Born on September 12th, 1978, Michael “Padge” Paget is currently the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the Welsh heavy metal band known as Bullet For My Valentine. Playing alongside lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Matt Tuck, bassist and backing vocalist, Jason James, and drummer Michael Thomas, Paget has been a member of Bullet For My Valentine since 1998. His work is featured prominently on all three of the group’s albums: “The Poison,” Scream Aim Fire,” and “Fever.” At the writing of this biography, Michael and the rest of the band are laying the groundwork for Bullet For My Valentine’s next album.
Learning how to play the guitar became a passion for Michael at an early age. At seventeen, he saved money from his paper route in order to purchase a ¾ size classical guitar with nylon strings. Initially, he was unable to even tune the instrument, and began learning by playing on only one string at a time. Finally, a cousin saw what was going on, and he tuned up Michael’s guitar. From that point on, Paget started learning chords out of the small booklet that came along with the guitar when he purchased it. Eventually, the chords of the Nirvana song, “Polly,” could be heard coming from Paget’s guitar, as it was the first song he learned. Michael has said that he can even remember the way this nylon string guitar smelled! As he matured musically, Paget began getting into bands like Iron Maiden, and he also began dreaming of jamming with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. His musical philosophy consists of trying things that are different and new, which will keep folks learning and interested.
In 1998, along with the guys who would eventually become known as Bullet For My Valentine, Michael Paget joined the band Jeff Killed John. This was during the time the members were studying Music at Bridgend College, and the group’s initial offerings consisted of covers by Metallica and Nirvana. Unfortunately, on the eve of heading into the studio to cut their original tunes, Nick Crandle, the original bassist, quit abruptly. Crandle was replaced by Jason James, and Jeff Killed John carried on for a short time, until the guys decided to change the type of music they were playing. Jeff Killed John became Bullet For My Valentine, and gone was the nu-metal influenced sound, as the group started churning out melodic metal anthems with big hooks and even bigger choruses. This changed worked out quite well for Paget and the boys, because after their transformation and rebirth, the major labels came knocking.
Bullet For My Valentine decided to sign with Sony BMG, and their first album, The Poison, released in 2005, was certified gold. A string of successful tours and festival shows catapulted Padge and company to the top of the list of hot new metal acts. Bullet For My Valentine followed up with the album, Scream Aim Fire, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Their third album, Fever, came out in 2010, and at the time this bio is being written, Paget has stated that Bullet For My Valentine has already started working on their next studio album.
Michael endorses ESP Guitars. In fact, ESP has released a Michael Paget Signature guitar; a black, Flying V-shaped guitar with his band logo, inlayed with mother-of-pearl, on the neck. Although he has tried many different Wah pedals, Paget swears by his Dunlop Wah.