Michael Pinnella (born August 29, 1969) is an American keyboard player, most notably for the band

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michae ...

. Michael is one of two Symphony X members to appear on all nine of the band's albums (the other being

Michael Romeo Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X. He is one of two members to appear on every Symphony X release (the other being Michael Pinnella). Romeo was ra ...

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

. 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 of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'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 borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665, He was heavily influenced by classic composers like

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, Chopin, and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. 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, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

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 formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percu ...

, Deep Purple,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

) and from the 1980s ( DIO,

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

). When Pinnella finished college, he started teaching piano in a music store. One of the fellow teachers at the store was friends with

from

. 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, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

Equipment

Symphony X - Wacken Open Air 2016-AL8936

Pinnella uses the following equipment: *

Yamaha Motif The Yamaha 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 series. Other workstations in the ...

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 heavy metal band formed in East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. History Early career (1999-2004) Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God ...

(2004) * "We Will Fly" ('' Atomic Soul'') – Russell Allen (2005) * Various (''

Earthsblood ''Earthsblood'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band God Forbid. It was released in 2009, on February 16 in Europe and February 24 in North America, through Century Media Records. The album was produced by Eric Rachel wit ...

'') – 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