Michael Amott’s guitar playing is based on the Aeolian mode and the minor pentatonic scale, with heavy use of the wah pedal as a filter to shape his guitar’s tone. This is not a complex technical philosophy — it is a fundamentally simple one that produces fundamentally great results. The Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale; the minor pentatonic is five notes from that scale; the wah pedal filters the signal to emphasize different frequency bands. Three components: a scale, a subset of that scale, and a filter. In the hands of a guitarist with Amott’s specific combination of melodic sensibility, technical precision, and tonal intelligence, these three components produce the specific lead guitar style that defined Arch Enemy’s melodic death metal vocabulary — the soaring, harmonically accessible leads that gave a genre characterized by brutality a specific melodic beauty. It is the same principle by which B.B. King, using primarily the pentatonic scale and his Lucille guitar’s specific tonal character, defined an entire genre of blues guitar: the limitation is not a constraint but a focus, and the focus allows mastery. He has been playing guitar since 1983. He was in Carcass in 1990. He founded Arch Enemy in 1996. He was ranked #74 on Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists list. He uses the Peavey 5150 for ten years (“one of the old Peavey Van Halen ones”) before moving on. He never stopped using the wah. He never stopped using the pentatonic. They were always enough.
Michael Amott was born on July 28, 1969, in Halmstad, Sweden — the same Swedish coastal city that produced the Halmstad Group of Swedish artists in the 1930s and is better known internationally as the place Arch Enemy came from than as anything else. He began playing guitar as a young teenager, learning from hardcore punk and heavy metal in his record collection. His primary influences — Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Dave Mustaine, Glenn Tipton, Adrian Smith — are the most representative assembly of British and German hard rock and heavy metal guitarists from the late 1970s and early 1980s available: every major school of European melodic metal guitar (Sabbath, Scorpions, Rainbow, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden) is represented. He joined Carcass in Liverpool as lead guitarist in 1990, appearing on Necroticism—Descanting the Insalubrious (1991) and Heartwork (1993) — the album that essentially invented melodic death metal. He founded Arch Enemy in 1996 alongside his brother Christopher Amott, vocalist Johan Liiva, bassist Martin Bengtsson, and drummer Daniel Erlandsson. He is the band’s founder, primary songwriter, and lead guitarist across eight studio albums and multiple lineup changes. Guitar World ranked him #74 on the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists list. He is one of the most important figures in the development of Swedish melodic death metal.
Background: Halmstad, Carcass Liverpool, Heartwork’s Invention of Melodic Death Metal, Arch Enemy 1996
Amott’s specific role in the development of melodic death metal is the most foundational in the Scandinavian tradition. Heartwork (1993) — the Carcass album that Amott joined the band to contribute to — is widely credited as one of the founding documents of melodic death metal: the specific approach that introduced melodic lead guitar, harmonized guitar passages, and more accessible song structures into the otherwise brutal, technical, anti-melodic death metal tradition. Amott’s specific contribution to Heartwork’s guitar character was his specifically melodic approach to lead guitar — the Aeolian + pentatonic + wah combination that gave “Heartwork,” “Embodiment,” and the other album’s tracks their specific soaring lead character. Before Heartwork, death metal leads tended toward the atonal, technically challenging, anti-melodic approach of bands like Morbid Angel and Death. After Heartwork, melodic lead guitar was a legitimate death metal option.
Arch Enemy’s formation in 1996 gave Amott his own primary creative vehicle — a band where his specific melodic sensibility could be the central aesthetic rather than a contribution to an existing aesthetic. The Arch Enemy catalog — Black Earth (1996), Stigmata (1998), Burning Bridges (1999), Wages of Sin (2001), Anthems of Rebellion (2003), Doomsday Machine (2005), Rise of the Tyrant (2007), Khaos Legions (2011), War Eternal (2014), Will to Power (2017), Deceivers (2022) — documents the consistent application and development of the melodic death metal approach he helped create on Heartwork, in a band he built and shaped according to his own compositional vision. The multiple vocalist changes (from Johan Liiva to Angela Gossow in 2001, from Gossow to Alissa White-Gluz in 2014) document the band’s continuity as Amott’s creative project rather than as a collection of individuals: when vocalists changed, the band continued because Amott continued.
His brother Christopher Amott’s role as co-guitarist in Arch Enemy from the band’s founding through 2005 and again in 2012-2013 produced the specific twin-guitar harmony approach that defines the band’s most celebrated recordings. The harmonized guitar lines — both guitarists playing the same melody in parallel thirds or sixths, creating the specific “dual melody” character of the Gothenburg/melodic death metal tradition — are the specific sonic hallmark that makes Arch Enemy recordings identifiable as Arch Enemy. Michael’s melodic conception provides both single-guitar leads and the harmonic architecture for the twin-guitar arrangements.
The Rig: Michael Amott’s Guitars, Amps, and Effects
Guitars
ESP Ninja Michael Amott Signature Series (Primary Guitar, Career Centerpiece): Michael Amott’s primary and most historically significant guitar is the ESP Ninja — his signature model with ESP (Electric Sound Products, the Japanese guitar manufacturer). The ESP Ninja Michael Amott Signature (previously designated the AV-395 Ninja) is the specific instrument associated with the Arch Enemy recording and touring catalog from the mid-2000s onward. The “Ninja” designation reflects both the guitar’s visual design and its character — a high-performance, technically capable instrument built for the specific demands of melodic death metal lead guitar. The UberProAudio documentation provides the extensive history: the 2008 Ninja used in the Black Crusade Tour with two versions (one with Floyd Rose tremolo), ESP AV-310MA Flying V (previous Japanese-only signature), and the ESP Custom F-Series model seen in the Live Apocalypse DVD.
The ESP Ninja’s typical specifications — 25.5-inch scale, 24 frets, ESP humbuckers (or EMG active humbuckers), Floyd Rose tremolo, maple neck, basswood or mahogany body — provide the specific combination of playability (fast, thin ESP neck profile), tonal character (high-output pickups for the gain levels of melodic death metal), and technical capability (Floyd Rose for controlled vibrato and dive bombs in lead passages) that his playing requires. His stated preference for playing that is “based on the Aeolian mode as well as the minor pentatonic scale” doesn’t require the most technically demanding guitar configuration; it requires a guitar that responds precisely to melodic expression.
Dean Michael Amott Tyrant Bloodstorm (2009, Dean Endorsement Period): Amott also has a Dean endorsement — the Dean Michael Amott Signature Tyrant Bloodstorm (2009), documented in Equipboard as “Michael Amott is pictured playing the Dean Michael Amott Tyrant Signature Electric Guitar Battle Axe Custom Graphic.” Dean guitars are associated with the V-style body shapes (Flying V, Z) and with Southern rock and metal — a different aesthetic from ESP’s more streamlined, Japanese-metal-influenced designs, but sharing the commitment to high-performance hardware and high-output pickups appropriate for aggressive metal. The “Battle Axe Custom Graphic” describes the specific visual character of the Bloodstorm model.
Ibanez RG550 Road Flare Red (Carcass Period, 1990-1992): Amott’s guitar during his Carcass tenure — the period that produced the Heartwork recordings — was an Ibanez RG550 in Road Flare Red. The Ibanez RG550 is the classic Japanese-American superstrat: fast neck, Floyd Rose Edge tremolo, DiMarzio or Ibanez pickups, alder body. It is the standard high-performance metal guitar of the early 1990s — the instrument that virtually every technical metal guitarist used in the period. Amott used this specific instrument for the recordings that co-invented melodic death metal; its fast neck and Floyd Rose vibrato system suited the specific lead approach he was developing.
Gibson Les Paul Custom White (Early Arch Enemy, “The Immortal” Video): A white Gibson Les Paul Custom appears in Amott’s documented collection — seen in the video for “The Immortal” and in early Arch Enemy footage. The Les Paul Custom’s specific warm, sustaining character (different from the Ibanez RG550’s brighter, more cutting character) provided a different tonal palette for specific recording contexts. The white finish is aesthetically connected to the tradition of white Les Paul Customs in hard rock (Dave Mustaine’s early Megadeth footage, various 1980s metal guitarists).
Fernandes “Burny” Les Paul Custom (White and Black, 1996-1999): The Alchetron documentation confirms Fernandes “Burny” Les Paul Custom models (both white and black) used from 1996 to 1999 — the Arch Enemy founding period. Fernandes Burny Les Paul copies are known for their close replication of Gibson Les Paul specifications at a more accessible price, and their specific tonal character closely approximates the Gibson original.
Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal (Carnage “Dark Recollections” Album): “Michael Amott likely used the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal on the ‘Dark Recollections’ album, contributing to the distinctive Swedish guitar tone.” The Boss HM-2 connection — the same pedal that defines the Norwegian black metal sound via Euronymous — provides the specific Swedish death metal connection: the “Swedish death metal” guitar tone (Boss HM-2 at maximum, different from the Norwegian black metal approach but using the same pedal) is equally associated with Stockholm and Gothenburg death metal bands of the early 1990s. The Carnage Dark Recollections recording (2010, a compilation of the 1990 Carnage recordings) connects Amott’s pre-Carcass recordings directly to this specific tonal tradition.
Amps
Peavey 5150 (Over Ten Years Primary Amplifier): Amott’s most consistent amplifier relationship is the Peavey 5150 — “I still have two of those; I used to play those for over ten years,” he confirmed in the Metal-Rules.com interview. The Peavey 5150 is the Eddie Van Halen signature amplifier (subsequently renamed 6505 after the EVH partnership ended), whose specific tight, aggressive American high-gain character has been the foundational heavy metal amplifier since 1992. Ten years of 5150 use (approximately 1993-2003, spanning the Carcass/Heartwork era and the early Arch Enemy years) documents the period when Amott’s specific melodic death metal lead sound was being developed and established. The 5150’s tight low-end response and aggressive high-gain saturation provided the specific sonic environment in which his Aeolian + pentatonic melodic leads could be heard with maximum clarity and impact.
Randall RM100 (Live Touring): After the 5150 era, Amott moved to Randall RM100 heads for live touring — “We are on the road now and using Randall RM100’s, which are old tube amps. They have 2 power amps with 2 pre-amps which are switchable.” The Randall RM100 is a modular tube amplifier — its design allows the preamp modules to be swapped for different tonal characters while maintaining the same power amplifier stage. The switchable pre-amp configuration provides the tonal flexibility to switch between clean and high-gain channels during performances of the varied Arch Enemy catalog.
ENGL Savage 120 (Studio, Studio Fredman): For the studio recordings produced at Studio Fredman (Gothenburg’s primary metal recording studio, run by Örjan Örnkloo and Fredrik Nordström, the production home for countless Gothenburg melodic death metal albums), Amott used the ENGL Savage 120 — the German high-gain amplifier known for its tight, modern, very high-output character. His description of the studio recording approach from the Metal-Rules interview: “Studio Fredman had a bunch of stuff. He’s got stuff like Engl amps, an old school Savage 120, an Engl cab, and a 5150… There were four guitar tracks and we’d do all kinds of stuff where we would use the pre-amp from one amp in combination with a power amp of another amp. The four different guitar tracks had all different combinations. It’s hard to say exactly what it is; we will never be able to reproduce that sound.” This mix-and-match approach — using different preamp/power amp combinations for each of four guitar tracks — produces the specific layered, complex guitar sound of the Arch Enemy studio recordings, where the combination of multiple amp characters gives the overall guitar texture a three-dimensional depth that a single amplifier cannot achieve.
Randall Amplifiers (Multiple Models, Documented): Alongside the Randall RM100, various other Randall heads appear in Amott’s documented gear across the band’s touring and recording history. Randall’s consistent relationship with metal guitarists — the same company that provides Per Nilsson (#174) his Randall 667 and Mårten Hagström (#167) and Fredrik Thordendal (#166) their Satan heads — makes it a primary professional metal amplifier brand within the Swedish metal community.
Effects
Dunlop Wah-Wah (Career Constant, “Heavy Use as Filter”): The most important single effect in Michael Amott’s signal chain is a wah pedal — documented in the Alchetron description: “heavy use of the wah pedal as a filter to shape his guitar’s tone.” The wah’s function in Amott’s approach is specifically described as a “filter” — it is not used conventionally (swept back and forth during playing for the vocal, “wah” effect) but as a static tone-shaping filter: positioned at a specific point in its sweep and left there, the wah pedal creates a specific midrange peak that emphasizes certain frequencies in the guitar signal. This “parked wah” approach — associated with Jimi Hendrix and later adopted by Michael Schenker (one of Amott’s primary influences) — gives the guitar a specific nasal, forward, midrange-present quality that cuts through a dense band mix and emphasizes the melodic content of the lead lines. It is not a flashy effect but a consistent tonal tool.
Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal (Carnage/Dark Recollections Period): As noted above, the Boss HM-2 likely appeared in Amott’s early Swedish death metal work — connecting him to the Swedish death metal guitar tone tradition alongside Entombed, Dismember, and other Stockholm/Gothenburg bands who used the HM-2’s specific sound for their foundational recordings.
Line 6 Wireless System (Live): “The Line 6 Wireless system can be seen 1:47 into the video” of the All Axess gear rundown. A wireless system is a standard professional touring tool — allowing the guitarist to move freely on stage without a cable connecting the guitar to the amplifier. The Line 6 G50 or comparable wireless system provides transparent (cable-like) signal transmission without the frequency loss of extremely long guitar cables.
Playing Style & Tone Philosophy
Michael Amott’s playing style is the most melodically focused in the melodic death metal tradition — the approach of a guitarist who values accessible, memorable, emotionally direct melodic content over technical display or harmonic complexity. His own description of his approach — “based on the Aeolian mode as well as the minor pentatonic scale, with heavy use of the wah pedal as a filter” — is the most honest and most specific self-assessment available: he plays primarily within two overlapping scale systems (natural minor and minor pentatonic), uses a consistent tonal filter (the wah), and concentrates his creative energy on the melodic content and emotional character of what he plays within those parameters.
His primary influences — Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Dave Mustaine, Glenn Tipton, Adrian Smith — are all specifically melodic metal guitarists whose primary value is melodic content rather than technical complexity. Iommi’s dark, specific riff constructions, Schenker’s soaring melodic leads, Roth’s classical-influenced speed, Mustaine’s aggressive rhythmic intelligence, Tipton’s harmonic sophistication, Smith’s melodic directness: all of these are about the quality of the melody and the emotional impact of the lead line, not about the most technically impressive possible execution.
His tone philosophy is the amplifier-and-wah philosophy: a high-gain amplifier (5150 for ten years) provides the gain and saturation; the wah pedal as static filter shapes the frequency emphasis; the guitar (ESP Ninja or equivalent) provides the specific playability and output level; the combination produces the specific melodic death metal lead tone. The studio approach — mixing multiple amp combinations — adds complexity in the recording context, but the live approach is straightforward: the right amp, the right wah position, the right guitar, and the right notes.
How to Sound Like Michael Amott
Guitar: ESP Ninja signature or comparable high-performance superstrat — 24-fret, Floyd Rose tremolo, high-output humbuckers (ESP LH-150N/B or EMG 81/60). The specific neck feel of the ESP series (thin, fast, low action) is important for the smooth legato-and-picked combination of his lead approach.
Amp: Peavey 5150 or 6505 (current production version), set to high gain for the driving, focused lead tone. The 5150 is the authentic amp; the 6505 is the renamed current production equivalent.
Amp Settings (Peavey 5150 / 6505 — Lead Channel):
| Control | Setting (0–10) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preamp Gain | 7–9 | High — melodic death metal leads need full gain for sustain |
| Bass | 5–6 | Present — the lead guitar needs body in the low register |
| Mid | 5–6 | Forward — melodic leads live in the midrange |
| Treble | 6 | Bright but musical — the wah’s filter adds additional frequency shaping |
| Presence | 5–6 | Moderate — attack articulation without excessive brightness |
The wah approach: Set the wah pedal at approximately the 30-40% position in its sweep (slightly forward from heel-down, before the midpoint of the sweep) and leave it there. This “parked wah” position creates a specific midrange presence peak that gives the guitar a nasal, forward, melodic quality. Don’t sweep the wah — use it as a static filter. Experiment with different fixed positions for different frequency emphases. Then: play Aeolian mode leads (the natural minor scale from any root) and minor pentatonic runs. Keep the melodies accessible and memorable. That is the approach.
Influence & Legacy
Michael Amott’s influence on melodic death metal and on Swedish metal more broadly is foundational and direct. The specific approach he introduced on Heartwork — melodic lead guitar in a death metal context — became the defining characteristic of the Gothenburg melodic death metal tradition that produced In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates, and the entire subsequent wave of melodic death metal bands. His Arch Enemy catalog documented the development of this approach across twenty-five years of recordings, providing the model that subsequent melodic death metal guitarists most directly emulated.
His connection to Alexi Laiho (Series 2 #176) of Children of Bodom — whose own melodic death metal lead style builds directly on the melodic death metal template that Heartwork established — is the most specific and most direct lineage in this section. His connection to Mikael Åkerfeldt (Series 2 #168) as a parallel figure in Swedish progressive/melodic metal reflects the shared Gothenburg tradition. His connection to Per Nilsson (Series 2 #174) as a fellow Scandinavian melodic death metal guitarist documents the specific community of musicians who developed the tradition from its early 1990s origins through the 2000s and 2010s.
Internal Links:
- Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, whose melodic death metal lead style builds on the Heartwork template Amott helped create at #176
- Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, a parallel figure in Swedish progressive/melodic metal at #168
- Per Nilsson of Scar Symmetry, a fellow Scandinavian melodic death metal guitarist at #174
- Mattias IA Eklundh of Freak Kitchen, a fellow Swedish guitarist whose approach contrasts with Amott’s at #173
Frequently Asked Questions: Michael Amott Arch Enemy Guitars & Gear
What guitar does Michael Amott play?
Amott’s primary guitar is the ESP Ninja Michael Amott signature series — previously designated the AV-395 Ninja, with various touring configurations including Floyd Rose tremolo versions and the 2008 version used in the Black Crusade Tour. Earlier primary guitars include the Ibanez RG550 Road Flare Red (Carcass period, 1990-1992), Fernandes “Burny” Les Paul Custom (1996-1999), and a white Gibson Les Paul Custom. He has also had a Dean endorsement with the Michael Amott Tyrant Bloodstorm signature model. The ESP Ninja Signature and Flying V models (AV-310MA, Japan-only) are the most extensively documented production signature instruments.
What amplifier did Michael Amott use?
Amott’s most consistent amp relationship: the Peavey 5150 — “one of the old Peavey Van Halen ones. I still have two of those; I used to play those for over ten years.” This places the 5150 as his primary touring and studio amplifier through approximately 1993-2003. He subsequently moved to Randall RM100 heads for live touring — the modular, switchable preamp system providing tonal flexibility for the varied Arch Enemy catalog. Studio recordings at Studio Fredman used the ENGL Savage 120 alongside the 5150 in multi-amp combinations.
What is the “parked wah” technique Michael Amott uses?
Amott’s wah pedal use is documented as “heavy use of the wah pedal as a filter to shape his guitar’s tone” — using it as a static frequency filter rather than as a swept effect. This “parked wah” approach places the wah at a fixed position in its sweep, creating a specific midrange frequency peak that emphasizes certain frequencies in the guitar signal. The result is a nasal, forward, midrange-present quality to the guitar tone that cuts through dense band mixes and emphasizes melodic lead content. The technique is associated with Jimi Hendrix and Michael Schenker (one of Amott’s primary influences).
What is Amott’s connection to Carcass and the invention of melodic death metal?
Amott joined Carcass in Liverpool in 1990 as lead guitarist, appearing on Necroticism—Descanting the Insalubrious (1991) and Heartwork (1993). Heartwork is widely credited as one of the founding documents of melodic death metal — the album that introduced melodic lead guitar, harmonized guitar passages, and accessible song structures into the death metal tradition. Amott’s specifically melodic lead approach (Aeolian + pentatonic + wah) gave the album its specific soaring lead character that was genuinely new in death metal. His contribution to Heartwork is the specific foundational contribution to the melodic death metal tradition.
What are Michael Amott’s primary guitar influences?
Amott has cited Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Dave Mustaine, Glenn Tipton, and Adrian Smith as primary influences. These represent the complete European melodic metal guitar tradition of the late 1970s and early 1980s: Black Sabbath (Iommi), Scorpions (Schenker, Roth), Megadeth (Mustaine), Judas Priest (Tipton), and Iron Maiden (Smith). He has also stated a preference for pentatonics — the simple, emotionally direct scale vocabulary associated with blues and hard rock rather than the more harmonically complex approaches of neoclassical metal. His stated playing approach (Aeolian + minor pentatonic + wah) reflects these influences precisely.
What is Arch Enemy’s guitar approach?
Arch Enemy’s guitar approach — developed by Michael Amott and applied across the band’s catalog — combines melodic death metal brutality (high-gain amplification, aggressive rhythmic palm-muted riffs) with accessible, soaring melodic lead guitar in the Aeolian mode and minor pentatonic scale. The twin-guitar arrangement (Michael with Christopher Amott for much of the band’s history) allows harmonized lead lines — parallel thirds and sixths between two guitars — that give the leads their specific “dual harmony” character. The vocal changes (Liiva to Gossow to White-Gluz) provide different perspectives on the consistent guitar foundation that Michael maintains across lineup changes.
Why did Amott use the Peavey 5150 for over ten years?
The Peavey 5150’s specific character — tight low-end response, aggressive but clear high-gain saturation — provided the ideal environment for Amott’s melodic lead playing within a heavy rhythm context. The 5150 became the standard high-gain metal amplifier for the 1990s after its 1992 release; its American voiced, tight, precise character was the opposite of the British Marshall’s warmer, more compressed saturation, and suited the more precise, note-defined approach of melodic death metal leads. Amott’s ten-year 5150 use (through the foundational Arch Enemy albums) established it as the specific amplifier that shaped his sound at its most influential period.
