Martin Axenrot

[Lothlorien]

Well at least you have 6 records and a live DVD to continue to enjoy. I'll tell Mike you said "Goodbye" the next time I see him.

why cant people just be positive about axe joining? lopez is gone, let axe grow.

when i listen to MAYH, the drums are pretty damn simple. lopez was new to opeth. over time lopez became to some of us the greatest drummer we know. let opeth sink into axe a little and see how he responds. his drumming style will obviously change somewhat, opeth's influence on him will make him a stronger drummer.

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

I can't say what to think about anyone. Lopez was a very important part of our sound of course and a lot of our fans have personal ties with our music during the Lopez era. I know, I never accepted Newstead, Gears, Scott Travis etc....that's just how it is.

But don't come racking down on Axe's playing. He's a extremely talented drummer and even though he's very technical, his groove matches that of Lopez, Hoglan and Nordin which are the three drummers I've played at length with. I should know, I play with him. All of the above drummers have their good and bad points...

I will never badmouth any of our previous members, but please understand that they all have evolved as musicians because of our music. They became the drummers they are because of the fact that the music allowed them to evolve.

Most metal drummers out there don't know how to play a 4/4 properly and I'm happy to say that Axe got that nailed down pretty fucking tight. Among other things....

M

 

[NFU]

hopefully that solved this trainwreck for some of you.

 

[Korlich]

Well Mike i dont think most of the people here are truly concerned about Axe technical level, but more about wich playing style he will be having.

 

[RustyBlood]

Most metal drummers out there don't know how to play a 4/4 properly and I'm happy to say that Axe got that nailed down pretty fucking tight. Among other things....

M

Excuse me Mr. Åkerfeldt, you are a professional musician with experience of over 18 years and I personally think that a statement like this one is pretty vague and general. I'm a drummer (amatuer but still understand techniques) and I know that getting 4/4 beats played properly is not a big issue.

I never saw you guys play live, and I have no idea how does Axe play live but I heard him with Bloodbath and I can confidently say that his drumming perfectly fit the music.
Apart from being a big fan of Opeth, I have to be honest and say that you guys should be looking for a drummer that's creative, flexible, fast and innovative. If you see that in Axe (and I think you do, coz he's permanent now) then you've made a good decision, but being able to play 4/4 beats properly is not a quality that can qualify a drummer to play with the great Opeth....hell I can do it , unless you have a different definition of 4/4 beats than mine.

 

[Heckelgruber]

I think it's the "Among other things..." bit that qualifies him iirc. Oh, and welcome to the board.

 

[Mr Samsara]

Excuse me Mr. Åkerfeldt, you are a professional musician with experience of over 18 years and I personally think that a statement like this one is pretty vague and general. I'm a drummer (amatuer but still understand techniques) and I know that getting 4/4 beats played properly is not a big issue.

I never saw you guys play live, and I have no idea how does Axe play live but I heard him with Bloodbath and I can confidently say that his drumming perfectly fit the music.
Apart from being a big fan of Opeth, I have to be honest and say that you guys should be looking for a drummer that's creative, flexible, fast and innovative. If you see that in Axe (and I think you do, coz he's permanent now) then you've made a good decision, but being able to play 4/4 beats properly is not a quality that can qualify a drummer to play with the great Opeth....hell I can do it , unless you have a different definition of 4/4 beats than mine.

Welcome to the board.

Since this was your first post, I'll do you the favor of translating "Mr. Åkerfeldt's" post for you: "It's my band. I know what I'm doing. STFU."

You may also want to read this.

Enjoy your stay!

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

All I'm saying that most metal drummers don't know the basics as well as they should. It's liberating when a good 4/4 kills the sloppy odd time signature stuff. A lot of people, especially in our field, don't know what "groove" is at all even though they claim so. Obviously, being the drummer in Opeth you'll need more skills than that, but whatever "diversity" a drummer has it should evolve from a perfect 4/4.

Mike

 

[affinityband]

~*~i <3 u~*~

 

[Epilogue]

At least Mikael tries to explain things, of course it is his decision and only he knows what fits best to Opeth as we don't have a clue what goes on over there. I never said "goodbye", as I left the option for Axe to grow on Opeth but you Mr.Samsara definitely behave like a big troll. Trolling on others just because of fanatism without thinking is just bad for health.

 

[affinityband]

Samsara is a proper mod. Admitedly takes more shit than he should. And should probably go on a banning frenzy. But still, he has a good attitude. So quiet child.

 

[Epilogue]

Proper mods. don't troll because of other opinions, that simple. I didn't say a bad word about Axe but just wrote down my feelings I have about Opeth now (that can happen because of changes). Never said, that he can't fit into Opeth with time but Mr.Samsara still had to smash, hell knows why. I'm out, too much fanboy behaviour. I'm too old for such things. Sad for Opeth to have such fans.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like another night would make it allright..." CAMEL another night

 

[Led Opeth]

bye

 

[RustyBlood]

All I'm saying that most metal drummers don't know the basics as well as they should. It's liberating when a good 4/4 kills the sloppy odd time signature stuff. A lot of people, especially in our field, don't know what "groove" is at all even though they claim so. Obviously, being the drummer in Opeth you'll need more skills than that, but whatever "diversity" a drummer has it should evolve from a perfect 4/4.

Mike

Ok, this is convincing, I get your point now. Thanks for explaining .

About Axe, of course I can't judge until I get to see a live show or wait till a new album comes out....but what I can expect is a different drumming style because he doesn't have that latin influence that Martin Lopez has which is mostly evident in his use of accentuated notes on the ride-bell, the percussions he used in Damnation, a good variation of cymbals.....etc, but on the other hand I expect Axe to be faster on the double bass because most of his earlier work included using double bass a lot.

What I'm saying is that we (the fans) should give him his chance to prove himself and show what tricks he has up his sleeves, and who knows....he might add a different touch to the band's sound just like Martin Lopez did.

 

[Requiem960]

I think Axenrot is a bad replacement. He has slowed down tempo on a few songs and it's bad when I can notice things like that. I'm curious to see how he does on the next album and tour when he does his own stuff. But, I don't like him at all. I've seen Opeth twice with him and was let down.

 

[makethestringscry]

What are Lopez's plans? Anyone have an idea?

 

[westknadrian]

not likely

 

[extolfan]

I think Axenrot is a bad replacement. He has slowed down tempo on a few songs and it's bad when I can notice things like that. I'm curious to see how he does on the next album and tour when he does his own stuff. But, I don't like him at all. I've seen Opeth twice with him and was let down.

You got balls to say that...seems like everyone else here is "nut-hugging" :Smug:

I have never seen them live as you have...but when I seen a recent video on YOUTUBE...with their new drummer I was like, "WTF...why is the drumming slowing the orginal tempo down?"

Mike is obviously doing the best he can with what he has in Axe...but personally I think the drummer from Meshuggah (Tomas Haake) should of replaced Lopez, although it was highly unlikely that would of happened.

 

[illidurit]

lol you morons, lopez has slowed song tempos down too

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

Well, you must use your head a little. Just because your experience was a certain way doesn't neccesary mean that's the facts.

Axe is together with Hoglan more solid in terms of keeping the beat than Lopez was. Lopez had a tendency of playing extremely fast as well as extremely slow...in the same song. All drummers vary the pace a little and it brings some nerve to the live experience. Most "bands" today play to a click track which I think is boring. Sometimes it was hard to play with Lopez, especially during the last couple of gigs. If I should compare Axe and Lopez I think it's easier to play with Axe live but Lopez had a fashion for experimentation that was out of this world during recordings. I loved working on the beats with him. That's something I miss. However, we've never worked with Axe and I foresee him taking command in the same way as Lopez did.

I don't know why I feel the need to defend Axe but I think some of you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Lopez was great I agree, but it's over...either accept it or move on.

Mike