OPETH's Mikael Åkerfeldt - "JON LORD We Love You, Your Music Lives On And Your Memory Will Never Fade"
July 18, 2012, 12 years ago
OPETH mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has written the following tribute to former DEEP PURPLE/WHITESNAKE keyboardist JON LORD, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 71 on Monday, July 16th:
"We're very saddened to hear about the passing of the great Jon Lord. Our condolences goes out to his family and friends. He's obviously partly responsible for Opeth ever being formed, so we're in massive debt to him. Martin Mendez (Opeth bassist) and Martin Axenrot (Opeth drummer) obviously had the pleasure of working with, and playing with Lord, and both said it was such an amazing experience (see video below). He was a sheers musical genius. Axenrot even said that when he'd asked what bpm (beats per minute) a song was supposed to be in. Lord had said, 'Around 140 bpm,' and started clapping his hands in the desired beat. Axenrot checked with his metronome and sure enough, Lord was clapping in exactly 140 bpm! Jon Lord. We love you. Your music lives on and your memory will never fade."
