The Gibson EDS-1275 electric 12-string was used by jazz fusion guitarist John McLaughlin of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Guns N ' Roses guitarist Slash, Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule and The Allman Brothers Band, Cory Stuteville of Year Of The Dragon, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Jeff Buckley and System of a Down and Scars on Broadway guitarist Daron Malakian, Taylor Swift.

Later, Åkerfeldt received a call from Barrett, who wanted to release a full-length album by Opeth.

Åkerfeldt commented about: " As you might understand I was more or less influenced by the occult back then, although in no serious manner.

In March 2004, Peter ( and Mikael Åkerfeldt ) were both ranked # 42 out of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of all time by Guitar World.

Most prominently was frontman Steven Wilson's meeting of Mikael Åkerfeldt from the Swedish metal band Opeth, which occurred when the two were separately interviewed by an interviewer who had interviewed both of them.

*" Face Of Melinda " by Mikael Åkerfeldt, from Opeth's album Still Life

Nordin was asked to join Opeth by Mikael Åkerfeldt, having previously played with him in another death metal band, Eruption.

Åkerfeldt considers Sad Wings of Destiny the best metal album of all time, and notes that there was a time when he only listened to Judas Priest.

Åkerfeldt wrote the lyrics for this album before the music was written.

" However, before Orchids release, according to Åkerfeldt:

Lyrically, the song " The Night and the Silent Water " is about the grandfather of vocalist / guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, who had died shortly before the recording of the album.

This is another great album that most bands out there would give their right arm to have written and that statement just speaks volumes of the songwriting talent of the Åkerfeldt / Lindgren team.

Åkerfeldt stated that " we really were lucky as the sunset that evening, was probably the most beautiful one I had ever seen.

" Jim Raggi of Lamentations of the Flame Princess wrote that " perhaps the most easily recognizable voice in all of extreme metal, Mikael Åkerfeldt really does make some noise in his debut.

* 1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish guitarist and singer ( Opeth, Bloodbath, and Katatonia )

Åkerfeldt stated in September 2010 that he was writing for a new Opeth album.

In August 2012, Åkerfeldt revealed that he has begun writing new material for what will be the eleventh Opeth album.

Opeth vocalist and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt and No-Man vocalist Tim Bowness wrote lyrics and sang on one track each.

* Mikael Åkerfeldt ( Opeth ) – vocals on the track " Stockholm " on Blood

A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt ( Opeth ) on vocals, Dan Swanö ( Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, etc.

In 2005, Åkerfeldt left Bloodbath to free up more time for his primary band Opeth.

* Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth uses an EBow in the songs " The Drapery Falls ", " Dirge For November " and " Isolation Years ".

A few months later when Åkerfeldt was having dinner with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson, Åkerfeldt discussed the idea of Wilson producing the next Opeth album.

Åkerfeldt wrote that Opeth felt like " a bunch of amateurs in comparison.

Isberg invited Mikael Åkerfeldt ( of the recently disbanded band Eruption ) to join Opeth.

The other members of the band took exception to this, and quit Opeth, leaving only Isberg and Åkerfeldt.

After the members left Opeth, Mikael Åkerfeldt and David Isberg began to write the songs.

" According to Åkerfeldt, " the idea for Opeth was for it to be evil — satanic lyrics and evil riffs.

In 1998, Opeth singer and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt used a part of a sentence from " Drip Drip " for the title of the album My Arms, Your Hearse.

Other notable musicians, who formerly used Laney include Paul Gilbert, Mikael Åkerfeldt ( Opeth, Storm Corrosion, Bloodbath, Steel, Katatonia, Porcupine Tree ), and Steve Vai ( Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, G3 ).

After the tour in support of Morningrise had finished, Nordin decided to leave Opeth as he ( according to Åkerfeldt ) had informed the band he was moving to Brazil.

Åkerfeldt explained that My Arms, Your Hearse was recorded while he was suffering from influenza.

Åkerfeldt had been in contact with the photographer Torbjorn Ekebacke for a while, and learned that Ekebacke also created graphic layouts.

As Opeth's primary songwriter and lyricist, vocalist / guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt heads the direction of Opeth's sound.

Åkerfeldt later discovered progressive rock and folk music, both of which had a profound impact on the sound of the band.

Vocally, Åkerfeldt shifts between traditional death metal vocals for heavy sections, and clean, sometimes whispered vocals over mellow passages.

" Opeth's growling vocals and heavy guitars ( liberally intermixed with gothic metal-evocative acoustic passages and clean melodic vocals ) often see them cited as progressive death metal, yet their vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt refers to Yes and Camel as major influences in the style of their music.

Since his death, many fellow musicians have commented on Gary Moore's talents including Ozzy Osbourne, Kirk Hammett, Eric Singer, Doug Aldrich, Tmi, Bob Geldof, Roger Taylor, Brian May, Brian Downey, Andy DiGelsomina, Ricky Warwick, Glenn Hughes, Bryan Adams, Henry Rollins, Scott Gorham, Ignacio Garay, and Mikael Åkerfeldt.

The band has featured a number of guest musicians on its albums, including Steven Wilson, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Sean Malone, Joey Vera and Gavin Harrison.

That same year, Åkerfeldt rejoined the band for a single live show at Germany's Wacken Open Air on August 5.

Prior to the show, the band commented on the Wacken show: " Not only the first, but also the last gig for Bloodbath ( with Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals )"; later it also turned out to be the last one with Swanö.

On January 30, 2008, it was announced via the Bloodbath website that Åkerfeldt would be rejoining the line-up on vocals, along with new member Per Eriksson ( ex-21 Lucifers, ex-Genocrush Ferox ) on guitar.

On April 14, 2012, Blakkheim announced that Åkerfeldt officially left the group.

Following a few live dates in Europe, Opeth's guitarist and vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt went to an old friend's house in Stockholm, Sweden to record some demos and develop ideas for the new album.

After Åkerfeldt sent Wilson the demos he had recorded, Wilson agreed to produce the album.

Front-man Mikael Åkerfeldt explains: " Still Life was not Satanic but an anti-Christian theme.

However, Mendez did not have enough time to learn the bass parts for the album, so frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt played bass for the entire recording session.