Odeholm Drums is the first full drum library from producer Buster Odeholm, built for the crushing precision of modern metal. Its sound “delivers the unmistakable precision and crushing power” of Buster’s Humanity’s Last Breath kit. Under the hood it actually comes as two separate Kontakt instruments: a “Processed” kit pre-loaded with Buster’s signature mix-ready tone, and an “Unprocessed” kit of pristine drum samples for custom shaping. In practice this means you can either drop in a finished, studio-polished drum sound instantly or dive in and sculpt the raw hits yourself. In short, the library is designed to give production-ready drums out of the box without killing your CPU.
Dual Libraries: Ready-Made vs. Customizable Tones
Odeholm Drums’ dual-NKI setup is its cleverest innovation. The Processed kit was handcrafted to sound like Buster’s final mix right away, so even a straight MIDI drum track can burst into life with minimal tweaking. You still have all the usual Kontakt controls (volume, EQ, etc.) on each drum if you want, but the heavy lifting is done by the sample. By contrast, the Unprocessed kit gives you raw drum recordings with no added compression or distortion. If you need a different vibe – a drier snare, different ambience, or unique tone shaping – you can mix the hit samples as you please (adding your own plugins, tuning, reverb, etc.).
The advantage for a high-level producer is clear: you can often use the Processed kit to speed through a mix, then switch to Unprocessed if you want to fine-tune the sound later. In my experience, that flexibility is a game-changer for both tight deadlines and creative experimentation. It’s like having two drum libraries in one – the “studio answer” plus a sandbox of raw sounds for your own twist.
A Complete, Punchy Drum Kit
Odeholm Drums’ kit itself is impressively comprehensive, with the elements needed for heavy metal and rock. It includes:
Kick Drum: A thunderous 22″ kick (with realistic alternation for double-kick patterns).
Snare Drum: A crisp snare sampled with four tuning options (Low, Medium, High, Higher) so you can match the snare pitch to the music.
Toms: Four toms of various depths and sizes, all deep and punchy for thunderous fills.
Hi-Hats: Two styles (open and closed) with multiple velocity layers for natural response.
Cymbals: Over ten core cymbals (crashes, rides, splashes, etc.) with multiple variations each. You get enough cymbal choices to cover everything from tight metal crashes to open rock rides.
One-Shot Samples: Extra “one-shot” kicks and snares that trigger at the loudest hits for extra punch on the unprocessed kit.
Each part of the kit was recorded with high-quality gear: Odeholm used sE Electronics mics and captured multiple dynamic layers and round-robin variations. This means every hit feels real – the snare attack, the hi-hat wash, the metallic shimmer of cymbals, even the subtle bleed and stick noise. In short, the drum hits sound alive and detailed. (I could hear this firsthand when dialing in my first mix – no hollow, synthetic tones here.)
Mixer-Style Controls and Workflow Features
Beyond the raw samples, Odeholm Drums packs smart interface features that speed up mixing. It includes built-in mixing tools like dedicated reverb channels (a hallmark of Buster’s sound) and sustain/pitch/polarity controls on each drum. In practice, that feels almost like having a mini-mixer inside Kontakt. You can quickly adjust how long drums ring out or reshape their tone without touching an external EQ.
Other key workflow features:
Left-Handed Toggle: Instantly switch the kit between right- or left-handed layouts.
Double-Kick Switch: A built-in alternation mode simulates the swapping of kick-drum samples for realistic double-bass playing.
MIDI Mapping Modes: The library offers a default MIDI map and an alternate map that mirrors other popular drum layouts (like the GGD format), so you can drop it into projects quickly. Plus you can save and export your own custom mappings.
One-Shot Channels: On the Unprocessed kit, the extra kick/snare one-shots kick in at max velocity for an added blast – great for an extra punch in the mix.
All these options are laid out in a clean Kontakt GUI. As one review put it, Odeholm Drums is “truly mix-ready” – the team “baked that signature sound directly into the library”. In practical terms, that means you often skip dozens of plug-ins: the tonality and dynamics are already there, so you don’t need 20 EQ and compression tracks to glue the drums.
In the studio I found Odeholm Drums fit seamlessly into modern production. Its free Kontakt Player compatibility means no extra sampler license is needed, and it ran smoothly on my setup. The Processed kit required only minor tweaks – I often just checked the pitch and hit play – because it already sounds “larger-than-life” out of the box. If I needed a more unique tone, the Unprocessed version gave me full control: for example, I could raise the snare pitch and adjust its sustain to match a rock mix, all from the Kontakt panel.
Quality and Efficiency for Metal & Rock
Odeholm Drums was clearly built for extreme metal (notice the emphasis on “thall” and djent tones), but its tone also sits well in broader genres like hard rock. The processed drums have a bright, punchy edge that cuts through mixes – useful in any rock production. And because the raw kit is so flexible, you can dial in cleaner, drier sounds or more compression as needed.
As a producer/mix engineer, the biggest takeaway is trust: the kit sounds professional right away. I’ve already used Odeholm Drums on two of my recent projects and in each case the drums elevated the production.
In summary, Odeholm Drums is a serious solution for modern workflows. It lives natively in Kontakt (via Native Access), so installation and integration are painless. It combines high-end recording and mixing presets (“studio in a box”) with the editable controls that pros demand. For metal and rock productions – whether you’re chasing that next thall hit or a big rock single – Odeholm Drums delivers quality, consistency, and convenience. It’s exactly the kind of innovative drum instrument I’ve been looking for in the studio, and one I expect to rely on for years to come.
Sources: Official Odeholm Drums product info and announcement. All features and kit details are documented by Odeholm Audio and verified in use.
