Rotten Roots & Dead Seeds

The recording

Drum recording took place in Soitin Jylhä studios in Muurame, Finland, on the 21st-22nd of February 2025. Rising producer, and metal veteran, Arttu Lesonen took care of the recording and engineering side of things. Total of 5 songs were drum tracked during the session, in just 15 hours (plus loading and setup time). This was extremely challenging, as the songs are very demanding.

I spent lots of time playing flam paradiddles with flat flams (unison flam), in order for the tempos to be manageable. I have no methods of playing 8th notes at 315 BPM single handed for extended periods of time, so I had to find ways to make the tempos work. Overall, I wished there was more time for the session since the days were packed full, and I had no desire driving drum gear through the labyrinths of Lutakko, when major Nordic Power Metal Titans (Sonata Arctica & Stratovarius) took over the parking lot of the Lutakko venue.

Gear

Here’s the Pearl Reference Pure series drumkit used for the recording session:

• 20” x 16” kick drum
• 10” x 8” rack tom
• 12” x 9” rack tom
• 16” x 16” floor tom
• 13” x 5” Pearl Omar Hakim Signature snare drum

Cymbals:

• 18” Sabian Anthology High Bell Crash
• 18” Sabian Anthology Low Bell Crash
• 14” Sabian Anthology High Bell Hi-hats
• 21” Sabian AAX Omni Ride
• 10” Sabian HHX Evolution Splash
• 19” Sabian Paragon China