Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)Mikael Åkerfeldt
, Opeth – Official Website, Retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Swedish musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...

. A former vocalist for the death metal supergroup

Bloodbath Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup (music), supergroup from Stockholm, formed in 1998. The band has released six full-length albums, two EPs and two DVDs depicting their performances at Wacken Open Air (in 2005) and Bloodstock Open A ...

, he was also the guitarist for the "one-off" band

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, and a member of the collaboration Storm Corrosion with Steven Wilson. Åkerfeldt is known for his progressive rock-influenced songwriting style and his frequent use of both clean

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and growled vocals. He was ranked #42 on ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

''s list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time, and #11 among "The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists" on MetalSucks.

Career

A native of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Mikael Åkerfeldt was the vocalist for Eruption, a death metal band he formed in 1987 at the age of 13. After Eruption disbanded in 1989, he joined Opeth, initially as a keyboardist. When their original bassist left Opeth two years later, Åkerfeldt replaced him on bass, and Isberg then assumed guitar duties. When Isberg left Opeth three years later, Åkerfeldt took over as the lead vocalist. Åkerfeldt performed the death vocals on Katatonia's album '' Brave Murder Day'' and their EP '' Sounds of Decay''. In September 2009, Åkerfeldt revealed he was contemplating recording a singer-songwriter acoustic solo album. However, in 2014, he expressed the view that he did not feel the need for a special solo project, noting that he could put pretty much anything into Opeth. In an interview with STIM magazine, he revealed that one of the highlights of his career was Opeth's performance at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. In 2020, Åkerfeldt was approached by director

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos. Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory. He has directed well-known videos for artists ...

to compose the soundtrack for the Swedish six-part Netflix series '' Clark'', which was released in May 2022. This marked his first foray into film scoring.

Influences

Åkerfeldt is a collector of obscure 1970s rock and heavy metal albums. He also draws influence from these obscure bands, making references to them in Opeth album titles such as '' Blackwater Park'', ''

Still Life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

'', and '' My Arms, Your Hearse'', as well as in songs like "Master's Apprentices" and "Goblin." He is also heavily influenced by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, the musician

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

and its founder Christian Vander, and Hideki Ishima. When asked about the album that "made him a metalhead," Åkerfeldt answered that it was probably '' The Number of the Beast'' by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

, but he also mentioned ''

Lick It Up ''Lick It Up'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Before its 1983 release, the band members appeared on MTV without their trademark make-up. It was the first public appearance without make-up by the band, and ...

'' by

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

. In another interview, he stated that he usually cites

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

's '' Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' as the best (and his favorite) heavy metal album of all time. He has also considered

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

's '' Sad Wings of Destiny'' to be his favorite metal album.

Personal life

On 15 August 2003, Mikael Åkerfeldt married his longtime girlfriend, Anna. In 2004, Anna gave birth to their first daughter, Melinda. The couple had their second daughter, Mirjam, in 2007. She delivered spoken words on track #1 of Opeth's 2024 album '' The Last Will and Testament''. In 2016, Åkerfeldt revealed in an interview with ''The Quietus'' that he had gone through a divorce. Åkerfeldt is known to be friends with Steven Wilson, the frontman of one of his favorite bands,

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

, who also produced the Opeth albums '' Blackwater Park'', ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'', and ''

Damnation Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment after death for sins that were committed, or in some cases, good actions not done, on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, it was believed that citizens woul ...

''; Mike Portnoy, drummer of Dream Theater (who is featured in their music video for " Wither"); and

Jonas Renkse Jonas Petter Renkse (born 19 May 1975) is a Swedish musician in the bands Katatonia (1991–) as lead vocalist, founder, songwriter (1991–1994, 1997–) and formerly as drummer (1991–1994, 1996–1998); formerly in Bloodbath Bloo ...

of Katatonia. He is also presumed to be the basis for the character Toki Wartooth from the popular cartoon ''

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American Musical film, musical adult animated television series created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Adult Swim. It premiered on August 6, 2006. The television program centers on the larger-than-life melodic deat ...

'', as revealed in an interview with

Ultimate Guitar Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile ...

. Åkerfeldt does not practice any religion and considers himself an atheist.

Equipment

Åkerfeldt has almost exclusively used PRS guitars since the ''

''/''

'' era and has his own signature model. He also occasionally uses guitars by a variety of other brands, including Gibson and Jackson."www.opeth.com"
http://www.opeth.com/component/k2/item/64-deliverance-equipment

https://web.archive.org/web/20171228004529/http://www.opeth.com/component/k2/item/66-still-life-equipmen

– various "Equipment" pages on the official Opeth website

Electric guitars

Åkerfeldt uses the following electric guitars, according to the Opeth website. # PRS SE Mikael Åkerfeldt Signature Guitar # PRS P24 (Antique White) # PRS Custom 24 (Tortoiseshell flame top) # PRS Custom 24 (Blue Flame Top) # PRS Custom 24 (Black Quilt) # PRS Custom 24 (Black) # PRS SC 245 (Black Cherry) # PRS 22 fret Modern Eagle (Grey Flame Top) # PRS Modern Eagle Single Cut 24 Fret (Wine Flame Matte Top) # PRS Custom 22 12-String (Black) # PRS Singlecut (Black Quilt) # PRS Starla (Vintage Cherry) # Gibson Gibson Flying V, Flying V ('67 Reissue) # Gibson

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

Standard V.O.S. (Tobacco Sunburst) # Gibson SG Standard 1961 Reissue # Fender Stratocaster 1975 (Black) # Fender Stratocaster 1972 Reissue (Natural) # Jackson RR USA Model # B.C. Rich Mockingbird (Black)

Acoustic guitars/Steel string

Åkerfeldt uses the following acoustic guitars, according to the Opeth website. #

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

(with Fishman Pickup) #

00016GT # Takamine 12 String # Seagull (with Fishman Pickup) #

000-28

Acoustic guitars/Classical nylon

# Amalio Burguet 3am (cedar top) # Landola CT/2/w

Amps

Åkerfeldt uses the following amps, according to the Opeth website. # Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 # Laney GH100L with cabinet # Laney VH100R # Laney VC30 # Fender 1000 Rocpro # Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra preamp / effects processor # Marshall JCM900

Microphones

# Shure

Discography

With Opeth

* ''

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

'' (1995) * '' Morningrise'' (1996) * '' My Arms, Your Hearse'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Blackwater Park'' (2001) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Lamentations'' (2003) * '' Ghost Reveries'' (2005) * '' The Roundhouse Tapes'' (2007) * '' Watershed'' (2008) * '' In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall'' (2010) * ''

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

'' (2011) * '' Pale Communion'' (2014) * ''

Sorceress A sorceress is a female practitioner of sorcery (disambiguation), sorcery. Other uses include: Film * Sorceress (1982 film), ''Sorceress'' (1982 film), a fantasy film directed by Jack Hill * Sorceress (1987 film), ''Sorceress'' (1987 film) releas ...

'' (2016) * '' In Cauda Venenum'' (2019) * '' The Last Will and Testament'' (2024)

With Katatonia

* '' Brave Murder Day'' (1996) – harsh vocals * '' Sounds of Decay'' (1997) – harsh vocals * '' Discouraged Ones'' (1998) – backing vocals, co-production on vocals * '' Tonight's Decision'' (1999) – additional vocal production * '' Brave Yester Days'' (2004) – harsh vocals (on disc 2: tracks 1–6), additional vocal production (on disc 2: tracks 6–9) * '' The Black Sessions'' (2005) – backing vocals, co-vocal production

With Bloodbath

* '' Breeding Death'' (2000, EP) * '' Resurrection Through Carnage'' (2002) * ''

The Wacken Carnage ''The Wacken Carnage'' is a CD/DVD set of death metal band Bloodbath at a very rare live appearance recorded on 5 August 2005 at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. At that time, this live appearance was presented as the only Bloodbath show t ...

'' (2008, CD/DVD) * '' Unblessing the Purity'' (2008) * '' The Fathomless Mastery'' (2008) * '' Bloodbath over Bloodstock'' (2011, DVD)

With Steel

* '' Heavy Metal Machine'' (1998, EP)

With Storm Corrosion

* '' Storm Corrosion'' (2012)

As a Soloist/Composer

*'' Clark (Soundtrack From The Netflix Series)'' (2022, OST Album) (including clean jukebox-like fore-/background vocals from track 28)

Appearances

Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk music, f ...

: Åkerfeldt sings the parts of "Fear" in '' The Human Equation'', the 2004 release. * Candlemass: Åkerfeldt performs vocals for one song on the Candlemass 20-year anniversary DVD. * Devin Townsend: Åkerfeldt appeared as a guest vocalist for ''Deconstruction''. He sings on the song "Stand". * Dream Theater: Åkerfeldt performs a

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

part in "

Repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

" on their 2007 album ''

Systematic Chaos ''Systematic Chaos'' is the ninth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on June 4, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States, ''Systematic Chaos'' was the band's first release through ...

''. He also sang the second verse of the same song on its first live performance, during the Progressive Nation 2008 tour. During the same tour, he also performed the growled part of the song "A Nightmare to Remember" with the band live. *

Edge of Sanity Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death metal, death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 ...

: Åkerfeldt provided vocals and guitar parts in Edge of Sanity's 1996 album ''

Crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...

'', and also wrote lyrics for a song on '' Infernal''. *

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

: '' Prequelle'' (2018) – acoustic guitar on the instrumental track "Helvetesfönster". * Horrified: Åkerfeldt growls a few words on "Avatar of the Age of Horus" off of their ''Deus Diabolus Inversus'' album. * Katatonia: Åkerfeldt sings on the 1996 album '' Brave Murder Day'', and the three-song EP '' Sounds of Decay'', released 1997. He also performs backing vocals on the album '' Discouraged Ones'' and was the vocal producer on '' Tonight's Decision''. *

Ihsahn Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn ( ), is a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer who is best known for his work with the black metal band Emperor (Norwegian band ...

: Åkerfeldt performs on the song "Unhealer" from the 2008 album '' angL.'' * OSI: Åkerfeldt performs lead vocals on the track "Stockholm" for OSI's 2009 album, ''

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

''. *

: Åkerfeldt sings backing vocals on "Deadwing", "Lazarus", "Shesmovedon" and "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" and plays a guitar solo on "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" on the 2005 album ''

Deadwing ''Deadwing'' is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in Japan on 24 March 2005, in Europe on 28 March, and in the US on 26 April. It quickly became the band's best selling album, although it was l ...

''. * Roadrunner United: Åkerfeldt performs vocals on the song "Roads" alongside Type O Negative keyboardist Josh Silver on the

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

25th Anniversary album '' Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions''. * Soilwork: Åkerfeldt performs vocals on the title track of the album '' A Predator's Portrait''. *

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

: '' Genesis Revisited II'' (2012) – vocals on "Supper's Ready".

References

External links

Biographies of Unique Musical Figures on LEBmetal.com
*
Opeth official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akerfeldt, Mikael 1974 births 20th-century Swedish male singers 21st-century Swedish male singers Bloodbath members Swedish death metal musicians English-language singers from Sweden Katatonia members Swedish lead guitarists Living people Opeth members OSI (band) members Progressive metal guitarists Rhythm guitarists Singers from Stockholm Steel (band) members Swedish atheists Swedish baritones Swedish heavy metal singers Swedish heavy metal guitarists