Which Opeth album has the best drumming?

[flawrence1]

Watershed is "harder" but Ghost Reveries is better for its creativity. I agree with everyone saying Baying of the Hounds is the pinacle for Opeth drumming. For what it's worth, I can play through most of GR but not Watershed on the drums. It also feels like there's more of a musical connection between Mendez and Lopez than with Ax.

(hoping they don't rush through everything in DC next week like they always do at live shows)

 

[sotua]

05:06 - 05:09 - The baying of the hounds (during the fill in he looses the sincopa)

03:44 -03:57 - Beneath the mire (He looses the pattern, and he grabs it again)

04:30 - Beneath the mire ...again...

I'm not saying that Lopez drumming are not good at all (i'd be a heretic)...I'm just saying that those patterns are incredibly as hard as efficient they turn out to be, but they require a lot of concentration to be performed without making any mistakes (see Mr. Steve Colaiuta)

Thanks, I heard that - the ride bell accents shift from the "odd" beats to the "even" beats (does that make any sense? I have a hard time writing about drums... I lack the vocabulary ).

 

[Chinese Whispers]

Thanks, I heard that - the ride bell accents shift from the "odd" beats to the "even" beats (does that make any sense? I have a hard time writing about drums... I lack the vocabulary ).

If I were the drummer I would say I meant to do it that way (and obviously that'd make me all the better for it). At least it shows that Lopez played his drum parts without having it pro-tooled to hell (I realize that they record the drum tracks for songs in sections but still).

 

[ozric]

Neither sentences make any sense.

funnily enough, neither does that sentence

i'd say GR, followed by deliverance

 

[Don Corleone]

GR by a long shot

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

05:06 - 05:09 - The baying of the hounds (during the fill in he looses the sincopa)

03:44 -03:57 - Beneath the mire (He looses the pattern, and he grabs it again)

04:30 - Beneath the mire ...again...

I'm not saying that Lopez drumming are not good at all (i'd be a heretic)...I'm just saying that those patterns are incredibly as hard as efficient they turn out to be, but they require a lot of concentration to be performed without making any mistakes (see Mr. Steve Colaiuta)

I'm not even hearing any mistakes in those sections. If he had truly screwed up, wouldn't they just record that section over? In the GR documentary it clearly shows them recording parts over and over again trying to get it tight, and right. In this day and age when you can punch in anywhere during a song to re-record a part, especially with an engineer/producer like Jens, I'm sure they wouldn't intentionally leave something in there that didn't go with their artistic vision.

BTW gonna have to say D&D/GR. Deliverance has Lopez's best "death metal" drumming on tracks like Deliverance and Wreath, with Damnation having his best grooves. GR brings them both together, imo. Not to mention that GR is probably the best sounding drum recording they've ever done, even better than Sneap's standard blending/replacements on Deliverance.

 

[Silent Dance With Death]

Yeah, if he had fucked up his grooves, they wouldn't just leave it in the album.

 

[MarblesMike]

05:06 - 05:09 - The baying of the hounds (during the fill in he looses the sincopa)

03:44 -03:57 - Beneath the mire (He looses the pattern, and he grabs it again)

04:30 - Beneath the mire ...again...

I'm not saying that Lopez drumming are not good at all (i'd be a heretic)...I'm just saying that those patterns are incredibly as hard as efficient they turn out to be, but they require a lot of concentration to be performed without making any mistakes (see Mr. Steve Colaiuta)

You mean Vinnie Colaiuta right? If so, he's one of the sickest drummers period.

 

[To rid you disease]

BTW gonna have to say D&D/GR. Deliverance has Lopez's best "death metal" drumming on tracks like Deliverance and Wreath, with Damnation having his best grooves. GR brings them both together, imo. Not to mention that GR is probably the best sounding drum recording they've ever done, even better than Sneap's standard blending/replacements on Deliverance.

agree with all. intro secs of beneath the mire for example - sickest drum sound ever! i always press "<-" to hear it again and again every time i reach beneath the mire on gr

 

[S4R]

Deliverance. Lopez essentially saved that album.

 

[funeralportrait91]

Im gonna agree with most people and say that GR and damnation have the best drumming. In terms of metal drumming, Lopez' work on GR is really creative and produced really well. Damnation is groovy and intricate and really fits the music.

 

[GT2000]

Every time I listen to Ghost of Perdition, I'm reminded how amazingly innovative Lopez was.
Axe is a technically perfect drummer. He can do things Lopez just can't.
But in terms of style and creativity, Lopez leaves him in the dust.
I wish Lopez could have stayed on, strictly as a studio musician...

 

[jaredowty]

Ghost Reveries. Especially the first two tracks...wow.

 

[Kamel]

Yeah, if he had fucked up his grooves, they wouldn't just leave it in the album.

I'm not even hearing any mistakes in those sections. If he had truly screwed up, wouldn't they just record that section over? ....

You mean Vinnie Colaiuta right? If so, he's one of the sickest drummers period.

Well, I give you that one. I think that was a bit over-elaborate; but I, as a drummer, have the hutch he meant to play it that way, disregarding the asyncopa of the groove, because he liked it. It was not a problem of execution, but "theory" (no need to argue about it). Lopez loves improvising, and in that case he made it really hard to reproduce it if you only follow the metric of the groove.

That was my point. Maybe I'm a square...

And yes, I made a mistake, I meant Vinnie Colaiuta. He rules over god.

 

[griev0r]

Every time I listen to Ghost of Perdition, I'm reminded how amazingly innovative Lopez was.
Axe is a technically perfect drummer. He can do things Lopez just can't.
But in terms of style and creativity, Lopez leaves him in the dust.
I wish Lopez could have stayed on, strictly as a studio musician...

+10000

 

[Resonator]

As someone who has never listened to a full Opeth album besides Damnation and Watershed, I'm going with the next Opeth album after the latter. Should be a nice ride

 

[Jackehh]

hm you should get GR then I guess, if we're talking about the drumming

 

[Kamel]

yeahs, definitely GR is lopez's PINACUL!

Watershed is Axenrot's ground floor.

 

[GT2000]

I used to think Chris Adler (Lamb of God) was a great drummer, until Opeth.
Lopez made me realize, it's not all just about double-bass speed-fills and such nonsense.
The band moved in an exciting new direction with My Arms Your Hearse, but I credit Lopez in part for that shift.
Dude just destroys on April Ethereal

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

but chris adler is a great drummer? far and away the best drummer in that genre, along with andols herrick.