# Ghost Reveries Drum Setup: Martin Lopez's Farewell Opeth Album (2005)

> Discover the drum kit, cymbals, and gear Martin Lopez used to record Opeth's Ghost Reveries (2005) — his final studio album with the band before health struggles forced his departure. Complete setup breakdown with gear details and track analysis.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Martin Lopez](/llms/drummers/martin-lopez.md)
**Band / Album:** Opeth — *Ghost Reveries* (2005)
**Genre:** Progressive Death Metal

## Overview

Released on August 30, 2005, "Ghost Reveries" was Opeth's first album for Roadrunner Records and, though no one knew it at the time, Martin Lopez's farewell studio performance with the band. It stands as a landmark recording in its own right: a return to the full dynamic range that had defined Blackwater Park, combined with the expanded harmonic ambition of a band signed to a major international label for the first time.

Recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, and mixed by Jens Bogren, Ghost Reveries pushed Opeth's progressive death metal further than ever — Mellotron textures, extended song forms, and folk-tinged acoustic interludes sat alongside some of the most relentless death metal riffing the band had committed to tape. For Lopez, the album demanded the full range of his vocabulary: the jazz-informed sensitivity of Damnation, the brutal physicality of Deliverance, and a newfound rhythmic complexity that matched the band's increasingly progressive songwriting.

"Ghost of Perdition," the album's nine-minute opener, remains one of Opeth's most celebrated tracks and a showcase for everything Lopez could do — blast beats giving way to syncopated grooves, then dissolving into a hushed acoustic midsection before crashing back into the album's heaviest riffing. "The Baying of the Hounds" and "The Grand Conjuration" demonstrate the same range across the record, while "Reverie/Harlequin Forest" (added as a bonus track on later pressings) closes the era with one final burst of the dynamic interplay Lopez had spent eight years perfecting with this band.

By the time Ghost Reveries toured, Lopez's long-standing struggles with panic disorder had become unmanageable on the road. He left Opeth in 2006, and Martin Axenrot took over the drum stool for Watershed (2008) — closing the most celebrated chapter of Opeth's drumming history. This article breaks down every piece of gear Martin Lopez used on Ghost Reveries, traces how his setup evolved from the Deliverance era, and examines why this record stands as the definitive sign-off to his Opeth tenure.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Pearl Reference (Piano Black Lacquer finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Pearl Reference Maple/Birch Snare, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Paiste — Paiste Signature Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl Eliminator Double Pedal; Pearl Eliminator Hi-Hat Stand; Roc-N-Soc Nitro; Vic Firth American Classic 5A; Pearl Felt Beaters
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium, balanced for both ghost notes and full-force hits

### Martin's Pearl Reference Setup: Built for Range

For Ghost Reveries, Martin Lopez moved to Pearl's flagship Reference series — a step up from the Masters Premium kit he had used on Deliverance. The Reference series' mahogany/birch hybrid shells split the difference between warmth and attack, giving Lopez a kit that could deliver Deliverance-style punch on the heaviest passages while still breathing on the album's acoustic interludes.

The bass drum returned to 22" — back up from Deliverance's tighter 20" — restoring the low-end body that had characterized the Blackwater Park sessions. This wasn't a retreat; it was a recognition that Ghost Reveries needed the full dynamic spectrum, from "Ghost of Perdition"'s blast-beat sections to its hushed, Mellotron-soaked midsection.

The tom configuration stayed consistent with the rest of the Lopez/Opeth catalog — 10" and 12" rack toms, 14" and 16" floor toms — preserving the melodic voicing he had relied on since Blackwater Park. What changed was the shell composition: the Reference series' hybrid construction gave the toms a slightly faster decay than the all-maple Sonor, useful for the album's more rhythmically intricate sections.

Pearl's Reference series was, at the time, among the most expensive production kits available, reflecting Opeth's bigger budget on their first Roadrunner release. For Lopez, it represented the most refined instrument of his Opeth career — a kit capable of the full range Ghost Reveries demanded.

### The Snare for Maximum Dynamic Range

Ghost Reveries required a snare that could whisper through the acoustic midsection of "Ghost of Perdition" and still crack through the wall of riffing in "The Baying of the Hounds." Lopez's Pearl Reference snare, built from a maple/birch hybrid shell, delivered exactly that range — more sensitive than the Deliverance-era Free-Floating snare, but with enough authority to avoid getting buried under Ghost Reveries' denser guitar production.

At 14" x 6.5", the depth matched the Deliverance snare, but the hybrid shell construction shifted the tone toward a rounder, less aggressive crack — better suited to an album that moves between Mellotron-laced ballad passages and blast-beat death metal within the same track. Jens Bogren's mix captured the snare with notable clarity, allowing both the ghost notes in the album's quieter sections and the full-force hits in its heaviest moments to register naturally.

Lopez tuned the snare toward the middle of his range — neither as bright as the Deliverance setup nor as dark as the Blackwater Park snare — a deliberate middle path that mirrored the album's own balancing act between two eras of his playing.

### The Paiste Signature Arsenal

Lopez moved from the bright, cutting Paiste 2002 series he used on Deliverance to the more complex, musical Paiste Signature line for Ghost Reveries — a shift that mirrored the album's return to Blackwater Park's dynamic range. The Signature series offered more overtone complexity and a darker fundamental than the 2002s, qualities that suited Ghost Reveries' frequent moves into acoustic and Mellotron-laden territory.

The 14" Dark Crisp Hi-Hats gave Lopez a voice that could sit quietly under the album's clean passages without disappearing, then open up with enough bite to drive the blast-beat sections of "Ghost of Perdition" and "The Grand Conjuration." This dual capability mattered on Ghost Reveries more than on any previous Opeth record — the songs shift between extremes more frequently and more abruptly than Deliverance ever did.

The 16" and 18" crashes carried fuller decay than the quicker-speaking 2002 crashes, giving Lopez's accents more sustain during the album's progressive sections — useful for marking the long-form structural transitions that define tracks like "Hours of Wealth" and "Isolation Years." The 20" Full Ride balanced wash and bell clarity, letting Lopez move between driving the heavy riffs and coloring the quieter interludes without swapping cymbals.

The China cymbal remained a precision tool rather than a constant presence — deployed for the album's sharpest death metal transitions, consistent with Lopez's restrained approach to effect cymbals throughout his Opeth career.

## Key Facts

- Recorded at Fascination Street Studios, Örebro, mixed by Jens Bogren
- Opeth's first album for Roadrunner Records — a bigger budget and broader reach
- Martin Lopez's final studio album with Opeth before his 2006 departure
- Pearl Reference kit and Paiste Signature cymbals — expanded dynamic range vs. Deliverance
- Returns to Blackwater Park's full dynamic contrast after Deliverance's sustained extremity
- "Ghost of Perdition" widely regarded as a career-defining Lopez performance
- Pearl Reference chosen for hybrid attack and warmth across dynamic extremes
- 22" kick restored for full low-end presence after Deliverance's tighter 20"
- Hybrid mahogany/birch shells split the difference between Sonor warmth and Pearl punch
- Same tom voicing as Blackwater Park and Deliverance for catalog continuity
- Most expensive kit of Lopez's Opeth tenure, reflecting the Roadrunner-era budget
- Estimated kit value: $4,500-6,500 (2005) / $5,000-7,500 (comparable setup today)
- Estimated snare value: $500-700

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

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*Last updated: 2026-06-30 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*