Mikko Härkin (born 25 May 1979 in

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

) is a Finnish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

, who has performed with

Sonata Arctica Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup c ...

and Kenziner.

History

Härkin begun to study

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at the age of 5. He joined ''Kenziner'' in 1998 and with them recorded his first album, ''The Prophecies''. In 2000, he joined ''

'' and toured

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with ''

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band. Formed in 1984, they have released sixteen studio albums, six DVDs and six live albums. The band's line-up has changed many times, with no founding member left since the departure of drummer Tuomo ...

'' and '' Rhapsody''. Härkin recorded keyboards for ''Sonata Arctica's'' second album, ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'', which was released in 2001. ''Sonata Arctica's'' first live CD, named '' Songs of Silence'', featured Härkin on keyboards. At the end of 2002, Härkin left ''Sonata Arctica''. In 2003, Härkin started a band named Wingdom with vocalist Sami Asp, Alessandro Lotta (ex- Rhapsody), Markus Niemispelto, and guitarist Jukka Ruotsalainen. In 2005, Wingdom' released their first album, ''Reality''. Afterwards, the band '' Divinefire'' invited Härkin to play keyboards on the album ''Hero''. Härkin joined Jani Stefanovic's band ''Essence of Sorrow'' with Mats Leven (Vocals), Christian Palin (singer for Random Eyes on vocals). In January 2007, they released their first album, ''Reflections From The Obscure''. Since 2006 Härkin has been working on a project titled '' Mehida''. He worked on Solution .45's debut album ''For Aeons Past'', alongside Jani Stefanovic and ex- Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam. In 2010 Härkin joined

Symfonia Symfonia was a short-lived symphonic power metal Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2010 by Andre Matos (vocals), Timo Tolkki (guitars), Jari Kainulainen (bass), Mikko Härkin (keyboards) and Uli Kusch (drums). On February 18, 2011, the band ...

, a power metal supergroup with André Matos,

Timo Tolkki Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing ...

, Jari Kainulainen and

Uli Kusch Ulrich Kusch (born 11 March 1967) is a German heavy metal drummer. He is best known for playing with Helloween, Gamma Ray, Masterplan and Holy Moses, among others. He is known for his technical style of playing, fast-paced speed metal-like rh ...

. The band made their debut performance at Finnish Metal Expo 2011, but broke up later that year. In 2012, Härkin joined Luca Turilli's Rhapsody as a live member. In 2021, he joined in a Timo Tolkki's solo project.

Discography

*Kenziner – ''Prophecies'' (1999) *

– ''

'' (2001) *

– '' Orientation (EP)'' (2001) *

– '' Songs of Silence'' (2002) *

– '' Takatalvi (EP)'' (2003) * Divinefire – ''Hero'' (2005) *Wingdom – ''Reality'' (2006) *Essence of Sorrow – ''Reflections from the Obscure'' (2007) * Mehida – '' Blood & Water'' (2007) * Cain's Offering – '' Gather the Faithful'' (2009) * Solution .45 – '' For Aeons Past'' (2010) *

– '' In Paradisum'' (2011) * Avalon (Finnish band) – '' The Land of New Hope'' (2013)

References

External links

Mikko Härkin Fan Site
1979 births Living people Sonata Arctica members Finnish heavy metal keyboardists Cain's Offering members Solution .45 members Mehida members Symfonia members {{Finland-musician-stub