Opeth at The Apollo Theater
photo by Mathieu Bredeau

Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt scoring Jonas Akerlund's new Netflix series 'Clark'

Opeth at The Apollo Theater
Opeth @ The Apollo in February (more by Mathieu Bredeau)

Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt will score Clark, a new six-episode Netflix series about infamous Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson, whose involvement in a failed 1973 bank robbery attempt and hostage situation gave birth to the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” Clark will be played by Bill Skarsgård, who is best known in North America for his role as Pennywise in the recent film adaptations of Stephen King’s It.

Clark will be helmed by Jonas Åkerlund, the onetime Bathory drummer who has directed music videos for Madonna, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Metallica, and more, and whose feature films include Spun, and Norwegian black metal drama Lords of Chaos. He also took the publicity photos for Opeth’s In Cauda Venenum. “Clark is the story about the most politically incorrect man, who lived the most politically incorrect life,” says Åkerlund in a Netflix press release. “These are the kinds of stories I always look for. It’s an ultra-violent, witty, emotional, real and surreal biography to put a face to the name Stockholm Syndrome, but it isn’t just about the Norrmalmstorg Robbery. It’s about his whole life and what made him who he is, the truth and lies of his incredible career. Bill Skarsgård is the perfect match for this and he will bring the Stockholm Syndrome to the role. And Netflix is the perfect platform, they are not just the biggest streaming service, they also have the boldness to tell this incredible story.”

Not much else is known about the miniseries, like when it will be out (given the current pandemic). We also don’t know any more details about Mikael Åkerfeldt’s involvement, but we look forward to hearing what he brings, sonically, to the series.

Opeth were in North America on tour, right before the coronavirus pandemic snuffed everything out, and played two nights at NYC’s historic Apollo Theater. Check out a gallery from the Apollo below.