OPETH's MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT Pays Tribute To PAUL DI'ANNO: 'His Influence On Metal Music Cannot Be Understated'

OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt has paid tribute to former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno who died last October at the age of 66.

Earlier today (Wednesday, January 8),Mikael took to the OPETH social media to write: "PAUL DI'ANNO 1958-2024. REST IN PEACE.

"I know this eulogy arrives quite a bit too 'late', but there you go. I have been thinking of paying tribute to Paul since the day he passed away. His influence on metal music and on OPETH cannot be understated.

"I remember a vivid conversation with my buddy Jonas Renkse where we almost fought about who's the better singer for IRON MAIDEN. All credit and respect to Blaze Bayley, but we're talking about the older albums that we both grew up listening to. Jonas was adamant that the best singer was Paul and not Bruce. 'Why?' I asked. Based on the track record Bruce has done way more great albums when Di'Anno 'only' did 2. However great they are, Bruce has simply had a longer career with MAIDEN. Jonas reply was 'his soft voice!' I got it! Where Bruce is the 'air-raid siren' Paul had a more sensitive side to his voice when needed. Songs like 'Prodigal Son' and 'Remember Tomorrow' (which we did a rather terrible cover of) are great showcases of this beautiful side to the otherwise snarling and confident voice of Paul. On top of that 'Killers' is one of the best 'fist-on-face' heavy metal records ever released! I've yet to deepen my knowledge of his solo band as well as other projects, like BATTLEZONE.

"I never met Paul but he stood in front of me in line at an airport once and I got too starstruck (of course) to say hi.

"Our late, but deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and fans."

Di'Anno, whose real name was Paul Andrews, passed away at his home in Salisbury.

Di'Anno was laid to rest on November 21 at the City Of London Cemetery And Crematorium in Manor Park, East London, United Kingdom.

An official statement shared to Di'Anno's Facebook page on November 11 with permission from the late musician's family revealed that his cause of death was caused by a "tear in the sac around the heart."

"Dear fans and friends," the statement began. "We have received permission from Paul's family to bring you the news of Paul's cause of death, after the results of the autopsy have been received."

It continued, "His sisters Cheryl and Michelle confirmed the following: 'Basically he had a tear in the sac around the heart and blood has filled inside it from the main aorta artery and that has caused the heart to stop.' Paul's death was instantaneous and hopefully painless. May he rest in peace."

Born in Chingford, East London on May 17, 1958, Paul first came to prominence as lead singer of English heavy metal band IRON MAIDEN between 1978 and 1981. He sang on their groundbreaking debut album "Iron Maiden" and the influential follow-up release, "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN, Paul Di'Anno had a long and eventful recording career with BATTLEZONE and KILLERS as well as numerous solo releases and guest appearances.

Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023.

His first career retrospective album, "The Book Of The Beast", was released in September 2024 and featured highlights of his recordings since leaving IRON MAIDEN.

In December 2022, Di'Anno spent time in Split, Croatia recording an album with his new project called WARHORSE. The band was formed earlier that year by Di'Anno and two guitarists/authors, Hrvoje Madiraca and Ante "Pupi" Pupačić. The resulting LP was made available in July 2024 under the PAUL DI'ANNO'S WARHORSE banner.

WARHORSE previously recorded three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — were released in May 2022 as a special DVD single along with Paul's video message to all fans who bought the single and thus helped raise funds for his knee operation.

The WARHORSE single marked Di'Anno's first music release after a seven-year hiatus due to severe health issues.

Di'Anno, who finally underwent his knee surgery in September 2022, played the first show since the operation on October 1, 2022 at the Keep It True Rising II festival in Würzburg, Germany.

In May 2022, Di'Anno came face to face with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades before the band's concert in Croatia.

Also in May 2022, Paul played his first full solo concert in seven years at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it will be included in the upcoming Di'Anno documentary, which is being helmed by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon, and 2015's "The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead", about punk rock legends THE DAMNED.