Fredrik Åkesson (Opeth)

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, Fredrik Åkesson is the virtuosic shredder behind Opeth’s signature brand of Swedish heavy metal. While Åkesson is primarily known for playing guitar in Opeth, he is also active in the bands Krux, Monsters of Metal, and Talisman.

Born in 1972, Åkesson picked up the guitar at the tender age of 10 and before long, he was playing eight hours a day, heavily influenced by shred gods like Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Gary Moore, Frank Marino, Shawn Lane, George Lynch, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

In 1992, he joined Swedish hard rock outfit Talisman and recorded 5 albums with them over the next four years before parting with them in 1995, searching for a heavier band. Åkesson went on to form the band Southpaw and released an album in 1998, before rejoining Talisman in 2002. In 2004, he played with Swedish metal band Tiamat, and in 2005-2006 he served a stint in melodic death metal band Arch Enemy as a substitute for guitarist Christoper Amott.

In 2007, he rose to heavy metal stardom with Opeth, joining the band for the recording of the album Watershed. To date he has recorded four albums with the band.

Opeth’s sound is a unique blend of death metal elements with a progressive rock expression that is open to eclectic influences ranging from funk, folk or blues to stoner rock, goth, and ambient sounds. An unstoppable force for uniqueness amid a sea of generic swill, OPETH have been setting the rulebook ablaze and ploughing a uniquely progressive and exploratory furrow for over 30 years now. Formed in Stockholm in 1990, the band led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt began life as maverick and honorary members of the then flourishing Swedish death metal scene, but from their earliest recordings onwards this band have neither conformed nor exhibited any desire to be restricted to a single genre.

He is also active in Krux, Monsters of Metal and Talisman.