Opeth’s Martin Axenrot tops 2016 prog drummer poll

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Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot snares no.1 spot in poll of best prog drummers in 2016 for 2nd straight year

Martin Axenrot
Martin Axenrot (Image credit: Getty)

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.

Top 10 prog drummers of 2016

  1. Martin ‘Axe’ Axenrot – Opeth
  2. Matt Garstka – Animals As Leaders
  3. Matt Halpern – Periphery
  4. Gavin Harrison – King Crimson
  5. Mike Mangini – Dream Theater
  6. Ryan Van Poederooyen – Devin Townsend Project
  7. Craig Blundell – Steven Wilson
  8. Jay Postones – Tesseract
  9. Raymond Hearne – Haken
  10. 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

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Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.