Rings Of Saturn’s upcoming album. Ultu Ulla, scheduled for release on July 28, 2017, is the band’s fourth studio album and marks their debut on the Nuclear Blast label. The band’s first single from the new album is “Inadequate,” which debuted one week ago, and drummer Aaron Stechauner created a playthrough video for the song, which debuts today, June 13.
With Rings Of Saturn, Stechauner plays Tama Starclassic Maple drums (13″ x 7″ Tama S.L.P. G-Maple snare, 12″ x 10″ mounted tom, 16″ x 14″ floor tom, and 22″ x 18″ bass drum); Meinl cymbals (14″ Byzance Traditional hi-hats; 18″ and 20″ Byzance Brilliant crashes; 18″ Byzance Traditional China; and 21″ Byzance Brilliant Serpents ride); Remo drumheads (Bass drum: Powerstroke 3 Clear or Coated; Snare drum: Emperor X Coated; Toms: Emperor Coated); and Vic Firth CM and MS2 drumsticks.
Stechauner also uses Westone ES30 in-ear monitors.
“The choice was easy,” Stechuner says of his equipment choices. “They’re all killing the game and make the most fantastic sounding gear within their respective fields.”
Drum asked Stechauner to share his musical background and influences as a drummer.
“My musical background is a lot of rock, progressive, and jazz music,” he says. “When I was young, my dad was the one who really instilled my passion for music. We listened to a lot of bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X, and later on some heavier stuff like Opeth. Lots of Opeth [laughs]. I played primarily jazz in school, all the way from middle school to college. This included school band, performing arts schools, college conservatories, and outside music programs. Some of the biggest influences within the past few years for me have been The Dear Hunter, Gavin Harrison, The Mars Volta, Blink-182, Tides Of Man, Bad Suns, and Don Broco.”
Stechauner says that tracked the drums for Ultu Ulla with Jesse Kirkbride and Chris Whited at Kirkbride Recordings, a home studio in Fort Meyers, Florida. “It was really painless,” Stechauner says of the project. “We set up on day one, tracked eight songs on the second day, and finished with the ninth song the morning of day three. I was with Chris while he finished up the editing, and that was that. Super quick and fun process.”
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