Blake Richardson vs Matt Garstka — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Blake Richardson (Between the Buried and Me) vs Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Blake Richardson use?
Blake Richardson uses Tama Starclassic Bubinga (Custom Finish) with Sabian (14" HHX Evolution Hi-Hats, 18" HHX Evolution Crash, 17" & 21" AAX Holy Chinas, 21" HH Raw Bell Dry Ride, 10" HH Duo Splash, 9" Radia Cup Chime). Blake Richardson plays a Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit with a Tama STARPHONIC 14x6" Brass snare and Sabian cymbals (including 17" and 21" AAX Holy Chinas), driven by twin Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide single pedals for independent double-kick patterns. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals (15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, 22" Dual Ride), powered by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 Double Pedal.
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). Blake Richardson plays a Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit with a Tama STARPHONIC 14x6" Brass snare and Sabian cymbals (including 17" and 21" AAX Holy Chinas), driven by twin Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide single pedals for independent double-kick patterns. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals (15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, 22" Dual Ride), powered by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 Double Pedal.
Which is better, Blake Richardson or Matt Garstka?
Blake Richardson and Matt Garstka represent tech/math metal's new generation from two different bands built around instrumental ambition. Richardson built his reputation navigating Between the Buried and Me's constantly shifting genre identity across two decades, treating chaos as compositional language. Garstka brought jazz-fusion virtuosity to Animals as Leaders' djent-rooted instrumental catalog, turning polyrhythmic complexity into fluid, almost conversational playing. Both answer "who represents the future of technical metal drumming?" from opposite angles — Richardson through genre-hopping unpredictability, Garstka through polymetric fluency.