup)* *[What's in Flo Mounier's kit](https://metalforge.io/articles/whats-in-flo-mouniers-kit)* *[Chaosphere drum setup](https://metalforge.io/articles/chaosphere-drum-setup)* *[What's in Tomas Haake's kit](https://metalforge.io/articles/whats-in-tomas-haakes-kit)* --- *Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*