Martin Axenrot vs Lars Ulrich — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Martin Axenrot (Opeth) vs Lars Ulrich (Metallica). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Martin Axenrot use?
Martin Axenrot uses DW (Drum Workshop) — custom, maple/gum shells with SABIAN HHX / AAX Series (HHX Groove Hats, HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash, HHX Legacy Ride, HHX Chinese, AAX Splash). Martin Axenrot plays a custom hand-made DW kit with maple/gum shells, per his own account in a 2016 MusicRadar interview, with SABIAN HHX/AAX cymbals per SABIAN's own artist page, and Pro-Mark sticks. His hardware setup has not been independently verified. Lars Ulrich plays a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with his signature Tama LU1465 14x6.5" snare and Zildjian A Custom Series cymbals (14" Dyno Beat Hi-Hats, 16", 17" & 18" Rock Crashes, 20" Z Custom China, 22" Ride), powered by a Tama Iron Cobra 900 Power Glide double pedal and Ahead Lars Ulrich Signature aluminum sticks.
What drum kit does Lars Ulrich use?
Lars Ulrich uses Tama Starclassic Maple with Zildjian A Custom Series (14" Dyno Beat Hi-Hats, 16", 17" & 18" Rock Crashes, 20" Z Custom China, 22" Ride). Martin Axenrot plays a custom hand-made DW kit with maple/gum shells, per his own account in a 2016 MusicRadar interview, with SABIAN HHX/AAX cymbals per SABIAN's own artist page, and Pro-Mark sticks. His hardware setup has not been independently verified. Lars Ulrich plays a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with his signature Tama LU1465 14x6.5" snare and Zildjian A Custom Series cymbals (14" Dyno Beat Hi-Hats, 16", 17" & 18" Rock Crashes, 20" Z Custom China, 22" Ride), powered by a Tama Iron Cobra 900 Power Glide double pedal and Ahead Lars Ulrich Signature aluminum sticks.
Which is better, Martin Axenrot or Lars Ulrich?
Martin Axenrot and Lars Ulrich sit at opposite ends of metal's drumming spectrum despite both anchoring era-defining bands. Axenrot inherited one of progressive death metal's most demanding drum chairs at Opeth in 2006, carrying the band through a dramatic stylistic evolution while doubling down on twin-kick power drawn from his extreme metal roots. Ulrich co-founded Metallica in 1981 and turned thrash metal's mid-tempo groove into a stadium-filling global phenomenon without ever chasing technical complexity for its own sake. The debate is progressive death metal's modern powerhouse versus thrash metal's most commercially iconic songwriting drummer.