EZX Drums Of Destruction

DESIGNED TO DESTROY!

Lamb of God duo Josh Wilbur and Chris Adler deliver a battery of drums, designed for complete and utter destruction.

The Drums of Destruction EZX was produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Josh Wilbur together with Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. Individually, they have been forerunners with several groundbreaking works in their respective fields for close to two decades and together, widely acclaimed for having shaped the sound that’s made Lamb of God a mainstay force on the modern metal scene.

The Drums of Destruction EZX comes with two full kits, one of which is Chris’ personal Mapex set while the other is a Pearl Reference kit that was handpicked by Josh and used on several of his productions. In addition, it includes five snares, one extra kick as well as Chris’ trademark abundance of cymbals. It was recorded through an SSL4064G+, various chains of analogue outboard and captured with carefully selected microphones at Josh’s studio of choice, Hybrid Studios in Orange Country, CA. With its perfectly treated one-thousand-square-foot live room, it has proved time and time again in countless sessions to be an ideal location for ambient but still tight and defined drums that have a transparent character.

Combined, the Drums of Destruction EZX gives you Chris with his forceful, driving and unique style of drumming paired with Josh’s cutting edge but still organic-sounding production style. Add to that a broad collection of custom presets, both those engineered by Josh himself, resembling a selection of highlights from his catalogue, as well as those engineered from the ground up without any reference.

No matter how crushing your guitars or bass may be, a strong foundation of drums is a key factor in any metal mix. These are drums designed to destroy. Prepare for havoc and utter destruction. You have been warned.

Features

Two kits (Mapex, Pearl), three kicks and five snares
Recorded at Hybrid Studios, Orange Country, CA
Engineered/produced by Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Megadeth, Korn, Gojira)
Sampled by Chris Adler (Lamb of God)
14 mix-ready presets as well as five custom “No bus FX” presets designed for multi-out purposes
A selection of Lamb of God songs in MIDI format, performed by Chris Adler

The Studio

Hybrid Studios in Orange County, CA, is a marvel of modern studio craftsmanship. In addition to boasting a nine-hundred-square-foot control room stocked with the royalty of consoles, the SSL4064G+, a to-die-for collection of outboard gear and microphones it also houses a perfectly treated one-thousand-square-foot live room, ideal for capturing drums.
“Hybrid is a great place to make a sample library. The room is designed and tuned to be perfectly neutral. It really showcases exactly what the drums are giving you. Each cymbal becomes perfectly clear and not lost in a wash. That’s always important to me when tracking drums.” commented producer Josh Wilbur on why Hybrid was his number one studio pick for this project.

The Microphones & Signal Chains

Josh breaks down his microphone positioning and signal chain philosophy!

• Kicks: Shure BETA 52A – Neve 1073 – Distressor
• Snares: Audix i5 and Shure BETA 98A (blended on top) – Sennheiser e 609 on bottom – all Neve 1073 – Distressor bussed together through the SSL G+.
• Crashes: All crashes were through API mic pres. The only EQ is minimal high pass filter.
  For microphones, he used:
• AKG C451 B on the crashes
• AKG C414 on the ride
• Octavas on splashes
• Neumann KM84 on hats
• Neumann U87 for room
• Toms: Shure BETA 98A on top and Sennheiser MD421 on the bottom rack toms and AKG D112 on the bottom of the floor toms tops and bottoms were bussed together with EQ through the SSL G+.

The cymbal microphones are positioned more as spots rather than overheads. It gives more control over each individual crash and splash. The only compression was on the kicks and snares. The toms and overheads he never compresses going in.

Instrument List

Kick 1
16x22" Mapex Versatus Prototype
18x24" Pearl Reference
18x22" Pearl Masters Studio

Kick 2
16x22" Mapex Versatus Prototype
18x24" Pearl Reference
18x22" Pearl Masters Studio

Snare
5.5x12" Mapex "Warbird" Chris Adler Signature
6x13" Mapex Black Panther Nomad Brass
6.5x14" Mapex Black Panther Hammered Brass
6x14" Pearl Reference
8x14" Gretsch USA Custom

Hi-Hats
14" Meinl Soundcaster/Meinl Byzance
14" Sabian AA

Racktom 1
7x10" Mapex Versatus Prototype
9x10" Pearl Reference

Racktom 2
7x12" Mapex Versatus Prototype
9x12" Pearl Reference

Floortom 1
15x16" Mapex Versatus Prototype
14x14" Pearl Reference

Floortom 2
16x18" Mapex Versatus Prototype
16x16" Pearl Reference

X-Hats
14" Meinl Soundcaster/Meinl Byzance

Ride
24" Meinl Byzance Pure Metal Ride
21" Sabian AA Rock Ride
21" Zildjian Z3 Mega Bell Ride

China 1
14" Meinl Generation X Filter China

Splash FX
12" Meinl Soundcaster Custom Distortion Splash

Splash Bell
8" Meinl Candela Bell

Cymbal 1
14" Meinl Soundcaster Custom Medium
15" Meinl Byzance Traditional Thin Crash

Splash 1
8" Meinl Byzance Traditional Splash

Cymbal 2
14" Meinl Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash
17" Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash

Cymbal 3
16" Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash

Splash 2
8" Meinl Byzance Traditional Splash
8" Sabian AA Splash

Cymbal 4
18" Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash
19" Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash

China 2
18" Meinl Byzance Traditional China
20" Zildjian A Custom China

China 3
16" Meinl Generation X Filter China