Dead (musician)
Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin (16 January 1969 – 8 April 1991), better known by his stage name Dead, was a Swedish musician who was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem from 1988 until his death in 1991. Prior to Mayhem, he also performed as vocalist in the Swedish death/thrash band Morbid. Dead was a popular figure of the Norwegian black metal scene, and his legacy persists in the genre to this day. Roadrunner Records ranked him No. 48 out of 50 of The Greatest Metal Front-Men of All Time.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Per Yngve Ohlin |
| Also known as | Pelle Ohlin |
| Born | 16 January 1969 Västerhaninge, Stockholm County, Sweden |
| Died | 8 April 1991 (aged 22) Kråkstad, Akershus, Norway |
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| Years active | 1986–1991 |
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Dead was known for his morbid personality and obsession with death. He hoarded dead birds, wore shirts with funeral announcements printed on them and wore corpse paint—being one of the first in black metal to do so. Acquaintances and peers described Ohlin as difficult to befriend or understand. Already intensely introverted and depressed, Dead's personality and demeanor would only become more withdrawn leading up to his death, a progression marked by such patterns as harming himself offstage among friends and isolating himself for long periods in his bedroom.
Dead died by suicide in April 1991 at the age of 22. An image of his dead body was used as the cover of the bootleg live album The Dawn of the Black Hearts (1995).