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

By Amit Sharma
published

Prog titan on the players that inspire his work

9. Jerry Donahue

“He was in Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and another band called The Hellecasters. It’s almost like he’s more of a country guy that ended up in folk music. And what he plays just works – it’s hard to get any more tasteful than him. The Fotheringay album that he did with Sandy Denny from 1970 was my introduction to him. 

“I’ve definitely emulated Jerry for my clean sounds – perhaps him, Andy Latimer and Jan Akkerman, who should also be in the list somehow. I heard those guys and realised, ‘Okay that’s me… that’s how I want to sound!’ And now I do apparently – Steven Wilson even came up with a name for it, ‘The Lonely Swede’. So I guess that’s me, but really it’s Jerry Donahue, if you know what I mean!”

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).