Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (Swedish:[ˈmîːkaɛlˈôːkɛrˌfɛlt];[1] born 17 April 1974)[2] is a Swedish musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for theprogressive metal bandOpeth. A former vocalist for the death metal supergroupBloodbath, he was also the guitarist for the "one-off" bandSteel, and a member of the collaborationStorm Corrosion withSteven Wilson.
Åkerfeldt is known for his progressive rock-influenced songwriting style and his frequent use of both cleanbaritone andgrowled vocals. He was ranked #42 onGuitar World's list of the 100 GreatestHeavy Metal Guitarists of All Time,[3] and #11 among "The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists" onMetalSucks.[4]
A native ofStockholm, Mikael Åkerfeldt was the vocalist for Eruption, a death metal band he formed in 1987 at the age of 13.[5] 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.
In September 2009, Åkerfeldt revealed he was contemplating recording a singer-songwriter acoustic solo album.[6] 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.[7]
In an interview with STIM magazine, he revealed that one of the highlights of his career was Opeth's performance at theRoyal Albert Hall.[8]
In 2020, Åkerfeldt was approached by directorJonas Åkerlund to compose the soundtrack for the Swedish six-part Netflix seriesClark, which was released in May 2022. This marked his first foray into film scoring.[9]
On 15 August 2003, Mikael Åkerfeldt married his longtime girlfriend, Anna.[16] In 2004, Anna gave birth to their first daughter, Melinda.[17] The couple had their second daughter, Mirjam, in 2007.[18] She delivered spoken words on track #1 of Opeth's 2024 albumThe Last Will and Testament. In 2016, Åkerfeldt revealed in an interview withThe Quietus that he had gone through a divorce.[19]
Åkerfeldt has almost exclusively usedPRS guitars since theDeliverance/Damnation era and has his own signature model.[22] He also occasionally uses guitars by a variety of other brands, includingGibson andJackson.[23]
Dream Theater: Åkerfeldt performs aspoken word part in "Repentance" on their 2007 albumSystematic Chaos.[28] He also sang the second verse of the same song on its first live performance, during the Progressive Nation 2008 tour.[29] During the same tour, he also performed the growled part of the song "A Nightmare to Remember" with the band live.[30]
Edge of Sanity: Åkerfeldt provided vocals and guitar parts in Edge of Sanity's 1996 albumCrimson, and also wrote lyrics for a song onInfernal.[31][32]
Ghost:Prequelle (2018) – acoustic guitar on the instrumental track "Helvetesfönster".[33]
Horrified: Åkerfeldt growls a few words on "Avatar of the Age of Horus" off of theirDeus Diabolus Inversus album.[34][35]
Ihsahn: Åkerfeldt performs on the song "Unhealer" from the 2008 albumangL.[38]
OSI: Åkerfeldt performs lead vocals on the track "Stockholm" for OSI's 2009 album,Blood.[39]
Porcupine Tree: 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 albumDeadwing.
^Franklin, Dan (21 September 2016)."Dead Man Touring: Mikael Åkerfeldt Of Opeth Interviewed".The Quietus. Retrieved23 November 2016.Although markedly different from those albums, Sorceress has something of the mood and tone of that work, driven by Åkerfeldt's personal experience, including a recent divorce, more than a reflective, authored distance.
^August 2014, Mark Blake13 (13 August 2014)."Heavy Load: Mikael Akerfeldt".Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved5 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
