Elias Viljanen and Evil Spirit

Biography

”When I was 9 in`84 my father introduced me to a guitar. I was a big fan of Kiss so I wanted to be like them and of course learn how to play the guitar. I got my first acoustic guitar a year after. I took some courses on guitar playing at the time and learned the basic chops and chords. But my ambition was to play rock & roll music so I had to learn it all by my self. Years went by and I desperately wanted an electric guitar. In ý87 I got one as a Christmas present from my parents. Over a year too late but still I was very happy. I remember it was a white Leadstar, a copy of Fender Stratocaster.”
 
”As a teenager I was a Metallica fan and really started to find out how to shred. Kirk Hammett of Metallica was my hero. I formed my first band at the age of 13. It was influenced by thrash metal like early Metallica. Later on I started to play death metal. With my band we even got a recording deal from the French record label. I was only 17. ”
 
”In early ý90ýs I was introduced to Joe Satrianiýs and Steve Vaiýs music but I really thought it was just music for sports. A couple of years later I really started to like Satrianiýs music because I found out that it’s all about bluesy rockýn’ roll. Nowadays I’m a really big fan of Vai too. Maybe I’m grown to like it in some strange way. (In my opinion Steve Vai is close to god!!!). I also like to listen to a little bit more progressive metal like Dream Theater. With my band Blackbay I try to do great metal/rock songs with a little progressive touch every now and then.”
 
”In 2001 I was in a situation where I felt I have to do my own guitar-shredding demo. I just had to get it out of my system. So I started to work on a couple of songs and some ideas I’ve had many years. Earlier I thought I was not ready for this kind of project because when people listen to shred music they are usually thinking ”this guy ainýt fast enough or he’s just copying somebody else.” Maybe I was a little bit afraid of what people would think of me. But I wanted to do it and I wanted it to be as perfect as possible. So I practiced 4 months, everyday 2-3 hours, for my 3-song demo called ”The Axe master” and I thought I don’t give a s**t what people think, this is my dream (…obsession). The demo was made just for the sake of my mental health and I didn’t even dream to get a record deal. But I sent ”Axe master” to couple of labels just to get a sense of where I stand as a guitarist. When Lion Music offered me a deal I had to think again… Maybe for a couple of days I thought about it and then I decided to just go for it! So now, 18 years later, my first solo album ”Taking The Lead” is out, I hope you get a kick out of it!!!!!!!!”
 
Beast Wishes,
E.Vil

In spring 2007 Elias was asked to fill in for guitarist Jani Liimatainen in SONATA ARCTICA  to make few gigs in Finland, while Jani is doing his civil duties.

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