My Arms, Your Hearse Drum Setup: Martin Lopez's Opeth Debut (1998) | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Martin Lopez join Opeth?

Martin Lopez joined Opeth in 1997, partway through the recording of "My Arms, Your Hearse" (1998). He replaced original drummer Anders Nordin, who had left the band, and went on to record five consecutive studio albums with Opeth: My Arms, Your Hearse (1998), [Still Life (1999)](/articles/still-life-drum-setup), [Blackwater Park (2001)](/articles/blackwater-park-drum-setup), [Deliverance (2002)](/articles/deliverance-drum-setup), and Damnation (2003), plus Ghost Reveries (2005), before leaving the band in 2006. My Arms, Your Hearse is the document of his first year in Opeth and the foundation of what would become one of progressive death metal's most influential drumming careers.

What drum kit did Martin Lopez use on My Arms, Your Hearse?

Martin Lopez used a budget touring kit on My Arms, Your Hearse (1998) — likely a mix of Pearl Forum or Sonor Force-class shells consistent with Opeth's pre-endorsement era finances. His configuration included a 22x18" bass drum, 10" and 12" rack toms, and 14" and 16" floor toms — the same four-tom layout he would carry through every subsequent Opeth album. He paired the kit with Sabian B8 Pro entry-level cymbals (later upgraded to the Sabian HH series by [Still Life in 1999](/articles/still-life-drum-setup)) and a DW 5000 double pedal, which would remain his pedal of choice throughout his Opeth career. The gear was modest; the technique already wasn't.

Why does My Arms, Your Hearse sound different from other Opeth albums?

My Arms, Your Hearse is the only Opeth studio album without acoustic clean vocal sections — a deliberate concession to Candlelight Records, who wanted a heavier, more single-minded death metal record. The constraint shaped the drumming. Without clean acoustic interludes to soften the album's edges, Lopez had no space for the brush work, ghost note architecture, or jazz ride passages that would dominate [Still Life (1999)](/articles/still-life-drum-setup) and [Blackwater Park (2001)](/articles/blackwater-park-drum-setup). The production also differs — Mikael Åkerfeldt and Opeth produced themselves on this record, applying standard late-1990s Swedish death metal compression and minimal room ambience. Without Steven Wilson's later production philosophy, the album's dynamic window is the narrowest of any Lopez Opeth record.

What cymbals did Martin Lopez use on My Arms, Your Hearse?

Martin Lopez used Sabian B8 Pro entry-level cymbals on My Arms, Your Hearse — the budget-line brass appropriate to Opeth's 1998 pre-endorsement finances. His setup included Sabian B8 Pro 14" Hi-Hats, 16" and 18" Crashes, a 20" Ride, and an 18" Chinese cymbal used primarily as a punctuation effect. The B8 Pro range delivered bright, cutting attack — workable for death metal but lacking the dark complexity of the Sabian HH (Hand Hammered) series he would adopt by [Still Life (1999)](/articles/still-life-drum-setup). The cymbal upgrade between these two albums is one of the clearest gear-evolution markers in Lopez's career, and the difference is audible from the first ride passage of either record.

How does My Arms, Your Hearse fit into Martin Lopez's Opeth arc?

My Arms, Your Hearse is the entry point for the five-album Lopez/Opeth cluster that defined progressive death metal from 1998 to 2005. It established his technical foundation — the four-tom layout, the architectural fills, the kick precision, the cymbal restraint — within the tightest compositional constraints he would face in the band. [Still Life (1999)](/articles/still-life-drum-setup) immediately unlocked his jazz vocabulary. [Blackwater Park (2001)](/articles/blackwater-park-drum-setup) brought Steven Wilson and the Sonor Designer Series, capturing his full dynamic range. [Deliverance (2002)](/articles/deliverance-drum-setup) pushed his most extreme performance. Damnation (2003) opened the brush and texture work. Ghost Reveries (2005) closed the arc. Every album that followed built on the foundation Lopez documented in 1998. To understand the Opeth drum sound, you start here.