# Opeth Damnation Drum Setup: Martin Lopez's 2003 Progressive Rock Gear

> Discover the drum setup Martin Lopez used to record Opeth's Damnation — the acoustic progressive companion to Deliverance, featuring his most subtle and nuanced performance.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Martin Lopez](/llms/drummers/martin-lopez.md)
**Band / Album:** Opeth — *Damnation* (2003)
**Genre:** Progressive Rock

## Overview

Released on April 14, 2003, Opeth's "Damnation" exists as a deliberate counterpoint to everything "Deliverance" represented. Where "Deliverance" was Opeth at their most extreme — brutal double-bass riffs, blast beats, death metal intensity — "Damnation" was something no one expected from a death metal band: a purely acoustic, progressive rock album with no distorted guitars anywhere in its 43-minute runtime.

Both albums were recorded simultaneously at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg with Steven Wilson producing. Where Wilson's production on "Deliverance" leaned hard and aggressive, "Damnation" received the opposite treatment: delicate, spacious, and warm, with every instrument given room to breathe. For Martin Lopez, this meant operating in an entirely different performance register than anything Opeth had previously recorded.

Martin Lopez on "Damnation" is barely recognizable as the same drummer who blasts through "Wreath" on "Deliverance." Here, he plays with brushes and light sticks, navigates jazz-influenced groove patterns, deploys ghost notes as primary rhythmic elements rather than embellishments, and sustains a dynamic sensitivity that most metal drummers simply never develop.

The album draws from 1970s progressive rock influences: King Crimson, Genesis, Camel, and Traffic are audible in the song structures and arrangements. Lopez's drumming reflects this vocabulary fluently. On "Windowpane," "In My Time of Need," and "Death Whispered a Lullaby," he functions as a chamber musician, supporting vocal and instrumental lines with the subtlety that the material demands.

Steven Wilson's production on "Damnation" captured Lopez's performance with particular clarity. The natural room ambience of Studio Fredman breathes around the kit throughout the album — this is among the most beautifully recorded drum performances in progressive rock.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Masters Premium (Natural Maple finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Free-Floating Maple Snare, 14" x 5.5"
- **Cymbals:** Sabian — HH Hand Hammered Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** DW 5000 Double Pedal; Sonor 600 Series Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro; Vic Firth American Classic 5A / Rute 505 Brushes
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (batter), Remo Diplomat Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium — sensitive response across brush and light stick dynamics

### Martin's Studio Setup: Pearl Masters Premium in Acoustic Context

Martin Lopez recorded "Damnation" with the same Pearl Masters Premium kit he used for the simultaneously tracked "Deliverance" — the two albums sharing both the studio room and the drum setup, but deployed in radically different musical contexts. Where "Deliverance" asked the Pearl kit to deliver attack and power for death metal, "Damnation" asked it to be warm, sensitive, and restrained.

For the acoustic album, the drums were tuned slightly looser, with more resonance and sustain — allowing the natural decay of each stroke to contribute to the texture of the recording. Steven Wilson was attentive to these nuances, and the "Damnation" drum sound reflects his ear for acoustic space.

The 20" x 18" bass drum became a subtler instrument on "Damnation" — a firm but controlled kick anchoring the groove rather than driving the tempo aggressively. The tom configuration (10" and 12" racks, 14" and 16" floors) provided the fill vocabulary for progressive rock arrangements where fills function like melodic statements.

### Returning to Sabian: Warmth for the Acoustic Album

For "Damnation," Martin Lopez returned to the Sabian HH (Hand Hammered) palette he had used on "Blackwater Park" — the darker, warmer character that Sabian's hand-hammered cymbals provide suited the acoustic context perfectly.

The Sabian HH 14" Regular Hi-Hats were the heart of Lopez's "Damnation" cymbal setup. The HH series produces a darker, more complex tone — part crash, part sizzle — that responds differently at every dynamic level. For the jazz-influenced patterns Lopez navigated on "Damnation," this tonal complexity was essential.

The Sabian HH 20" Medium Ride served Lopez's most sustained playing. On tracks like "In My Time of Need" and "Windowpane," he rides the bow for extended passages, letting the complex, dark tone of the hand-hammered brass create texture beneath the melodic instruments.

### Brush Technique: A Primary Voice

Lopez used drum brushes extensively throughout "Damnation," marking the first time brush technique appeared as a primary voice in an Opeth recording. On "Death Whispered a Lullaby" and portions of "Windowpane," he sustained full groove patterns using only wire brushes — creating textural percussion that suited the album's intimate acoustic production.

This brush technique capability revealed the depth of Lopez's jazz training and distinguished him from metal drummers who had no need to develop softer playing vocabulary.

## Key Facts

- Recorded simultaneously with Deliverance at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg in 2002
- Produced by Steven Wilson — the most collaborative Opeth-Wilson production
- No distorted guitars anywhere on the album — entirely acoustic and progressive rock
- Lopez's most dynamic and nuanced Opeth performance, using brushes and light touch throughout
- Same Pearl Masters Premium kit as Deliverance, tuned looser for resonance and warmth
- Sabian HH Hand Hammered cymbals — returning to the Blackwater Park palette
- Room ambience incorporated as primary element of drum sound by Wilson
- Estimated kit value: $3,000-4,500 (2002-2003)

## Related Articles

- [Blackwater Park Drum Setup](/llms/articles/blackwater-park-drum-setup.md) — Martin Lopez with Opeth (2001)
- [Deliverance Drum Setup](/llms/articles/deliverance-drum-setup.md) — The companion heavy album (2002)
- [Still Life Drum Setup](/llms/articles/still-life-drum-setup.md) — Martin Lopez with Opeth (1999)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/damnation-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*