Jani Liimatainen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jani Liimatainen
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Liimatainen performing with Insomnium at John Smith Rock Festival 2019
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| Background information | |
| Born | 9 September 1980 Kemi, Finland |
| Genres | Power metal, melodic death metal, symphonic metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, keyboards |
Jani Allan Kristian Liimatainen (born September 9, 1980) is a talented Finnish guitarist. He became well-known as the guitarist for the power metal band Sonata Arctica from 1996 to 2007. Since then, he has played in and started other bands like Cain's Offering and The Dark Element. Jani Liimatainen is known for his very careful and fast guitar solos and riffs (which are repeated musical phrases).
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Early Life and Starting Music
Jani Liimatainen began playing the guitar when he was about 12 years old. He loved music and soon started a band called Tricky Beans with other young people from his hometown, Kemi. This band later changed its name to Sonata Arctica in 1999.
Jani's Music Career
Playing with Sonata Arctica
Jani Liimatainen was one of the first members of Sonata Arctica. He played on many of the band's studio albums, including Ecliptica, Silence, Winterheart's Guild, Reckoning Night, and Unia. He also played on their shorter music collections called EPs and their live albums, which are recordings of concerts. He was with the band from 1999 to 2007.
On Sonata Arctica's fourth album, Reckoning Night, Jani wrote and composed a song called "My Selene." He left Sonata Arctica in May 2007 because of some issues related to his military service.
While he was still with Sonata Arctica, Jani also played in the band Altaria from 2001 to 2004. You can hear his guitar playing on their albums Invitation and Divinity. On the Divinity album, he wrote and composed the songs "Unchain the Rain" and "Falling Again." Jani also played keyboards on both of these albums.
Cain's Offering and Timo Kotipelto
Today, Jani Liimatainen plays guitar in a band he started called Cain's Offering. Their first album, Gather the Faithful, came out in 2009. Their second album, Stormcrow, was released in May 2015. Jani is the main songwriter for Cain's Offering, meaning he writes most of their songs. He also works as the band's producer, helping to make sure their music sounds great when it's recorded.
Jani also performs with Timo Kotipelto, who is the singer for the band Stratovarius and also sings in Cain's Offering. They perform together as a duo called Kotipelto & Liimatainen. In October 2012, they released an acoustic album called Blackoustic. This album featured songs played with acoustic guitars, and it also included a new song by Jani called "Where My Rainbow Ends."
Other Music Projects
Jani Liimatainen has a band called Sydänpuu with drummer Risto Koskinen. In this band, Jani sings and plays guitar, bass, and keyboards. Sydänpuu started in 2004 and has released a few singles and demo recordings. Their single "Malja" came out in 2013.
Jani also plays guitar for singer Antti Railio during his concerts. He played some guitar parts on Antti Railio's album Vieras maa. From 2015, Jani sometimes joined Insomnium on their tours as a guitarist and singer, helping out Ville Friman. He then became an official member of Insomnium in July 2019 and played with them until February 2024.
In 2016, Jani started working with Anette Olzon, who used to be the singer for the band Nightwish. Their project, called The Dark Element, released its first album in November 2017.
Jani was also part of a band called Dream Asylum.
His first solo album, My Father's Son, was released on May 6, 2022.
Writing Songs for Other Bands
Jani Liimatainen has written songs for other bands too. He composed the song "River Runs Dry" for the band Sturm und Drang.
He also wrote the lyrics for most of the songs on Arion's first album, Last of Us.
The Stratovarius album Nemesis includes two songs that Jani helped to write the music and lyrics for: "If the Story Is Over" and "Out of the Fog."
Guest Appearances
In October 2007, Jani Liimatainen played guitar in the band that backed up singer Paul Di'Anno during his tour in Finland.
He has also appeared as a guest musician on other albums. He played on the song "Revenge" from Celesty's Reign of Elements album and on the song "Animal" from Human Temple's Insomnia album.
Other Interests
From 2013 to 2014, Jani Liimatainen studied songwriting at the Lappia conservatory, which is a school for music and arts.
Jani also writes a blog online. The name of his blog is a tribute to a character from a TV series.
See also
In Spanish: Jani Liimatainen para niños
