THE BATTERY SERIES : Bryce Butler / Abigail Williams, Aeolia, An Isolationist, Bryker, Circuit Of Suns, Contrarian, Dei Aemeth, Entombment, Lizard Professor, Lord Mantis, Nociceptor,

1.What is your name and what band do you play for? 
My name is Bryce Butler,  and I currently play for the following bands...

Abigail Williams, Aeolia, An Isolationist, Bryker, Circuit Of Suns, Contrarian, Dei Aemeth, Entombment, Lizard Professor, Lord Mantis, Nociceptor, and Valiant Crusade. I've also recently filled in for Shadow Of Intent, and Galactic Empire.

2.Who made you want to play drums and why?
 I started playing drums at 3 while watching The Eagles play "Get Over It" on the TV.  Drumming came naturally to me because I'm from a musical family.  I didn't get serious about drumming until I was 15 and saw The Rev from Avenged Sevenfold and Mike Portnoy on YouTube.  They both write incredible drum parts, and when I realized that playing drums was their full time job, I knew exactly what i wanted to do.
  

3.When did you get your first kit? Tell us about it…I got my first kit at 3 1/2. I think it was just an off brand kit, but it was all black with 3 toms,  and I remember having all Zildjian Scimitar cymbals!

4.Where your parents supportive of you and your loud / expensive new habit?

My parents have always been the most supportive.  They were the ones who discovered I was keeping time on stools, pots, and pans, and bought me my first 3 drum kits. I don't know where I'd be without their constant love, support, and encouragement!

5.What drum performance on an album is perfection to you?

I think there's a few for me!!

Between The Buried and Me - Obfuscation
Animals As Leaders - The Joy Of Motion
Between The Buried and Me - Parallax EP / Parallax 2 Album
Circa Survive - On Letting Go

6.Tell us about your current kit and set up in DETAIL.

Truth Custom Maple kit with Black and Blue glass glitter finish
22x18 Kick
10x9 Rack Tom
12x10 Rack Tom
16x16 Floor Tom
13x7 Hybrid Snare (Maple/ acrylic/ maple)

Sabian Cymbals (left to right)
8" AA Metal Splash
14" AAX-Celerator Hi Hats
18" AAX-Plosion Fast Crash
8" Paragon Splash
6" AA Splash
10" HHX Evolution Splash/10" AA Holy China
19" AAX-Plosion Fast Crash
10" HHX Splash/16" AAX Ozone Crash
21" HH Raw Bell Dry Ride
10"HHX Evolution Splash/14" HHX Evolution China
19" AA Holy China
 

7.If you could have a dream kit tell us about it in DETAIL

Tama Star bubinga with some crazy custom finish. (Still not exactly sure]
22x17 Kick
8x6 Rack Tom
10x7 Rack Tom
12x8 Rack Tom
14x12 Floor Tom
16x14 Floor Tom
18x16 Floor Tom
13x7 Snare
And about 15 top of the line Sabian cymbals. I'm still finding my favorite combinationcombinations!

8.Name your top 5 drummers excluding Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy

1. Matt Gartska
2. Tomas Haake
3. Elliot Hoffman
4. Gavin Harrison
5. Blake Richardson

9. Do you prefer Live or Studio?
  
 

I love both for different reasons. The energy from a live crowd is incredible,  but there's also something really cool and intimate about the process of recording. it's impossible to pick and that's why I'll always do both. I do like improvising no matter what though. Whether it's live or recording,  I'm usually making up every fill on the spot. There's something amazing about that rawness... you don't know exactly what you're going to get. Sometimes something will just come out that I could never have planned or written,  and i love that.

10.Do drummers really get all the chicks and if so how do we convince the guitarist?
  

We do tend to attract more women for some reason haha It might be because we have the most physically demanding instrument by far, so we tend to be in better shape. It might also be the combination of hitting things and drummer faces (which are essentially just our sex faces). Having long hair also helps hahaha 
Also forgot to include in my current setup that I use Los Cabos Drumsticks (Rock Red Hickory) and ACD Unlimited Darwin pedals. Thank you so much!!

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