# Hellhammer vs Bill Ward — Drum Kit Comparison > Side-by-side gear comparison between Hellhammer (Mayhem) and Bill Ward (Black Sabbath). **Category:** Extreme / Death / Black Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/hellhammer-vs-bill-ward Mayhem's Hellhammer vs Black Sabbath's Bill Ward — extreme black metal blast-beat precision compared to the jazz-swing groove that invented heavy metal drumming. Style, technique, gear, and legacy compared. --- ## Hellhammer Setup - **Drums:** Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech - **Cymbals:** Paiste (14" RUDE Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" RUDE Crashes, 20" RUDE Ride, 18" RUDE China) - **Snare:** Sonor SQ2 14x5.5" Maple - **Pedals/Hardware:** Axis Double Pedal, Sonor Drummer Throne, Roland Electronics - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5B ## Bill Ward Setup - **Drums:** Ludwig Classic Maple - **Cymbals:** Paiste 2002 & Giant Beat Series (15" Giant Beat Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" 2002 Crashes, 24" 2002 Ride, 18" 2002 China) - **Snare:** Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5" LM402 - **Pedals/Hardware:** Ludwig Atlas Pro Double Pedal, Ludwig Throne - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 2B ## Playing Style Hellhammer (born Jan Axel Blomberg on August 2, 1969, in Oslo, Norway) joined Mayhem in 1988 as a teenager, replacing founding drummer Manheim, and delivered the genre-defining blast beats on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" (1994) — the recording against which every subsequent black metal drum performance is measured. He has run a parallel career with Dimmu Borgir since 1999, bringing black metal ferocity into symphonic arrangements. Bill Ward co-founded Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England, in 1968 alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne, and his open, swinging feel on "Black Sabbath" (1970), "Paranoid" (1970), and "Master of Reality" (1971) effectively invented heavy metal's rhythmic vocabulary. ## Technique Hellhammer's blast beats are built on cold, relentless one-foot precision, and he famously plays barefoot for the direct tactile feedback he says is essential to holding tempo accuracy at extreme speeds. Ward's technique came from jazz — a loose, open-handed feel inherited from Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich that prioritized dynamics and space over raw velocity, and he never reached for a double pedal in his career, generating Sabbath's early heaviness entirely through single-pedal technique and touch. ## Key Differences Hellhammer plays a Pearl Reference Series kit with a Pearl Reference snare and Zildjian A Custom cymbals (14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 17" & 19" A Custom Crashes, 20" Z Custom Dark Ride, 18" A China Boy), driven by a Pearl Demon Drive double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks — an evolution from the developing-endorsement Pearl kit and Ludwig Acrolite snare he used on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas." Ward played a Ludwig Classic Maple kit with a Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5" LM402 snare and Paiste 2002 & Giant Beat Series cymbals, including a massive 24" 2002 Ride, driven by a single Ludwig Speed King pedal. Hellhammer's blast beats are built on cold, relentless one-foot precision, and he famously plays barefoot for the direct tactile feedback he says is essential to holding tempo accuracy at extreme speeds. Ward's technique came from jazz — a loose, open-handed feel inherited from Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich that prioritized dynamics and space over raw velocity, and he never reached for a double pedal in his career, generating Sabbath's early heaviness entirely through single-pedal technique and touch. ## Influence & Legacy Hellhammer defined the sound and speed vocabulary of second-wave black metal, and his three-decade-plus dual career with Mayhem and Dimmu Borgir has made him the genre's most in-demand extreme drummer for both raw and symphonic contexts. Ward is widely credited as one of the true originators of heavy metal drumming — every extreme metal drummer who followed, including Hellhammer, built on the swinging, dynamic rhythmic vocabulary he created with Sabbath, earning him a 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. ## Verdict Hellhammer and Bill Ward sit at opposite ends of heavy metal drumming's evolution, separated by genre and generation but linked by the same instinct to push the instrument's expressive limits. Ward invented metal's jazz-swung, single-pedal foundation in 1968, prioritizing feel and dynamics over speed. Hellhammer took the genre's extremity to its logical conclusion two decades later, turning blast beats into black metal's defining texture on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas." One wrote heavy metal drumming's first chapter; the other helped write its most extreme. ## FAQ **Q: What are the main differences between Hellhammer's and Bill Ward's drum kits?** A: Hellhammer plays Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech with Paiste cymbals, while Bill Ward uses Ludwig Classic Maple with Paiste cymbals. Hellhammer plays a Pearl Reference Series kit with a Pearl Reference snare and Zildjian A Custom cymbals (14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 17" & 19" A Custom Crashes, 20" Z Custom Dark Ride, 18" A China Boy), driven by a Pearl Demon Drive double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks — an evolution from the developing-endorsement Pearl kit and Ludwig Acrolite snare he used on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas." Ward played a Ludwig Classic Maple kit with a Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5" LM402 snare and Paiste 2002 & Giant Beat Series cymbals, including a massive 24" 2002 Ride, driven by a single Ludwig Speed King pedal. **Q: What drums does Hellhammer play vs Bill Ward?** A: Hellhammer plays Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech. Bill Ward plays Ludwig Classic Maple. **Q: Who is the better extreme / death / black metal drummer, Hellhammer or Bill Ward?** A: Both are legends in their own right. Hellhammer and Bill Ward sit at opposite ends of heavy metal drumming's evolution, separated by genre and generation but linked by the same instinct to push the instrument's expressive limits. See the full analysis at [metalforge.io/vs/hellhammer-vs-bill-ward](https://metalforge.io/vs/hellhammer-vs-bill-ward). **Q: What cymbals do Hellhammer and Bill Ward use?** A: Hellhammer uses Paiste (14" RUDE Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" RUDE Crashes, 20" RUDE Ride, 18" RUDE China). Bill Ward uses Paiste 2002 & Giant Beat Series (15" Giant Beat Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" 2002 Crashes, 24" 2002 Ride, 18" 2002 China). --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/hellhammer-vs-bill-ward](https://metalforge.io/vs/hellhammer-vs-bill-ward)* *[Hellhammer drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hellhammer)* *[Bill Ward drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/bill-ward)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-08 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*