Martin Axenrot's Drum Setup on Opeth's Pale Communion (2014) | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

What drum kit did Martin Axenrot use on Opeth's Pale Communion?

Martin Axenrot recorded Opeth's Pale Communion (2014) using the same Pearl Reference Series setup he had established for Heritage (2011): twin 22"x18" bass drums, 10" and 12" rack toms, 14" and 16" floor toms. He paired the Pearl kit with Meinl Byzance cymbals (14" Traditional Medium Hi-Hats, 16" Thin Crash, 18" Medium Thin Crash, 22" Traditional Medium Ride) and Pearl Demon Drive direct-drive twin pedals. Tracked at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt and mixed by Steven Wilson.

What happens on the drum breakdown in 'Eternal Rains Will Come'?

The extended drum breakdown in "Eternal Rains Will Come" is the defining drum moment of Opeth's prog era and Axenrot's most compositionally ambitious studio performance. The passage features extended melodic tom phrasing across the Pearl Reference Series four-tom layout — a sustained, flowing series of fills that function more like a melodic statement than a rhythmic transition. Steven Wilson's mix gives each tom its own voice in the stereo image, and the Pearl Reference's natural resonance lets each stroke sustain into the next. The breakdown demonstrates the distance Axenrot had traveled from the extreme metal vocabulary of Bloodbath and Witchery — it is jazz-influenced progressive drumming in the tradition of Carl Palmer and Bill Bruford, applied to an Opeth arrangement.

How does Pale Communion compare to Heritage in terms of drumming?

Pale Communion is a refinement of Heritage's approach rather than a departure from it. Both albums use the Pearl Reference Series kit and Meinl Byzance cymbals in a 70s prog-rock context, with ride-cymbal-forward phrasing and jazz-influenced restraint. The differences are in execution and production: Pale Communion is more compositionally ambitious in its drum phrasing — the "Eternal Rains Will Come" breakdown has no equivalent on Heritage — and Steven Wilson's mix brings the drum kit more clarity and separation than Åkerfeldt's Heritage production delivered. Pale Communion is also slightly heavier at its peaks ("Cusp of Eternity" gets closer to the Watershed vocabulary than anything on Heritage), demonstrating greater dynamic range across the album.

Why was Pale Communion submitted for Grammy consideration?

Pale Communion was submitted for Grammy nomination consideration in 2015 in the Best Rock Album category — a reflection of the album's commercial success (#1 in Sweden, #3 Norway, #14 UK) and critical reception, which was warmer than Heritage's divisive debut. The Grammy submission recognized what many critics identified as the peak of Opeth's prog-rock era: an album that demonstrated full creative mastery of the 1970s progressive rock aesthetic without mere pastiche. Axenrot's drumming — the restrained, compositionally sophisticated performance on "Eternal Rains Will Come" and across the album — was an integral part of what made Pale Communion the album it was.

How does Pale Communion connect to Heritage and Sorceress in the Axenrot discography?

Pale Communion (2014) sits at the center of Opeth's prog trilogy: following Heritage (2011) and preceding Sorceress (2016). Heritage was the genre pivot — the bold statement of intent. Pale Communion was the artistic peak — Heritage's direction fully realized. Sorceress was the consolidation — the prog identity settled as Opeth's new default mode, with slightly heavier passages reintroduced within the prog framework. For gear, all three albums use the Pearl Reference Series and Meinl Byzance cymbals, with subtle differences in how Axenrot deployed each element to serve each album's specific direction. See [Heritage drum setup](/articles/heritage-drum-setup), [Sorceress drum setup](/articles/sorceress-drum-setup), and [Martin Axenrot's drummer profile](/drummer/martin-axenrot).