Anders Nordin / Martin Lopez / Martin "axe" Axenrot?

[NicholasDWolfwood]

I don't think Axe fits Opeth at all personally. A lot of the stuff he did on Watershed was just an imitation of Lopez with sloppier fills and unoriginal mellow drumming. Lopez is arguably one of the only drummers I've ever listened to that wasn't predictable in some fashion. Sure, he has his own unique style, but it constantly evolved and there was always a surprise right around the corner.

Listen to "My Arms, Your Hearse" and tell me that Lopez wasn't stiff on that record.

Lopez relied way too much on his "signature beat" (a double paradiddle, I think it is?) and other various beats and fills to be "not predictable." I could listen to any song he's played, having not heard it before, and predict almost exactly where it was going before he even played it. I'm not trashing the guy, because I loved his drumming, but saying that he wasn't predictable is pretty farfetched for any sort of musician.

 

[Gramm]

Let's wait and see what Axes impact will be on Opeth... So far I'm sticking with Lopez. His drumming is just amazing. Just listen to "Reverie/Harlequin Forest"... Insane patterns!

 

[SerenityNow!]

I think we should wait until there are more than 1 album with Axe (not including Roundhouse). I thought he sounded pretty good on that, granted he does bash his drums a little more. My only complaint was his performance on Face Of Melinda. I didn't care much for his interpretation of that song, but for the rest, he did pretty damn good.

 

[Violens]

I wonder if Lopez is self taught or has ever taken lesson in any form..

 

[the opeth affinity]

I don't think Axe fits Opeth at all personally. A lot of the stuff he did on Watershed was just an imitation of Lopez with sloppier fills and unoriginal mellow drumming. Lopez is arguably one of the only drummers I've ever listened to that wasn't predictable in some fashion. Sure, he has his own unique style, but it constantly evolved and there was always a surprise right around the corner.

^ Sums it all up really i miss the lopez

 

[the opeth affinity]

Listen to "My Arms, Your Hearse" and tell me that Lopez wasn't stiff on that record.

Lopez relied way too much on his "signature beat" (a double paradiddle, I think it is?) and other various beats and fills to be "not predictable." I could listen to any song he's played, having not heard it before, and predict almost exactly where it was going before he even played it. I'm not trashing the guy, because I loved his drumming, but saying that he wasn't predictable is pretty farfetched for any sort of musician.

Were lopez's success lay as far as 'unpredictable' and rythmic was is in his snare work, i dont play drums but am admitantly better than mike at the hairy banjo, lamentations is a great example of lopez owning the snare and his 'out of time drumming' is rythmic sincerity, it the only way i can describe it, the man fused his passion for metal with his own cultural background and muscianship, when is the bronze statue in time square going up?

 

[JoeVice]

i really enjoy his melodic jazzy snare work during the growling part at the end of the lotus eater. to me, that is axe's identity at its prime in opeth context.

 

[Longinus]

Lopez relied way too much on his "signature beat" (a double paradiddle, I think it is?) and other various beats and fills to be "not predictable." I could listen to any song he's played, having not heard it before, and predict almost exactly where it was going before he even played it. I'm not trashing the guy, because I loved his drumming, but saying that he wasn't predictable is pretty farfetched for any sort of musician.

I had to post again after seeing this.

I mean, I agree to a certain degree, in that Lopez seems more stiff on that record than on the others but I have to say that songs like "Karma" clearly don't warrant a "predictable". That song is just well composed craziness on the drumming part. It's like "Dance of Eternity" but as in making sense.


As for the thread:
Someone brought up the point that we should compare all of the drummers' first albums. That comparison would be a good one if they were all about the same age when drumming in Opeth for the first time. But Axe, as we have to suspect, has just as much experience in drumming as Lopez , and therefore we cannot expect a 28 year old to still develop as much as Lopez did back then when he started at the age of 18. That said, I hold Lopez more close to me for encouraging me to play drums. I don't think Axe would have made such an impact on me would he have been there from the start. And the "chaos" section in that Watershed song, which isn't really all that chaotic but amateur, really turned me off, too. I do, however, acknowledge that he is drumming great for the rest of the two songs , and I give him props for attempting Lopez' stuff. Not because I think Axe pales totally in comparison, but because they have totally different backgrounds. If he does manage to incorporate Lopez' style into his own however, we are in for a real treat.

 

[wut wut]

I voted Lopez.

I like Axe a lot, though. Lopez was a perfect fit for Opeth... simply put, there's no replacing him. But of all the drummers out there to fill the vacant spot, Axe was a great choice.

 

[TheGreatColdOpeth]

Lopez. My biggest influence as a drummer and my hero.


And yes, he is the wind beneath my fucking wings... I'm NOT joking.

 

[Albatros]

Oh, by the way! I must say that axes drumming fits best the new Opeth!
However I have a big love for old Opeth, so Lopez 4 me.

 

[DarkBarrage99]

all three drummers kick ass, i cant make up my mind, you fuck!

 

[hibernal_dream]

Lopez basically inherited Nordin style, as Axe did Lopez'. Nordin was the forefather of the Opeth drumming style, and we should duly crown him king.

 

[chrisdoig24k]

Meh, they're too different to say 'better' or 'worse'.

 

[Markitos`s apprentices]

having heard the new album i realise that lopez was very impotant for opeth, the drums is not the same since lopez`s left U.U

 

[perpetual_black_force]

Axe should go and fuck himself. Waste of space, he is, in my opinion.

 

[Markitos`s apprentices]

lopez added all the south-american influence in opeth, and his drumroll (i dont know if it is the correct word) anyway, his drumroll is less orthodox than axe`s one.

 

[joshthesquash]

It's kind of ridiculous to put Axe up against 2 drummers who we are familiar with on studio albums. Maybe try this poll again once Watershed is out and we've heard Axe doing his own thing on the new songs.

Still I voted for Lopez, but I saw Axe last night in Toronto and he was insane.

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

Axe should go and fuck himself. Waste of space, he is, in my opinion.

bannination plzkthx

 

[R-Stuur]

Lopez by a MILE