How Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt Learned to Scream 

And the best freaking growl as well

Mikael is the male version of a beautiful girl that is not aware of it. I always wonder about great singers, and the fracture point in their lives where they realized that they were able to sing at a level few achieve. It wasn't like he spent his time with a vocal coach or worked tirelessly to become a singer. He had the gene in him the whole time, lying dormant, and was able to nurture it, without anyone burdening him with the chains of technique. Thank God, because his voice is absolutely exquisite. The color of his voice I can only compare to David Gilmour, as it envelopes you with an instant sense of peace and longing.

Easily one of the best vocalists I’ve heard. Great range and great voice whether he’s growling or singing.

Yeah I was surprised to hear him say that. Burden is absolutely beautiful.

I'm glad he's such a humble gentleman.

Too bad Sir David Attenborough didn't record any metal vocals!

I wish I could have him voice my GPS.

Dude I just want him to do a Life 3 documentary on Netflix hahah

Shut the fuck up dude. How can someone gets done with metal? What the fuck is wrong with you?

I want him to say skratta du forlorar du MAANEEEEENNNNNN

He said that he doesn't like his clean vocals quite a few times even though most would agree its amazing

He's tired as hell. He's done like 20 shows that day because same fucking clothes in every video lol when you see a vocalist holding a cup of anything in an interview and not putting it down you know their throat is getting into the home stretch...

666 like ayyyy lmao

TheRealisticPoint haha thanks for pointing that out!

I could totally picture a dude like him showing up for a board game night at a coffee place somewhere. Just a real average guy (who happens to be a ridiculously fantastic musician! but you don't know that playing catan or w/e tf)

This is the word I've been looking for to describe people like him!

Perfect description

amazing that should be a real word lmfao

KindredSouls He’s like your favorite teacher or something.

This

Confirmo

It really does

dude i fell the same

Do it

now

THE LEPERS COIL BENEATH THE TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

⁠@@qwerty.4450DYING MEN IN BEWILDERED SOLILOQUIES

I understood that reference.

Yeeeeesss! Steven Wilson 😜😍😍🍻

The thing that should not be...

Great reference

Lmaooo 😂

He didnt practice as a kid.. doesnt mean he doesnt do it now. (Not an opeth fan at all, just saying)

@@giljamolislagers7894 yea could be

He doesn't practice enough. Nothing wrong with that. He's not Steve Vai.

@@FoxinTaiwan have you ever tried playing "deliverance" on guitar? Mikael is a technically great player. You dont just happen to be that,it takes years of practice. Steve Vai may have practiced more, but he'd probably tell you about his daily routine. Theres no shame in that. Its his job

@@xmiraculix82 Don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to say that he's not a good guitar player. He just doesn't practice enough cause he probably ain't aiming to be at that level?

I said one of the best , not the best

Had

Along with Dan Swanö

@@perennialcoma Dan's vocals were B R U T A L

@@gregorp8406 Dare I say even better than Mikaels

Check out Ne Obliviscaris!!!

Give us a duet with Corey Taylor please!!!

2nd best. Dan Swanö is still alive.

Exactly, there's two types of musicians: Those who perform with technique, and those who perform with soul. You can have all the skill in the world and still not sound great. Look at Yngwie.

@@trajectoryunown You should read up on subjectivity. Not all people have the same level of understanding and ear for sound. Just because you can't sense the soul in a technical work doesn't mean others can't. Interpretation is neither definite or universal. Someone like Yngwie might say he has the most soul in his music than anyone else becuse of how he hears the music. Doesn't make it more right or wrong than how someone else hear his music. Because it's S U B J E C T I V E.

@@faust8218 No, no hate. Didn't realize that's the new thing. He was just like the most recognizable highly skilled guitarist that I thought of at the time. I like a few of his songs. It's just that, in general, I don't feel his music like I do with other musicians despite his classical training and technical prowess.

I dunno, he seems to be fine on a technical level to me. His clean vocals are lovely, he's amazing at communicating dread or melancholy through his cleans, so maybe he doesn't have the greatest range or whatever the hell, but it's perfectly adapted to the music he makes. And, of course, his growls after just fucking amazing, he's a legitimately technically amazing growler IMO.

I had already hit the like button midway through your comment. Instinctly when I finished reading it I hit the like again, eliminating the original one so I had to click it back again. It's that good. 🙂

Its really weird that my favorite growl play in Bloodbath, Mikael Dan Swano, and Peter Tägtgren. And its sad that Edge of Sanity become that awesome band but really few people know who they are

Bloodbath...

He literally owes everything from guitar style, writing, and growling to DAN SWANO. Shame 90% of Opeth fans do not know of that genius.

@@SPMinerva edge of sanity is amazing I own every album by them

crystalmessofficial Guitar style?! Hardly 🙄

"Sound of decay" EP too

@@mushfiquemahi9429great ep

His black metal voice is great too.

Sneharghya Sil 😂

He's so hilarious and precious

his one of those kids in class that say they didnt study. and we all know how that goes...

Vincent Who-FFS. It's hard enough to understand in the video, it's more than gratuitous if comments also just say "Vincent" (probably poserifically).

Who are you talking to man? Was there another comment here that got deleted?

Check Devin Townsend - Deadhead (Royal Albert Hall) At least the same level. Love them both, besides Devin and Mike are buddies so no offense.

@@SupraTompan I feel like Devin Townsend is bit too overrated. He is an amazing singer don't get me wrong.

Check Amorphis, Tomi's growl is even better than Mikael imo, and has an equally good clean vocal

Tatiana from jinjer is running shit when it comes to clean to growl singing watch her live

@@Daniel.Miranda holy shit she is insane! and i think i'm in love...

Corey Tevis Dave Grohl Yankovic

This one wins the Internet.. ;)

Holy shit, that one got me. :'D

@Eduardo Gentile why thank ya good sir.

@Eduardo Gentile thank ya man. I am a distant cousin to Eleanor Kerrigan. She performs standup comedy with Andrew Dice Clay. So I appreciate, as a regular guy, getting laughs.

Thank you, Pringles head.

For me, his clean vocals always sounded like Ian Anderson but lower ;)

@@hexzerorouge6361oh, I'm not the only one to think that! I guess his acoustic parts are influenced by Anderson as well

That fits Jari Mäenpää too

Also Jonas Renske from Katatonia

wow i didn't know he worked on helevetesfönster!

Nico Pillay On the same album too!

Really, really good guy. Met him when i was 14 at a festival w/backstage pass. Mikael sat down and talked to us kids for 10 minutes after we approached him.. So funny, and kind.

Thank you for pointing out the band name. I saw the shirt and thought it was "The Wizard" so I was trying to find a band by that name

Love the Wolf of Wall Street quote😆🤣

see them live and your wish will come true.

@@rolyatnad on a new record

MAGA2020? That's where Donald Trump got his password I see... didn't think him as Opeth fan tho 🤔

Let Åkerfeldt do what ever the fuck he wants

Dan Swanö and Peter Tagtgren are up there

Xen from Ne Obliviscaris.

For the low gutterals, I can't think of anyone better. Actually, now that I think about it he has killer higher pitch screams too. The specific moment that comes to mind is towards the end of The Leper Affinity before it goes back to the intro riff: "deafening screams pierce the niiíiiiiiiiiight". That shit always gives me goosebumps. All the guys Mikael mentions in this video are absolute beasts too. Listen to Death's cover of Painkiller for a great example of how insane Chuck's vocals were at the end of his career. One more off the top of my head is Devin Townsend. Different style, but his range and control are world-class (especially if you include his clean singing).

Search up the band “imperial circus dead decadence” their vocalist is a beast

Game Vault, I just got done listening to the Uta song on youtube. I like the contrast, some parts reminded me of Cattle Decapitation and then other parts reminded me of the soundtrack from Full Metal Alchemist. Sounds like a fun band to listen to.

Flying Piranha 😬😬

Was about to make that joke aha, it’s such a shame tho, even tho I love rock prog just imagine him going back to some morningrise singing, and taking johan back on bass aha

@@erradate6425 His growls in Morningrise were far from the best. From Blackwater Park to Watershed they were the best.

@@lehtokurppa7824 Yeah, I think Ghost Reveries was his peak.

@@lehtokurppa7824 i dunno. My arms your hearse era had really crazy vocals, more unhinged than any of the others imo.

Lunch Box post proof or else it didn’t happen. Wow. Liar. So despicable.

I just want to add that 'more evilish' is not necessarily better :D