Alex Bent vs Matt Garstka — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Alex Bent (ex-Trivium / Arkaik / Dragonlord) vs Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Alex Bent use?
Alex Bent uses Pearl Reference Pure Series with Zildjian (14" K Custom Hybrid Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Custom Hybrid Crashes, 21" K Custom Hybrid Ride, 18" A Custom China). Alex Bent plays a TAMA Starclassic Maple kit with a TAMA Starclassic Maple 14x5" snare and Zildjian K Custom Hybrid cymbals, driven by an Axis A Longboard double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, driven by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal and his own Vic Firth Matt Garstka Signature sticks.
What drum kit does Matt Garstka use?
Matt Garstka uses DW Collector's Series with Meinl Byzance Series (15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, 22" Dual Ride). Alex Bent plays a TAMA Starclassic Maple kit with a TAMA Starclassic Maple 14x5" snare and Zildjian K Custom Hybrid cymbals, driven by an Axis A Longboard double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, driven by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal and his own Vic Firth Matt Garstka Signature sticks.
Which is better, Alex Bent or Matt Garstka?
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. 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.