Mige

Early life Mikko "Mige" Paananen was born on 19 December 1974 in Helsinki. His father was an oboist for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, while his mother worked as a freelance actor. Mige also has an older brother, nicknamed "Helmut". While attending the Sibelius Upper Secondary School, Mige moved to Kallio for a year to live with a friend. He then moved to Vallila, where he lived alone for some time, before moving back to live with his mother in Tuusula.

Mige began playing drums at age ten, before switching to guitar and eventually bass. The band broke-up however, when Mige began his national military service in 1993. In 2000, now with drummer Gas Lipstick and keyboardist Juska Salminen, HIM released Razorblade Romance, which reached number 1 in Finland, Austria and Germany. Its first single, "Join Me in Death", also charted at number 1 in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum in the former. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, the band released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights and Love Metal in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Both cracked the top ten in several countries, and became the band's first albums to chart in the United Kingdom and the United States.

After relocating to the US, HIM released Dark Light in 2005, which became the group's most successful album to date, going gold in Germany, the UK, the US, and platinum in Finland. In 2007, HIM released Venus Doom, which went gold in Finland and Germany, and gave the band their highest US-chart position at number 12. After eight months of uncertainty, the band regrouped and eventually released the album Tears on Tape in 2013. He was subsequently replaced by Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger. On 5 March 2017, HIM announced the end of the band following a farewell tour in 2017. The band played their final show on New Year's Eve 2017 as a part of their annual Helldone Festival.

Other musical work In 2001, Mige played bass on the album The King of Rock 'n Roll by Daniel Lioneye, which also included Linde Lindström on guitar and vocals, and Ville Valo on drums. The band had played a handful of shows prior, and embarked on a three-date festival tour across Finland after the album's release. In 2010, Mige, under the pseudonym MZ, released the album Cimmerica, which was mixed by Ville Valo. In February 2011, Daniel Lioneye toured the US in support of Cradle of Filth, with the line-up of Mige, Lindström, Burton on keyboards, Seppo Tarvainen on drums, and Manu Patel on backing vocals.

On 30 December 2014, the original line-up of Daniel Lioneye reunited for a performance at HIM's annual New Year's Eve festival Helldone. On 29 June 2016, it was announced that Daniel Lioneye would release its third album Vol. III on 19 August 2016, with Lindström on guitar and vocals, Mige on bass, Burton on keyboards and Seppo Tarvainen on drums.

Equipment Mige currently uses Fender Jazz Basses. Mige uses a Fender Super Bassman amp head, as well as a Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah and a Death by Audio Soundwave Breakdown fuzz pedal. He previously used a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+ amplifier.

Discography

HIM

Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 (1997) Razorblade Romance (2000) Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) Love Metal (2003) Dark Light (2005) Venus Doom (2007) Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice (2010) Tears on Tape (2013)

Daniel Lioneye The King of Rock 'n Roll (2001) Vol. III (2016)

MZ Cimmerica (2010)