MIKAEL STANNE (DARK TRANQUILLITY)

Mikael Stanne is the vocalist for the Swedish, melodic death metal band, Dark Tranquillity.

Mikael Stanne, born May 28, 1974 in Gothenburg, Sweden, originally played rhythm guitar and provided backing vocals for his band Dark Tranquillity. He played guitar on Dark Tranquillity's first album, ''Skydancer'', as well as on their early demos, including ''Enfeebled Earth'' released under the name ''Septic Broiler''. In 1994, Anders Friden, Dark Tranquillity's original vocalist left the band to join In Flames. Stanne then became the new vocalist and discontinued playing guitar.

In addition to his usual death growl|growling vocals, Dark Tranquillity's 1999 album, ''Projector'' showcased his operatic "clean" singing abilities. After ''Projector'', however, the clean style was mostly abandoned until their newest release, ''Fiction''. Stanne is known as one of death metal's most impressive singers for his ability to switch styles from a deep, bellowing growl to a screeching, piercing scream.

Mikael Stanne was the original vocalist for the Swedish heavy metal band, HammerFall. He was HammerFall's vocalist from 1993 until 1996, after which he was replaced because he couldn't perform with HammerFall due to his commitment to Dark Tranquillity.

Stanne was a session vocalist for the Swedish, melodic death metal band, In Flames, during their early career. He provided the lead vocals for In Flames' debut album, ''Lunar Strain'' in 1994. Contrary to popular belief, Stanne was never an official member of In Flames, he did the session vocals as a "favor" to In Flames, who did not have a vocalist at the time.

In 2005, Stanne provided a clean vocal passage on the Nightrage song "Frozen," from their album ''Descent into Chaos''.