Emppu Vuorinen

Erno Matti Juhani "Emppu" Vuorinen (born 24 June 1978) is a Finnish guitarist, most famous for being a founding member and occasional songwriter of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He is the oldest of five children, having a twin brother and three younger sisters. He started to play guitar as a private study at the age of 12 and since then has played in various bands including Nightwish, Brother Firetribe, Barilari, Almah, and Altaria.

Emppu Vuorinen
Vuorinen performing in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Erno Matti Juhani Vuorinen
Born	24 June 1978
Origin	Kitee, Finland
Genres	Symphonic metal, power metal, hard rock, black metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass
Years active	1996–present
Associated acts	Nightwish, Brother Firetribe, Altaria, Almah, Barilari

Vuorinen is primarily a rhythm player, often supporting the keyboard or orchestral parts of Nightwish songs. However, he plays lead melodies and solos as well. Vuorinen's solo techniques usually include alternate picking, tapping, sliding, legato, and minor to extreme whammy bar use; he also employs sweep picking, although very rarely. His solos are more melodic than those of most metal bands, but he sometimes shreds (notably in "Nightquest," "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion," "Romanticide," and "Gethsemane" by Nightwish, and also in "Traitor" by Tarot, for which he provided a solo). Nightwish's first three albums feature a larger amount of lead guitar work from Vuorinen than their later albums. Vuorinen has tuned his studio guitars in D tuning since the release of Century Child – until then, his guitars were tuned in standard. During concerts, he has two guitars – one for each tuning .

Vuorinen is also a creative force in Nightwish, having co-written songs with Tuomas Holopainen from Oceanborn until Dark Passion Play. The song Whoever Brings The Night on Dark Passion Play is written by Vuorinen alone.

Vuorinen recorded guitar parts for Almah, a Brazilian metal band, order to help his friend and vocalist Edu Falaschi (former singer of Angra). Vuorinen did not stay in the band because of his obligations to Nightwish. He was also involved with Brother Firetribe, an AOR band, which as of 2018 has released four albums worldwide: "False Metal" (re-released as "Break Out"), "Heart Full of Fire", "Diamond in the Firepit" and "Sunbound".

Vuorinen is often referred to as "the short one" or "the hobbit" when among band members or fans, as he stands at just 5'3" (162 cm) in height.

Discography

With Nightwish:

• Angels Fall First – 1997 (also bass guitar)
• Oceanborn – 1998
• Wishmaster – 2000
• Over the Hills and Far Away EP – 2001
• Century Child – 2002
• Once – 2004
• Dark Passion Play – 2007
• Imaginaerum – 2011
• Endless Forms Most Beautiful – 2015
• Human. :II: Nature. – 2020

With Darkwoods My Betrothed:

• Witch-Hunts – 1998

With Altaria:

• Invitation – 2003

With Almah:

• Almah – 2006

With Brother Firetribe:

• False Metal – 2006
• Heart Full of Fire – 2008
• Diamond In The Firepit - 2014
• Sunbound - 2017

With Guitar Heroes:

• Guitar Heroes – 2007

As guest:

• Barilari – Session musician (2003–2004)
• Tarot – second part of solo on Traitor, from the album Crows Fly Black – 2006
• Aina – guitar solo on "Rebellion", from the album Days of Rising Doom – 2003

References

Bibliography

• Ollila, Mape (2007). Once Upon a Nightwish. Deggael Communications. ISBN 978-952-99749-2-4.
• Isoaho, Timo (2018). Nightwish – We Were Here (English ed.). Latvia: Deggael Communications. ISBN 978-952-99749-3-1.

External links

• Nightwish official site