Matias Kupiainen (born 11 May 1983 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) is a Finnish guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the current guitarist in

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band. Formed in 1984, they have released sixteen studio albums, six DVDs and six live albums. The band's line-up has changed many times, with no founding member left since the departure of drummer Tuomo ...

Biography

Kupiainen was chosen as the new guitarist for the Finnish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

after

Timo Tolkki Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing ...

's departure from the band in 2008. He started playing with the band in 2009, on their album ''

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

'' for which he composed three songs. In addition to Stratovarius, Kupiainen founded the

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

band Fist in Fetus, which released a self-produced EP in 2007. He guested on the 2007 album ''Guitar Heroes'', on the song "12 Donkeys", that was also released as a single, and appeared on the record release concert at Tavastia Club. At the 2007 Tuska festival, he appeared as the one-man

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

of the TV station YLE Extra. Kupiainen has also played as a session musician, among others, on albums of Olavi Uusivirta and Milana Misic, and worked as a producer,

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

, and mixer, as well. He has studied at

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...

in Helsinki and the Pop & Jazz Conservatory in Oulunkylä. He played a PRS Artist Series I guitar and now he is an endorser o
Ruokangas Guitars
He currently plays his custom Hellcat made of Spanish cedar and arctic birch, and uses mainly ENGL, Hughes & Kettner,

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

and TC Electronic gear. Kupiainen was a part-owner of a recording studio named Minor Music in Helsinki, Finland, until it was merged with 5 By 5 Audio.

Discography

Fist in Fetus

*2007 ''Fist in Fetus EP''

Stratovarius

*2009 ''

'' *2010 ''Polaris Live'' *2011 ''

Elysium Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...

'' *2012 ''Under Flaming Winter Skies: Live in Tampere'' *2013 ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' *2014 ''Nemesis Days'' *2015 '' Eternal'' *2016 ''

Best Of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' *2018 '' Enigma: Intermission 2'' *2022 ''Survive''

Guest appearances

*2011 Turisas, ''Stand Up and Fight''Album liner notes

Offensive

*2021 '' Awenasa''

References

External links

MatiasKupiainen.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupiainen, Matias 1983 births Living people Finnish heavy metal guitarists Stratovarius members Musicians from Helsinki Lead guitarists Sibelius Academy alumni