Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin (16 January 1969 – 8 April 1991), known professionally as Dead, was a Swedish musician who was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem from 1988 until his death in 1991.

Dead was a popular figure of the Norwegian black metal scene, and his legacy persists in the genre to this day.

Already intensely introverted and depressed, Dead's personality and demeanor would only become more withdrawn leading up to his death, a progression marked by such patterns as harming himself offstage among friends and isolating himself for long periods in his bedroom.

[6] At the age of ten, he suffered internal bleeding when his spleen ruptured after what he claimed was an ice skating accident.

However, in the Swedish metal book Blod eld död (English: "Blood Fire Death"), his brother Anders stated in an exclusive interview that Dead was frequently bullied in school and one day sustained a ruptured spleen as a direct result of a severe beating by bullies.

[3][8] As a teenager, Ohlin developed a taste for heavy metal and rock music, citing bands like Black Sabbath, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Motörhead, Venom, Metallica, Bathory, Sodom and Mercyful Fate as his favourites.

[10] In early 1986, Ohlin founded the Swedish death/thrash metal group Morbid, with which he recorded a demo tape called December Moon.

Disappointed that the band wasn't "going anywhere", he decided to contact members of Mayhem as he was aware the group were in need of a new frontman following vocalist Maniac's departure.

[11] According to Mayhem bassist Jørn "Necrobutcher" Stubberud, Dead initially sent the band members a small parcel containing a demo tape, a letter detailing his ideas for the future and a crucified mouse.

From the beginning of his career, he wore "corpse paint", which involved covering his face with black and white makeup.

[12] Mayhem drummer Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg claimed that Dead "was the first black metal musician to use corpse paint",[13] although this statement has been proven to be debatable as Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth can be seen wearing corpse paint in live footage as early as 1985.

To complete his corpse-like image, Dead would bury his stage clothes and dig them up again to wear on the night of a concert.

Emperor drummer Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun claims that Dead had to be taken to hospital after the gig, but arrived too late and so "it was no use to give him stitches".

[14][15] In an interview conducted by Marduk guitarist Morgan Håkansson and published in the fanzine Slayer, Dead explained how he and the rest of Mayhem would expel poseurs at their concerts.

He and the other members enjoyed this sort of practice; he concluded with, "If someone doesn't like blood and rotten flesh thrown in their face they can FUCK OFF, and that's exactly what they do.

[8] Some authors have speculated that Dead may have had Cotard's syndrome, a very rare condition that manifests in believing one's body is not that of a living human but instead a corpse.

[23] In his letters, Dead expressed a fascination with the occult, even stating that his great grandmother practiced white magic before.

Dead stated that for a time, specifically to better understand his near death experience, he had attempted before to perform his own rituals but was ultimately unsuccessful in his practices.

[7]In time, Dead's social situation and his fixation on death caused his mental state to worsen greatly.

[2][27] On 8 April 1991, while left alone in the house,[8] Dead used a hunting knife to slit his wrists and throat and, afterward, shot himself in the forehead with a shotgun.

[8] Dead's suicide was said to cause "a change in mentality" in the black metal scene and was the first in a string of infamous events carried out by its members.

[8][12] An obituary in a Swedish newspaper stated that Dead's funeral was held at Österhaninge kyrka [sv] on Friday 26 April 1991.

The cover of Mayhem's Live in Leipzig contains part of Dead's suicide note: Jag är inte en människa.

[33] Moreover, Euronymous claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy,[34] which was confirmed by several other members of the scene, like Faust,[35] Håkansson[36] and Metalion.