OPETH’s Mikael Åkerfeldt has paid tribute to legendary English guitarist John Sykes (TYGERS OF PAN TANG, THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, SYKES),who died earlier this week at the age of 65.Sykes, who performed with THIN LIZZY and WHITESNAKE in the 1980s, died following a battle with cancer, a statement posted on his verified Facebook page said on Monday (January 20).Earlier today (Tuesday, January 21),Mikael shared the following message via the OPETH social media: “Wow, I was completely surprised and shocked to hear about the passing of the great John Sykes. Now, there’s a guitar player that’s almost frame by frame the image that’s conjured up when you think of a ‘heavy metal/rock guitarist’.”I was never a huge fan of TYGERS OF PAN TANG, because I never really listened much to them. I have the ‘Wild Cat’ record and some others, but when I think of John Sykes I think of ‘1987’ by WHITESNAKE as well as BLUE MURDER. His great project with Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin. The music of BLUE MURDER is sometimes utilized by OPETH when we feel tired and are lacking in energy before a show. We sometimes put on the song ‘I’m On Fire’ by BLUE MURDER, but with Kelly Keeling on vocals. That song is surely bound to wake you up, it’s so over the top! And then of course there’s that THIN LIZZY album he was on. ‘Thunder And Lightning’. Great record!”I saw him live only once. He was fronting a reunited version of THIN LIZZY that felt more intended as a tribute to Phil Lynott perhaps? Either way, it was great to hear these classic tunes even if Phil obviously wasn’t there. I know that [OPETH guitarist] Fredrik [Åkesson] is a huge fan of Sykes, and even hung out with him a couple of times. That’s another story, and one that’s best told by Fredrik himself.”John was a magnificent guitarist in my opinion. And singer/songwriter too! He had a wide vibrato that I suppose is an acquired taste, but I have always loved his great feel and emotional playing. I first heard about him when he appeared in the video for ‘Slow An’ Easy’ by WHITESNAKE. A new version of the song from the one I was used to, complete with Sykes reimagined guitar overdubs. He made it sound a bit more metal (which I liked) but had the good taste to keep the original (and lovely) guitar solo by Micky Moody. Right?”Anyways, I digress somewhat. On behalf of OPETH I want to extend our warmest condolences to John’s family and friends. A great loss indeed!”John’s best-known work was when he joined WHITESNAKE and co-wrote the band’s self-titled seventh studio album, released in 1987. It produced a major power ballad hit, “Is This Love”, along with the No. 1 hit “Here I Go Again”. The album was a major crossover hit, eventually selling over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.Sykes co-wrote nine of the tracks on “Whitesnake”, including mega-hits “Still Of The Night” and “Is This Love?”Sykes found himself thrown out of WHITESNAKE, alongside bassist Neil Murray and drummer Aynsley Dunbar, even before the album had been released. WHITESNAKE singer and leader David Coverdale then assembled an entirely different, MTV-friendly group to tour the record.Sykes announced his departure from THIN LIZZY in July 2009, explaining that “I feel it’s time to get back to playing my own music.”BLUE MURDER was formed by Sykes and released two studio albums — 1989’s self-titled effort and the 1993 follow-up, “Nothin’ But Trouble” — before calling it quits.