Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (born 17 April 1974) is a Swedish musician, prominently known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth, as well as being the former vocalist of death metal supergroup Bloodbath. He was also guitarist for the "one-off" band Steel, and is part of the collaboration Storm Corrosion with Steven Wilson.
Åkerfeldt is known for his progressive rock-influenced songwriting style and his frequent use of both clean baritone and growled vocals. Åkerfeldt was ranked #42 out of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World along with Peter Lindgren, and #11 among "The Top 25 Modern Metal Guitarists" on MetalSucks.
Åkerfeldt performs a spoken word part in the Dream Theater song "Repentance" on their 2007 album Systematic Chaos. He also sang the second verse of the same song on its first live performance, during the Progressive Nation 2008 tour. During the same tour he also performed the growled part of the song "A Nightmare to Remember" with the band live.