“I don’t think he needs to hear what I think about his music”: When Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmailyuk saw Opeth’s Mikael Mikael Åkerfeldt, she was too scared to talk to him
Jinjer singer Tatiana Shmailyuk said Opeth profoundly influenced both her vocal development and her visual art after she discovered the band as a teenager. She particularly admired frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt’s contrast between clean singing and deep growls, although she said she aims to retain her own vocal identity rather than imitate others.
Shmailyuk named Opeth’s 2003 album Damnation as her favourite, praising its atmosphere and describing Death Whispered A Lullaby as especially moving. She said she once listened to the record continuously while creating dark, gloomy paintings, while Opeth’s 2016 album Sorceress became a relaxing album she played to fall asleep, despite missing Åkerfeldt’s harsher vocals.
- Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmailyuk credits Opeth with inspiring her voice and art.
- Damnation is her favourite Opeth album.
- She finds Sorceress soothing but misses Åkerfeldt’s growls.
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Jinjer are a Ukrainian metal band formed in 2009, known for combining heavy music with changing rhythms and a mix of melodic and harsh vocals. Tatiana Shmailyuk is the group’s singer, whose voice moves between clean singing, screams and low growls.
Opeth are a Swedish band formed in 1990, led by singer and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt. Their music has shifted over time from death metal, which often uses growled vocals and heavily distorted guitars, towards a more progressive rock sound with longer, more varied songs.
The bands are part of a wider metal scene in which musicians often cite earlier artists as influences. Opeth’s Damnation, released in 2003, is notable for its quieter, more acoustic style, while Sorceress, released in 2016, reflects the band’s later move away from the harsher vocals used on many of its earlier records.