Markus Johansson

American musician

Markus Johansson

Background information
Born|  (1984-12-22) December 22, 1984 (age 38)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres| Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock, speed metal, power metal, progressive metal
Occupation(s)| Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)| Guitar, vocals
Years active| 2006–present
Website| johanssonshreds.com

Musical artist

Markus Johansson (born December 22, 1984) is an American heavy metal guitarist and vocalist from Chicago. He is currently the lead guitarist for the international touring band THEM. Johansson is also the lead vocalist and guitarist for Sylencer, Australian thrash metal band 4ARM, as well as a session guitarist for various projects.

## Biography[edit]

Johansson is a self-taught lead guitarist from Chicago, Illinois, who began playing guitar when he was 13 years old. At the age of 17, he auditioned for Limp Bizkit, to which Fred Durst humorously told him to "go play for Megadeth, instead."[1] In 2009, Johansson auditioned with Dying Fetus, but continued on as the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of the band Sylencer.[2]

### Recent events[edit]

In the summer of 2004, Johansson founded the band Sylencer and began recording their debut album, "A Lethal Dose of Truth" in 2006. He recruited drummer Kevin Talley and guitarist Larry Tarnowski to round out the lineup for his debut release.[3] The majority of the album was recorded by the end of 2006, Johansson recruited several big names in the heavy metal community which grew to include members of Dream Theater, Anthrax, Dethklok, and nearly a dozen others.[4] A Lethal Dose of Truth was released independently in September 2012 through Sylencer Records.[5]

In the spring of 2014, Johansson collaborated with guitarist Toby Knapp on the instrumental album Unborn Spirits Immortal. The album was released in June 2014 through Shred Guy records.[6] That same year, Johansson joined Australian metal band, 4ARM as their lead singer/guitarist and recorded their 2015 album, Survivalist. Currently, Johansson is the lead guitarist for the heavy metal band THEM and recorded on their 2016 album, Fear Them. He joined their spring tour which headlined Helloween.

Johansson did several tours with THEM.

* Harder than Steel (9/30/17)
* Mountains of Madness (10/20/17)
* German Swordbrothers Festival (2/14/18)
* Metalheadz Open Air 2018 (5/11/18)

On May 23, 2018, Johansson joined Repentance and opened for Trivium.[7]

Johansson spent the majority of 2019 and 2020 working on his studio tan and on the debut Repentance album "God For A Day," and THEM's "Return to Hemmersmoor," in addition to several other session projects. He did a short European tour with THEM in spring of 2019.[8]

In fall of 2020, Johansson joined Chicago's legendary 80's Hair Metal tribute, Hairbangers Ball as "Darrell Diamond."[9] During the COVID-19 pandemic downtime, the group collaborated and released an original single "All Aboard the Bang Train" – a song about the famous Bluebird Nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana.[10] Also, Johnasson, in addition to other former members of Repentance, to form a new project, Divinity Plague.[11]

## Equipment[edit]

ESP Guitars, ISP Technologies, FU-Tone, BTPA, Rocktron,[12] Fastback Custom, Cleartone Guitar Strings, Protone Pedals, Two Notes Audio Engineering.

Johannson has his own custom pickup, The Cobra Igniter.[13]

## Bands[edit]

* Sylencer 2006–present
* 4ARM 2013–present
* THEM 2015–present
* Repentance 2018–2021
* Hairbangers Ball 2020–2022
* Divinity Plague 2021–present

## Discography[edit]

### Sylencer[edit]

* A Lethal Dose of Truth (2012)

### THEM[edit]

* "Fear Them" (2016)[14]
* "Sweet Hollow" (2016) [15]
* "Manor of the Seven Gables" (2018)[16]
* "Back in the Garden Where Death Sleeps" (2019)[17]
* "Return to Hemmersmoor" (2020)[18]
* "Fear City" (2022)

### Knapp/Johansson[edit]

* "Unborn Spirits Immortal" (2014)
* "Electric Gathering" (2015)

### 4ARM[edit]

* "Survivalist" (2015)
* Pathway to Oblivion (2023)

### Repentance[edit]

* "God for a Day" (2020)[19]

### Evan K[edit]

* Blue Lightning (2016), guest vocals on "Everything Is Coming Up Roses"

### Hairbangers Ball[edit]

* "All Aboard the Bang Train" (single) (2021)
* "Play Dangerous" (single) (2021)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Sylencer: the Unknown Chicago Musician Who Got An All-Star Lineup of Musicians to Play on His Debut Album". Noisecreep.com. July 17, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
2. ^ "5 Favorite Guest Guitar Solos by Sylencer's Markus Johansson". Noisecreep.com. September 5, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
3. ^ "PodOmatic | Best Free Podcasts". Jimsantorashow.podomatic.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
4. ^ Sylencer – A Lethal Dose of Truth Album Review. "Sylencer – A Lethal Dose of Truth Album Review | Shattered SpadeShattered Spade". Shatteredspade.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
5. ^ "Markus Johansson Discography". johanssonshreds.com. September 4, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
6. ^ ["http://shredguyrecords.storenvy.com/products/10332054-knapp-johansson-unborn-spirits-immortal-cd "Shredguy Records Unborn Spirits Immortal"]. shredguyrecords.storenvy.com. June 10, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2016. `{{cite web}}`: Check `|url=` value (help)
7. ^ "Trivium with Toothgrinder and Repentance at The Forge (May 23, 2018)". Concertarchives. May 23, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
8. ^ "Video Premiere: Repentance – 'God for a Day'". decibelmagazine.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
9. ^ "Meet Chicago's Favorite 80's Cover Band". hairbangersball. March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
10. ^ "Hairbangers Ball release video for debut single All Aboard The Bang Train". sleazeroxx. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
11. ^ "Repentance Splinters Due to Professional and Personal Differences". bravewords. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
12. ^ "Rocktron Artists". rocktron.com. June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
13. ^ "Cobra Igniters". "fastbackguitars.com. June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
14. ^ "THEM". johanssonshreds.com. February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
15. ^ "THEM". bandcamp.com. September 30, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
16. ^ "THEM". crommetal.com. March 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
17. ^ "THEM". bandcamp.com. June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
18. ^ "THEM". steamhammer.de. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. ^ "Repentance". metalnoise.net. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Official Website