Michael Pinnella (born August 29, 1969) is an American keyboard player, most notably for the band Symphony X. Michael is one of two Symphony X members to appear on all nine of the band's albums (the other being Michael Romeo). He has released two solo albums, titled Enter By the Twelfth Gate (2004) and Ascension (2014), mostly composed of instrumental, classical-styled

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

. In 2016, Pinnella ranked #11 in

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

's Top 25 Rock + Metal Keyboardists of All Time, praised for being an "essential component of Symphony X’s overarching epic nature".

Biography

Pinnella was born in

Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey Point Pleasant Beach is a coastal Borough (New Jersey), borough situated on the Jersey Shore, and the northernmost community directly facing the Atlantic Ocean within Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It ...

and was encouraged since childhood to follow music. When he was four years old, he started taking piano lessons. He was heavily influenced by classic composers like

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Chopin, and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

. When he was about 11 years old, he started to practice more seriously. Later in his youth, he was impressed by

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

and asked his parents to buy him a keyboard. When he got into college, he studied piano performance, theory and composition, and other musical courses. Other influences came from progressive/metal bands from the 1970s (

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

) and from the 1980s ( DIO,

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

). When Pinnella finished college, he started teaching piano in a music store. One of the fellow teachers at the store was friends with Michael Romeo from Symphony X. In 1994, he was hired by the band as a keyboardist. Pinnella's nephew, Chris Pinnella, is a vocalist who worked with

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill (producer), Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-pr ...

Equipment

Pinnella uses the following equipment: *

Yamaha Motif The Yamaha Motif (stylized in all-uppercase MOTIF) is a series of music workstation synthesizers, first released by Yamaha Corporation in August 2001. The Motif replaced the EX series in Yamaha's line-up and was also based on the early Yamaha S s ...

ES7 * Roland V-Synth GT

Discography

With Symphony X

With Michael Romeo

* '' The Dark Chapter'' (1994)

Solo

* '' Enter by the Twelfth Gate'' (2004) * ''Ascension'' (2014)

With Mike LePond's Silent Assassins

* ''Mike LePond's Silent Assassins'' (2014) * ''Pawn And Prophecy'' (2018) * ''Whore of Babylon'' (2020)

As a guest

* Various ('' Cult of One'') – Whiplash (1996) * "Strike Me Blind" ('' Thrashback'') – Whiplash (1998) * Various ('' Gone Forever'') –

God Forbid God Forbid is an American metalcore band formed in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. Initially breaking up in 2013, they have been semi-active since reuniting in 2022. History Early career (1996–2004) ...

(2004) * "We Will Fly" ('' Atomic Soul'') – Russell Allen (2005) * Various ('' Earthsblood'') – God Forbid (2009) * "A Vision of You" (''Sonic Stomp II'') – Mike Orlando (2010) * "Sirius" (''A Spoonful of Time'') – Nektar (2012)

References

External links

Symphony X Official Website
1969 births American heavy metal keyboardists Symphony X members Living people People from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey 21st-century American keyboardists American people of Italian descent 20th-century American keyboardists {{US-keyboardist-stub