# Richard Christy vs George Kollias — Drum Kit Comparison > Side-by-side gear comparison between Richard Christy (Death / Iced Earth) and George Kollias (Nile). **Category:** Extreme / Death / Black Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/richard-christy-vs-george-kollias Death's Richard Christy vs Nile's George Kollias — two technical death metal blast-beat specialists from different eras, one prizing musicality, one prizing sustained extreme speed. --- ## Richard Christy Setup - **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Maple - **Cymbals:** Sabian AAX & HHX Series (14" AAX Stage Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" AAX X-Plosion Crashes, 21" HHX Raw Bell Dry Ride, 18" AAX Chinese) - **Snare:** Tama Starclassic 14x6.5" Maple - **Pedals/Hardware:** Tama Iron Cobra 900 Double Pedal - **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5A ## George Kollias Setup - **Drums:** Pearl Masterworks Stadium Exotic (Piano Black with Gold Hardware) - **Cymbals:** Zildjian (14" K Mastersound Hi-Hats, 17" & 18" K Custom Dark Crashes, 21" A Custom Mega Bell Ride, 18" China) - **Snare:** Pearl George Kollias Signature 14x6.5" - **Pedals/Hardware:** Pearl Demon XR Double Pedal (Co-designed), Pearl D-3000 Throne - **Sticks:** Vic Firth George Kollias Signature SGK ## Playing Style Richard Christy moved to Florida in 1993 specifically to break into death metal, and Chuck Schuldiner handpicked him for Death in 1996 — a choice that produced "The Sound of Perseverance" (1998), the band's final and most progressive album, followed by Control Denied's "The Fragile Art of Existence" (1999) and a stint with Iced Earth (2003–2007). Schuldiner himself called Christy "one of the best drummers I ever worked with." George Kollias, born in Korinth, Greece, joined Nile in 2004 replacing Tony Laureano and has anchored the band's Egyptology-themed technical death metal across "Annihilation of the Wicked" (2005) through "Vile Nilotic Rites" (2019), building a parallel reputation as one of extreme metal's most prolific drumming educators through his "Intense Metal Drumming" instructional series. ## Technique Christy's defining trait was range within a single album: "The Sound of Perseverance" moves from the relentless blast-beat fury of "Spirit Crusher" to the restrained, almost ambient touch required for the instrumental "Voice of the Soul," and Christy delivered both with the same kit and the same musical sensibility — proof that technical death metal could carry genuine dynamic nuance. Kollias built his reputation on sustained extreme velocity: his heel-toe double-bass technique lets him hold blast beats above 240 BPM with a clarity few drummers can match even briefly, and he has taught that technique explicitly through instructional DVDs, emphasizing relaxation over tension and endurance training over short bursts of speed. Where Christy's technical peak was musicality inside complexity, Kollias's technical peak is raw, sustained velocity delivered with total control. ## Key Differences Christy played a Pearl Masters Custom kit with maple shells — a single 22"x18" bass drum, compact four-piece tom setup, and a Pearl Sensitone or Masters Maple snare at 14"x5.5" or 6.5" — paired with Sabian AA and AAX cymbals, a Pearl P-2002C PowerShifter Eliminator double pedal, and Vic Firth American Classic 5A/5B sticks, all captured at Morrisound Recording under producer Jim Morris. Kollias plays a far larger Pearl Masterworks Stadium Exotic kit with maple/birch hybrid shells and double 22"x18" bass drums for live shows, driven by the Pearl Demon XR double pedal he co-designed with Pearl's engineers specifically for extreme-speed playing, cut through with Zildjian K Custom Dark and A Custom cymbals, and struck with his own Vic Firth SGK signature sticks — extended-length models built for reach and balanced speed. Christy's defining trait was range within a single album: "The Sound of Perseverance" moves from the relentless blast-beat fury of "Spirit Crusher" to the restrained, almost ambient touch required for the instrumental "Voice of the Soul," and Christy delivered both with the same kit and the same musical sensibility — proof that technical death metal could carry genuine dynamic nuance. Kollias built his reputation on sustained extreme velocity: his heel-toe double-bass technique lets him hold blast beats above 240 BPM with a clarity few drummers can match even briefly, and he has taught that technique explicitly through instructional DVDs, emphasizing relaxation over tension and endurance training over short bursts of speed. Where Christy's technical peak was musicality inside complexity, Kollias's technical peak is raw, sustained velocity delivered with total control. ## Influence & Legacy Christy's work on Death's final album cemented his place in technical death metal history before he pivoted to a second career in entertainment on The Howard Stern Show, and his Death To All tribute performances have kept his metal legacy visible to new listeners. Kollias has spent two decades pushing extreme-tempo blast-beat technique forward with Nile while openly teaching his methods through instructional materials and worldwide clinics — a rare combination of elite performance and generous pedagogy that has shaped how an entire generation of extreme metal drummers approaches speed training. ## Verdict Richard Christy and George Kollias represent technical death metal's musicality-versus-velocity axis from two different eras. Christy proved on "The Sound of Perseverance" that the same drummer could deliver relentless blast beats and genuinely restrained musicality within a single album, a legacy he built before stepping away from full-time metal into entertainment. Kollias has spent twenty years with Nile pushing sustained blast-beat speed past 240 BPM while teaching the technique openly to the next generation. Both are blast-beat specialists whose playing reshaped what technical death metal drumming could sound like — just measured on different axes. ## FAQ **Q: What are the main differences between Richard Christy's and George Kollias's drum kits?** A: Richard Christy plays Tama Starclassic Maple with Sabian cymbals, while George Kollias uses Pearl Masterworks Stadium Exotic (Piano Black with Gold Hardware) with Zildjian cymbals. Christy played a Pearl Masters Custom kit with maple shells — a single 22"x18" bass drum, compact four-piece tom setup, and a Pearl Sensitone or Masters Maple snare at 14"x5.5" or 6.5" — paired with Sabian AA and AAX cymbals, a Pearl P-2002C PowerShifter Eliminator double pedal, and Vic Firth American Classic 5A/5B sticks, all captured at Morrisound Recording under producer Jim Morris. Kollias plays a far larger Pearl Masterworks Stadium Exotic kit with maple/birch hybrid shells and double 22"x18" bass drums for live shows, driven by the Pearl Demon XR double pedal he co-designed with Pearl's engineers specifically for extreme-speed playing, cut through with Zildjian K Custom Dark and A Custom cymbals, and struck with his own Vic Firth SGK signature sticks — extended-length models built for reach and balanced speed. **Q: What drums does Richard Christy play vs George Kollias?** A: Richard Christy plays Tama Starclassic Maple. George Kollias plays Pearl Masterworks Stadium Exotic (Piano Black with Gold Hardware). **Q: Who is the better extreme / death / black metal drummer, Richard Christy or George Kollias?** A: Both are legends in their own right. Richard Christy and George Kollias represent technical death metal's musicality-versus-velocity axis from two different eras. See the full analysis at [metalforge.io/vs/richard-christy-vs-george-kollias](https://metalforge.io/vs/richard-christy-vs-george-kollias). **Q: What cymbals do Richard Christy and George Kollias use?** A: Richard Christy uses Sabian AAX & HHX Series (14" AAX Stage Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" AAX X-Plosion Crashes, 21" HHX Raw Bell Dry Ride, 18" AAX Chinese). George Kollias uses Zildjian (14" K Mastersound Hi-Hats, 17" & 18" K Custom Dark Crashes, 21" A Custom Mega Bell Ride, 18" China). --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/richard-christy-vs-george-kollias](https://metalforge.io/vs/richard-christy-vs-george-kollias)* *[Richard Christy drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/richard-christy)* *[George Kollias drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/george-kollias)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-09 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*