Bill Ward vs Ben Koller — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) vs Ben Koller (Converge / Mutoid Man / Killer Be Killed). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Bill Ward use?
Bill Ward uses Ludwig Classic Maple with Paiste 2002 & Giant Beat Series (15" Giant Beat Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" 2002 Crashes, 24" 2002 Ride, 18" 2002 China). Bill Ward played a Ludwig Super Classic (later Ludwig Classic Maple) kit with a Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5" LM402 snare and Zildjian Avedis Series cymbals, including a 20" ride, driven by a single Ludwig Speed King pedal — no double bass throughout his entire career. Ben Koller plays a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with a Tama S.L.P. 14x6" Brass snare and Zildjian K Dark Series cymbals (14" K Dark Thin Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Dark Medium Thin Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride, 18" K China), driven by a Tama Iron Cobra 900 double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks.
What drum kit does Ben Koller use?
Ben Koller uses Tama Starclassic Maple with Zildjian (14" K Dark Thin Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Dark Medium Thin Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride, 18" K China). Bill Ward played a Ludwig Super Classic (later Ludwig Classic Maple) kit with a Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5" LM402 snare and Zildjian Avedis Series cymbals, including a 20" ride, driven by a single Ludwig Speed King pedal — no double bass throughout his entire career. Ben Koller plays a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with a Tama S.L.P. 14x6" Brass snare and Zildjian K Dark Series cymbals (14" K Dark Thin Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Dark Medium Thin Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride, 18" K China), driven by a Tama Iron Cobra 900 double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks.
Which is better, Bill Ward or Ben Koller?
Bill Ward and Ben Koller sit at opposite ends of heavy music's rhythmic spectrum, separated by nearly three decades but linked by the same instinct to push feel over formula. Ward invented metal's jazz-swung, single-pedal foundation in 1968, prioritizing dynamics and space over speed on records that created the genre from nothing. Koller took that same emphasis on feel and pushed it toward controlled chaos, making Converge's unpredictable mathcore assault feel dangerous precisely because it thrives on gut-level instinct rather than rehearsed precision. One wrote heavy metal drumming's first chapter; the other proved that raw feel could still define extreme music decades later.