Jari Mäenpää
Encyclopedia
Jari Mäenpää is the founder of the band Wintersun
in which he performs vocals, plays guitar
and keyboard
s. He also played bass
on Wintersun's first album
before hiring a full-time line-up.
Before forming Wintersun, Mäenpää was best known for his time in the folk metal
band Ensiferum
, which he joined in 1996 after leaving his prior band named Immemorial. Wintersun was initially planned as a parallel project alongside Ensiferum, but in January, 2004 he was forced to leave Ensiferum due to clashes between their touring schedule and the studio recording time he had booked for Wintersun.
In 1997, Mäenpää had to put his musical career on hold to take part in Finland's compulsory military service. In an interview, Mäenpää admitted he disliked the time he spent in the military and suspects it's where he acquired tuberculosis
.
Jari was also a member of the band ArthemesiA
, and participated in Kimmo Miettinen's sideproject Lost Alone.
Jari's style of guitar playing utilizes tremolo-picked melodies and phrases and the heavy use of extremely fast sweep-picking solos and breaks as heard on most of the songs. The speed of Wintersun's music is due in part to the use of blast beats and quick, spacey keyboard lines. This gives the guitar a charging, power metal feel for the most part.
- Ibanez JEM
- Ibanez PGM301
- Jackson DR3 with EMG
- Mesa Boogie Triaxis Pre Amplifiers
- Peavey 5150
Wintersun
Wintersun is an extreme metal band from Helsinki, Finland.Wintersun was originally created by guitarist Jari Mäenpää as a side project to folk metal band Ensiferum, for whom he was lead singer and guitarist. In 2003, Mäenpää began culling together songs that he'd been working on since 1995. These...
in which he performs vocals, plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s. He also played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on Wintersun's first album
Wintersun (album)
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic calls Wintersun a blend of "the hyper-fast precision of Yngwie Malmsteen-like guitar playing with the melodic sensibilities of post-Helloween power metal and a homegrown passion for folk-styled songwriting descended straight from trailblazing compatriots Amorphis,"...
before hiring a full-time line-up.
Before forming Wintersun, Mäenpää was best known for his time in the folk metal
Folk metal
Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...
band Ensiferum
Ensiferum
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "heroic folk metal." Since their formation, Ensiferum has released four full-length albums, one EP, one compilation, three singles, and three demo albums and one unreleased album.-Musical...
, which he joined in 1996 after leaving his prior band named Immemorial. Wintersun was initially planned as a parallel project alongside Ensiferum, but in January, 2004 he was forced to leave Ensiferum due to clashes between their touring schedule and the studio recording time he had booked for Wintersun.
In 1997, Mäenpää had to put his musical career on hold to take part in Finland's compulsory military service. In an interview, Mäenpää admitted he disliked the time he spent in the military and suspects it's where he acquired tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Jari was also a member of the band ArthemesiA
Arthemesia
Arthemesia was a Finnish black metal/melodic black metal band active between 1994 and 2010. The band derives their name from Artemisia absinthium, Latin for wormwood, thought to have many spiritual qualities...
, and participated in Kimmo Miettinen's sideproject Lost Alone.
Writing style
Jari's style of guitar playing utilizes tremolo-picked melodies and phrases and the heavy use of extremely fast sweep-picking solos and breaks as heard on most of the songs. The speed of Wintersun's music is due in part to the use of blast beats and quick, spacey keyboard lines. This gives the guitar a charging, power metal feel for the most part.
Notable instruments
- Tokai Telecaster- Ibanez JEM
- Ibanez PGM301
- Jackson DR3 with EMG
- Mesa Boogie Triaxis Pre Amplifiers
- Peavey 5150
Discography
| Band | Year of release | Title | Label |
| Immemorial | No commercial release | Ensiferum - Immemorial Split Demo | |
| Ensiferum Ensiferum Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "heroic folk metal." Since their formation, Ensiferum has released four full-length albums, one EP, one compilation, three singles, and three demo albums and one unreleased album.-Musical... |
1997 | Demo 1 | |
| Ensiferum | 1999 | Demo 2 | |
| Ensiferum | 1999 | Hero in a Dream | |
| ArthemesiA Arthemesia Arthemesia was a Finnish black metal/melodic black metal band active between 1994 and 2010. The band derives their name from Artemisia absinthium, Latin for wormwood, thought to have many spiritual qualities... |
2001 | Devs - Iratvs | Native North |
| Ensiferum | 2001 | Ensiferum Ensiferum (album) Ensiferum is the first album by the Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on January 7, 2001 on Spinefarm Records.-Track listing:# "Intro" – 1:50# "Hero in a Dream" – 3:40... |
Spinefarm |
| Cadacross Cadacross Cadacross was a Finnish heavy metal band formed in 1997. They went through a major line-up change after their debut album So Pale Is the Light. Georg Laakso, guitarist and vocalist, was the only remaining member from the previous lineup... |
2002 | Corona Borealis Corona Borealis (album) Corona Borealis is the second full-length album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Cadacross. It was released in November 2002 by Low Frequency Records.-Track listing:-Credits:*Sami Aarnio - vocals*Georg Laakso - guitar... |
Low Frequency |
| Ensiferum | 2004 | Iron Iron (Ensiferum) -Band members:* Jari Mäenpää − guitars, vocals* Markus Toivonen − guitars* Meiju Enho − keyboards* Jukka-Pekka Miettinen − bass* Oliver Fokin − drums, percussion-Session musicians:* Vesa Vigman − bouzouki, mandolin, saz, and dulcimer.... |
Spinefarm |
| Wintersun Wintersun Wintersun is an extreme metal band from Helsinki, Finland.Wintersun was originally created by guitarist Jari Mäenpää as a side project to folk metal band Ensiferum, for whom he was lead singer and guitarist. In 2003, Mäenpää began culling together songs that he'd been working on since 1995. These... |
2004 | Wintersun Wintersun (album) Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic calls Wintersun a blend of "the hyper-fast precision of Yngwie Malmsteen-like guitar playing with the melodic sensibilities of post-Helloween power metal and a homegrown passion for folk-styled songwriting descended straight from trailblazing compatriots Amorphis,"... |
Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic... |
| Ensiferum | 2005 | 1997-1999 1997-1999 1997–1999 is a demo compilation album by the viking/folk metal band Ensiferum, sold through their website and at live shows. On April 4, 2005 it was announced on the official site that the album would no longer be sold through the site.... (compilation) |
|
| Wintersun Wintersun Wintersun is an extreme metal band from Helsinki, Finland.Wintersun was originally created by guitarist Jari Mäenpää as a side project to folk metal band Ensiferum, for whom he was lead singer and guitarist. In 2003, Mäenpää began culling together songs that he'd been working on since 1995. These... |
TBA | Time Time (Wintersun album) Time is the second full-length album by the Finnish metal band Wintersun. It was originally scheduled for release in November 2006, but was delayed until August 2007 and then until 2008, and delayed still after that to a currently undefined period of time. Its recording commenced on May 2, 2006 at... |
Nuclear Blast |