Mike McKenzie is an American composer, recording-artist, and Boston Music Awards nominated musician living in New England.
At a young age, Mike quickly became enamored with music, recording video game and TV themes with a boombox held up to the television speaker. It wasn't long until he was teaching himself how to play guitar and trading his finger skateboard for a copy of Testament's The Legacy.
Upon graduating from high school, he met vocalist Guy Kozowyk at a Boston-area Battle of the Bands. The two of them joined forces in the The Red Chord, and the band soon launched into a trajectory that would include over 2,000 performances around the globe with notable tour-mates like Ozzy Osbourne, System of a Down, Gwar, Slipknot, Cannibal Corpse, Mastodon, and Converge.
Today, Mike's primary instrument remains the guitar, though he has gone on to learn a number of other instruments and refine his diverse vocal talents. He has performed in 18 North American, European, and Asian countries, played sold-out shows in 45 of the 50 United States, and sold over 100,000 records as the principal songwriter for his bands The Red Chord, Stomach Earth, and Beyond the Sixth Seal. Mike's songwriting has consistently received accolades from various national and international publications. Known for his technical songwriting and unique playing style, he has been featured in such magazines as Guitar World, Revolver, Outburn, and others. The Red Chord albums Fed Through the Teeth Machine and Prey For Eyes were listed in the Billboard Top 200, and 2005's release, Clients, was listed as #16 in Decibel Magazine's Top 100 Metal Albums of the Decade. His first solo release, the self-titled debut of Stomach Earth, was listed in Rolling Stone's 20 Best Metal Albums of 2013.
Mike has earned endorsements from ESP Guitars, D'Addario, Peavey, Orange, Toontrack, and others. He has also worked with advertising producers, composing scores and recording voice overs for a variety of marketing projects. He continues to write and record for many other musical endeavors, always pursuing the honest creation of new music.