Through more than 30 years, some of the Heaviest Metal in music has been driven by Swedish drummer Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou, known by fans everywhere as Mikkey Dee. 

 

His early recognition came with King Diamond in the mid-80s when he recorded four albums with them between 1986 and 1989.  As the band moved toward a front man and side men structure, Dee left to play on a solo album for Don Dokken and to play briefly with World War III.

 

Lemmy Kilmister of  Motörhead fame had repeatedly asked Dee to become a member of the group. Finally, in 1992 he accepted the offer replacing Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor.  Upon joining the group, he faced the task of overcoming fan loyalty to his predecessor and was up to the challenge, soon becoming a Motörhead fan-favorite and continuing to drive the group as they recorded nearly a dozen albums and toured the world until the band disbanded after Lemmy’s death in 2015.

 

In the fall of 2016 it was announced that Mikkey Dee had joined the Scorpions as a permanent member and he continues to perform with them to this day.