Pasi Kauppinen — born in Finland in 1978 — has been Sonata Arctica's bassist since 2013, having replaced founder Marko Paasikoski. He joined in the band's mature phase, after Sonata Arctica had already abandoned the fast power metal of the early records for a slower repertoire, harmonically ambiguous and irregular in structure. He recorded Pariah's Child (2014), The Ninth Hour (2016), Talviyö (2019) and Clear Cold Beyond (2024). That change altered the bass's function. On the fast records, the line followed the guitar in unison and served as reinforcement; in the later material it has to hold progressions that do not resolve predictably and to define the harmonic floor in passages where guitar and keyboard leave the tonality open. It is work of harmonic reading, not merely of execution. Kauppinen also works as an engineer and producer, which is common in the Finnish scene: a relatively small circuit where musicians tend to combine studio functions, and where the same person plays, records and mixes.
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