Sami Yli-Sirniö (born 10 April 1972) is a Finnish musician. He is currently the lead guitarist of Finnish metal bands

Waltari Waltari is a Finnish band from Helsinki combining alternative metal, progressive metal, death metal, hard rock, heavy metal, hip hop, industrial, pop, punk, symphonic metal, techno and thrash metal styles. Most of the band's music is writ ...

Barren Earth Barren Earth is a Finnish progressive death metal band from Helsinki, and was formed in 2007. Their music is said to be a combination of death metal, progressive rock, and folk music, pulling influence from the different groups each member is ...

and German thrash metal band

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédé ...

. He spent part of his life in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and thus has strong ties with the German metal scene. German ''Rock Hard'' magazine featured him in 2007 as "forgotten guitar hero".

Biography

While living in Germany, he served as a session musician for rock band In Rags, gothic act

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial crea ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Grip Inc. Grip Inc. was an American groove metal band and side project of drummer Dave Lombardo. The band was formed in 1993 and was signed to SPV GmbH, Steamhammer Records. History Following the birth of his first child in 1993, Lombardo formed Grip I ...

For both Tiamat and Grip Inc., he played

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

, his second favourite instrument. Yli-Sirniö is currently endorsed by

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

Waltari (1989–1995, 2001–present)

Yli-Sirniö originally joined experimental Finnish crossover legend

in 1989. He left the band in 1995 to live in Germany, returning in 2001. So far he has recorded eight studio albums with Waltari. Yli-Sirniö likes to explore other opportunities and has had many guest appearances with other bands.

Kreator (2001–present)

He also replaced injured Swiss guitarist Tommy Vetterli (of Coroner fame) on some live dates for Teutonic thrash metal pioneers

. In 2001, Vetterli departed and Yli-Sirniö was asked to replace him on a permanent basis. To this day, he has appeared on six studio albums with the band: 2001's ''

Violent Revolution ''Violent Revolution'' is the tenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator. It was released on 25 September, 2001 and is the band's first album to feature lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö. After almost a decade of musical experimentatio ...

'', 2005's '' Enemy of God'', 2009's '' Hordes of Chaos'', 2012's ''

Phantom Antichrist ''Phantom Antichrist'' is the 13th studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released through Nuclear Blast on 1 June 2012. The album entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 130, selling 3,900 copies in the first week. Release and pro ...

'', 2017's ''

Gods of Violence ''Gods of Violence'' is the fourteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released on 27 January 2017. This is Kreator's final studio album with bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler before his departure from the band in 2019. Backg ...

'' and 2022's ''

Hate Über Alles ''Hate Über Alles'' is the fifteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, which was released on 10 June 2022 through Nuclear Blast. Produced by Arthur Rizk, it is the band's first studio album since '' Gods of Violence'' (2017), th ...

''.Discogs
/ref> He also appears on the '' Live Kreation'' double-album and DVD, released in 2003 as well as the live album '' Dying Alive'' released in 2013.

Barren Earth (2007–present)

Yli-Sirniö is the lead guitarist in the progressive death metal band

, while not officially a supergroup, the band does consist of prominent members of other metal bands such as Jón Aldará of

Hamferð Hamferð is a Faroese doom metal band from Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, which formed in 2008. Biography John Egholm (guitar) founded the band in 2008; he called Remi Johannesen (drums) and they started jamming. The first show was in a band competit ...

, Janne Perttilä of Rytmihäiriö and

Moonsorrow Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from th ...

, Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine of

Amorphis Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal, ...

References

External links

Biography on Waltari´s official website
1972 births Finnish expatriates in Germany Finnish guitarists Finnish heavy metal guitarists Kreator members Lead guitarists Living people Finnish male guitarists Sitar players {{Finland-musician-stub