affinityband
Member
For the record, Tool only do a world tour for about 4 months. Then the dont play very much for another 5 years lol. gay.
Lopez
- Thread starter umasser2004
- Start date
I just hope Martin recovers and is able to get on with his life. If he stays in Opeth, great, as he is easily one of the best and most interesting drummers in the world. It would be sad to see him depart from Opeth.
I hope Martin can lay off the Colombian marching powder long enough to get through a new album. I find it very hard to believe that after 8 years of touring he's suddenly having anxiety attacks etc. That sounds like a pretty easy code word for drugs, or bored, or whatever.
I hate to say it, but Martin Lopez isn't nearly as special as you guys make him out to be. I realise he's sick, and it's not really in the best taste to pick apart his drumming at this time, but besides his double bass playing, his drumming is very average, and sometimes just downright sloppy. I actually stopped and rewound a couple of times after hearing some of his drum parts on Damnation thinking to myself "did he really play that part THAT badly?". Also, if you pay close attention to Lamentations, he misses quite a few snare hits. I DO, however, think he made a huge improvement in his skills for Ghost Reveries. Either that or he just had a LOT more time in the studio to perfect everything, and a much better drum sound now that he's using Tama Starclassics. His playing on the new album sounds like a different drummer all together.
I only posted this because a couple people made some downright silly statements about his playing, saying things like "Danny Carey is the only guy that could fill his shoes". Seriously guys, I'm a drummer of 10 years experience, and if you only knew the difference between someone like Danny Carey and ML you wouldn't even consider them comparable. Danny Carey, or Mike Portnoy, or Thomas Lang, or Marco Minneman, or Virgil Donoti and guys like them have taken drumming to a level someone like MArtin Lopez couldn't even really understand. Martin Lopez is a great fit for Opeth, but not unreplaceable, not by a long shot. Also, I don't know why everyone is giving the new drummer a hard time. I saw him live a few months back, and I thought he did an incredible job. And that's not even to mention the fact that he had to learn all of opeth's songs in a short amount of time. I'd like to see Martin do it that quickly and that well.
BTW, I like martin lopez. Just wanted to clarify that. I dont have anything at all against the guy, and I think he'd probably agree with most of what I've said.
Bill
I only posted this because a couple people made some downright silly statements about his playing, saying things like "Danny Carey is the only guy that could fill his shoes". Seriously guys, I'm a drummer of 10 years experience, and if you only knew the difference between someone like Danny Carey and ML you wouldn't even consider them comparable. Danny Carey, or Mike Portnoy, or Thomas Lang, or Marco Minneman, or Virgil Donoti and guys like them have taken drumming to a level someone like MArtin Lopez couldn't even really understand. Martin Lopez is a great fit for Opeth, but not unreplaceable, not by a long shot. Also, I don't know why everyone is giving the new drummer a hard time. I saw him live a few months back, and I thought he did an incredible job. And that's not even to mention the fact that he had to learn all of opeth's songs in a short amount of time. I'd like to see Martin do it that quickly and that well.
BTW, I like martin lopez. Just wanted to clarify that. I dont have anything at all against the guy, and I think he'd probably agree with most of what I've said.
Bill
Bierce85 said:
I see what you're saying, and I definitely agree with what you're saying, however I think for Damnation he recorded the drums in like a day or something like that for the whole album because of the time constraints. I remember hearing something like that, like he recorded the drums for both D&Ds, in like two or three days. It's somewhere on the Lamentations documentary or in the D&D session diary. So while I understand and agree with what you're saying, Damnation (and Deliverance for that matter) aren't really good albums to use as examples because of the time constraints and the studio problems they had.
Thats a good point, and i did forget about that. But my main point still remains: he is not an excellent drummer, but I defenitely enjoy his drumming very much.
Bierce85 said:
IMHO, being a great drummer is not about how much snares you hit or miss, it's the feeling he puts into the music... And in the case Lopez he alone contributes SO MUCH to the sound that is Opeth... I know, he isn't the best drummer ever, but the feel he puts into the music is incredible...
True, but its certainly a big part of it. Sloppy musicianship brings down a bands sound, especially live. Mike and Peter are dead-on live. Mike is absolutely amazing IMO. He splits his brain into 2 parts amazingly well, and Peter is a very solid guitarist with great chops to add on. Martin Mendez is also very solid on bass. Martin Lopez is the only sloppy part of Opeths sound live. Believe me, if they had someone like Mike Portnoy, or Thomas Lang on drums, you would think they were even more perfect for the band and appreciate how solid they were.Rawr said:
^ Um... It's funny you make remarks like that because actually both Mike and Peter make WAY more fuck-up's live than Lopez (not that I'm saying they're making many fuck-up's 
) and I can't see you bitching about that...
Every musician makes mistakes at times and that doesn't mean every musician is sucks... If this theory was right, wedding bands would be considered as the most talented bands in the world - most don't make mistakes at all, lol
) and I can't see you bitching about that...Every musician makes mistakes at times and that doesn't mean every musician is sucks... If this theory was right, wedding bands would be considered as the most talented bands in the world - most don't make mistakes at all, lol
Bierce85 said:
Hmm, i can agree to Lopez not being the best drummer ever (although he is in my top 3, and yes, i am a drummer), but calling him a sloppy musician? Come on! No offence, but it's probably time to get your ears checked!
He might not play everything exactly as on the albums (which is a mark of a great musician imho), but sloppy? No way!! The man is tight like a (insert cavity of preference here)!! And again, the feel he brings on albums and live is incredible..
JoeVice
Member
actually, i personally know the absolute greatest drummer in the world. he is better than any drummer that you folks have in mind.
Way to back up your point.Death_To_False_Metal said:
You guys (aside from DTFM) make some good points. I'll have to go back and look at the Lamentations DVD again and watch for Mike and Peter fuck-ups, because I don't recall seeing many nor do I remember many (if any at all) from when I saw them live. Maybe this is because I'm a drummer, but what Mike and Peter (especially Mike) are doing seems like it's defenitely harder that what Martin is doing. I did play guitar for a few years when I was a teenager and I found it a lot harder to not screw up than it is with drums, maybe that's because drums have always come naturally to me...
But anyway, if you guys think I'm making an overstatement saying Martin Lopez is sloppy, then maybe you can at least admit that there's also been some great overstatements in this thread as to how good of a drummer he is. That's all I ask.
Also, for those of you who don't know who the drummers are that I listed (guys like Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman, Virgil Donoti, Gavin Harrison from Porcupine Tree, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, many more...) go to www.drummerworld.com and click on their names. There's ton's of video's of these guys. Just for pure entertainment or curiosity, give them a look.
Bill
biggsy said:
agreed.
poeple really aren't giving him enough credit. the guy is playing songs that he had no part in creating at all. he had to learn all the stuff as quickly as possible so that they could tour...how poeple can honestly expect him to pull everything off perfectly is beyond me.
I know someone mentioned, and probably will mention Hoglan again, but obviously, he couldn't get everything perfect either (like i said) or he would have played both styles that Opeth covers...not only the more extreme songs.
If Axe was given a chance to be part of the creative force (thats a big if) whos to say he isnt just as good. Akerfeldt said that when Lopez first started playing in Opeth, he was too straightforward, and that he was trying to play too fast all the time as well. Obviously, most of you love the guy...so it shows that he obviously began to fit it perfectly after a while.
Axe doesn't stand a chance vs lopez. I hope opeth does some try outs before just adding Axe to the band. And if you're doing auditions put me on your list, been playing for years and have a lopez-like style and I love Opeth.
FRUGiHOYi
"Since 1981"
Man, I really hope Lopez gets better and returns to the band. But if not, I hope Axe takes his place.
The Poona of Peshwa
Blood Glutton
