Martin Axenrot

Erik Martin "Axe" Axenrot[1] (born 5 March 1979 in Linköping, Sweden) is a Swedish death metal drummer, best known as the former drummer for progressive death metal band Opeth from 2006 to 2021. Since 2004, he is currently the drummer for Bloodbath. Known for his intricate playing style, his drumming has been highly praised by Opeth members and fans, with Mikael Åkerfeldt calling him "a joy to play with."[3] Axenrot has also been jokingly referred to as The Lord of the Rings character Legolas by band members and fans.

Martin Axenrot
Background information
Birth nameErik Martin Axenrot[1]
Also known asAxe, Devastator, Skeleton,[2] Legolas
Born (1979-03-05) 5 March 1979
Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden
GenresProgressive death metal, death metal, progressive rock, thrash metal, black metal, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsDrums, percussion, guitar, piano, vocals
Years active1995–present
Associated actsOpeth, Bloodbath, Witchery, Satanic Slaughter, NCO, Nifelheim, Nathalie Lorichs, Jon Lord
Websitewww.opeth.com trondheimexperiment.com

On Blabbermouth.com, Åkerfeldt also stated that Axenrot completed his drumming part for eleven tracks on the Opeth album Watershed in just seven days.[4]

Nathalie Lorichs who performed vocals on "Coil" on Opeth's Watershed album is Axenrot's girlfriend.

History

Martin Axenrot's first band, Triumphator, formed in 1995 and made 2 records ("The Ultimate Sacrifice" EP and full length "Wings of Antichrist"). Martin Axenrot was only involved with Triumphator's demo "The Triumph Of Satan", released 1996. He left Triumphator after the release of "The Triumph Of Satan."

In 1999, Axenrot became a member of Witchery and Nifelheim. In 2004, he joined Bloodbath as their new drummer after Dan Swanö who continued in the band as one of the guitarists and songwriters. He met Mikael Åkerfeldt sometime after 15 February 2005, when Peter Tägtgren quit Bloodbath and Åkerfeldt came back into the band again to replace Tägtgren. Axenrot commented on meeting Åkerfeldt, stating "I knew Mikael Åkerfeldt because of the Bloodbath project. I met the other members a couple times because I played festivals with other bands at the same time as Opeth. Sweden is too small to not know every band here. Everybody knows everybody."[5] On 29 August 2005, Martin Lopez of Opeth, had to leave the band again temporarily due to his illnesses. With Opeth searching for a temporary drummer, Patrik Jensen suggested to Åkerfeldt his bandmate in Witchery, Axe, to fill in. Åkerfeldt knew Axe a bit from being bandmates in Bloodbath, but going on Jensen's reference, Åkerfeldt got Axe to play with Opeth for five tours. On 12 May 2006 Axenrot officially joined Opeth, as Lopez never returned to Opeth after deciding to focus on Soen.[6] On 16 November 2021, after 16 years with the band, it was announced that Axenrot had left Opeth due to "conflict of interests"; Sami Karppinen is filling in for the North American tour with Mastodon and Zeal & Ardor.[7]

Equipment

Axenrot is endorsed by DW Drums, Sabian cymbals, Evans heads and Pro Mark sticks.[8]

References
  1. Erik Martin Axenrot (1979-03-05). "Ratsit - gratis upplysning på företag och privatpersoner". Ratsit.se. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
  2. "Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives - Triumphator". The Metal Archives. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
  3. "Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt: my top 9 tips for guitarists". Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  4. "Interview with Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot" Archived 2006-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. Drummerszone.com. Retrieved on August 10, 2011.
  5. Rex_84 (14 August 2012). "Opeth's Martin Axenrot Weighs in on "Heritage," Opeth's Current and Future Direction and His Career". Metal Underground. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  6. "Martin 'Axe' Axenrot". MetalStorm, Retrieved on August 4, 2009
  7. @OfficialOpeth (16 November 2021). (Tweet) https://twitter.com/OfficialOpeth/status/1460668522514821121 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "Opeth website". Roadrunner Records. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.