He quit the band in 2008 and has not started a new project since.ĭuring his time in Nightwish Vänskä used a natural finish Warwick Corvette (see Nightwish Sacrament of Wilderness music video) and a white Spector bass guitar (see From Wishes to Eternity show) – both four string. He recorded three albums with them, Medication Time With, Root Remedy and The Crawler.
Vänskä has played in the blues band Root Remedy after leaving Nightwish. On August 20, 2016, he joined his former bandmates on stage to perform "Stargazers" on bass guitar. Marco Hietala became a full-time member sometime during the recording of Century Child. He was soon replaced by session member Marco Hietala, the bassist and lead vocalist of Tarot and a former member of Sinergy, who also sings male vocals. He also played bass on Over the Hills and Far Away right before Tuomas Holopainen, band leader, song writer and keyboardist, asked the band's manager, Ewo Rytkönen, to tell Vänskä to leave Nightwish, when he felt that the musical differences between the two men were posing a threat to the band. He played on the following tour, on Wishmaster and on the tour afterwards. Vänskä joined Nightwish for their second studio album, Oceanborn. He made 2 albums, A Bard's Tale (1995), Chaos Without Theory (1997) and a demo, Där Svanar Flyger (1995), with them. Vänskä started his career in the band Nattvindens Gråt, with Tuomas Holopainen.
He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre. Vänskä started playing bass as a private study. Sami Vänskä (born 26 September 1976) is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.