Fredrik Thordendal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fredrik Thordendal
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Thordendal performing in 2023
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| Background information | |
| Born | 11 February 1970 |
| Origin | Umeå, Sweden |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Meshuggah Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects |
Fredrik Carl Thordendal (born February 11, 1970) is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and a backing singer for the extreme metal band Meshuggah. He helped start the band. Guitar World magazine ranked Thordendal as one of the top 100 greatest heavy metal guitarists of all time. He was ranked number 35 along with Meshuggah's other guitarist, Mårten Hagström.
Contents
Music Career
Meshuggah: The Band's Journey
Fredrik Thordendal started his music journey in 1985. He formed a band called 'Metallien' in his hometown of Umeå, Sweden. This band was very much like Metallica. Later, the band changed its name to Meshuggah. They released their first album, Psykisk Testbild, in 1989.
Meshuggah started as a thrash metal band. Over time, their music changed and became more complex. This new sound became very important to other bands. For example, the band Periphery was influenced by Meshuggah. A member of Periphery, Misha Mansoor, even helped create the word "Djent". This word describes a special guitar sound often used in Meshuggah's music. It's made by playing guitar chords with a heavy, muted sound. People in the metal music world really respect Thordendal for his work with Meshuggah.
In the 1990s, before the album Destroy Erase Improve came out, Thordendal had an accident. He was working as a carpenter and cut off the tip of his left middle finger. Doctors were able to reattach it. After a lot of practice, he was able to play the guitar just as well as before, within about a year.
Fredrik Thordendal's Solo Project
In 1997, Fredrik Thordendal released a solo album called Sol Niger Within. He released it under the name Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects. The album was later remixed and re-released in 1999. This new version was called Sol Niger Within Version 3.33. It included two extra songs but left out some parts of the original. In 2016, the album was released on vinyl for the first time.
Thordendal has also said he wants to make a second solo album. He mentioned that he wants to take his time to make it the best it can be. He thinks it will sound very different from anything he has heard before.
Other Music Projects
Thordendal has worked on many other music projects. One project was called XXX Atomic Toejam with Petter Marklund. They released a single and an album. Thordendal also played bass guitar for Petter Marklund's solo project, Memorandum. They also remixed songs for a 1995 album called Ars Moriendi.
In 2010, Thordendal recorded some drum parts with Morgan Ågren and Dirk Verbeuren.
Some of Thordendal's demo recordings have been shared online. One demo, Demo 33, was used to show how a special device called a MIDI breath controller works. This device is used in some Meshuggah songs, like Future Breed Machine.
Thordendal is also a well-known music producer. He has produced all of Meshuggah's recent music. He has also produced music for other bands, like Fragment from Switzerland.
He has played lead guitar on songs for other bands, too. He was featured on the Darkane song 'Psychic Pain'. He also played on the song 'Asphyxiate' by Scarve. Plus, he played a guitar solo on the song 'Deconstruction' for the Devin Townsend Project.
Thordendal also helped create music for video games. He contributed to the soundtracks of Wolfenstein: The New Order (released in 2014) and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (released in 2017).
Playing Style and Influences
Fredrik Thordendal is known for his unique guitar playing. He plays clean, complex lead guitar parts. He is inspired by jazz fusion guitarists like Allan Holdsworth. He also plays complex rhythm guitar parts that use different time signatures at the same time. He uses seven and eight-string guitars to create his sound. He helps write many of Meshuggah's songs and sings backing vocals during live shows.
Thordendal has said that bands like Metallica and Tool have influenced Meshuggah's music. Meshuggah even toured with Tool in 2002. During that tour, Meshuggah's drummer, Tomas Haake, played a song with Tool.
Thordendal also really likes the music of jazz fusion guitarist Wayne Krantz and his band. He has said they are the most inspiring band he has heard in a long time. He also listens to bands like Massive Attack and Cult of Luna.
In an interview in 2011, Thordendal explained his playing style. He said his dad listened to jazz, which helped him learn about improvising. He believes improvised solos sound much better than planned ones. He often just plays what he feels, without thinking much about music rules. He has not had any formal music training. When he records his solos, they are usually based on feeling. Sometimes, he needs to figure out what scales to use for certain songs. Since he is not great with scales, he sometimes plans parts ahead of time. He often improvises the first part, then adds a planned part, and then improvises again until the end of the solo. He calls it a confusing way to play, but he does whatever it takes to make it sound good.
Equipment
Guitars
Thordendal mainly uses Ibanez Custom 8-String M8M guitars. These guitars have special bodies and necks. They have a long neck (29.4 inches) and no inlays on the fingerboard. They use a special pickup called a Lundgren Model 8. One of his 8-string guitars has a Kahler tremolo system, which allows for bending notes. Thordendal also owns a 7-string acoustic guitar made by Ibanez.
In the past, he used Nevborn guitars. This company made Meshuggah's first 8-string guitars. However, these guitars had problems, so Thordendal switched to using only Ibanez guitars. On a recent tour, he used a custom 8-string guitar called the Stoneman. This guitar has a 27-inch scale length, which Thordendal prefers. This guitar is now made by Ibanez as the FTM33.
Tuning: For early Meshuggah songs, Fredrik tuned his 7-string guitars to B♭. When he started using 8-string guitars, he tuned them down to F (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B♭, E♭). This tuning was used because in the early days, before Jens Kidman sang in his current style, it was easier for him to sing in the keys of E♭ or B♭. Sometimes, Thordendal changes his tuning. For some songs, he tunes the lowest F string of his 8-string guitar even lower, to E, E♭, or even D. On the song "Spasm," he tunes it down to B♭, making the 8th string an octave lower than the 7th. For "Mind's Mirrors," the 8th string is tuned down to E0.
Guitar strings: He uses DR Strings, Tite-Fit, LH-9 "Lite & Heavy" sets. These sets include strings of different thicknesses.
Guitar picks: He uses Jim Dunlop 1.3mm Primetone Standard picks with a grip, and Jim Dunlop 1.00mm Nylon Standard Picks.
Amplifiers and Effects
- Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX II: He uses this for all his clean guitar sounds with effects, and for distorted guitar sounds with effects.
- Fortin custom Meshuggah Amp: This is a special 50-watt amplifier built just for Meshuggah. It was first used in a live show in 2016.
- Two Notes Torpedo Live: This device helps shape the sound of the guitar.
- Fortin custom boost pedal: This is a black pedal with a "33" logo that helps boost the guitar signal.
Past Equipment
In the past, Thordendal used different amplifiers and effects, including:
- Randall Satan (2016)
- Fractal Audio AxeFX ULTRA (2010–2016)
- Line 6 Vetta II Head Units (2005–2008)
- Line 6 POD Pro (2001–2005)
- Marshall Valvestate 8200 (1992–2001; for live shows)
- Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber+ (1994)
- Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (1995–2001; for studio recording)
- Marshall JCM800
- Marshall 1960A cab
- Rocktron Juice Extractor
- TC Electronic Chorus & Flanger
- Homemade "Les Amp" Head Unit
- Homemade 1x12" Cabinet
- Yamaha Breath Controller
- Volume Unit (controlled by the Yamaha BC)
- ADA Rackmount Delay
Discography
Meshuggah
- Psykisk Testbild (EP, 1989)
- Contradictions Collapse (1991)
- None (EP, 1994)
- Selfcaged (EP, 1995)
- Destroy Erase Improve (1995)
- Chaosphere (1998)
- Nothing (2002)
- I (EP, 2004)
- Catch Thirty-Three (2005)
- Nothing – Re-issue (2006)
- obZen (2008)
- Alive (Live Album, 2010)
- Koloss (2012)
- Pitch Black (EP, 2013)
- The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016)
- Immutable (2022)
Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects
- Sol Niger Within (1997)
The Devin Townsend Project
- Deconstruction (2011) (guest guitarist on "Deconstruction")
Gojira
- Untitled Sea Shepherd EP (TBA) (guest guitarist on "Of Blood and Salt")
Mattias Eklundh
- The Smorgasbord (2013) (guest guitarist on "Friedrichs Wahnbriefe")
Scarve
- Irradiant (2004) (guest solo guitarist on "Asphyxiate")
Mick Gordon
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014) (guest guitarist on "Herr Faust")
Grant the Sun
- Sylvain (2019) (bass guitarist)
Jakub Zytecki
- Nothing Lasts, Nothing's Lost (2019) (guest guitarist on "Creature Comfort")
Evan Marien
- Emar, Vol. 3 (2019) (guest guitarist on "Requiem")
See also
In Spanish: Fredrik Thordendal para niños
