Bengt Mikael Stanne (born 20 May 1974) is a Swedish musician, best known as the vocalist and one of the lyricists (as well as a former rhythm guitarist) for the Swedish

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...

band Dark Tranquillity. Since the departure of original drummer Anders Jivarp in 2021, Stanne is the only remaining original member of the band. Stanne is also the vocalist for bands Grand Cadaver and The Halo Effect, which formed in 2020 and 2021 respectively. He was also an ex-vocalist for Swedish bands

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex- Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremo ...

and In Flames.

Background

Dark Tranquillity

Stanne, along with

Niklas Sundin Niklas Sundin (born 13 August 1974 in Gothenburg, Sweden) is a musician of the band Mitochondrial Sun, but was best known as the founding lead guitarist of band Dark Tranquillity (1989–2020). He was also one of the guitarists in the band Laethor ...

, formed Dark Tranquillity because they were bored, along with interest in

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

from their influences. He played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and performed clean backing vocals on Dark Tranquillity's first album, '' Skydancer'', as well as on their early demos, including ''Enfeebled Earth'' released under the name Septic Broiler. In 1994,

Anders Fridén Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project. Career Early career Fridén was original ...

, Dark Tranquillity's original vocalist, left the band to join In Flames. Stanne then became the new vocalist and discontinued playing guitar. In addition to his usual growling vocals, Dark Tranquillity's 1999 album, ''

Projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types ...

,'' showcased his operatic "clean" singing abilities. After ''Projector'', however, the clean style was mostly abandoned until the release of '' Fiction'' in 2007.

Other projects

Stanne is the vocalist for death metal band Grand Cadaver, which formed in 2020. Stanne was the original vocalist for

from 1993 until 1996, after which he was replaced because he couldn't perform with HammerFall due to his commitment to Dark Tranquillity.

Guest appearances

* Stanne was a session vocalist for the Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames during their early career. He provided the lead vocals for In Flames' debut album '' Lunar Strain'' in 1993. However, Stanne never became an official member of In Flames; he did the session vocals as a "favour” for In Flames, who did not have a vocalist at the time. * In 2005, Stanne provided a clean vocal passage on the

Nightrage Nightrage is a Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band originally from Thessaloniki. They later re-located to Gothenburg, Sweden. History Formation and ''Sweet Vengeance'' (2000–2003) Nightrage was founded by Marios Iliopoulos and his c ...

song "Frozen", alongside

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gat ...

vocalist

Tomas Lindberg Tomas Lindberg (born 16 October 1972), also known as "Tompa" and "Goatspell", is a Swedish vocalist who has fronted many death metal bands, most notably At the Gates. He has been active as a musician and composer since the late 1980s. He also t ...

, on their album '' Descent into Chaos''. * In 2008, Stanne performed guest vocals in the band Scar of the Sun, for a track named “Ode to a Failure”. * In 2010 Stanne guested on Solution .45's debut album by contributing the lyrics for most of the tracks and providing vocals on the tracks "Bladed Vaults" and "On Embered Fields Adust." * In 2010, Stanne provided vocals in the song “Weather the Storm” by

Insomnium Insomnium is a melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. The sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain, and nature. They are primarily a melodic death metal band with occasional elements of doom metal and ...

. * In 2010,

released the song “Gallant Deeds”, an unreleased track recorded by Stanne from the '' Descent into Chaos'' sessions. It is now available on the Nightrage re-issue '' Vengeance Descending''. * In 2011, Stanne appeared on the track “Wastelands Within” by Mourning Caress, for their album ''Deep Wounds, Bright Scars''. * In 2012, Stanne appeared on the track “Skin Changer” by Helcaraxë for their album ''Red Dragon''. * In 2015, Stanne appeared on several tracks in the album ''The Great Lie'' by Melted Space. *In 2018, Stanne provided vocals for the album ''Darkening Light'' by Melted Space. *In 2020, Stanne appeared on the track "Whispers from the Wicked" by Carthagods, on their album ''The Monster In Me''. *In 2020, Stanne provided additional vocals on the track "A Meditation Upon Death" by Nonexist, from their album ''Like the Fearless Hunter''. * In 2022, Stanne acted as a guest vocalist for six tracks for the video game '' Metal: Hellsinger''.

References

External links

Metal Israel interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanne, Mikael Male guitarists Swedish heavy metal singers English-language singers from Sweden Living people 1974 births People from Gothenburg Swedish male singers Dark Tranquillity members HammerFall members In Flames members