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Sami Yli-Sirniö


Member

1989-1995 Waltari - guitars  
2001- Kreator - guitars  
2001-2024 Waltari - guitars  
2007- Barren Earth - guitars  

Studio musician

1997 Kyyria - sitar  
2004 Samael - sitar  

Guest musician

1996 Waltari - guitars  
1997 Tiamat - sitar  
1999 Waltari - choirs vocals  
2003-2004 Nightwish - sitar  
2004 Grip Inc. - sitar  
2007 Samael - sitar  
2010 Grazed - guitars  
2017 Demonztrator - guitar solo  
2017 Misanthrope Monarch - guitars  
2020 Corvus Corax - guitars, bass  
2021-2023 Endless Chain - guitar solo  
2022 Corvus Corax - guitars, bass  
2024 Endless Chain - guitars  

Personal information

Born on: 10.04.1972

Sami Yli-Sirniö is a Finnish guitarist who plays rock and metal. He spent part of his life in Germany and thus has strong ties with the German metal scene. German "Rock Hard" magazine featured him in 2007 as "forgotten guitar hero".

While living in Germany, he served as a session musician for rock band In Rags, gothic act Tiamat and thrash metal band Grip Inc. For both Tiamat and Grip Inc., he played sitar, his second favourite instrument.

Waltari (1989-1995, 2001-present)
Yli-Sirniö originally joined experimental Finnish crossover legend Waltari in 1989, left the band 1995 to live in Germany and returned 2001. So far he recorded 8 studio albums with Waltari. Yli-Sirniö likes to explore other opportunities and has many guest appearances with other bands.

Kreator (2001-present)
He also replaced injured Swiss guitarist Tommy Vetterli on some live dates for Teutonic thrash metal pioneers Kreator. In 2001, Vetterli departed and Sirniö was asked to replace him on a permanent basis. To this day, he has recorded 4 successful studio albums with the band: 2001's Violent Revolution, 2005's Enemy of God, 2009's Hordes of Chaos and 2012's Phantom Antichrist. He also appears on the Live Kreation double-album and DVD, released in 2003.