Max Lilja
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Max Lilja (born 27 October 1975) is a
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
player. He is best known as a founding member of the Finnish cello
metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band
Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical ...
, a band he left in 2001 to join the Finnish
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 Hevein. Beginning in 2007, Lilja has been a recording and touring member of
Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
's solo band. Throughout his career, Lilja has continued to play classical music alongside rock, metal, and crossover projects.


Early life and musical training

Max Lilja was born in Vantaa, Finland. In 1980, he began playing the violin, but quickly switched to cello at age 7. In 1985, Lilja began his studies in the Junior Academy of Helsinki's prestigious
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 al ...
, after studying as a practice pupil for the Sibelius Academy cellist Panu Saari. In 1993, he was accepted into the Sibelius Academy's University-level program as a student of Dr. Raimo Sariola and Prof.
Arto Noras Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942, in Turku) is a Finnish cellist who is one of Finland's most celebrated instrumentalists and amongst the most outstanding internationally acknowledged cellists of his generation. At the age of 8, Arto Noras started ...
. It was in this program that he first began to play covers of
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
songs with the cellists who went on to form Apocalyptica. Lilja did quite well at the Sibelius Academy, earning the principal chair of the Academy's Symphony Orchestra in 1995.


Apocalyptica

In 1995, Max Lilja joined the future members of Apocalyptica in their experimentation with playing rock and metal music on the cello, which led to their first gig playing in a rock club. Within a year, Apocalyptica was founded and signed to Finnish
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
label Zen Garden, and released their debut album '' Plays Metallica by Four Cellos'' in 1996. In 1997, this first album began worldwide sales, and Apocalyptica began touring and performing so frequently that Lilja dropped out of the Sibelius Academy to devote himself full-time to the band. Within the next three years, Lilja recorded two more albums with Apocalyptica, '' Inquisition Symphony'' and ''
Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
''. In 2001, Lilja toured with Apocalyptica for the last time as a member of the band.


Hevein and Tarja

In 2002, Max Lilja left Apocalyptica and joined Hevein. He appeared on their 2005 debut album ''Sound Over Matter'', released through Spinefarm Records, as well as a couple of earlier demo recordings. Hevein left Spinefarm Records, and financed their own self-released demo in 2012, while looking for a new label. Later that year, Hevein disbanded, promising to regroup if funding to finish their latest album ever materialized. In 2007, Lilja began performing with former
Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
singer
Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
, as she launched her solo career. In addition to touring with Tarja, Lilja has appeared on several recordings, including the 2010 album ''
What Lies Beneath ''What Lies Beneath'' is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a couple who live in a haunted house. It was the first film by Zemeckis' production comp ...
''.


Solo albums

After more than a decade experimenting with electrified cello, Lilja began writing material for solo electronic cello in 2010. The release of his first solo album, '' Plays Electronica By One Cello'', was in April 2013, followed by his second ''Morphosis'' in April 2015 and his third ''10,000 Miens'' in 2018. According to the artist: "electronic cello music created by using
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
as the only sound source."


Discography

;Solo albums * 2013: '' Plays Electronica by One Cello'' * 2015: ''
Morphosis Morphosis Architects is an interdisciplinary architectural and design practice based in Los Angeles and New York City. History The firm was informally founded in 1972 by Michael Brickler, Thom Mayne, Livio Santini and James Stafford. Michael Rot ...
'' * 2018: '' 10 000 Miens'' * 2020: ''
The Exorcist (Original Radio Play Soundtrack) ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Lin ...
'' ;Unofficial release * 2013: ''
Max Lilja's Twin Peaks Theme on Cello (original composition by Angelo Badalamenti) Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
'' ;With Apocalyptica * 1996: '' Plays Metallica by Four Cellos'' * 1998: '' Inquisition Symphony'' * 2000: ''
Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
'' ; With Hevein * 2005: ''
Sound Over Matter Hevein was a Finnish thrash metal band from Helsinki with symphonic metal and neo-classical metal influences. History Hevein's roots go back to 1992 when guitarist Leif Hedstrom and former drummer Alpo Oksaharju started jamming together. In ...
'' ; With Tarja * 2010: ''
What Lies Beneath ''What Lies Beneath'' is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a couple who live in a haunted house. It was the first film by Zemeckis' production comp ...
'' * 2013: ''
Colours in the Dark ''Colours in the Dark'' is a play by James Reaney. It was produced by the Stratford Festival in 1967 and the Vancouver Playhouse in 1969. It was produced by the University of Calgary in 1972. ''Colours in the Dark'' was published by Talonbooks ...
'' * 2016: ''
The Shadow Self ''The Shadow Self'' is the sixth studio album released by Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen. The record was released on 5 August 2016. The record produced two singles. Background The songwriting started just after the release of '' Colours in th ...
'' * 2019: '' In the Raw''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilja, Max 1975 births Living people Finnish heavy metal cellists Sibelius Academy alumni Apocalyptica members