Matias Kupiainen (born 11 May 1983 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

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

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

. 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 symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

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 ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

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

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of 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, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

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 The Tavastia Club ( fi, Tavastia-klubi) is a popular rock music club in Helsinki, Finland. The house is owned by Hämäläis-Osakunta, one of the student nations at the University of Helsinki, but since 1991 the club has been operated by a privat ...

. 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, reproduction, ...

, and mixer, as well. He has studied at

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

in Helsinki and the Pop & Jazz Conservatory in

Oulunkylä Oulunkylä ( sv, Åggelby, also known as ''Ogeli'') is a suburb and a neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is located north from the center of the city. It has been inhabited since the 13th century. Earlier an independent munic ...

. 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 Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England, a country that is part of the United Kingdom * English * Engl (surname), a German surname *Engl., taxonomic abbreviation for botanist Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1 ...

, 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 s ...

and

TC Electronic TC Electronic (sometimes stylized as t.c. electronic) is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-pro ...

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 ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...

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

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

'' *2014 ''Nemesis Days'' *2015 ''

Eternal Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television * ...

'' *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 crea ...

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

Guest Appearances

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