In a latest chat with Rock Antenne’s David Loebe at Guitar Summit 2024, Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson shared insights on the band’s choice to carry drummer Waltteri Väyrynen in September 2022. Väyrynen, recognized for his work with Paradise Misplaced, Massacre, and Bodom After Midnight, stepped in to fill the footwear of Martin “Axe” Axenrot, who had beforehand exited Opeth.
Initially, drummer Sami Karppinen, Axenrot‘s drum tech, took over as a short lived fill-in, protecting two U.S. excursions and a summer time pageant run till the band was able to announce a everlasting addition. Åkesson defined how Opeth found Väyrynen by watching him sort out “The Satan’s Orchard” – a monitor requiring finesse past simply the standard excessive steel drumming he was recognized for.
“We had a man that helped us out in between, a man referred to as Sami, who truly was Axe‘s drum tech. So he did the 2 American excursions we signed up for, and likewise the pageant summer time season,” Åkesson recalled (through Blabbermouth. “After which we had Waltteri in thoughts as a result of we noticed him play the monitor ‘The Satan’s Orchard’, which is… He is extra of, I might say, an excessive steel drummer, however in Opeth, you could have a much bigger spectrum, you could know the prog, the extra calm stuff, and tasteful stuff, and he performed that monitor, which isn’t a loss of life steel monitor, however he simply nailed every part; he actually had the complete spectra as a drummer — all of the totally different components which might be required inside Opeth, as a result of we type of change in between ’70s prog rock, arduous rock, steel, loss of life steel, progressive steel, blah, blah, blah, and many others. Some barely jazzy stuff as nicely.”
After performing three excursions collectively, Väyrynen joined Opeth within the studio to document their upcoming album, The Final Will And Testomony. The primary monitor, “Paragraph Three,” was accomplished in a single take. Nonetheless, Väyrynen wished to offer it one other shot, displaying his dedication.
“We did three excursions with Waltteri earlier than we recorded the album The Final Will And Testomony with him. So he simply nailed every part straight. After we went into the studio, the primary monitor we recorded was ‘Paragraph Three’, and he simply nailed it on the primary take. So, we went, ‘That is it.’ However he was, after all, as I might be, ‘No. One other one.'”
Whereas Axenrot hasn’t publicly mentioned his departure, his Massacre bandmate Nick Holmes, who additionally performs with Paradise Misplaced, revealed that Axenrot‘s exit could have been associated to his choice towards COVID-19 vaccination. It stays unsure if this was the only purpose behind his departure, as neither Axenrot nor Opeth has confirmed additional particulars.
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