Introduction
It’s not every day that the frontman of one of the world’s most respected progressive metal bands finds himself trembling in the presence of a pop icon. But that’s exactly what happened when Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt met Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA—an encounter so surreal that it left him chain-smoking outside afterward. “After shaking her hand, I went out and had like five cigarettes in a row just to calm myself down,” Åkerfeldt later confessed with a laugh. “I get starstruck easily.”
For a man known for his composure on stage, Åkerfeldt’s reaction revealed just how deeply ABBA’s music had touched him long before Opeth ever took shape. Growing up in Sweden, he was surrounded by the sound of ABBA’s polished melodies, tight harmonies, and emotional pop craftsmanship. Though his own career veered into darker, more complex musical territory, Åkerfeldt has always held an enduring respect for the group that helped define Swedish music for the world.
Their meeting took place at a small, private dinner arranged by mutual friends—an evening that Mikael would later describe as both magical and terrifying. “She was so kind and humble,” he recalled. “But to me, she wasn’t just Agnetha. She was *Agnetha*—the voice of my childhood, the voice of a generation.” Sitting across from the reclusive singer, who rarely makes public appearances, was like staring at a living legend.
Despite coming from vastly different musical worlds, the two found common ground in their shared passion for melody and storytelling. Åkerfeldt spoke about how ABBA’s songwriting precision influenced his own approach to crafting songs for Opeth—how even in progressive metal, melody remains king. Agnetha, in turn, expressed admiration for musicians who continue to push creative boundaries, something she herself did in her solo work after ABBA.
When the evening ended, Åkerfeldt shook her hand one last time, still stunned by the warmth and grace of one of pop’s most elusive figures. As he stepped outside into the cool night, lighting cigarette after cigarette, he knew he had just experienced one of those rare moments where music’s past and present quietly touch—a fleeting but unforgettable connection between two very different souls united by the universal language of song.