Mikael Jan Svanberg[1] (born 13 November 1972), better known as Lord Ahriman, is a Swedish musician and composer best known as the primary guitarist, songwriter and sole founding member of black metal band Dark Funeral.

Originally from Luleå, a small town in the north of Sweden, Ahriman developed an interest in music from a very young age.

Hailing from a somewhat musical family, he cited his grandmother, mother and younger sister as influences and he started songwriting himself between 1989 and 1990.

When he was eighteen years old, he left for Stockholm, home to extreme metal acts such as Entombed and Dismember, whom Ahriman already knew personally.

[2] In October 2008, it was announced that Ahriman and Emperor Magus Caligula succeeded in obtaining the rights to Dark Funeral's entire backcatalogue.