Opeth - Drummer Martin Axenrot has left the band - Reason & replacement?

[Jay.Dee]

Has Akerfeldt worked with Portnoy? They seem on different wavelengths.

Opeth guys would need to rehearse more.

[Hour Candle]

Just take the shot. Selfish anti-vaxers will ruin everything for the rest of us...

THIS!!! For God's sake, people!

[The Czar]

I think Axe was way better than Lopez.
Those are big shoes to fill.

[Silantyev]

Opeth guys would need to rehearse more.

Hilarious speech, thanks a lot for posting!
I have been to the Opeth concerts like 5 times, and every time I enjoy small interludes of Michael between the songs, he always has something funny to say. I wonder how much is it improvisation vs preparation.

[Valen]

From what I've read in interviews with Akerfeldt, Axe was one of those rural guys that lives very remotely in the woods, literally, and only comes out when it's time to record and tour. So there may be some credence to the anti-vax comments, but then who knows what other reasons he may have had.

It's happened, and he's out, and it's a shame. I liked Lopez but never got to see him live. My first gig was Axe's inaugural tour, and I liked what he did with the likes of Under The Weeping Moon.

I also think he was pretty versatile to adapt to the evolving Opeth sound over the five albums he recorded with them.

[chalkpie]

^ He'll be missed. His playing on Heritage was fantastic and just perfect for that material. His overall dexterity and jazzy-type playing was wonderful. It's also a shame because these cats are very good mates, and this has to be difficult from Mikael's perspective (actually all of the guys).

[chalkpie]

New permanent drummer! Waltteri Väyrynen

https://www.loudersound.com/news/ope...nd-new-drummer

[EBES]

^ Interesting! I hope we get to hear him on a studio album before too long. Mike's statement was quite heartwarming.

[chalkpie]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hea...h-travis-smith

Great interview with Opeth artist Travis Smith.

[chalkpie]

Been spinning Orchid and Morningrise a LOT. Loving both. That Swano production is a "style" but it totally works.

[Progatron]

Been spinning Orchid and Morningrise a LOT. Loving both. That Swano production is a "style" but it totally works.

Mikael has said that he 'can't stand' the sound of those two albums or the writing style anymore, but I'm with you, I love them! I also love the transitional My Arms, Your Hearse. There's a mysterious element to their early output that disappeared as they went on.

[chalkpie]

Mikael has said that he 'can't stand' the sound of those two albums or the writing style anymore, but I'm with you, I love them! I also love the transitional My Arms, Your Hearse. There's a mysterious element to their early output that disappeared as they went on.

I can understand why he says that, yet at the same time I'm really glad they made em! I think it makes their legacy stronger and more diverse. MAYH is my absolute favorite out of the early years, and possibly my fav until Blackwater Park hit.

I know what your saying about the "mysterious element"....MA was writing stuff like all consecutive minor chords a la black metal, so it has that dark, foggy, atmospheric vibe.

[Progatron]

I know what your saying about the "mysterious element"....MA was writing stuff like all consecutive minor chords a la black metal, so it has that dark, foggy, atmospheric vibe.

Foggy is a good word to use. I listened to Morningrise a lot when I first got into Opeth (there were only four albums to choose from then) and for quite a few years it was my favourite. First time I saw them live they played To Bid You Farewell, which was quite the deep cut!

[chalkpie]

Foggy is a good word to use. I listened to Morningrise a lot when I first got into Opeth (there were only four albums to choose from then) and for quite a few years it was my favourite. First time I saw them live they played To Bid You Farewell, which was quite the deep cut!

Sweet...you go way back. What tour did you see first? I didn't get on board until after Ghost Reveries was released....I bought GR, Damnation, and Deliverance from BMG music club blindly (at the same time).

[Progatron]

Sweet...you go way back. What tour did you see first? I didn't get on board until after Ghost Reveries was released....I bought GR, Damnation, and Deliverance from BMG music club blindly (at the same time).

Still Life was brand new when I became a fan. I had heard of the band and was intrigued based purely on their name and logo, which I had seen on people's shirts at concerts. I bought all four albums rather quickly and loved all of them, so Blackwater Park was the first one I waited for since becoming a fan (and I was not disappointed!) But I didn't see them for the first time until 2003 on the opening date of the Damnation tour at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. It was their first ever live performance of that material, and their first ever entirely non-death metal show. They were nervous as hell and you could hear a pin drop on the stage. The Porcupine Tree guys sat directly behind us in the balcony, watching with great interest. It was a fantastic show. I don't think they played here much prior to that, maybe on a bill with other bands, I'm not sure. If they did, the tours weren't promoted very well because I would have gone for sure had I known.

It's funny, I really didn't know much about the guys themselves at that time. I hadn't seen a lot of photos or watched interviews or anything, so I didn't recognize Peter Lindgren when he bumped into me - literally - before the show. But we met the guys afterwards on the street in front of their bus, where I got my ticket signed (Mikael has the worst signature ever). A couple of years later, Ghost Reveries came out and they seemed to be much more well known by then.

[EBES]

Still Life was brand new when I became a fan. I had heard of the band and was intrigued based purely on their name and logo, which I had seen on people's shirts at concerts. I bought all four albums rather quickly and loved all of them, so Blackwater Park was the first one I waited for since becoming a fan (and I was not disappointed!) But I didn't see them for the first time until 2003 on the opening date of the Damnation tour at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. It was their first ever live performance of that material, and their first ever entirely non-death metal show. They were nervous as hell and you could hear a pin drop on the stage. The Porcupine Tree guys sat directly behind us in the balcony, watching with great interest. It was a fantastic show. I don't think they played here much prior to that, maybe on a bill with other bands, I'm not sure. If they did, the tours weren't promoted very well because I would have gone for sure had I known.

It's funny, I really didn't know much about the guys themselves at that time. I hadn't seen a lot of photos or watched interviews or anything, so I didn't recognize Peter Lindgren when he bumped into me - literally - before the show. But we met the guys afterwards on the street in front of their bus, where I got my ticket signed (Mikael has the worst signature ever). A couple of years later, Ghost Reveries came out and they seemed to be much more well known by then.

I saw them on the 2003 tour with Porcupine Tree, at a fairly small venue in Seattle (I think it was the Showbox but can't remember for sure). The audience was clearly full of somewhat confused metalheads, because everyone started moshing when PT played the heavy guitar intro to Blackest Eyes, and then stood around looking confused when the acoustic part kicked in. The other occasional heavy bits were met with notably less moshing. Akerfeldt came out during PT's set and sang lead vocals on A Smart Kid; he was clearly nervous as hell and barely audible.

I made the mistake of going with my girlfriend, who didn't like either band and was worried about getting home to go to bed because she had to work in the morning. So now, in retrospect, it seems amazing to have had the chance to see both groups in their prime in a small venue, during a time when I was madly in love with Opeth in a way I hadn't been in love with any band since I got into Genesis at age 12. But my memory of the experience involves a fair amount of irritation and tension due to being there with someone who didn't want to be. As with so many things in life, I suppose, we allow petty irritations to spoil what should be a transcendently great experience.

They played all of Damnation front to back and I do remember feeling much fonder of it after being immersed in it like that. When it was released I'd been expecting a whole album of songs that sounded like Harvest or Faces of Melinda, and the relative plainness and simplicity of it was disappointing. After the show I was much more in love with the album and it's become a longtime favorite.

[chalkpie]

^ I wish I saw them during that era...I never heard them until 2005. You must have seen the Lamentations set, yeah?

[Progatron]

^ I wish I saw them during that era...I never heard them until 2005. You must have seen the Lamentations set, yeah?

No, by the time of the European leg of that tour they had added a heavier second set to the show, which is what was filmed for Lamentations. Here's the set list for the North American leg (from the show I saw, but the Seattle show mentioned above was the same, minus the Purple cover) :

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/opeth...-23d4e0a7.html

... the PT sets, on the other hand, were quite different, with four songs swapped and different running order for the rest. We got Sound Of Muzak, Dislocated Day, Last Chance To Evacuate..., and Heartattack In A Layby.

Whereas Seattle got Shesmovedon, Fadeaway, A Smart Kid (w/Akerfeldt), and Wedding Nails.

[EBES]

^ Thanks for getting to that question before I did and sparing me a bunch of research.

[The Czar]

I listened to them when there was only Orchid and Morningrise.
I love the fretless bass, but once he left, I didn't like it as much.
I got into the 100% when they did the Making of Deliverance & Damnation dvd

[Progatron]

There are like 50 Opeth threads, so I just went with the one with the most recent comments:

I'm spinning Still Life today, on a gloomy, rainy fall day in the late afternoon, and it's so perfect. I've always loved Godhead's Lament so much, what a brilliant mini epic. From Lindgren's soaring lead guitar part at 2:55 (which then is twinned, presumably by Åkerfeldt, for that Iron Maiden/Wishbone Ash sound so many metal bands were influenced by), to Åkerfeldt's belting vocals that follow ('Searching my way to perplexion...'), into that rich and brilliant Tull-ish acoustic section ('Thought I could not leave this place on this imminent day...'), the quiet interlude with Mendez' rubbery (fretless?) sound at 7:23, to the 'Searching my way...' reprise and the fiery and crunching finale... wow. What a stunning track.

Pure f***ing OPETH.

[EBES]

There are like 50 Opeth threads, so I just went with the one with the most recent comments:

I'm spinning Still Life today, on a gloomy, rainy fall day in the late afternoon, and it's so perfect. I've always loved Godhead's Lament so much, what a brilliant mini epic. From Lindgren's soaring lead guitar part at 2:55 (which then is twinned, presumably by Åkerfeldt, for that Iron Maiden/Wishbone Ash sound so many metal bands were influenced by), to Åkerfeldt's belting vocals that follow ('Searching my way to perplexion...'), into that rich and brilliant Tull-ish acoustic section ('Thought I could not leave this place on this imminent day...'), the quiet interlude with Mendez' rubbery (fretless?) sound at 7:23, to the 'Searching my way...' reprise and the fiery and crunching finale... wow. What a stunning track.

Pure f***ing OPETH.

I burned myself out so hard on Opeth from age 17 to 23 that I still, to this day, have trouble listening to them. Still Life was my favorite back in the day. Your description makes me want to revisit it and see if enough time has passed that maybe I can connect with it again. Given the time of year I feel like it shouldn't be too long before I have a gloomy fall day.

[gpeccary]

So does anyone know how the new guys fits relative to Axe?!?! He's a hard act to follow in my view, he was so great.

[The Czar]

So does anyone know how the new guys fits relative to Axe?!?! He's a hard act to follow in my view, he was so great.

I'm not even sure any live shows have been played by him?
If he can pull off Heir Apparent then he'll fit perfectly

[chalkpie]

There are like 50 Opeth threads, so I just went with the one with the most recent comments:

I'm spinning Still Life today, on a gloomy, rainy fall day in the late afternoon, and it's so perfect. I've always loved Godhead's Lament so much, what a brilliant mini epic. From Lindgren's soaring lead guitar part at 2:55 (which then is twinned, presumably by Åkerfeldt, for that Iron Maiden/Wishbone Ash sound so many metal bands were influenced by), to Åkerfeldt's belting vocals that follow ('Searching my way to perplexion...'), into that rich and brilliant Tull-ish acoustic section ('Thought I could not leave this place on this imminent day...'), the quiet interlude with Mendez' rubbery (fretless?) sound at 7:23, to the 'Searching my way...' reprise and the fiery and crunching finale... wow. What a stunning track.

Pure f***ing OPETH.

^ Amen (corner) to this