Nightwish
Encyclopedia
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal
band from Kitee
, Finland
. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen
, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen
, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen
, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon
and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä
, has been replaced by Marco Hietala
, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.
Although Nightwish has been prominent in their home country since the release of their first single
, “The Carpenter
” (1997) and debut album Angels Fall First
, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn
, Wishmaster
and Century Child
, which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Their 2004 album, Once
, which has sold more than 1 million copies, led to the broadcast of Nightwish video clips on MTV
in the United States
and inclusion of their music in US movie soundtracks. Their biggest US hit single, “Wish I Had an Angel
” (2004), made it onto three US film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as “Sleeping Sun
”, from the 2005 “best of
” compilation album, Highest Hopes, prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen
’s dismissal.
In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue
frontwoman, Anette Olzon
, was revealed as Tarja Turunen
’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album, Dark Passion Play
, which has sold almost 2 million copies, with their big single, "Amaranth
", being released one month before. The supporting tour started on October 6, 2007 and ended on September 19, 2009. A new E.P./live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
, was released in March 2009 as a MCD
/DVD
, and a seventh studio album, titled Imaginaerum, set for release on November 30, 2011 in Finland, and December 2, 2011 in the rest of Europe.
Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and the third-best-selling musical entity in Finland with sales of over 827,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band abroad with more than 7 million records sold worldwide, and having collected over 60 gold and platinum awards.
in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Nattvindens Gråt
and Darkwoods My Betrothed
, Tuomas Holopainen
decided to create his own project while sitting around a campfire with friends in 1996. He immediately had a clear idea of the music: experimental acoustic music he wrote himself, similar to the music usually played around campfires, but with a distinct sound and atmosphere, played on his keyboards.
He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen
to play acoustic guitars, and the classical vocalist Tarja Turunen
, who shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov. The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo
in the winter of 1996. The name “Nightwish” was derived from their first song together, and the demo also included the song “The Forever Moments”, and an early version of “Etiäinen”.
After recording the Nightwish demo, Holopainen realized that Turunen’s operatic voice was too powerful for an acoustic band, and decided to incorporate heavy metal
elements, including electric guitars and drums.
joined the band, and acoustic guitar was replaced with electric guitar
. The addition of heavy metal
elements to the band's existing experimental style gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the Nightwish sound.
The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, entitled Angels Fall First
. As a precursor to their debut full length album of the same name, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records
in May 1997. The label signed Nightwish to a two album deal, and the band returned to the studio to re-record songs from their second demo. The full length album Angels Fall First was released internationally in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single “The Carpenter
” reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart. “The Carpenter” single was released as a split with label mates Children of Bodom
and Thy Serpent
; the album is also one of the two releases which features keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen
's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks, alongside vocalist Tarja Turunen.
After meeting a mixed critical reception in their first year of existence, the band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee
in December 1997. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member on an additional keyboard
and a sessional backing vocalist
for Tarja. There were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording Oceanborn
, so they asked Sami Vänskä
to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Gråt
. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because Turunen was finishing her schooling, and Nevalainen and Holopainen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service.
Nightwish then returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece, to record their follow-up album for Spinefarm records.
, in Finland only. Adopting a more technical and progressive sound than Angels Fall First, Oceanborn saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release, with the exception of "Moondance". In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska
(ex-Finntroll
), since Tuomas did not want to sing again. Wilska is also a former member of Nattvindens Gråt
.
Oceanborn was better received than the previous CD, with Allmusic writing that the album “as a whole works great”, with songs that are “very strong”. Oceanborn was an instant success in Finland, reaching number 5 on the Finnish album charts. The album’s first single, “Sacrament of Wilderness
”, hit number 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks. The album’s release was initially limited to Finland, but because of the success of “Sacrament of Wilderness”, Spinefarm released Oceanborn internationally in the spring of 1999. In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the single “Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)
”, in one month the single sold 15,000 copies in Germany alone. Following the band’s first international success, Nightwish was added as the opening band for Rage
’s 1999 European tour. Both the album Oceanborn and the singles “Sacrament of Wilderness” and "Walking in the Air were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.
While in the studio in early 2000 working on their third album, Nightwish was accepted in the Finnish
Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sleepwalker”. Despite winning the public vote, Nightwish eventually finished in second place, with the jury choosing local gospel singer Nina Åström
to represent Finland.
In 19 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album Wishmaster
. This debuted at #1 on the Finnish album charts, and was certified gold in Finland after three weeks at number one. Critical response to the album was mixed, with Allmusic citing the album as repetitive, and saying “as a whole album, it can be a little annoying, even frustrating”. However, German magazine Rock Hard
declared Wishmaster “Album of the Month”, despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden
and Bon Jovi
. Following the release of Wishmaster, Nightwish embarked on their first world tour, playing dates in South America
, Mexico
, Canada
, and the first headlining European tour with Sinergy
and Eternal Tears of Sorrow
. In the summer the band returned to Europe, appearing at the Wacken Open Air
festival and the Biebop Metal Fest.
’s “Over the Hills and Far Away
” together with two new songs (“10th Man Down”, unreleased from Oceanborn
, and “Away”, unreleased from Wishmaster
) and a remake of “Astral Romance” (from the Angels Fall First album) with Tony Kakko
(Sonata Arctica
) singing Tuomas' part. This new material was released as their first (and until 2009 the only) EP
, "Over the Hills and Far Away
".
The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska
once again on "10th Man Down". They also released (as VHS
, DVD
and CD
) their live album, From Wishes to Eternity
,recorded during a show in Tampere
, Finland, on December 29, 2000. Nightwish’s version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, becoming a frequent part of the band’s live performances, but the songs never had a great break-through and have not been re-released, with the exception of a live performance of "10th Man Down" on the "End of Innocence
" DVD with Marco Hietala
(current bass player and male vocalist).
Soon after the release, Nightwish met what has been described as one of their hardest points as a band. The issues centred around the bassist, Sami Vänskä
who had started misbehaving towards the band, according to Holopainen, by missing appointments and failing to take gigs as seriously as the other members did. After the band discussed of his behaviour with Vänskä several times, without getting any change, everyone simply stopped caring and tensions grew. Meanwhile, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen
had started complaining about his role in the band, feeling like "a hired gun who would only do what he's asked to". According to their music teacher, Plamen Dimov, he and Holopainen have totally different characters, and thus difficulties were expected to arise. But Vuorinen was told to stay cool and "bite the bullet", and the problem was never addressed again.
Later, Holopainen confessed that, at that time, he seriously started thinking about breaking Nightwish up. After a gig in Russia, he sent a text message to fellow musician Tony Kakko
of metal band Sonata Arctica
, telling him that he did not think he had a band any longer, and asking him what plans he had for next year. After Nightwish's last gig for the Over the Hills and Far Away tour in 2001, Holopainen called Drakkar
and Spinefarm
, unofficially declaring Nightwish was over. He told them he might produce another album, but he'd never perform another show with the band. The same message was also written on the band's message board.
Straight after the last gig, Holopainen went on a week-long hiking trip to Lapland
with Tony Kakko. During the hiking trip, they talked about the band and Holopainen decided he could not break up Nightwish that easily. When he returned from Lapland he immediately received a phone call from Ewo Pohjola offering himself to become their manager and help him straighten things up, and Holopainen agreed.
In order to continue with Nightwish, Holopainen decided some changes were in order. Beside choosing Ewo as their new manager, he also decided to ask Sami Vänskä
to leave the band. Marco Hietala
(Tarot
) was asked to join the band in his place, effectively leaving his previous band Sinergy
. As well as playing bass guitar, Hietala would also perform male vocals. Holopainen has since said publicly that he and Vänskä still keep in touch, contrary to rumours saying that they have not met since. However, they are not interested in making another project together.
In 2002, Nightwish released Century Child
, along with the singles “Ever Dream
” and “Bless the Child
”. The main difference from previous albums is the use of a live Finnish orchestra
on the tracks “Bless the Child”, “Ever Dream”, “Feel For You” and “The Beauty of the Beast”. An enduring favorite of fans, though, is the band’s version of “The Phantom of the Opera
”, from the famous musical of the same name
by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
. The song was repeatedly played on concerts until vocalist Tarja Turunen
was replaced with Anette Olzon
, whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again.
Century Child was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts as well; never before had the second been so distant from the first place. After the “Bless the Child
” video, a second one was recorded, without any single support. The chosen track was “End of All Hope
”. The clip contains pieces from the Finnish movie, Kohtalon kirja
(English: The Book of Fate).
In 2003, Nightwish released their second DVD, entitled End of Innocence
. The DVD tells the story of the band in Holopainen, Nevalainen and Tapio Wilska’s words for two hours. The documentary also features bits of live concerts, exclusive footage, etc. Vocalist Tarja Turunen
also got married during the summer of 2003, and there were rumours that the band was about to be dissolved. These rumours were, at the time, proven to be false, as the band continued to play concerts for another year and released another album. Tarja’s marriage later played a part in her dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005.
was released on June 7, 2004, along with their first single, "Nemo
" (Latin: “No one”), from that album. The single topped the charts in Finland and Hungary
, and reached the charts in six additional countries. “Nemo” therefore remains the band's most successful single release to date. With Once, Nightwish started to produce orchestral versions
of some of their songs. Songs that have been produced as orchestral versions include "Nemo
", "Ghost Love Score", "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
" and "Creek Mary's Blood".
Once utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album. Unlike Century Child, Nightwish decided to look for an orchestra outside of Finland this time, choosing the London Philharmonic Orchestra
. It is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, “Kuolema tekee taiteilijan
” (English: “Death Makes an Artist”). Once has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany
, and Gold in other 6 countries, it also reached #1 in the Greek
, Norwegian
and German
album charts, and charted the Top 10 in France
, Hungary
and Sweden
. The following singles were: "Wish I Had an Angel
" (featured on the soundtrack of the film Alone in the Dark
), "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
" (released only in Finland and Japan
) and "The Siren
". Besides the commercial success, Once was also well received by critics, with many positive reviewers drawing comparisons with Oceanborn.
The success of the album allowed them to perform the Once World Tour, taking them to play in many countries the band had never visited before. Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
, held in Helsinki
, highlighting the acclaim the band had gained. A “best of” album was released in September 2005, containing songs from their whole discography. The compilation is entitled Highest Hopes, also featuring a live cover of Pink Floyd
’s song "High Hopes
" (from the album The Division Bell
) (sample). Besides High Hopes, a remake of "Sleeping Sun
" (from Oceanborn) was included on the album and it was also released as a single. A new video for "Sleeping Sun" was shot, featuring a medieval battle, and can be found on the German release of the single and as a separate DVD released by Spinefarm.
After the recording in the Hartwall Areena
(Helsinki) on October 21, 2005, of the new live DVD End of an Era (released June 2006), the four other members of Nightwish decided that it was best to continue Nightwish without Tarja Turunen, a feeling they expressed through an open letter
which was given to Turunen by Tuomas Holopainen after the concert, and afterwards posted on the band’s website. It was written by Holopainen but signed by the other three band members. The main justification given in the letter for Turunen’s dismissal was that the band felt that both her husband Marcelo Cabuli (an Argentine businessman) and commercial
interests had changed her attitude towards the band.
Turunen responded to the incident twice, during a press conference in Finland and in Germany, saying that her dismissal came entirely as a shock to her, given that she had not been notified before the letter was given to her. She felt that the personal attacks on her husband were unwarranted, and that playing the issue out in public was “senselessly cruel”. She expressed these feelings through her own open letter, which was published on her personal website, and through various TV, magazine, and newspaper interviews.
". In order to find a replacement for Turunen as the female vocalist of the band, on March 17, 2006 the band allowed vocalists interested for the position to send in demo tapes as an audition for the spot. During this time, speculation began to emerge about who would eventually be chosen, and the band stated on their website that fans should not believe any source other than the band itself for information regarding the new vocalist; and on Thursday 24 May, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue
's ex-lead singer, Anette Olzon
, from Sweden
, was announced to replace Turunen. Holopainen has said in interviews he did not wish to reveal her identity until new material was available because he did not want fans judging her by nothing more than a picture, or past work.
The day after this revealing, May 25, 2007, charity single "Eva
" was released for download only as the first offering from the new album. It was originally scheduled for release on May 30, but the date was changed because of a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On June 13, Nightwish revealed the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork for the new album on their official website, as well as the name and cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth
"; it was released in Finland on August 22 and included a bonus track entitled "While Your Lips Are Still Red
" written by Tuomas as the main theme track for the upcoming Finnish feature film “Lieksa!”. the single achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores.
Dark Passion Play
was released around Europe in the last week of September, 2007, in the UK on October 1, and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number 1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States
.
In this album, male vocalist Marco Hietala
has more freedom in the use of his voice: he sings back up in the songs "Cadence of Her Last Breath" and "Sahara", lead vocals in the songs "The Islander
", "Master Passion Greed" and "While Your Lips Are Still Red
", and chorus in the songs "Bye Bye Beautiful
" and "7 Days to the Wolves". He also sings one part in "The Poet and the Pendulum", besides singing back up in the chorus. Before the band found the new singer and the album was recorded, Marco sang on all the demo versions. Tuomas Holopainen
sang also on the demo versions of "Bye Bye Beautiful
" and "Master Passion Greed" but these songs have never been released.
On September 22, 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn
, Estonia
, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band
called “Nachtwasser”. Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv
, Israel
on October 6, 2007. The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States
, Canada
, most of Europe
, Asia
, and Australia
.
The third single of the album was "Erämaan viimeinen
", a previously unreleased vocal version of the instrumental song "Last of the Wilds”". It was released in Finland only on December 5, 2007; On this song, Jonsu of the Finnish pop
and rock
band Indica
performs the Finnish vocals. "Bye Bye Beautiful
", the fourth single, was released on February 15, 2008, and concerns the 2005 dismissal of Turunen, as does one other songs on the album (Master Passion Greed). The single includes yet another bonus track, "Escapist", which is also included on the Japanese version of Dark Passion Play. Within a week after the release, the fifth single was announced to be "The Islander
". "The Islander" single features an orchestral version of the epic ballad "Meadows of Heaven" and also includes an instrumental version of "Escapist" and a new edit version of "The Islander" itself. It was released over a month after the release of its music video, shot in late 2007 in Rovaniemi
in Finnish Lapland.
The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to September 2009 when it ended with a concert in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki
with the band Apocalyptica
. For trivia, Nightwish' only other concert in Hartwall Arena was in 2005 when they ended their Once
world tour. This concert was filmed for the End of an Era
DVD, and it was Tarja Turunen's last show with the band.
On March 6, 2009, Nightwish released a new live MCD/DVD
entitled Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
. The eight live tracks were recorded during the "Dark Passion Play
World Tour" in 2007–2008, and the album also includes one b-side from the "Bye Bye Beautiful
" single, one b-side from the "Amaranth
" single, a previously unreleased demo version of "Cadence of Her Last Breath", and a bonus-DVD with three music videos as well as a 37 minute documentary called "Back in the Day is Now".
stated that he had started work on a new Nightwish album. In October 2009, rumors about the new album's name were going around with the title Wind Embraced, but lead vocalist Anette Olzon
listed the rumors as "not true" and said that the songs for the new album had not yet been completed apart from 3 songs written before May 2009. Holopainen said in a 2010 interview that "[...]I can't reveal to you anymore but there is going to be a big twist so to say, on the next album." In an interview with Uilleann pipist
Troy Donockley
(who recorded with the band on Dark Passion Play
), when asked about his involvement in the new album, he stated "Oh yes, I will be playing on the next album and from what Tuomas has told me, it is going to be something extraordinary..."
On February 1, 2010, Olzon stated on her blog that Holopainen had nine songs ready for the new album. She also stated that the band will be meeting in the summer to make a demo, and fans should not expect anything any earlier than fall of 2011. On Nightmail in April 2010, Holopainen revealed that he has now finished writing songs for the album, and on June 2, it was announced that he had finished recording the pre-production demo.
The band announced in late 2010 that more information of the album's actual content would be released in late January, but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that because of the schedule changes he can't yet give away as much details as he would have wanted, but more information will be out after a couple of months. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton
-Gaiman
-Dali
- amusement park we are about to enter"; In the same statement it was revealed that the album will be a theme album and "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before", and the orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams
were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff". In the Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs will not get any orchestrations at all, differing from their latest album on which all songs had major background orchestra.
On February 10, 2011 Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title will be Imaginaerum. They also declared that the band had been preparing a movie based on the album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for "The Islander
". On August 22, 2011, it was announced on their official website that the album of Imaginaerum would be released already at the end of the year.
On August 31, Nightwish announced on their website their decision to change Imaginarium title to Imaginaerum "In order to avoid mix-ups with various things named 'IMAGINARIUM'".
On September 2, Nightwish announced on their website that the new single called Storytime
will be released on Friday, November 11.
On September 9, Nightwish revealed the cover, tracklist and commentary written by Tuomas.
and fantasy
themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". For example, the song "Elvenpath" is about fantasy in general with references to traditional stories as well as Tolkien. Through the years the lyrics became more personal. On Wishmaster, the title track is still a "tribute to Tolkien and all the other fantasy writers", and "FantasMic
" is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences. However, with "Dead Boy's Poem", the album also includes a very emotional piece, which Holopainen calls his "legacy and [...] testament for the whole world. [...] I wanted to do this song before I die, because I wanted to tell the whole world what I think and feel. It expresses a lot of myself." Other personal songs on the album are "Come Cover Me", a love song, and "She is My Sin", which is about sexual desire and lust. "The Kinslayer", also found on the Wishmaster album, is written about the Columbine High School massacre
which occurred on April 20, 1999, and is "In memory of the Redeemers".
"10th Man Down" from Over the Hills and Far Away
is about civil war and the lyrics are written from a soldier's perspective. The personal development became even more obvious on the Wishmaster-successor Century Child
. Turunen thinks that the lyrics do not anymore deal "with the dreamland we were used to, but with the brutal reality of life." "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (eng. "Death Makes an Artist") from the Once album describes the experience of loss and its impact on art, "Nemo
" deals with the feeling of being lost, while "Dead Gardens" deals with a bout of artist's block Holopainen suffered from.
In the opposite, "Creek Mary's Blood" is based on Dee Brown's story of the same name, which presents the situation of Native Americans
at the end of the 19th century. 2007's Dark Passion Play
included an unusual amount of personal songs, including "The Poet and the Pendulum" which has been described as Holopainen's life story, and about being a composer and musician. Another song, "Meadows of Heaven" is a depiction of Holopainen's childhood and the feeling that it'll never return. Two songs, "Bye Bye Beautiful
" and "Master Passion Greed" are about ex-member Tarja Turunen
and her husband Marcelo Cabuli. Another song on the album, "Cadence of Her Last Breath", is a "very personal song" about running away. Other songs also contain many references to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe
, Walt Whitman
and Stephen King
, but the album also features a return to the fantasy theme with songs such as "Sahara", "Whoever Brings the Night" and "7 Days to the Wolves".
The song "7 Days to the Wolves" from Dark Passion Play is loosely based on Stephen King
's novel Wolves of the Calla, the fifth book in the Dark Tower series
. The song "The Poet and the Pendulum"'s first section is called The White Lands of Empathica, which is also the fourth part of the seventh book in the Dark Tower series.
Although the lyrics of Nightwish generally are serious with dark meanings, they have also produced several less serious songs, including the bonus track Nightquest, which talks about the band members' (the three original members as well as Nevalainen
) connection as musicians, and the "quest" of Nightwish.
" from the Once album (2004), the single "Erämaan viimeinen
" (2007), which is a vocal version (with the vocals contributed by Jonsu from Indica
) of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds", and "Taiktalvi" from Imaginaerum (2011). Holopainen thought that he was very uncertain about the lyrics of "Erämaan viimeinen", because he is of the opinion that writing in Finnish is rather hard, and has said that "Finnish [could] quickly sound really cheesy." The 2004 song Creek Mary's Blood also featured a poem read in Lakota
, originally written in English and then translated by guest singer John Two-Hawks
.
, says that he gets most of the inspiration for Nightwish’s songs from film music
. Songs like “Beauty of the Beast” (from Century Child
), “Ghost Love Score” (from Once
) and “The Poet and the Pendulum” (from Dark Passion Play
) are examples of this influence. Other songs, such as “Bye Bye Beautiful
” (from Dark Passion Play), and “Wish I Had an Angel
” (from Once) have elements of industrial metal
, and some others, like “The Islander
” and “Last of the Wilds” (from Dark Passion Play), “Creek Mary's Blood” (from Once), and the Angels Fall First
album have elements of folk metal
. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music he listens to for leisure. He likes, for example, the musical scores to The Village
, Van Helsing
and Crimson Tide
, and practically everything written by Hans Zimmer
. Bands stated as influence include Children of Bodom
, My Dying Bride
, Tiamat
and The 3rd and the Mortal
.
Fantasy novels are also a big influence on Nightwish’s music. Many of the lyrics make fairly clear references to fantasy novels, especially the Dragonlance
series and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
. Songs such as “Wishmaster,” "Elvenpath," and “Wanderlust” seem to be heavily influenced by the novels. References to The Kharolis Mountains, 'Shalafi' and Krynn, as well as 'Elbereth,' the 'Rings of Power' and 'Gray Havens', can be found in these songs. The music of “7 Days to the Wolves” is inspired by Stephen King
’s The Dark Tower
series.
On the other hand, Nightwish has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. Simone Simons
, lead singer of Dutch
symphonic/gothic metal band Epica
, stated that she began singing because of Nightwish's 1998 Oceanborn
album. Ex-singer of symphonic metal
band Visions of Atlantis
, Nicole Bogner, also acknowledged that Nightwish had greatly inspired them for their first album. Sander Gommans
of After Forever
said that Nightwish “will certainly influence us in creating new songs”. Power metal
band Sonata Arctica
’s lead singer Tony Kakko
has explained how much of an influence Nightwish is to him.
Nightwish performs symphonic metal
with soaring female operatic vocals. Their music has been described as “bombastic heavy, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere”.
The band's music is also known to be complex and layered. Their approach is epic, theatrical and operatic. Critic Chad Bowar notes that the music is "always very melodic with memorable choruses and a lot of hooks." Some would also list Nightwish as heavy metal
.
The usage of a female vocalist has become a sort of trademark, though less so since the outbreak of new female fronted metal bands in the mid-2000s with the popularization of bands such as Evanescence
, Within Temptation
, Leaves' Eyes
, and several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Lacuna Coil
, Tristania
, Epica
and the early Within Temptation
.
Bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala
describes the style of the band's music as "melodic symphonic gothic metal." but this is not a view shared by all members of the group, including band composer Tuomas Holopainen
. Nightwish was perceived to shift from their trademark power metal style for a more "commercial" gothic sound on their albums Century Child
and Once
. The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano Tarja Turunen
, a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of Once. Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums.
While the music of Nightwish is centered around a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release Angels Fall First
. This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album Oceanborn
. However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album "Once" featured some use of folk-oriented native american melodies, and their 2007 release Dark Passion Play
featured a return to folk metal
territory with the songs "The Islander
" and "Last of the Wilds
".
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band from Kitee
Kitee
Kitee is a town and a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen
Emppu Vuorinen
Erno "Emppu" Matti Juhani Vuorinen is a Finnish guitarist, most famous for being a founding member and occasional songwriter of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish.-Background story:He started playing bass as a private study. He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre....
, has been replaced by Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.
Although Nightwish has been prominent in their home country since the release of their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, “The Carpenter
The Carpenter
-Personnel:*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards, Piano, Vocals *Emppu Vuorinen - Guitars, Acoustic guitars, Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums-Video:...
” (1997) and debut album Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original limited edition of which only 500 copies were released features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.- Musical style :...
, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
, Wishmaster
Wishmaster (album)
Wishmaster is the third album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on May 19, 2000 by Spinefarm Records.Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed...
and Century Child
Century Child
Century Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
, which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Their 2004 album, Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
, which has sold more than 1 million copies, led to the broadcast of Nightwish video clips on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and inclusion of their music in US movie soundtracks. Their biggest US hit single, “Wish I Had an Angel
Wish I Had an Angel
"Wish I Had An Angel" is the eleventh single for Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the second from their fifth album Once. The song features vocals by then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marco Hietala, but is still performed live with current vocalist Anette Olzon and is often used as the...
” (2004), made it onto three US film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as “Sleeping Sun
Sleeping Sun
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad by Nightwish. The song was written by Tuomas Holopainen and dedicated to the solar eclipse that arose on the European sky in 1999, and recorded during the Oceanborn sessions...
”, from the 2005 “best of
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
” compilation album, Highest Hopes, prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
’s dismissal.
In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue
Alyson Avenue
Alyson Avenue is a Swedish classic rock band. The band's musical style was described as "AOR". The band has released two albums: Presence of Mind and Omega, and are currently recording a third, which will feature previous lead singer Anette Olzon....
frontwoman, Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
, was revealed as Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album, Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
, which has sold almost 2 million copies, with their big single, "Amaranth
Amaranth (song)
-Charts performance:"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary, Norway and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot...
", being released one month before. The supporting tour started on October 6, 2007 and ended on September 19, 2009. A new E.P./live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
-DVD:# Bye Bye Beautiful # Amaranth # The Islander # Back in the Day... Is Now-Choice of tracklist:...
, was released in March 2009 as a MCD
Mini CD
Mini CDs, or “pocket CDs” are CDs with a smaller diameter and one third the capacity.-Formats:Amongst the various formats are the* Mini CD single, a small disc. The format is mainly used for audio CD singles in certain regions , much like the old vinyl single...
/DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, and a seventh studio album, titled Imaginaerum, set for release on November 30, 2011 in Finland, and December 2, 2011 in the rest of Europe.
Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and the third-best-selling musical entity in Finland with sales of over 827,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band abroad with more than 7 million records sold worldwide, and having collected over 60 gold and platinum awards.
Formation
After playing keyboardsMusical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt was a Finnish band, mainly known for several of their members who have become famous in other bands, Tuomas Holopainen, Tapio Wilska and Sami Vänskä...
and Darkwoods My Betrothed
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Darkwoods My Betrothed are a black metal band from Kitee, Finland.Formed in 1992 as Virgin Cunt, they set out to be the "most blasphemous black metal band in Europe", in a rather tongue-in-cheek sense. After recording a couple demos under this name, the band started to take themselves a lot more...
, Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
decided to create his own project while sitting around a campfire with friends in 1996. He immediately had a clear idea of the music: experimental acoustic music he wrote himself, similar to the music usually played around campfires, but with a distinct sound and atmosphere, played on his keyboards.
He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen
Emppu Vuorinen
Erno "Emppu" Matti Juhani Vuorinen is a Finnish guitarist, most famous for being a founding member and occasional songwriter of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
to play acoustic guitars, and the classical vocalist Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
, who shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov. The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
in the winter of 1996. The name “Nightwish” was derived from their first song together, and the demo also included the song “The Forever Moments”, and an early version of “Etiäinen”.
After recording the Nightwish demo, Holopainen realized that Turunen’s operatic voice was too powerful for an acoustic band, and decided to incorporate heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
elements, including electric guitars and drums.
Debut album and first tour
In early 1997, following the release of the Nightwish demo, Jukka “Julius” NevalainenJukka Nevalainen
Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen is the drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and the Finnish progressive metal band Sethian.- Biography :He spent his early years in the city of Kitee...
joined the band, and acoustic guitar was replaced with electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. The addition of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
elements to the band's existing experimental style gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the Nightwish sound.
The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, entitled Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original limited edition of which only 500 copies were released features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.- Musical style :...
. As a precursor to their debut full length album of the same name, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
in May 1997. The label signed Nightwish to a two album deal, and the band returned to the studio to re-record songs from their second demo. The full length album Angels Fall First was released internationally in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single “The Carpenter
The Carpenter
-Personnel:*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards, Piano, Vocals *Emppu Vuorinen - Guitars, Acoustic guitars, Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums-Video:...
” reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart. “The Carpenter” single was released as a split with label mates Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
and Thy Serpent
Thy Serpent
Thy Serpent is a blackened doom metal/symphonic black metal band from Espoo, Finland. It started out as a solo project by Sami Tenetz.- History :...
; the album is also one of the two releases which features keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks, alongside vocalist Tarja Turunen.
After meeting a mixed critical reception in their first year of existence, the band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee
Kitee
Kitee is a town and a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
in December 1997. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member on an additional 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...
and a sessional backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for Tarja. There were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
, so they asked Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish.-Background story:He started playing bass as a private study. He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre....
to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt was a Finnish band, mainly known for several of their members who have become famous in other bands, Tuomas Holopainen, Tapio Wilska and Sami Vänskä...
. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because Turunen was finishing her schooling, and Nevalainen and Holopainen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service.
Nightwish then returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece, to record their follow-up album for Spinefarm records.
International success
On October 7, 1998, Nightwish released their second full length album, OceanbornOceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
, in Finland only. Adopting a more technical and progressive sound than Angels Fall First, Oceanborn saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release, with the exception of "Moondance". In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska
Tapio Wilska
Tapio Wilska is the main vocalist of the heavy metal band Sethian. He is also the ex-lead vocalist for the band Finntroll...
(ex-Finntroll
Finntroll
Finntroll is a folk metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They combine elements of black metal and folk metal. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" on Visor Om Slutet...
), since Tuomas did not want to sing again. Wilska is also a former member of Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt
Nattvindens Gråt was a Finnish band, mainly known for several of their members who have become famous in other bands, Tuomas Holopainen, Tapio Wilska and Sami Vänskä...
.
Oceanborn was better received than the previous CD, with Allmusic writing that the album “as a whole works great”, with songs that are “very strong”. Oceanborn was an instant success in Finland, reaching number 5 on the Finnish album charts. The album’s first single, “Sacrament of Wilderness
Sacrament of Wilderness
Sacrament of Wilderness is the second single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released as the first single from their album Oceanborn....
”, hit number 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks. The album’s release was initially limited to Finland, but because of the success of “Sacrament of Wilderness”, Spinefarm released Oceanborn internationally in the spring of 1999. In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the single “Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)
Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)
-Video:A video was shot for the song, in which Tarja Turunen seems to have red hair. The videoclip includes many landscapes characteristic of Finland, for example the forests, the beaches and a large grain field...
”, in one month the single sold 15,000 copies in Germany alone. Following the band’s first international success, Nightwish was added as the opening band for Rage
Rage (band)
Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian.-Background:...
’s 1999 European tour. Both the album Oceanborn and the singles “Sacrament of Wilderness” and "Walking in the Air were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.
While in the studio in early 2000 working on their third album, Nightwish was accepted in the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sleepwalker”. Despite winning the public vote, Nightwish eventually finished in second place, with the jury choosing local gospel singer Nina Åström
Nina Åström
Nina Åström is a Finnish gospel singer and songwriter, who represented Finland in the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest. She started performing in the 1980s, and published her debut album in 1991. She currently lives in Kokkola and she is married...
to represent Finland.
In 19 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album Wishmaster
Wishmaster (album)
Wishmaster is the third album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on May 19, 2000 by Spinefarm Records.Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed...
. This debuted at #1 on the Finnish album charts, and was certified gold in Finland after three weeks at number one. Critical response to the album was mixed, with Allmusic citing the album as repetitive, and saying “as a whole album, it can be a little annoying, even frustrating”. However, German magazine Rock Hard
Rock Hard (magazine)
Rock Hard is a heavy metal magazine originally released in Germany. It was founded in 1983 by Holger Stratmann and is dedicated to all styles of rock and heavy metal. The magazine has independent offspring with the same name in France, Greece, Italy and Spain....
declared Wishmaster “Album of the Month”, despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
and Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
. Following the release of Wishmaster, Nightwish embarked on their first world tour, playing dates in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the first headlining European tour with Sinergy
Sinergy
Sinergy was a Finnish power metal band started in 1998 by American musician, Kimberly Goss. Aside from Sinergy, the most notable bands Goss has been involved with are Dimmu Borgir; as keyboardist, and Children of Bodom; where she filled in live for Janne Wirman and also contributed lyrics...
and Eternal Tears of Sorrow
Eternal Tears of Sorrow
Eternal Tears of Sorrow is a Finnish symphonic death metal band formed in Pudasjärvi in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland...
. In the summer the band returned to Europe, appearing at the Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
festival and the Biebop Metal Fest.
New bassist and change of style
In 2001, Nightwish recorded a cover of Gary MooreGary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
’s “Over the Hills and Far Away
Over the Hills and Far Away (album)
Over the Hills and Far Away is the first EP by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2001 by both Spinefarm Records and Drakkar Records...
” together with two new songs (“10th Man Down”, unreleased from Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
, and “Away”, unreleased from Wishmaster
Wishmaster (album)
Wishmaster is the third album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on May 19, 2000 by Spinefarm Records.Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed...
) and a remake of “Astral Romance” (from the Angels Fall First album) with Tony Kakko
Tony Kakko
Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
(Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
) singing Tuomas' part. This new material was released as their first (and until 2009 the only) EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, "Over the Hills and Far Away
Over the Hills and Far Away (album)
Over the Hills and Far Away is the first EP by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2001 by both Spinefarm Records and Drakkar Records...
".
The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska
Tapio Wilska
Tapio Wilska is the main vocalist of the heavy metal band Sethian. He is also the ex-lead vocalist for the band Finntroll...
once again on "10th Man Down". They also released (as VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
) their live album, From Wishes to Eternity
From Wishes to Eternity
From Wishes to Eternity - Live is a live DVD/VHS/CD by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was recorded in Tampere, Finland on 29 December 2000. The CD was released as a limited edition of 10.000 copies, available only in Finland. In the late 2005, Spinefarm managed to release it in Europe...
,recorded during a show in Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
, Finland, on December 29, 2000. Nightwish’s version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, becoming a frequent part of the band’s live performances, but the songs never had a great break-through and have not been re-released, with the exception of a live performance of "10th Man Down" on the "End of Innocence
End of Innocence
End of Innocence is the second official DVD release of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The DVD features numerous clips of the band performing livetracks, including a recording of the band performing one of their first songs; "Beauty and the Beast", with bassist Marco Hietala performing the...
" DVD with Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
(current bass player and male vocalist).
Soon after the release, Nightwish met what has been described as one of their hardest points as a band. The issues centred around the bassist, Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish.-Background story:He started playing bass as a private study. He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre....
who had started misbehaving towards the band, according to Holopainen, by missing appointments and failing to take gigs as seriously as the other members did. After the band discussed of his behaviour with Vänskä several times, without getting any change, everyone simply stopped caring and tensions grew. Meanwhile, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen
Emppu Vuorinen
Erno "Emppu" Matti Juhani Vuorinen is a Finnish guitarist, most famous for being a founding member and occasional songwriter of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
had started complaining about his role in the band, feeling like "a hired gun who would only do what he's asked to". According to their music teacher, Plamen Dimov, he and Holopainen have totally different characters, and thus difficulties were expected to arise. But Vuorinen was told to stay cool and "bite the bullet", and the problem was never addressed again.
Later, Holopainen confessed that, at that time, he seriously started thinking about breaking Nightwish up. After a gig in Russia, he sent a text message to fellow musician Tony Kakko
Tony Kakko
Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
of metal band Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
, telling him that he did not think he had a band any longer, and asking him what plans he had for next year. After Nightwish's last gig for the Over the Hills and Far Away tour in 2001, Holopainen called Drakkar
Drakkar Productions
Drakkar Productions is a French record label that has released many recordings of black metal bands throughout the world, on CD, cassette and vinyl. They have usually limited the prints to 1000 copies or less, but some have been known to vary...
and Spinefarm
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
, unofficially declaring Nightwish was over. He told them he might produce another album, but he'd never perform another show with the band. The same message was also written on the band's message board.
Straight after the last gig, Holopainen went on a week-long hiking trip to Lapland
Lapland (region)
Lapland is a region in northern Fennoscandia, largely within the Arctic Circle. It streches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula . On the North it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the West by the Norwegian Sea and on the East by the White Sea...
with Tony Kakko. During the hiking trip, they talked about the band and Holopainen decided he could not break up Nightwish that easily. When he returned from Lapland he immediately received a phone call from Ewo Pohjola offering himself to become their manager and help him straighten things up, and Holopainen agreed.
In order to continue with Nightwish, Holopainen decided some changes were in order. Beside choosing Ewo as their new manager, he also decided to ask Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish.-Background story:He started playing bass as a private study. He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre....
to leave the band. Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
(Tarot
Tarot (band)
Tarot is a heavy metal band from Finland. They are most famous for the song “Wings of Darkness” from the 1986 album Spell of Iron. While having enjoyed a broad underground popularity in Finland, the band has never been very famous elsewhere until gaining new success in the recent years when their...
) was asked to join the band in his place, effectively leaving his previous band Sinergy
Sinergy
Sinergy was a Finnish power metal band started in 1998 by American musician, Kimberly Goss. Aside from Sinergy, the most notable bands Goss has been involved with are Dimmu Borgir; as keyboardist, and Children of Bodom; where she filled in live for Janne Wirman and also contributed lyrics...
. As well as playing bass guitar, Hietala would also perform male vocals. Holopainen has since said publicly that he and Vänskä still keep in touch, contrary to rumours saying that they have not met since. However, they are not interested in making another project together.
In 2002, Nightwish released Century Child
Century Child
Century Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
, along with the singles “Ever Dream
Ever Dream
Ever Dream is the eighth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish which was the group's first single release in two years. The single also preluded a new album, Century Child....
” and “Bless the Child
Bless the Child (song)
Bless the Child is the ninth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released as the second single from their album Century Child. It is one of two songs which were filmed from the Century Child album, with other one being "End of All Hope".There is two versions of the single which has a...
”. The main difference from previous albums is the use of a live Finnish orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
on the tracks “Bless the Child”, “Ever Dream”, “Feel For You” and “The Beauty of the Beast”. An enduring favorite of fans, though, is the band’s version of “The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (song)
"The Phantom of the Opera" is a song from the stage musical of the same name, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, lyrics written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and additional lyrics by Mike Batt...
”, from the famous musical of the same name
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
. The song was repeatedly played on concerts until vocalist Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
was replaced with Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
, whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again.
Century Child was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts as well; never before had the second been so distant from the first place. After the “Bless the Child
Bless the Child (song)
Bless the Child is the ninth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released as the second single from their album Century Child. It is one of two songs which were filmed from the Century Child album, with other one being "End of All Hope".There is two versions of the single which has a...
” video, a second one was recorded, without any single support. The chosen track was “End of All Hope
End of All Hope
"End of All Hope" is a song by the symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish, from their fourth studio album Century Child. It is one of two songs which were filmed from Century Child, with other one being "Bless the Child".- External links :*...
”. The clip contains pieces from the Finnish movie, Kohtalon kirja
Kohtalon kirja
Kohtalon kirja is a Finnish film released in 2003. The movie was a DVD release, though it premiered in a theater....
(English: The Book of Fate).
In 2003, Nightwish released their second DVD, entitled End of Innocence
End of Innocence
End of Innocence is the second official DVD release of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The DVD features numerous clips of the band performing livetracks, including a recording of the band performing one of their first songs; "Beauty and the Beast", with bassist Marco Hietala performing the...
. The DVD tells the story of the band in Holopainen, Nevalainen and Tapio Wilska’s words for two hours. The documentary also features bits of live concerts, exclusive footage, etc. Vocalist Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
also got married during the summer of 2003, and there were rumours that the band was about to be dissolved. These rumours were, at the time, proven to be false, as the band continued to play concerts for another year and released another album. Tarja’s marriage later played a part in her dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005.
Consecration with Once and Tarja's dismissal
A new album entitled OnceOnce (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
was released on June 7, 2004, along with their first single, "Nemo
Nemo (song)
-Charts Performance:Once topped the album charts in Finland and Hungary. In the UK it could only chart at #87 after a chart entry of #101 the week before, but spent over 20 weeks on the top 200 plus a few re-entries...
" (Latin: “No one”), from that album. The single topped the charts in Finland and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and reached the charts in six additional countries. “Nemo” therefore remains the band's most successful single release to date. With Once, Nightwish started to produce orchestral versions
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
of some of their songs. Songs that have been produced as orchestral versions include "Nemo
Nemo (song)
-Charts Performance:Once topped the album charts in Finland and Hungary. In the UK it could only chart at #87 after a chart entry of #101 the week before, but spent over 20 weeks on the top 200 plus a few re-entries...
", "Ghost Love Score", "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the third single released from the album Once by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of Once. The single was never released outside Japan and Finland."Kuolema Tekee...
" and "Creek Mary's Blood".
Once utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album. Unlike Century Child, Nightwish decided to look for an orchestra outside of Finland this time, choosing the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
. It is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, “Kuolema tekee taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the third single released from the album Once by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of Once. The single was never released outside Japan and Finland."Kuolema Tekee...
” (English: “Death Makes an Artist”). Once has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Gold in other 6 countries, it also reached #1 in the Greek
Greek Albums Chart
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of...
, Norwegian
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
and German
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
album charts, and charted the Top 10 in France
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
, Hungary
Mahasz
Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary....
and Sweden
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
. The following singles were: "Wish I Had an Angel
Wish I Had an Angel
"Wish I Had An Angel" is the eleventh single for Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the second from their fifth album Once. The song features vocals by then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marco Hietala, but is still performed live with current vocalist Anette Olzon and is often used as the...
" (featured on the soundtrack of the film Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark (2005 film)
Alone in the Dark is a 2005 horror film, loosely based on Infogrames' popular video game series of the same name. It is directed by Uwe Boll, and stars Christian Slater as supernatural detective Edward Carnby and Tara Reid as the scientist assisting him...
), "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the third single released from the album Once by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of Once. The single was never released outside Japan and Finland."Kuolema Tekee...
" (released only in Finland and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) and "The Siren
The Siren (song)
The Siren was the fourth and last single of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's fifth studio album Once. The song was recorded with the London Session Orchestra and includes many exotic instruments, for example an electric violin and a sitar....
". Besides the commercial success, Once was also well received by critics, with many positive reviewers drawing comparisons with Oceanborn.
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
, held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, highlighting the acclaim the band had gained. A “best of” album was released in September 2005, containing songs from their whole discography. The compilation is entitled Highest Hopes, also featuring a live cover of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
’s song "High Hopes
High Hopes (Pink Floyd song)
"High Hopes" is a song from the 1994 Pink Floyd album, The Division Bell, composed by David Gilmour with lyrics by Gilmour and Polly Samson...
" (from the album The Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
) (sample). Besides High Hopes, a remake of "Sleeping Sun
Sleeping Sun
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad by Nightwish. The song was written by Tuomas Holopainen and dedicated to the solar eclipse that arose on the European sky in 1999, and recorded during the Oceanborn sessions...
" (from Oceanborn) was included on the album and it was also released as a single. A new video for "Sleeping Sun" was shot, featuring a medieval battle, and can be found on the German release of the single and as a separate DVD released by Spinefarm.
After the recording in the Hartwall Areena
Hartwall Areena
Hartwall Areena is a large multifunctional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland...
(Helsinki) on October 21, 2005, of the new live DVD End of an Era (released June 2006), the four other members of Nightwish decided that it was best to continue Nightwish without Tarja Turunen, a feeling they expressed through an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
which was given to Turunen by Tuomas Holopainen after the concert, and afterwards posted on the band’s website. It was written by Holopainen but signed by the other three band members. The main justification given in the letter for Turunen’s dismissal was that the band felt that both her husband Marcelo Cabuli (an Argentine businessman) and commercial
Commercialism
Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
interests had changed her attitude towards the band.
Turunen responded to the incident twice, during a press conference in Finland and in Germany, saying that her dismissal came entirely as a shock to her, given that she had not been notified before the letter was given to her. She felt that the personal attacks on her husband were unwarranted, and that playing the issue out in public was “senselessly cruel”. She expressed these feelings through her own open letter, which was published on her personal website, and through various TV, magazine, and newspaper interviews.
Hiatus and new lead singer
In September 2006, the band entered the studio to record their sixth studio album, entitled "Dark Passion PlayDark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
". In order to find a replacement for Turunen as the female vocalist of the band, on March 17, 2006 the band allowed vocalists interested for the position to send in demo tapes as an audition for the spot. During this time, speculation began to emerge about who would eventually be chosen, and the band stated on their website that fans should not believe any source other than the band itself for information regarding the new vocalist; and on Thursday 24 May, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue
Alyson Avenue
Alyson Avenue is a Swedish classic rock band. The band's musical style was described as "AOR". The band has released two albums: Presence of Mind and Omega, and are currently recording a third, which will feature previous lead singer Anette Olzon....
's ex-lead singer, Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
, from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, was announced to replace Turunen. Holopainen has said in interviews he did not wish to reveal her identity until new material was available because he did not want fans judging her by nothing more than a picture, or past work.
The day after this revealing, May 25, 2007, charity single "Eva
Eva (song)
-Personnel:*Anette Olzon - lead vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass...
" was released for download only as the first offering from the new album. It was originally scheduled for release on May 30, but the date was changed because of a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On June 13, Nightwish revealed the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork for the new album on their official website, as well as the name and cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth
Amaranth (song)
-Charts performance:"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary, Norway and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot...
"; it was released in Finland on August 22 and included a bonus track entitled "While Your Lips Are Still Red
While Your Lips Are Still Red
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marco Hietala of the Finnish metal quintet Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film Lieksa!, which was written and directed by renowned Finnish director Markku...
" written by Tuomas as the main theme track for the upcoming Finnish feature film “Lieksa!”. the single achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores.
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
was released around Europe in the last week of September, 2007, in the UK on October 1, and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number 1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In this album, male vocalist Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
has more freedom in the use of his voice: he sings back up in the songs "Cadence of Her Last Breath" and "Sahara", lead vocals in the songs "The Islander
The Islander (song)
-Chart performance:"The Islander" went straight to #1 in Finland on the first day of its release. Recently, Nightwish have had major success in Spain and "The Islander" reached #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart, continuing a run of Top 5 singles from Dark Passion Play.-Personnel:*Marco Hietala – Male...
", "Master Passion Greed" and "While Your Lips Are Still Red
While Your Lips Are Still Red
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marco Hietala of the Finnish metal quintet Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film Lieksa!, which was written and directed by renowned Finnish director Markku...
", and chorus in the songs "Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
" and "7 Days to the Wolves". He also sings one part in "The Poet and the Pendulum", besides singing back up in the chorus. Before the band found the new singer and the album was recorded, Marco sang on all the demo versions. Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
sang also on the demo versions of "Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
" and "Master Passion Greed" but these songs have never been released.
On September 22, 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
called “Nachtwasser”. Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
on October 6, 2007. The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The third single of the album was "Erämaan viimeinen
Erämaan Viimeinen
-Personnel:*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass- External links:*...
", a previously unreleased vocal version of the instrumental song "Last of the Wilds”". It was released in Finland only on December 5, 2007; On this song, Jonsu of the Finnish pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Indica
Indica (Finnish band)
Indica is a Finnish pop rock group founded in 2001. Jani Jalonen of Sony Music became interested in the group, and a recording contract was signed 2003. Indica's first album, Ikuinen virta was released in 2004. It has since sold platinum in Finland....
performs the Finnish vocals. "Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
", the fourth single, was released on February 15, 2008, and concerns the 2005 dismissal of Turunen, as does one other songs on the album (Master Passion Greed). The single includes yet another bonus track, "Escapist", which is also included on the Japanese version of Dark Passion Play. Within a week after the release, the fifth single was announced to be "The Islander
The Islander (song)
-Chart performance:"The Islander" went straight to #1 in Finland on the first day of its release. Recently, Nightwish have had major success in Spain and "The Islander" reached #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart, continuing a run of Top 5 singles from Dark Passion Play.-Personnel:*Marco Hietala – Male...
". "The Islander" single features an orchestral version of the epic ballad "Meadows of Heaven" and also includes an instrumental version of "Escapist" and a new edit version of "The Islander" itself. It was released over a month after the release of its music video, shot in late 2007 in Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
in Finnish Lapland.
The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to September 2009 when it ended with a concert in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
with the band Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
. For trivia, Nightwish' only other concert in Hartwall Arena was in 2005 when they ended their Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
world tour. This concert was filmed for the End of an Era
End of an Era
End of an Era is a DVD and double CD from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Nuclear Blast recorded their live performance at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland on October 21, 2005, the final concert of a long worldwide tour for their album Once...
DVD, and it was Tarja Turunen's last show with the band.
On March 6, 2009, Nightwish released a new live MCD/DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
entitled Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
-DVD:# Bye Bye Beautiful # Amaranth # The Islander # Back in the Day... Is Now-Choice of tracklist:...
. The eight live tracks were recorded during the "Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
World Tour" in 2007–2008, and the album also includes one b-side from the "Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
" single, one b-side from the "Amaranth
Amaranth (song)
-Charts performance:"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary, Norway and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot...
" single, a previously unreleased demo version of "Cadence of Her Last Breath", and a bonus-DVD with three music videos as well as a 37 minute documentary called "Back in the Day is Now".
Imaginaerum and promo movie
In the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine Soundi, lead composer and keyboardist Tuomas HolopainenTuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
stated that he had started work on a new Nightwish album. In October 2009, rumors about the new album's name were going around with the title Wind Embraced, but lead vocalist Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
listed the rumors as "not true" and said that the songs for the new album had not yet been completed apart from 3 songs written before May 2009. Holopainen said in a 2010 interview that "[...]I can't reveal to you anymore but there is going to be a big twist so to say, on the next album." In an interview with Uilleann pipist
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of uillean pipes.- Early life and career :...
(who recorded with the band on Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
), when asked about his involvement in the new album, he stated "Oh yes, I will be playing on the next album and from what Tuomas has told me, it is going to be something extraordinary..."
On February 1, 2010, Olzon stated on her blog that Holopainen had nine songs ready for the new album. She also stated that the band will be meeting in the summer to make a demo, and fans should not expect anything any earlier than fall of 2011. On Nightmail in April 2010, Holopainen revealed that he has now finished writing songs for the album, and on June 2, it was announced that he had finished recording the pre-production demo.
The band announced in late 2010 that more information of the album's actual content would be released in late January, but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that because of the schedule changes he can't yet give away as much details as he would have wanted, but more information will be out after a couple of months. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
-Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
-Dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
- amusement park we are about to enter"; In the same statement it was revealed that the album will be a theme album and "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before", and the orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams
Pip Williams
Pip Williams, is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues.-Career:...
were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff". In the Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs will not get any orchestrations at all, differing from their latest album on which all songs had major background orchestra.
On February 10, 2011 Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title will be Imaginaerum. They also declared that the band had been preparing a movie based on the album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for "The Islander
The Islander (song)
-Chart performance:"The Islander" went straight to #1 in Finland on the first day of its release. Recently, Nightwish have had major success in Spain and "The Islander" reached #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart, continuing a run of Top 5 singles from Dark Passion Play.-Personnel:*Marco Hietala – Male...
". On August 22, 2011, it was announced on their official website that the album of Imaginaerum would be released already at the end of the year.
On August 31, Nightwish announced on their website their decision to change Imaginarium title to Imaginaerum "In order to avoid mix-ups with various things named 'IMAGINARIUM'".
On September 2, Nightwish announced on their website that the new single called Storytime
Storytime
"Storytime" is a song from the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's seventh studio album Imaginaerum, as well as the first single from the album. It was released on November 9, 2011, twenty days prior to the album, along with a music video...
will be released on Friday, November 11.
On September 9, Nightwish revealed the cover, tracklist and commentary written by Tuomas.
Lyrical themes
In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote on mythologicalMythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". For example, the song "Elvenpath" is about fantasy in general with references to traditional stories as well as Tolkien. Through the years the lyrics became more personal. On Wishmaster, the title track is still a "tribute to Tolkien and all the other fantasy writers", and "FantasMic
FantasMic (Song)
"FantasMic" is a song by the Finnish power metal band Nightwish from their album Wishmaster.It was written by Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist and main songwriter of the band, and it is considered a tribute to Walt Disney and the movies and characters of the Walt Disney Studios...
" is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences. However, with "Dead Boy's Poem", the album also includes a very emotional piece, which Holopainen calls his "legacy and [...] testament for the whole world. [...] I wanted to do this song before I die, because I wanted to tell the whole world what I think and feel. It expresses a lot of myself." Other personal songs on the album are "Come Cover Me", a love song, and "She is My Sin", which is about sexual desire and lust. "The Kinslayer", also found on the Wishmaster album, is written about the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
which occurred on April 20, 1999, and is "In memory of the Redeemers".
"10th Man Down" from Over the Hills and Far Away
Over the Hills and Far Away (album)
Over the Hills and Far Away is the first EP by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2001 by both Spinefarm Records and Drakkar Records...
is about civil war and the lyrics are written from a soldier's perspective. The personal development became even more obvious on the Wishmaster-successor Century Child
Century Child
Century Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
. Turunen thinks that the lyrics do not anymore deal "with the dreamland we were used to, but with the brutal reality of life." "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (eng. "Death Makes an Artist") from the Once album describes the experience of loss and its impact on art, "Nemo
Nemo (song)
-Charts Performance:Once topped the album charts in Finland and Hungary. In the UK it could only chart at #87 after a chart entry of #101 the week before, but spent over 20 weeks on the top 200 plus a few re-entries...
" deals with the feeling of being lost, while "Dead Gardens" deals with a bout of artist's block Holopainen suffered from.
In the opposite, "Creek Mary's Blood" is based on Dee Brown's story of the same name, which presents the situation of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
at the end of the 19th century. 2007's Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
included an unusual amount of personal songs, including "The Poet and the Pendulum" which has been described as Holopainen's life story, and about being a composer and musician. Another song, "Meadows of Heaven" is a depiction of Holopainen's childhood and the feeling that it'll never return. Two songs, "Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
" and "Master Passion Greed" are about ex-member Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
and her husband Marcelo Cabuli. Another song on the album, "Cadence of Her Last Breath", is a "very personal song" about running away. Other songs also contain many references to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, but the album also features a return to the fantasy theme with songs such as "Sahara", "Whoever Brings the Night" and "7 Days to the Wolves".
The song "7 Days to the Wolves" from Dark Passion Play is loosely based on Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel Wolves of the Calla, the fifth book in the Dark Tower series
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
. The song "The Poet and the Pendulum"'s first section is called The White Lands of Empathica, which is also the fourth part of the seventh book in the Dark Tower series.
Although the lyrics of Nightwish generally are serious with dark meanings, they have also produced several less serious songs, including the bonus track Nightquest, which talks about the band members' (the three original members as well as Nevalainen
Jukka Nevalainen
Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen is the drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and the Finnish progressive metal band Sethian.- Biography :He spent his early years in the city of Kitee...
) connection as musicians, and the "quest" of Nightwish.
Language
On their debut album Angels Fall First, songs were written in both the English and Finnish languages, but since then the band has only written songs in English, with the only exceptions being "Kuolema Tekee TaiteilijanKuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the third single released from the album Once by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of Once. The single was never released outside Japan and Finland."Kuolema Tekee...
" from the Once album (2004), the single "Erämaan viimeinen
Erämaan Viimeinen
-Personnel:*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass- External links:*...
" (2007), which is a vocal version (with the vocals contributed by Jonsu from Indica
Indica (Finnish band)
Indica is a Finnish pop rock group founded in 2001. Jani Jalonen of Sony Music became interested in the group, and a recording contract was signed 2003. Indica's first album, Ikuinen virta was released in 2004. It has since sold platinum in Finland....
) of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds", and "Taiktalvi" from Imaginaerum (2011). Holopainen thought that he was very uncertain about the lyrics of "Erämaan viimeinen", because he is of the opinion that writing in Finnish is rather hard, and has said that "Finnish [could] quickly sound really cheesy." The 2004 song Creek Mary's Blood also featured a poem read in Lakota
Lakota language
Lakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
, originally written in English and then translated by guest singer John Two-Hawks
John Two-Hawks
John Two-Hawks is an Oglala Lakota Native American musician who has been performing professionally in live concerts since the early 1990s. He sings and plays many instruments, but is best known as a pioneer and virtuoso player of the Native American flute...
.
Influence
Tuomas Holopainen, writer of most of the band’s lyrics and musical scoresSheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, says that he gets most of the inspiration for Nightwish’s songs from film music
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
. Songs like “Beauty of the Beast” (from Century Child
Century Child
Century Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
), “Ghost Love Score” (from Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
) and “The Poet and the Pendulum” (from Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
) are examples of this influence. Other songs, such as “Bye Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful
-Charts performance:In the UK, "Bye Bye Beautiful" entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number two, behind Nickelback's "Rockstar". After the European release, "Bye Bye Beautiful" reached its highest position in a national singles chart, in Spain, reaching number 4, slightly lower than Nightwish's...
” (from Dark Passion Play), and “Wish I Had an Angel
Wish I Had an Angel
"Wish I Had An Angel" is the eleventh single for Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the second from their fifth album Once. The song features vocals by then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marco Hietala, but is still performed live with current vocalist Anette Olzon and is often used as the...
” (from Once) have elements of industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, and some others, like “The Islander
The Islander
The Islander is a book by the Newbery Medal winning author Cynthia Rylant published in 1998 by Dorling Kindersley.It is the story of Daniel, whose parents have died; he goes to live with his grandfather on a remote gray island off British Columbia. Together they live an extremely lonely life,...
” and “Last of the Wilds” (from Dark Passion Play), “Creek Mary's Blood” (from Once), and the Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original limited edition of which only 500 copies were released features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.- Musical style :...
album have elements of 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...
. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music he listens to for leisure. He likes, for example, the musical scores to The Village
The Village (2004 film)
The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
, Van Helsing
Van Helsing (film)
Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
and Crimson Tide
Crimson Tide (film)
The film has uncredited additional writing by Quentin Tarantino, much of it being the pop-culture reference-laden dialogue.The U.S. Navy objected to many of the elements in the script — particularly the aspect of mutiny on board a U.S. naval vessel — and as such, the film was produced...
, and practically everything written by Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
. Bands stated as influence include Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
, My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. The band released their tenth studio album, For Lies I Sire,...
, Tiamat
Tiamat (band)
-Biography:Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat...
and The 3rd and the Mortal
The 3rd and the Mortal
The 3rd and the Mortal were a Norwegian experimental metal-band, founded in the city of Trondheim, Norway, in 1992 by Rune Hoemsnes, Finn Olav Holthe, Geir Nilssen, Trond Engum and singer Kari Rueslåtten...
.
Fantasy novels are also a big influence on Nightwish’s music. Many of the lyrics make fairly clear references to fantasy novels, especially the Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
series and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. Songs such as “Wishmaster,” "Elvenpath," and “Wanderlust” seem to be heavily influenced by the novels. References to The Kharolis Mountains, 'Shalafi' and Krynn, as well as 'Elbereth,' the 'Rings of Power' and 'Gray Havens', can be found in these songs. The music of “7 Days to the Wolves” is inspired by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
’s The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series.
On the other hand, Nightwish has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. Simone Simons
Simone Simons
Simone Johanna Maria Simons is a Dutch coloratura mezzo-soprano singer who is the lead vocalist of symphonic metal band Epica.-Biography:...
, lead singer of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
symphonic/gothic metal band Epica
Epica (band)
Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen subsequent to his departure from After Forever. They are known for their symphonic sound and the use of female vocals and male growls performed by Simone Simons and Mark Jansen, respectively. All six members write...
, stated that she began singing because of Nightwish's 1998 Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
album. Ex-singer of symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band Visions of Atlantis
Visions of Atlantis
Visions of Atlantis is a symphonic power metal band from Styria, Austria, founded in 2000. The original line-up consisted of Werner Fiedler , Mike Koren , Christian Stani , Chris Kamper , Nicole Bogner and Thomas Caser...
, Nicole Bogner, also acknowledged that Nightwish had greatly inspired them for their first album. Sander Gommans
Sander Gommans
Sander Gommans is a Dutch musician. He founded the symphonic metal band Apocalypse with Mark Jansen in 1995, which later changed its name to After Forever. He played guitar and did the grunting parts in the band...
of After Forever
After Forever
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death grunts. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded.-Biography:...
said that Nightwish “will certainly influence us in creating new songs”. Power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
’s lead singer Tony Kakko
Tony Kakko
Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is mainly known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative force in the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.-Biography:...
has explained how much of an influence Nightwish is to him.
Musical style
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
with soaring female operatic vocals. Their music has been described as “bombastic heavy, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere”.
The band's music is also known to be complex and layered. Their approach is epic, theatrical and operatic. Critic Chad Bowar notes that the music is "always very melodic with memorable choruses and a lot of hooks." Some would also list Nightwish as heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
.
The usage of a female vocalist has become a sort of trademark, though less so since the outbreak of new female fronted metal bands in the mid-2000s with the popularization of bands such as Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
, Within Temptation
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
, Leaves' Eyes
Leaves' Eyes
Leaves' Eyes is a German-Norwegian symphonic metal band from Stavanger, Norway and Ludwigsburg, Germany. They were formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, the former lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy and the entire line-up of Atrocity...
, and several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...
, Tristania
Tristania (band)
Tristania is a band from Norway, formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as symphonic gothic metal with doom/death metal influences , due to its strong ties with the goth metal's history...
, Epica
Epica (band)
Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen subsequent to his departure from After Forever. They are known for their symphonic sound and the use of female vocals and male growls performed by Simone Simons and Mark Jansen, respectively. All six members write...
and the early Within Temptation
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
.
Bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala
Marco Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
describes the style of the band's music as "melodic symphonic gothic metal." but this is not a view shared by all members of the group, including band composer Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
. Nightwish was perceived to shift from their trademark power metal style for a more "commercial" gothic sound on their albums Century Child
Century Child
Century Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
and Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
. The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....
, a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of Once. Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums.
While the music of Nightwish is centered around a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First
Angels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original limited edition of which only 500 copies were released features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.- Musical style :...
. This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
. However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album "Once" featured some use of folk-oriented native american melodies, and their 2007 release Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
featured a return to 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...
territory with the songs "The Islander
The Islander (song)
-Chart performance:"The Islander" went straight to #1 in Finland on the first day of its release. Recently, Nightwish have had major success in Spain and "The Islander" reached #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart, continuing a run of Top 5 singles from Dark Passion Play.-Personnel:*Marco Hietala – Male...
" and "Last of the Wilds
Erämaan Viimeinen
-Personnel:*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass- External links:*...
".
Current members
- Anette OlzonAnette OlzonAnette Ingegerd Olsson , known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(2007–present) - Tuomas HolopainenTuomas HolopainenTuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
, main songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
(1996–present) - Emppu VuorinenEmppu VuorinenErno "Emppu" Matti Juhani Vuorinen is a Finnish guitarist, most famous for being a founding member and occasional songwriter of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
- guitars (1996–present) - Marco HietalaMarco HietalaMarko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a heavy metal vocalist and bassist. Internationally, he is most known as the current bassist, male vocalist and composer, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals (2002–present) - Jukka NevalainenJukka NevalainenJukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen is the drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and the Finnish progressive metal band Sethian.- Biography :He spent his early years in the city of Kitee...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(1997–present)
Discography
- Angels Fall FirstAngels Fall FirstAngels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original limited edition of which only 500 copies were released features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.- Musical style :...
(1997) - OceanbornOceanborn-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
(1998) - WishmasterWishmaster (album)Wishmaster is the third album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on May 19, 2000 by Spinefarm Records.Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed...
(2000) - Century ChildCentury ChildCentury Child is the fourth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in 2002 by Spinefarm Records. It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala....
(2002) - OnceOnce (Nightwish album)Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
(2004) - Dark Passion PlayDark Passion PlayDark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
(2007) - Imaginaerum (2011)
See also
- List of best-selling music artists in Finland
- List of heavy metal bands
- List of symphonic metal bands
- Music of FinlandMusic of FinlandThe music of Finland can be roughly divided in the following three categories.Folk music is typically influenced by Karelian traditional tunes and lyrics of the Kalevala metre. Karelian heritage has traditionally been perceived as the purest expression of Finnic myths and beliefs, thought to be...
- Symphonic gothic metal
- Symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
- Symphonic power metal
- Tarja Turunen discographyTarja Turunen discographyThe discography of Finnish symphonic metal singer Tarja Turunen consists of three studio albums, two extended plays, eight singles and four music videos....
Further reading
- Once Upon a Nightwish (Mape Ollila, 2007)
- Dark Passion GalleryDark Passion PlayDark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
(Ville Akseli Juurikkala, 2008) - Once Partitures BookOnceOnce may refer to:Music* Once * Once * Once * Once * Once * Once , an Indonesian singerOther uses* Once...
(Spinefarm, 2005)
Consulted bibliography
Ollila, Marko. Nightwish, Like Kustannus Oy, 2006. ISBN 952–471–692–5- English translation: “Once Upon a Nightwish”, Deggael Communications, 2007. ISBN 978-952-99749-2-4
- "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996–2006" (Mape Ollila, 2007)