Raymond Herrera vs Matt Garstka — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Raymond Herrera (Fear Factory / Arkaea / Brujeria) vs Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Raymond Herrera use?
Raymond Herrera uses Tama Starclassic with Zildjian A Custom & Z Custom Series (14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" A Custom Crashes, 21" Z Custom Mega Bell Ride, 18" A Custom China). Raymond Herrera plays a Tama Starclassic kit with a Tama 14x6.5" Brass snare and Zildjian Z Custom cymbals, paired with a DW 5000 Series double pedal built for the rapid stop-go bursts his sound demands. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, driven by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal tuned for the ghost-note-dense, polyrhythmic patterns central to his sound.
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). Raymond Herrera plays a Tama Starclassic kit with a Tama 14x6.5" Brass snare and Zildjian Z Custom cymbals, paired with a DW 5000 Series double pedal built for the rapid stop-go bursts his sound demands. Matt Garstka plays a DW Collector's Series kit and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, driven by a Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal tuned for the ghost-note-dense, polyrhythmic patterns central to his sound.
Which is better, Raymond Herrera or Matt Garstka?
Raymond Herrera and Matt Garstka represent two distinct eras and philosophies of technical precision in metal drumming. Herrera pioneered a mechanical, stop-go approach that made a human drummer sound machine-built, defining industrial metal's rhythmic identity in the 1990s. Garstka represents djent and progressive metal's fusion-trained, polyrhythmic evolution — precision built from musicality and odd-meter complexity rather than mechanical restraint. Both answer the question "who is the most technically precise metal drummer?" from opposite directions: engineered tightness versus virtuosic fluidity.