Music like Elias Viljanen

Elias "E.Vil" Einari Johannes Viljanen (born July 8, 1975) is a Finnish musician from Tampere, Finland, known for being the guitarist for Sonata Arctica since 2007. Viljanen joined Sonata Arctica in spring 2007 in order to replace Jani Liimatainen, who left the band in August 2007 to fulfill his civil duties in Finland. The decision was only made official on August 8, 2007, but Elias Viljanen had been known to replace Liimatainen in concerts during the spring and summer tour. Viljanen cites KISS, Metallica, Slayer, and Whitesnake as his musical influences.

Viljanen was born in 1975, and started playing the guitar at eight, in 1983. Initially, he says that he began playing "because his dad forced him... and, of course, I wanted to be like KISS." He got his first acoustic guitar a year later, but did not get an electric guitar until nearly four years later. After finally convincing his parents to let him purchase his first electric guitar (a white Leadstar), he took a few guitar lessons and learned some basic chords, but believed that if he wanted to learn rock'n'roll, it would be something he would have to teach himself. Around that same time, Viljanen began playing in local bands, heavily influenced by Metallica's early thrash metal.