Micheal Mills (6,876 views)

[Zedd Squared]

Member Of: Template (2002-2009), Toehider (2009-present), Ayreon (2013-present, as guest), Rituals (2021-present)
Voice Type: Tenor
Vocal Range: F♯1-C6

High Notes:

C6 ("How Do Ghosts Work?", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "Mike's Pretty Good Videos - Episode 3 - Vocal Warmup", "The Thing with Me")
B5 ("Day Sixteen: Loser" live The Theater Equation 2015, "Everybody Dies" live Ayreon Universe 2017, "(funnythings)", "The Parting", "Seesaw Storybook 1")
B♭5 ("Dan VS Egg", "(funnythings)", "Millions of Musketeers", "Subluxation", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior" live University of Sydney 2016, "Whoa!")
A5 ("All I Want for Christmas Is You", "Altered Interosseous Spacing", "The Ballad of the Kianpraty", "Bay of Dreams", "Chimborazo", "Dan VS Egg", "Day Sixteen: Loser" live The Theater Equation 2015, "Giants Who Walk with Man", "It's So Fikkis!", "Lay Down Mara", "Metal Warriors" Open Mike Night 3, "Never Compromise", "Rotten Child", "Run! Apocalypse! Run!", "Sand to Gold", "The Breakthrough", "The Day That the World Breaks Down", "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", "The Thing with Me", "Under the Future We Bury the Past", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior")
G♯5 ("...BUT MOSTLY METAL", "Dr. Snuggles", "Prescient", "This Conversation Is Over", "Toe Hider")
G5 ("Alive!", "Dear Santa", "Done and Dusted", "Dr. Snuggles", "Everybody Dies", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "How Do Ghosts Work?", "I Don't Really Know You That Well Yet", "I Just Listen to Whatever's On the Radio", "I Must Say Yes", "Into the Ocean", "Lay Down Mara", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "Meet the Sloth", "Metal Warriors" Open Mike Night 3, "More Like a Curse", "Old, Old, Old", "On and On", "Planet Y Is Alive!", "Run! Apocalypse! Run!", "Sand to Gold", "The Moon Was a Kite", "The Most Popular Girl in School", "The Parting", "Toe Hider", "Too Much Information", "Under the Future We Bury the Past", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior")
F♯5 ("Astroboy Ending Theme", "The Breakthrough", "...BUT MOSTLY METAL", "Carol of the Bells", "Day Sixteen: Loser" The Theater Equation, "The Day That the World Breaks Down", "Day Three: Pain" live The Theater Equation 2015, "(funnythings)", "Gridlines '15", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "Into the Ocean", "It's So Fikkis!", "March of the Machines", "M.A.S.K.", "Metal Warriors" Open Mike Night 3, "The Most Popular Girl in School", "Prescient", "Sand to Gold", "See Saw Storybook 1", "Sledgehammer" Open Mike Night 5, "This Conversation Is Over", "Ulysses31", "Under the Mistletoe", "What Kind of Creature Am I?", "Whoa!", "Wuthering Heights")
F5 ("Altered Interosseous Spacing", "The Breakthrough", "Chandelier" Open Mike Night 5, "The Day That the World Breaks Down", "Done and Dusted", "Geese Lycan", "I Must Say Yes", "Jem and the Holograms", "Prescient", "Sand to Gold", "Smash It Out", "Sublimation", "Subluxation", "Too Much Information", "Trap Door", "What Kind of Creature Am I?", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior", "Wuthering Heights")
E5 ("Africa" Open Mike Night 2, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", "Altered Interosseous Spacing", "Astroboy Ending Theme", "Bay of Dreams", "Chandelier" Open Mike Night 5, "Diagnosis", "Ducksuite", "A Farewell to Kings", "(funnythings)", "Give Myself to Science", "Good", "It's So Fikkis!", "Jesuitmont", "Lay Down Mara", "Meet the Sloth", "Never Compromise", "No, Not You...YOU", "Oh My God, He's an IDIOT", "Old, Old, Old", "On and On", "Planet Y Is Alive!", "See Saw Storybook 1", "So Goddamn Alive", "Subluxation", "The Argument 1", "The Breakthrough", "The Gift", "The Most Popular Girl in School", "This Conversation Is Over", "Too Much Information", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior", "Whoa!", "Wuthering Heights", "Your Secret's Safe with Me", "You're Not the Girl You Said You Were")
E♭5 ("AEIOU", "Dear Santa", "Geese Lycan", "Heart As Big As the Moon", "Millions of Musketeers", "Secure Your Load", "To Hide Her", "Too Much Information", "Under the Mistletoe", "What Kind of Creature Am I?")
D5 ("6 Years Ago", "Alive!", "All I Want for Christmas Is You", "Altered Interosseous Spacing", "The Ballad of the Kianpraty", "The Breakthrough", "Dan VS Egg", "Dear Santa", "Done and Dusted", "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", "A Farewell to Kings", "Give Myself to Science", "Heard It Before", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "I'd Like You More", "In All Honesty", "I've Been So Happy Living Down Here in the Water", "Keep It", "Lay Down Mara", "Meet the Sloth", "The Mike Solo Appreciation Song", "Millions of Musketeers", "The Moon Was a Kite", "More Like a Curse", "Never Compromise", No, Not You...YOU", "Oh My God, He's an IDIOT", "Old, Old, Old", "On and On", "Prescient", "Purple Ped-Head", "Rotten Child", "Sand to Gold", "See Saw Storybook 1", "Smash It Out", "So Goddamn Alive", "The Theory of Everything Part 1", "To Hide Her", "To See You Again", "Too Much Information", "Under the Mistletoe", "You Think You're Doing the Right Thing (But You're Not)", "Your Secret's Safe with Me", "You're Not the Girl You Said You Were")
C♯5 ("Africa" Open Mike Night 2, "Can't Take a Joke", "Carol of the Bells", "The Day That the World Breaks Down", "Day Three: Pain" live The Theater Equation 2015, "Done and Dusted", "(funnythings)", "Gridlines", "Heart As Big As the Moon", "Holly Wouldn't", "I Don't Really Know You That Well Yet", "I Kill Me", "Meet the Sloth", "Mike's Pretty Good Videos" Theme Song, "The Most Popular Girl in School", "Precious Pressures", "Reach Out", "Rotten Child", "Secure Your Load", "Sublimation", "Take It, It's Yours", "The Theory of Everything Part 2", "This Conversation Is Over", "To See You Again", "Toe Hider", "Too Much Information", "The Visitation", "What I Saw", "What Kind of Creature Am I?", "Whoa!", "You and I Both Lose (But 5 Wins)")
C5 ("6 Years Ago", "The Ballad of the Kianpraty", "Bay of Dreams", "Bring On the Night", "...BUT MOSTLY METAL", "Dear Santa", "Defenders of the Earth", "Do You Belive in Monsters?", "Done and Dusted", "Ducksuite", "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", "Geese Lycan", "Giants Who Walk with Man", "Give Myself to Science", "Good", "Heard It Before", "How Do Ghosts Work?", "I Just Listen to Whatever's On the Radio", "I Must Say Yes", "I've Been So Happy Living Down Here in the Water", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "The Mike Solo Appreciation Song", "Millions of Musketeers", "The Moon Was a Kite", "More Like a Curse", "Never Compromise", "Nevermore" Open Mike Night 4, "Now Fly Away", "Oh My God, He's an IDIOT", "Old, Old, Old", "Powerpuff Girls (End Theme)", "Prescient", "Sand to Gold", "See Saw Storybook 1", "So Goddamn Alive", "The Theory of Everything Part 2", "To Hide Her", "Toe Hider", "Under the Mistletoe", "The Visitation", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior", "What Kind of Creature Am I?", "You Think You're Doing the Right Thing (But You're Not)", "You're Not the Girl You Said You Were")
B4 ("Africa" Open Mike Night 2, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", "Altered Interosseous Spacing", "The Argument 2", "Blood Red Summer" Open Mike Night 4, "Bring On the Night", "Chimborazo", "Danger Mouse", "Dark Medicine", "Day Sixteen: Loser" live The Theater Equation 2015, "Diagnosis", "Do You Believe in Monsters?", "Done and Dusted", "Ducksuite", "Everybody Knows Amy", "The Gift", "Gridlines", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "Holly Wouldn't", "I Don't Really Know You That Well Yet", "I Kill Me", "In All Honesty", "Jesuitmont", "The Last Pages", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "M.A.S.K.", "Meet the Sloth", "Metal Warriors" Open Mike Night 3, "Mysterious Cities of Gold", "Oh My God, He's an IDIOT", "On and On", "The Parting", "Precious Pressures", "Reach Out", "Sand to Gold", "Sledgehammer" Open Mike Night 5, "Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea" live Progfest 2010, "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Subluxation", "The Sun Can't Hold a Candle to the Moon", "Take It, It's Yours", "Tears of the Dragon" Open Mike Night 5, ont], "This Conversation Is Over", "The Thrill Is Gone" Open Mike Night 2, "Turn the World", "Under the Mistletoe", "What I Saw", "Whoa!", "You and I Both Lose (But 5 Wins)", "Your Secret's Safe with Me")
B♭4 ("Dan VS Egg", "Do You Believe in Monsters?", "Ducksuite", "How Do Ghosts Work?", "Jem and the Holograms", "Meet the Sloth", "Mysterious Cities of Gold", "Nevermore" Open Mike Night 4, "Old, Old, Old", "Toe Hider", "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior", "You Think You're Doing the Right Thing (But You're Not)")
A4 ("The Argument 2", "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" Open Mike Night 5, "Blood Red Summer" Open Mike Night 4, "Chimborazo", "Daddy Issues", "Danger Mouse", "Dear Santa", "Diamonds and Rust" Open Mike Night 5, "Everybody Dies", "Everybody Knows Amy", "A Farewell to Kings", "Good", "Heard It Before", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "Holly Wouldn't", "I Don't Really Know You That Well Yet", "I Must Say Yes", "I'd Like You More", "It's So Fikkis!", "Keep It", "The Last Pages", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "Meet the Sloth", "The Moon Was a Kite", "More Like a Curse", "Nevermore" Open Mike Night 4, "No, Not You...YOU", "Now Fly Away", "Old, Old, Old", "Powerpuff Girls (End Theme)", "Precious Pressures", "Prescient", "Rotten Child", "See Saw Storybook 1", "Sign of the Cross" live Rock in Rio Tribute 2012, "Sledgehammer" Open Mike Night 5, "Solitary Shell" Open Mike Night 4, "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Subluxation", "Suburban Descent", "Take It, It's Yours", "Take Your Pick of Stars", "Tears of the Dragon" Open Mike Night 5, "The Theory of Everything Part 1", "The Thing with Me", "The Thrill Is Gone" Open Mike Night 2, "To Hide Her", "To See You Again", "Toe Hider", "Turn the World", "Trap Door", "Ulysses31", "What Kind of Creature Am I?", "The Wizard" Open Mike Night 1)

Low Notes:

C♯3 ("Africa" Open Mike Night 2, "Blood Red Summer" Open Mike Night 4, "(funnythings)", "Here Comes the Flood" Open Mike Night 4, "Meet the Sloth", "Mercy Street", "No, Not You...YOU", "Spoilt for Choice", "Whoa!")
C3 ("Done and Dusted", "Fireside", "How Do Ghosts Work?", "I Don't Want to Live On the Moon", "More Like a Curse", "Now Fly Away", "Pass" Open Mike Night 2, "So Goddamn Alive", "Thick as a Brick")
B2 ("Africa" Open Mike Night 2, "Blood Red Summer" Open Mike Night 4, "(funnythings)", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "In This Time", "Jesuitmont", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "Meet the Sloth", "Not Much of a Man", "Smash It Out", "The Sun Can't Hold a Candle to the Moon", "Too Much Information", "Turn the World", "Ulysses31", "Under the Mistletoe", "What Kind of Creature Am I?")
B♭2 ("Defenders of the Earth", "How Do Ghosts Work?", "Pass" Open Mike 2, "Under the Mistletoe", "Wood")
A2 ("Daddy Issues", "Do You Believe in Monsters?", "Done and Dusted", "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", "(funnythings)", "Here Comes the Flood" Open Mike Night 4, "I Don't Want to Live On the Moon", "I've Been So Happy Living Down Here in the Water", "Jesuitmont", "Keep It", "Run! Apocalypse Run!", "Thick as a Brick", "Under the Future We Bury the Past", "The Visitation", "Wood")
G♯2 ("I Can't Help But Follow It", "I Tried to Be Good", "This Conversation Is Over", "Wuthering Heights" live 2014)
G2 ("The Book of Love" Open Mike Night 1, "I Must Say Yes", "Smash It Out", "The Silver Tongued Devil and I" Open Mike Night 1, "The Thing with Me", "The Visitation", "When I Am Laid to Rest" live Not Much of a Man 5 Year Anniversary 2014)
F♯2 ("Carol of the Bells", "Gridlines", "He's There...And Then He Does THAT!", "March of the Machines", "Not Much of a Man", "Wuthering Heights" live 2014)
F2 ("I Can't Help But Follow It", "I Just Listen to Whatever's On the Radio", "Magnetic Farmer/Gridlines" Open Mike Night 3, "The Moon Was a Kite", "Mystery Song #1", "Wuthering Heights" live 2014)
E2 ("Defenders of the Earth", "Ducksuite", "Good", "Gridlines '15", "Sign of the Cross" live Rock in Rio Tribute 2012, "The Silver Tongued Devil and I" Open Mike Night 1, "Too Much Information", "You and I Both Lose (But 5 Wins)")
E♭2 ("Defenders of the Earth", "Do You Believe in Monsters?", "Done and Dusted", "I Can't Help But Follow It", "I Tried to Be Good", "No, Not You...YOU", "Not Much of a Man")
D2 ("Ducksuite", "Everybody Dies", "Malcolm, Dust 'Em", "March of the Machines", "Meet the Sloth", "Millions of Musketeers", "Mystery Song #1", "Pass" Open Mike Night 2, "Under the Future We Bury the Past")
C♯2 ("The Day That the World Breaks Down", "Done and Dusted", "No, Not You...YOU", "Whoa!", "Wuthering Heights" live 2014, "You and I Both Lose (But 5 Wins)")
C2 ("Mystery Song #2", "Trap Door")
B1 ("Ducksuite", "Everybody Dies", "Too Much Information", "Under the Future We Bury the Past")
B♭1 ("March of the Machines" live 2017 Facebook Stream, "Trap Door")
F♯1 ("Everybody Dies")

As a tried and true multi-instrumentalist virtuoso it perhaps goes without saying that Michael Mills (born Michael Mills) is one of the more intimidatingly skilled musicians in the modern prog scene. His work as the sole musician and songwriter in Toehider demonstrates a degree of versatility and eccentricity that one doesn't often stumble upon. He's not afraid to jump from folk to pop punk to power metal to a cappella to prog rock to ambient within the space of one album or EP, all while demonstrating a great sense of humor and character. There's almost a cartoon quality to Toehider's music (no doubt aided by the wonderful illustrations of Andrew Saltmarsh) which is something I'd like to hear more of in music really.

It is apparent though that Michael's most celebrated skill is as a singer. I, like many people first became aware of his talent through his appearances with Ayreon (of which there have now been 3) where it quickly became apparent that his vocal range is truly unheard of. Not only can he sing full melody lines across his entire 4.5 octave range, but he can do so with many different kinds of phrasing with it that his technique feels almost limitless. While primarily functioning as a soaring tenor he's no stranger to navigating fast lyrical passages, deep low notes, vocal runs, soft falsetto, vocal grit and much more. Truly a tremendous talent but also an incredibly "fun" musician, therefore I suspect there will be lots more twists and turns to follow throughout his career and I for one am eager to see where it goes.
..................................................................................
*Underlined notes are found in backing vocals or otherwise obscured in the song mix.
*Blue marks soft and/or disconnected sounding falsetto notes.
*Boldface indicates notes that are notable examples of this singer's capabilities.
*Italics mark non-sung notes.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}A1 ("Fireside" ^[3])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

[blazejecar2]

this B5 should be added

[Henny Macc]

Might wanna correct the spelling of his name (:))

[Zedd Squared]

I actually did. Per a Twitch livestream, "Micheal" is the correct spelling of his name.

[Rodney Blazershorts]

Oct 18, 2021 18:01:25 GMT blazejecar2 said:

this B5 should be added

ft

[Zedd Squared]

A lot of notes still need to be added. It was up to date as of 2017 but everything since then needs to be added and I'm gonna be pecking away at it over time now. I reformatted the underlines and will be doing additional reformatting and new note-additions bit by bit. Also, I decided to switch the thread name back to "Michael" since admittedly that's what he's credited as the most often.

[Henny Macc]

Yeah I was about to say - if "Micheal" is supposedly the correct spelling of his name, then pretty much everywhere else is apparently getting it wrong.

[MrToddington]

He is credited as "Micheal Mills" in a bunch of the Ayreon stuff: www.youtube.com/watch?v=P83RXx9M5uI

Also he has a profile on SoundBetter with that spelling: soundbetter.com/profiles/281420-micheal-mills

...and I was also in that stream where he confirmed that is technically the correct spelling :)

Alternatively, you could just do "Mike".

[jaredletoisbackagain]

Nov 1, 2021 5:11:24 GMT Henny Macc said:

Yeah I was about to say - if "Micheal" is supposedly the correct spelling of his name, then pretty much everywhere else is apparently getting it wrong.

I would say that the person with the name is a more reliable source than a bunch of sites that all get info from what is likely the same flawed source.

[Zedd Squared]

Yeah I've been flip flopping on the name listing for that reason.

Also just so everyone knows I've been doing little updates to the OP bit by bit which is why there's currently only one bold and a lot of inconsistent linking lol.

[Zedd Squared]

I fixed the alphabetization, live tags, and removed the dead links from the OP finally. Over the next week I hope to get the album ranges added (of what I've checked already that is) and the rest of the obvious bolds. From there, it'll be easier to get to adding the many new notes he's hit since this thread was last properly updated in late 2017, but that will be an ongoing project.

[Henny Macc]

C5 at 1:37, D5 at 1:44 and I think a backing D3 shortly after (if those are worthy counting at all), F5 at 4:04, some C3s and I think B♭2s at 4:25 that I can't tell if they're Micheal or Ross Jennings, I think a backing F♯5 at 4:58, A4s at 5:43, a G♯5 at 6:16 (along with a G♯2 behind it that I can't distinguish as Micheal or Jennings). Crazy amount of vocals in this song full stop - it was honestly a bit exhausting to notewatch lol

[kuyashii]

By the sound of it, both of the passages you were unsure about the singer's identity strike me more as being Jenning's voice. His lows on that area usually have that squashed, low larynx sound to them. I'm not 100% on it but whenever I get to listen to that again with a better audio setup I'll chime in again

[Zedd Squared]

I've been torn about counting D3s for Mills because tbh there are some decent examples of him using it as something of a low note but I'd have to go back through a LOT of material to find just those notes which I'm not exactly looking forward to doing. Thanks for braving that track though because "exhausting to notewatch" definitely describes some of my experience notewatching Mills lol. I have barely ever listened to Haken (even though they do seem up my alley) so I'll take kuyashii's word that the lows are Jennings.

[Henny Macc]

Feb 22, 2022 10:42:30 GMT kuyashii said:

By the sound of it, both of the passages you were unsure about the singer's identity strike me more as being Jenning's voice. His lows on that area usually have that squashed, low larynx sound to them. I'm not 100% on it but whenever I get to listen to that again with a better audio setup I'll chime in again

Thanks for chiming in, I was actually gonna link this in Jennings' thread as well to point out his notes, but I'm guessing you're already on top of it in that case. I'm honestly not familiar with his voice at all, so I was just guessing which parts were him based on the video/what I could rule out as not Micheal's voice. However, I could buy the possibility of the G♯2 being Micheal, cause it does have that kind of lighter tone that I associate with his mid low range.

[kuyashii]

I heard these parts a lot of times so I can say I definitely hear Jennings on these spots but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Mike singing them too (since the vocal arrangements are really dense and all over the place, plus he does have the range to pull that off) but from an arrangement perspective Jennings sang most of the lower pitched stuff in the song.

[blazejecar2]

youtu.be/1fY0V-K4xCU?t=2819 is there a range expansion here in the end or is that synth?

[jaredletoisbackagain]

May 31, 2023 10:39:50 GMT blazejecar2 said:

youtu.be/1fY0V-K4xCU?t=2819 is there a range expansion here in the end or is that synth?

The highest part is definitely a synth

[blazejecar2]

yea figured, but still wasn't 100% sure