Martin Axenrot Drum Kit & Gear Setup — Opeth Drummer | MetalForge
Martin Axenrot (born March 17, 1979, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish drummer best known as the drummer for progressive death metal band Opeth since 2006, when he replaced Martin Lopez mid-tour during the Ghost Reveries cycle. Axenrot brought an extreme metal pedigree to Opeth's drum chair, having spent thirteen years in Swedish death metal act Witchery (1997-2010) and black/thrash outfit Nifelheim before joining the progressive metal band that would come to define his career. Beyond Opeth, Axenrot has been a core member of death metal supergroup Bloodbath since 2008, performing alongside members of Opeth, Katatonia, and Paradise Lost. His dual role in a technically demanding progressive band and an unapologetically brutal death metal outfit reflects the versatility that has made him one of the most respected extreme metal drummers of his generation. Axenrot made his Opeth studio debut on Watershed (2008) and has recorded every studio album since, anchoring the band's evolution from progressive death metal into the more retro-progressive-rock-influenced territory of Heritage (2011) and beyond.
Complete biography of Martin Axenrot, Opeth's drummer since 2006 and member of death metal supergroup Bloodbath. Explore his succession of Martin Lopez, extreme metal background, drumming style, and DW/SABIAN gear setup.
Martin Axenrot Biography
Martin Axenrot (born March 17, 1979, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish drummer best known as the drummer for progressive death metal band Opeth since 2006, when he replaced Martin Lopez mid-tour during the Ghost Reveries cycle. Axenrot brought an extreme metal pedigree to Opeth's drum chair, having spent thirteen years in Swedish death metal act Witchery (1997-2010) and black/thrash outfit Nifelheim before joining the progressive metal band that would come to define his career.
Beyond Opeth, Axenrot has been a core member of death metal supergroup Bloodbath since 2008, performing alongside members of Opeth, Katatonia, and Paradise Lost. His dual role in a technically demanding progressive band and an unapologetically brutal death metal outfit reflects the versatility that has made him one of the most respected extreme metal drummers of his generation. Axenrot made his Opeth studio debut on Watershed (2008) and has recorded every studio album since, anchoring the band's evolution from progressive death metal into the more retro-progressive-rock-influenced territory of Heritage (2011) and beyond.
Career Highlights
- 1997: Joined Swedish death metal band Witchery, beginning his professional drumming career
- 2006: Replaced Martin Lopez as Opeth's drummer mid-tour on the Ghost Reveries cycle
- 2008: Joined death metal supergroup Bloodbath and made his Opeth studio debut on Watershed
- 2010: Left Witchery after 13 years to focus fully on Opeth and Bloodbath
- 2011: Released Heritage with Opeth, a dramatic stylistic pivot toward 1970s progressive rock
- 2014: Released Pale Communion with Opeth
- 2016: Released Sorceress with Opeth
- 2019: Released In Cauda Venenum, recorded in both Swedish and English versions
Style & Influences
Martin Axenrot's drumming style combines the technical, dynamic vocabulary Opeth's progressive death metal demands with a heavier, more aggressive attack than his predecessor, forged across years in extreme metal bands like Witchery and Nifelheim. His playing shifts fluidly between blast beats and double-bass runs on Opeth's heaviest passages and restrained, jazz-tinged dynamics on the band's acoustic and progressive-rock-influenced material.
Key Influences:
- Martin Lopez: Established the progressive vocabulary Axenrot honors while pushing it further
- Extreme metal drummers: Witchery and Nifelheim shaped his aggressive, precise attack
- Classic progressive rock drummers: Informing his approach to Heritage-era material
Signature Techniques:
- Twin-bass-drum setup enabling extended double-bass passages
- Fluid transitions between extreme metal intensity and progressive rock restraint
- Dynamic control across Opeth's shifting acoustic and heavy sections
Gear Highlights
Martin Axenrot plays a custom hand-made DW drum kit with maple/gum shells, as he described in a 2016 MusicRadar interview around Opeth's Sorceress cycle — the setup he has used since joining Opeth in 2006.
Current Setup:
- Drums: DW (Drum Workshop), custom maple/gum shells
- Snare: DW custom (specific model unverified)
- Cymbals: SABIAN HHX / AAX Series (HHX Groove Hats, HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash, HHX Legacy Ride, HHX Chinese, AAX Splash)
- Hardware: Unverified
- Sticks: Pro-Mark
- Heads: Evans
Notable Gear Choices:
- Custom-built DW kit, confirmed in his own words in a MusicRadar interview
- Current SABIAN artist, per SABIAN's own artist page
- Pro-Mark sticks and Evans heads, per Wikipedia's sourced equipment listing