Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot has been named the best drummer in prog this year.
The poll was conducted by Music Radar, with 136,000 votes cast. And Axenrot came out on top following the success of Opeth’s 12th studio album Sorceress, which was released in September.
It’s the second time he’s been awarded the accolade after taking the no.1 spot in 2015.
Opeth say: “136,000 votes came in for Best Prog Drummer 2016 on MusicRadar’s recent poll and for the second year in a row we’re proud to announce that Axe has taken the top position. Thank you all who voted.”
Other artists who joined the Opeth man feature in the top 10 include Dream Theater’s Mike Mangini, Tesseract’s Jay Postones and King Crimson’s Gavin Harrison. See the full list below.
Opeth have just wrapped up dates across Europe and will head to New Zealand and Australia in February. They’ve also been confirmed on the bill for Hellfest 2017 which will take place in Clisson, France, on June 16, 17 and 18.
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Top 10 prog drummers of 2016
- Martin ‘Axe’ Axenrot – Opeth
- Matt Garstka – Animals As Leaders
- Matt Halpern – Periphery
- Gavin Harrison – King Crimson
- Mike Mangini – Dream Theater
- Ryan Van Poederooyen – Devin Townsend Project
- Craig Blundell – Steven Wilson
- Jay Postones – Tesseract
- Raymond Hearne – Haken
- Aric Improta – Night Verses
Opeth tour dates 2016⁄2017
Nov 23: Luxembourg Den Atelier, Luxembourg
Nov 24: Berlin Astra Kulturhaus, Germany
Feb 02: Auckland Power Station, New Zealand
Feb 04: Fortitude Valley Tivoli, New Zealand
Feb 06: Sydney Opera House, Australia
Feb 07-08: Melbourne 170 Russell, Australia
Feb 10:Torrensville Thebarton Theatre, Australia
Feb 11: Northbridge Metro City, Australia
Jun 16-18: Clisson Hellfest, France
