Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt: the 10 guitarists that blew my mind

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Prog titan on the players that inspire his work

5. Andy Latimer

“Andy is probably the most tasteful player of them all, I think. 

"He’s never worried about showcasing his skills – he’s nowhere near as restless as all those metal players like Yngwie. Instead, his phrasing is very strong. He’s got a big jazz influence but can play great blues guitar as well. His solos are the kind that you can sing along to…

“We’ve emailed a couple of times. And even before then, I even wrote him a few letters… he actually replied! He said, ‘Thank you very much for your kind words and good luck with your band, then in brackets, Opeth.’ I always have to mention him as one of my biggest influences. He’s very underrated, most people don’t even know who the fuck he is.”

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Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).