Martin Lopez, and the Double Paradiddle

[urinalcakemix]

A double paradiddle is a drum rudiment.
The sequence is

RLRLRR LRLRLL



Its grouped into Septuplets, or 16th note triplets, giving it a distinct triplet feel, so you'll hear this pattern in passages in 6, and 12 most notably, with a triplet swing feel. Lopez does a LOT of ghost notes, so while you may not be able to decipher every actual hit (especially on the snare, or of he does ride/bell syncopations), its still there, if not then the space is omitted while still maintaining a distinct double paradiddle feel.

I noticed Lopez likes to diddle a lot with his bass drum patterns, most of the time in these sections he'll follow the ride/cymbal pattern with the kicks.

If I can get my hands on a webcam or something, I'll make a video of me demonstrating it for all you children on my kit.

Until then, see these Opeth songs for audio reference, I did a quick scan in 20 minutes through my opeth collection and found these, I could easily be missing a couple, and Im pretty sure I am actually, I remember a few more, I just cant remember what track thier on!

Examples:
The Baying of the Hounds - 3:15-5:10ish
Then again at:7:07-7:21
Masters Apprentices 8:40-end - Ghosting on the snare with the left hand, riding the bell with the right. RSRSRR (S)<backbeatRSRSS besides the backbeats on 3, the rest of the left hand is ghost notes.
April Ethereal - 1:55-2:23 - Double Paradiddle derivative
Ghost of Perdition - 5:42-5:49
Harvest: 3:45, lots of ghost notes, there there though.
The Amen Corner 1:43-1:59
The Funeral Portrait 3:07-3:22 , 4:43-4:58, 6:22-6:34,
The Leper Affinity - 3:20-3:34, 3:41-3:55,
When 7:43-8:25
White Cluster 3:11-3:27

 

[neilyoungfan]

nice post man, thanks for clarification...while i didnt know the technicalities of what the double paradiddle is, i figured out what it sounds like from listening to opeth

 

[Towedwart]

AHA! That's what I thought it was referring to. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

 

[ViCyniC]

We had an extensive thread about the "Lopez beat" a while ago. Search for it. Explanations and everything, if I recall correctly.

 

[x_OPETH_x]

don't forget The Drapery Falls...that whole first riff is in 3/4 with a slowed down version of the "paradiddle" riff

 

[BrandonS]

AHA! That's what I thought it was referring to. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

The other half is headshots.

 

[Midwinter_melancholY]

Best thread since ages.

 

[TheApostle]

Interesting. I did at least notice that he used that a lot...

 

[Blackened Rainbow]

woow thanks man!
and still miss lopez...

 

[urinalcakemix]

Yea, unfortunately, when I saw Opeth live this past tour with Axenrot, I was left with a VERY sour taste with Axe's performance. I heard from other friends who went to various shows on the same tour, and it seemed apparent that Axe can't hack Lopez's material, and really took an element away.

Axenrot - while he has good death metal chops, lacks FEEL, he raped all the Opeth material that required a groove. Closure, theres no need for fast double bass to make up for the fact that you cant groove to save your life. I honestly think I could do a better job on the Opeth material than Axe, and I will take this sentiment to the grave.

Another thing I noticed with Axe- his double bass was very inconsistent, his tempos would fluctuate, as would his consistency, he'd get louder, softer, louder, etc. I guess you could bundle these two into overall consistency- he was VERY inconsistent.

With Lopez completely out of the mix, even in studio, I fear Opeth as we know it is over. I think the next album will make more than apparent how ESSENTIAL Lopez was to the magic of Opeth, and everyone will learn the less on the hard way, when Opeth's next record is MUCH more Straightforward, and has little to no groove/feel/latintin element at all.

 

[Yoda]

Yeah, I agree, Lopez definitely contributed ALOT to the music. I find myself usually focusing just on the drums when I listen and I'm not a drummer.
And yeah, Closure was definitely, well, different with Axe playing - he was still beating the absolute fuck out of the drums the whole time, which doesn't really suit. He didn't do a bad job with alot of the stuff though IMO.

 

[Superior]

I saw Opeth in Louisville and Axe played perfect. So, maybe he just needed time to get the songs down? You know, like any human would?

 

[~random~]

People on some forums have been saying that it might lead the next album to a more brutal more classic death metal sound. Frankly I'm not going to worry about it until it comes out.

 

[Scarlett Letterman]

I'm no drummer but thats something I've always noticed subconciously and I love it, gives a groove to the section. The one in Master's Apprentice when "he rides the bell", I think is my favourite moment on that album.

 

[Id]

I heard they do this a lot in jazz

 

[Towedwart]

Definitely. Part of Opeth's jazz influences.

 

[Opethian666]

I found some porn with a double paradildo yesterday.

 

[Bierce85]

I'd say as nice as the "lopez beat" is to hear in opeths music, he still overdoes it a bit. I mean, I havent been into Opeth for all that long, but I've listened to all the albums many times, and each time I listen to a new one, I hear him doing it again and again and it does add feel to the song, but it seems like Lopez's only way of doing so and becomes repetitive and predictable after a while. And BTW I call the "Lopez beat" the "Neil Peart beat" because I'm pretty sure he popularized that one.

 

[urinalcakemix]

I saw Opeth in Louisville and Axe played perfect. So, maybe he just needed time to get the songs down? You know, like any human would?

I saw him midway through the tour, after 1-2 ofthe Chrono shows, I knwo they changed sets everynight, but I focused HARD on Axe the whole night, and he just didn't do it for me. Another thing live - I really didnt like the sound of his cymbals, and how they blended with Opeths music.

Axe = Paiste
Lopez = Sabian , there was a DEFINITE difference.

 

[Bierce85]

He probably picked bad cymbals. Paiste's are better than Sabians IMO.