“The Six Feet Under gig was a fast ticket into touring. One of the first shows was in front of 45,000 people. I was used to playing for 20-30 people”: YouTube star, entrepreneur, go-to death metal guitarist… Inside the unstoppable rise of Ola Englund

Ola England strikes a pose against a dark gray background. He holds one of his Solar Guitars.

He might have joined the Haunted a full 17 years after the group formed, yet to metal guitarists, Ola Englund’s face is far more recognizable than those of his bandmates – even though bassist Jonas Björler and drummer Adrian Erlandsson were original members of Swedish death metal pioneers At the Gates.

How has Englund eclipsed the celebrity status of the rest of the Haunted? Simple. Since the early days of social media, Englund has been creating gear reviews, interview segments, on-the-scene reports, and other nuggets of infotainment that’ve turned him into a YouTube influencer. Englund has posted more than 2,300 videos on his YouTube channel.