Mattias Eklundh
Encyclopedia
Mattias "IA" Eklundhtou de meme
' (born 1969 in Gothenburg
, Sweden
) is a guitarist and vocalist, known for his work with the bands Freak Kitchen
, Frozen Eyes, Fate, The Jonas Hellborg Trio, and Art Metal; he has also released several noted solo albums. He was also prominently featured playing his trademark-style solos on 3 Soilwork
albums.
and Kiss
as his two major musical influences, but his record collection also included gypsy jazz
, Miles Davis
, and Slayer
among many others.
In the mid-80's, Mattias joined the band Frozen Eyes, a few years later he quit because their manager was holding their money, and they never had a good share of it, until mattias did the math. Frozen Eyes split up soon after their self-titled album was released in 1988 and Mattias subsequently joined Danish metal band Fate
as lead guitarist. Mattias appears on their 1990 album Scratch 'n Sniff. He later returned to Sweden, forming his own band Freak Kitchen in 1992 with former Frozen Eyes drummer Joakim Sjöberg and bassplayer Christian Grönlund. The band played together for 8 years, until Sjöberg and Grönlund left in 2000, only to be replaced by Christer Örtefors and Björn Fryklund.
Outside of Freak Kitchen, Eklundh has recorded several solo albums, and made appearances as a guest musician for Swedish heavy metal bands like Evergrey
and Soilwork
. His two Freak Guitar solo albums are released on Steve Vai
's Favored Nations
label, and include drawings and other artwork by friend Anders Nyberg. In 2005, he grouped with Swedish bass guitarist and composer Jonas Hellborg
in the Jonas Hellborg Trio along with drummer Niclas Campagnol and played their first gig in Mumbai
, India
and followed with a tour of India. His album "Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled" features a rock/metal-like remix of not title theme, but the background theme from the 1985 film Fletch.
He also annually hosts and teaches at the Freak Guitar Camp. Mattias Eklundh endorses Caparison guitars
, who make his signature Apple Horn guitar, and Yamaha Guitars for the company's unique Silent Guitar electroacoustic. He is also a long time user of Laney amplifiers, currently using a VH100R. Russian manufacturer AMT Electronics have created a signature overdrive/distortion pedal for Eklundh called the Freak Guitar. Recently, Mattias Eklundh became a devoted Kelstone user.
Instruction Videos:
' (born 1969 in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) is a guitarist and vocalist, known for his work with the bands Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1992. Because of the high technical level of their compositions people sometimes refer to their style as progressive metal or progressive rock.-History:...
, Frozen Eyes, Fate, The Jonas Hellborg Trio, and Art Metal; he has also released several noted solo albums. He was also prominently featured playing his trademark-style solos on 3 Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
albums.
Biography
Mattias began drumming at the age of six; when he was thirteen, he began playing guitar. He has named Frank ZappaFrank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
as his two major musical influences, but his record collection also included gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s. Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, and Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
among many others.
Fate (band)
Fate, Danish heavy metal band originally formed in 1984. They released four albums between 1984-1990 before disbanding in 1993. However after a one-off reunion at a German music festival in 2004, Fate was reformed and released a new album, V, in 2006...
as lead guitarist. Mattias appears on their 1990 album Scratch 'n Sniff. He later returned to Sweden, forming his own band Freak Kitchen in 1992 with former Frozen Eyes drummer Joakim Sjöberg and bassplayer Christian Grönlund. The band played together for 8 years, until Sjöberg and Grönlund left in 2000, only to be replaced by Christer Örtefors and Björn Fryklund.
Evergrey
Evergrey is a progressive metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was founded in 1995 and released its debut album The Dark Discovery in 1998. Their most recent album Glorious Collision was released in 2011.-Lyrical themes:...
and Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
. His two Freak Guitar solo albums are released on Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
's Favored Nations
Favored Nations
Favored Nations is a record label started by guitarist Steve Vai and former Guitar Center owner Ray Scherr in 1999. The first album ever released by Favored Nations was Frank Gambale's Coming to Your Senses in 2000...
label, and include drawings and other artwork by friend Anders Nyberg. In 2005, he grouped with Swedish bass guitarist and composer Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead....
in the Jonas Hellborg Trio along with drummer Niclas Campagnol and played their first gig in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and followed with a tour of India. His album "Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled" features a rock/metal-like remix of not title theme, but the background theme from the 1985 film Fletch.
He also annually hosts and teaches at the Freak Guitar Camp. Mattias Eklundh endorses Caparison guitars
Caparison Guitars
Caparison Guitars is a Japan-based manufacturer of custom shop electric guitars.-History:The Caparison Guitar company was established in 1995 by former Jackson/Charvel Japan designer Itaru Kanno and was owned by Kyowa Shokai, a company that made contracts with factories to produce guitars for them...
, who make his signature Apple Horn guitar, and Yamaha Guitars for the company's unique Silent Guitar electroacoustic. He is also a long time user of Laney amplifiers, currently using a VH100R. Russian manufacturer AMT Electronics have created a signature overdrive/distortion pedal for Eklundh called the Freak Guitar. Recently, Mattias Eklundh became a devoted Kelstone user.
Solo
- Mr Libido - Sensually PrimitiveSensually PrimitiveSensually Primitive is a full length studio album released under the pseudonym Mr Libido by Mattias Eklundh of the progressive metal band Freak Kitchen...
(1996) - Freak Guitar (1999)
- Freak Guitar: The Road Less Traveled (2005)
With Freak Kitchen
- AppetizerAppetizer (album)Appetizer is the first full length studio album by heavy metal, hard rock and progressive metal band Freak Kitchen. It was released in 1994 just two years after the band was formed in 1992.-Track listing:#"Blind" – 3:40#"Appetizer" – 4:56...
(1994) - Raw (1994)
- Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal 1970-1996 (1996)
- Spanking HourSpanking HourSpanking Hour is the second full length studio album by heavy metal, hard rock and progressive metal band Freak Kitchen. It was released in 1996.-Track listing:#"Walls of Stupidity" - 4:32#"Haw, Haw, Haw" - 4:36#"Jerk" - 4:13#"Taste my Fist" - 3:39...
(1996) - Junk Tooth (EP) (1997)
- Freak KitchenFreak Kitchen (album)Freak Kitchen is the third full length studio album CD by heavy metal, hard rock, progressive metal band Freak Kitchen. It was recorded between March and July 1998 at Studio Freak in Gothenburg, Sweden...
(1998) - Dead Soul MenDead Soul Men (album)Dead Soul Men is the fourth full length studio album CD by the metal band Freak Kitchen.This album features Christian's vocals on I Refuse and Joakim's vocals on Slap Me In The Face . This was Christian's and Joakim's last album with the band; they left shortly after the recordings...
(2000) - Move (2002)
- Lost in Bordeaux - promotional single (2002)
- Swedish Hard Rock & Heavy Metal - bonus CD (2002)
- Nobody's Laughing DVD single (2002)
- Organic (2005)
- Land of the FreaksLand of the FreaksLand of the Freaks is the seventh full-length studio album by heavy metal, hard rock and progressive metal band Freak Kitchen. It was released on 21 October 2009 in Scandinavia, on the 19th in the UK and on the 23rd of November in France....
(2009)
Other
- Frozen Eyes - The Metal Collection III (1987)
- Frozen Eyes - Frozen Eyes (1988)
- FateFate (band)Fate, Danish heavy metal band originally formed in 1984. They released four albums between 1984-1990 before disbanding in 1993. However after a one-off reunion at a German music festival in 2004, Fate was reformed and released a new album, V, in 2006...
- Scratch 'n' SniffScratch 'N' SniffScratch 'N' Sniff is the fourth album by Danish heavy metal band Fate, released in 1990. The album was digitally remastered and re-released in 2004...
(1990) - Road RattRoad RattRoad Ratt was a Swedish rockband in the vein of Kiss, Van Halen, Aerosmith etc.-Early years:The band formed in Gothenburg as Icewind in 1988 by members Christer Örtefors , Alban Herlitz , Casper Janebrink and Tommy Carlsson . All the money earned from gigs went into a recording of their first demo...
- Road Ratt (1992) - Is this tough or what? - Compilation (1992)
- Pagan - The Weight (1993)
- Triple & TouchTriple & TouchTriple & Touch is a song and entertainment duo from Gothenburg, Sweden, consisting of Ken Wennerholm and Göran Rudbo...
- T & T (1993) - Tornado Soup - Tornado Soup (1994)
- Hans Lindell - En del av bilden (1996)
- Sven Olander - Air Blue (1997)
- Locomotive Breath (1997)
- Hans Sahlin - Hans Sahlin (1997) (Unreleased)
- EvergreyEvergreyEvergrey is a progressive metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was founded in 1995 and released its debut album The Dark Discovery in 1998. Their most recent album Glorious Collision was released in 2011.-Lyrical themes:...
- The Dark DiscoveryThe Dark DiscoveryThe Dark Discovery is the debut album by Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey.-Track listing:#"Blackened Dawn" – 3:52#"December 26th" – 5:05#"Dark Discovery" – 3:35#"As Light Is Our Darkness" – 2:00#"Beyond Salvation" – 4:03#"Closed Eyes" – 6:39...
(1998) - Torben Schmidt (1998) (Unreleased)
- Janne Lucas (1998) (Unreleased)
- SoilworkSoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
- Steelbath SuicideSteelbath Suicide-Japanese bonus tracks:-2000 Re-issue bonus track:-November 2008 Re-issue bonus track:-Credits:* Björn "Speed" Strid – Vocals* Peter Wichers – Guitar* Ludvig Svartz – Guitar* Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg – Keyboards, Synthesizer, Programming...
(1998) - SoilworkSoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
- The Chainheart MachineThe Chainheart Machine- Credits :Soilwork* Speed Strid − Vocals* Peter Wichers − Guitar* Ola Frenning − Guitar* Ola Flink − Bass* Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg − Keyboards* Henry Ranta − Drums- Release history :...
(1999) song - Machinegun Majesty - Guitar Oddysey - A tribute to Yngwie Malmsteen (1999)
- SoilworkSoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
- A Predator's PortraitA Predator's Portrait-Soilwork:* Björn "Speed" Strid − vocals* Peter Wichers − lead guitar* Ola Frenning − rhythm guitar* Henry Ranta − drums* Ola Flink − bass guitar* Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg − keyboards, artwork-Guests:* Mattias Eklundh − guitar solo on "Needlefeast"....
(2001) song - Needlefeast - Warmth in the Wilderness - A tribute to Jason BeckerJason BeckerJason Eli Becker is an American virtuoso neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988...
(2001) - BumblefootRon "Bumblefoot" ThalRonald Jay Blumenthal , better known by his stage name Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, is a Jewish-American guitarist, songwriter, recording artist and producer. Thal adopted the name Bumblefoot from the bacterial infection of the same name, which he learned about while helping his wife review for her...
- 9.11 (2001) - Plug In (2001) (Unreleased)
- Mister KiteMister KiteMister Kite is a progressive metal/hard rock band from Malmö, Sweden. Their music is best described as heavy yet melodic, with dark, brooding lyrics, drawing obvious influences from bands like Dream Theater. Their name is taken from the Beatles song "Being for the Benefit of Mr...
- All In Time (2002) - Locomotive Breath - Heavy Machinery (2002)
- SoilworkSoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
- Natural Born ChaosNatural Born Chaos- Band members :* Björn "Speed" Strid − Vocals* Peter Wichers − Guitar* Ola Frenning − Guitar* Ola Flink − Bass* Sven Karlsson − Keyboards* Henry Ranta − Drums- Guest musicians :* Mattias Eklundh − guitar solo on "No More Angels"...
(2002) song - No More Angels - Johan Randen - Lead Guitar (2002)
- AudiovisionAudiovisionChristian Liljegren, known for his work in Narnia and Divinefire started up Audiovision during 2003 as his solo project. The first album The Calling was released in late 2004 in Europe and Japan, and it was produced by Lars Chriss [Lion’s Share, Road to Ruin]...
- The Calling (2005) - United - DVD (2005)
- Petrus - Come What Might (2005)
- Martin Motnik with Gregg BissonetteGregg BissonetteGregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
- Bass Invader (2005) song - YYZ - Art MetalArt Metal (band)Art Metal is a progressive metal/jazz fusion band based in Sweden and led by Jonas Hellborg. Some of the line-up includes guitarist Mattias Eklundh of Freak Kitchen fame, the Johansson brothers who have both contributed to the solo career of Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Jonas Hellborg, an influential...
- Art Metal (2007) - Destrage - Jade's Place (2010)
Instruction Videos:
- Freak Guitar Vol 1 (1995) (VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
) - Hyper Freak Exercise (1999) (Audio CD)
- Hyper Freak Exercise DVD (2001) (DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
) - Super Virtuosity DVD (2004) (DVD)