Blake Richardson vs Travis Orbin — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Blake Richardson (Between the Buried and Me) vs Travis Orbin (Darkest Hour / ex-Periphery). 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 (Custom Finish) with a Tama STARPHONIC 14x6" Brass snare and Sabian cymbals (14" HHX Evolution Hi-Hats, 18" HHX Evolution Crash, 17" & 21" AAX Holy Chinas, 21" HH Raw Bell Dry Ride), driven by twin Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide single pedals for independent double-kick patterns. Travis Orbin plays SJC Custom Drums with an SJC Custom 14x6.5" Maple snare and Zildjian K Custom Series cymbals (14" K Custom Dark Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Custom Dark Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride), paired with a DW 9000 Series double pedal and a Roland SPD-SX sampling pad for the electronic triggers central to his sound.
What drum kit does Travis Orbin use?
Travis Orbin uses SJC Custom Drums with Zildjian K Custom Series (14" K Custom Dark Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Custom Dark Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride, 18" K Custom China). Blake Richardson plays a Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit (Custom Finish) with a Tama STARPHONIC 14x6" Brass snare and Sabian cymbals (14" HHX Evolution Hi-Hats, 18" HHX Evolution Crash, 17" & 21" AAX Holy Chinas, 21" HH Raw Bell Dry Ride), driven by twin Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide single pedals for independent double-kick patterns. Travis Orbin plays SJC Custom Drums with an SJC Custom 14x6.5" Maple snare and Zildjian K Custom Series cymbals (14" K Custom Dark Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" K Custom Dark Crashes, 21" K Custom Ride), paired with a DW 9000 Series double pedal and a Roland SPD-SX sampling pad for the electronic triggers central to his sound.
Which is better, Blake Richardson or Travis Orbin?
Blake Richardson and Travis Orbin represent two of progressive metalcore's most technically demanding drumming traditions, both orbiting the scene Periphery helped ignite. Richardson is Between the Buried and Me's two-decade compositional chameleon, fusing death metal brutality with jazz-informed odd-meter intricacy across Grammy-nominated albums. Orbin is djent-adjacent progressive metal's hyper-precision specialist, carrying the polyrhythmic precision he built independent of Periphery's recorded discography into thrash and session work. Both answer "who is the best technical metalcore drummer?" from adjacent but distinct angles — Richardson through genre-blending complexity, Orbin through polymetric speed and precision.