§6 — Progressive Drum Showcase — Waltteri Väyrynen (Opeth) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the §6 — Progressive Drum Showcase drum lick by Waltteri Väyrynen of Opeth. From §6 (The Last Will and Testament (2024)). "§6" is the sixth chapter of Opeth's concept album The Last Will and Testament (2024), a post-World ...
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1. Waltteri Väyrynen's Signature Licks — "§6" is the sixth chapter of Opeth's concept album The Last Will and Testament (2024), a post-World War I story told across tracks titled numerically after a section sign, as if read paragraph by paragraph. It was Waltteri Väyrynen's second album with the band after replacing longtime drummer Martin Axenrot in September 2022, following a 2015-2022 tenure in British gothic doom metal band Paradise Lost where he recorded Medusa (2017) and Obsidian (2020). "§6" opens with Väyrynen taking center stage as Joakim Svalberg's organ grinds underneath him, and critics singled the track out specifically for its drumming — reviewers described it as featuring an astonishing drum performance that overshadows the rest of the song before the track settles into one of Fredrik Åkerfeldt's more expressive guitar leads. What makes this passage instructive is how it reframes Väyrynen's role within Opeth's progressive metal vocabulary: rather than simply grooving under the riff, he is given space to lead, and his playing across the section moves fluidly between technical, syncopated patterns and more open, dynamically-shaded playing that supports the song's shifting tempo and mood without ever losing its sense of composed structure. This mirrors the range Väyrynen has cited in his own influences — Dirk Verbeuren, Kai Hahto, and Daniel Erlandsson, all drummers known for combining technical precision with heavy, riff-driven material — applied here to Opeth's more progressive, dynamically varied songwriting rather than straightforward metal aggression. For drummers, "§6" is a valuable study in playing a genuinely featured, quasi-solo passage within a full-band arrangement: it requires internal tempo control as the underlying feel shifts, the confidence to fill space actively without derailing the song's build, and the touch to pull back convincingly when the arrangement hands the spotlight to another instrument. Learning this passage develops syncopated coordination across shifting tempos, the dynamic range needed to move between a busy, featured drum passage and a supportive backing role within the same song, and the compositional listening skill of knowing when a part is meant to lead versus when it should recede.2. Waltteri Väyrynen Profile — Maintain internal tempo control as the song's underlying feel shifts through the section Move fluidly between technical, syncopated patterns and open, dynamically-shaded playing Fill space actively during the featured drum passage without derailing the song's build Pull back convincingly in touch and volume when the arrangement hands focus to another instrument Listen compositionally to identify when a part is meant to lead versus support
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