Nightwish

Nightwish

Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic power metal band, formed in 1996 in Kitee, Finland. The band has sold more than 4 million CDs, DVDs and online material internationally.

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 sold more than 1 million copies, led to Nightwish video clips being shown 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 Turunen’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album - Dark Passion Play, which has sold nearly 1.8 million copies. A tour supporting the album is currently in progress. It started on October 6, 2007 and is planned to end in mid-May of 2009. A new E.P./live album, Made In Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), will be released in March 2009 as a MCD/DVD.

History

Nightwish demo (1996)

After playing keyboards in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including for example 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: experimentally acoustic music he wrote by himself, similar to the music usually played around campfires, but with a distinct sound of 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 had the same music teacher as they, Plamen Dimov. The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo in the winter of 1996. The name “Nightwish” was derived from the first song the band recorded together, and the demo also included the song “The Forever Moments”, and an early version of “Etiäinen”.

After recording the Nightwish demo, Holopainen decided that Turunen’s operatic voice was too powerful for an acoustic band, and decided to add in heavy metal elements, including electric guitars and drums.

Angels Fall First (1997)

Main article: Angels Fall First

In early 1997, following the release of the Nightwish demo, Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen 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 unique 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.

Angels Fall First is one of the two albums which features keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks, alongside vocalist Tarja Turunen.

Critical reception of Angels Fall First was mixed, with Allmusic rating the album 3 out of 5 stars, and The Metal Observer stating that Nightwish’s debut album “paled drastically in comparison to their later work".

In December 1997, after over a year of existence, Nightwish made their live debut in their hometown Kitee, Finland. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marjaana Pellinen was also a sessional live member on an additional keyboard and was a sessional backing vocalist for Tarja. The band had considered making Samppa Hirvonen a permanent member until they met Sami Vänskä in 1998. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, due to Nevalainen and Vuorinen’s obligatory Finnish military service, and Turunen finishing her schooling.

Oceanborn (1998–1999)

Main article: Oceanborn

File:Nightwish live 1999.jpg

Nightwish playing "Sacrament of Wilderness", from Oceanborn.

Following a string of live shows in Finland, the band filmed their first video clip for “The Carpenter” in April 1998. Nightwish completed their touring line up in the summer of 1998 when bassist Sami Vänskä, an old friend of Holopainen, joined the band. Nightwish then returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece, to record their follow up album for Spinefarm records.

On October 7, 1998, Nightwish released their second full length album, Oceanborn, 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, the only folk song is "Moondance". In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska (ex-Finntroll).

Oceanborn was well received, 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 due to 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 single “Sacrament of Wilderness” were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.

Wishmaster (2000)

Main article: Wishmaster (album)

Band in Paris, France, during the "Wishmaster Wolrd Tour". 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 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album Wishmaster which debuted at #1 on the Finnish album charts, and following three weeks at number one, was certified gold in Finland.

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.

Over the Hills and Far Away EP (2001)

Main article: Over the Hills and Far Away (album)

File:Live From Wishes to Eternity.jpg

Nightwish live at Tampere, Finland.

In 2001, Nightwish recorded a cover of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” together with two new songs (“10th Man Down” and “Away”) and a remake of “Astral Romance” (from the Angels Fall First album) with Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) singing Tuomas' part. This was released as their first, EP - "Over the Hills and Far Away".

The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska (ex-Finntroll) once again. They also released a VHS, DVD and CD with live material recorded in a show in Tampere, on December 29, 2000. All of these were entitled From Wishes to Eternity.

Nightwish’s version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, being a repeating part of the band’s live performances and featuring on several compilation albums as well as the End of an Era DVD released in 2006. However, the other new songs never had a great break-through nor have been re-released (unless 10th Man Down on the DVD "End of Innocence" with Marco Hietala (later permanent bass player and male vocalist) on male vocals.

Soon after the release, Nightwish met what's been described as one of their hardest points as a band. The problem mostly relied on the bassist, Sami Vänskä who had started misbehaving towards the band by, for example, missing appointments and failing to take gigs as seriously as the other members would. After the band discussed this with Vänskä several times, without 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 were totally different characters, and thus difficulties were expected to arise. But Vuorinen was told to stay cool and "bite the bullet", and no more was spoken about the problem.

File:Nightwish live 2001.jpg

Nightwish live in 2001.

Soon, Holopainen seriously started thinking about breaking Nightwish up. After a gig in Russia, he sent a text message to fellow musician Tony Kakko of power metal band Sonata Arctica, telling him that he did not think he had a band any longer, and asked 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 over. He told them he might produce another album, but he would 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 feeling relieved after finally breaking Nightwish up, albeit only unofficially. But during the hiking trip, something obviously happened and even though they barely discussed the matter alone in the wilderness, they both understood 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 there had to be changes. Apart from agreeing for Ewo to become their new manager, he also decided to ask Sami Vänskä to leave the band. Marco Hietala (Tarot and Sinergy) was asked to join the band, effectively leaving Sinergy. As well as playing bass guitar, Hietala would also perform male vocals. Earlier, as required, either Holopainen (on the Angels Fall First album) or a guest musician performed the male vocals. Holopainen has since said publically 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.

Century Child (2002–2003)

Main article: Century Child

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 orchestra from Finland on “Bless the Child”, “Ever Dream”, “Feel For You” and “The Beauty of the Beast”, to get a more present feeling of classical music. 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. The marriage was later to play a part in Tarja’s dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005.

Once (2004–2005)

Main article: Once (Nightwish album)

Nightwish live in June 2005, during their “Once World Tour”.

A new album entitled Once 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 top ten in five 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, gold in Sweden and reached #1 in the Greek, Norwegian and Hungarian album charts. 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 accepted by critics, with many positive reviewers drawing comparisons with Oceanborn.

File:Nightwish Tuomas Holopainen.jpg

Founding band member and principal song writer Tuomas Holopainen, during the “Once World Tour” in 2005.

The success of the album allowed them to perform the Once World Tour, which enabled 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 acclaim the band has recently 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 The Division Bell album) (sample). Besides High Hopes, a remake of “Sleeping Sun” (from Oceanborn) was put on the album, which 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.

End of an Era (2005–2006)

Main article: End of an Era

File:Nightwish End of an Era.jpg

The last show with Tarja Turunen, titled End of an Era, at Finland.

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 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.

Since then, Turunen has focused on her own solo career, however she is still often covering Nightwish songs on live concerts.

Dark Passion Play (2006–2008)

Main article: Dark Passion Play

The "Dark Passion Play World Tour" at Melbourne, in 2008.

In September 2006, the band entered the studio to record their sixth studio album, entitled "Dark Passion Play". 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 as to who would eventually be chosen. In April 2007, the heavy metal magazine Terrorizer as an April Fools joke reported that Sarah Brightman would be the new vocalist. In response to this and other rumors, the band stated on their website that fans should not believe any source other than the band itself for information regarding the new vocalist. Other rumours also mentioned that Vibeke Stene, the former singer of the gothic metal band Tristania, would join Nightwish. For the same reason, the identity of the new singer was to be published earlier, and on Thursday 24 May, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue lead singer Anette Olzon from Katrineholm, Sweden was announced to replace Turunen. The replacement of the lead vocalist has led to many fans calling the band 'new' Nightwish, whilst referring to the songs sung by Turunen as 'old' Nightwish. 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 as the first off the album, as download only. It was originally scheduled for release on May 30 but this was changed due to a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On June 13, Nightwish released the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork to the new album on their official website, as well as the name and the cover of the second single (this time CD), “Amaranth”. The single, that first was released in Finland on August 22, 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!”. Technically, it is not a Nightwish-track as it only features Marco Hietala on vocals and acoustic bass, Tuomas Holopainen on keys and Jukka Nevalainen on drums. The song’s video was officially released on June 15. “Amaranth” 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 1st, and the United States on October 2nd. In this album, male vocalist Marco Hietala achieves more freedom in his vocals, singing at least back up in every single song of the album with the exceptions of “Eva” and “Amaranth”, singing lead vocals in several songs, such as “The Islander”, “Master Passion Greed” and “While Your Lips Are Still Red”, and singing chorus in songs such as “Bye Bye Beautiful” and “7 Days to the Wolves”.

Several magazines, including Kerrang! have noted how the departure of Tarja Turunen seems to have released the band from their shell and how restraint has been left to other bands. The use of some 175 additional musicians for the orchestral and solo parts of the album has resulted in the band now being described as symphonic metal – especially in 14 minute album opener “The Poet and The Pendulum”. The album was awarded 5/5 (classic) by Kerrang! magazine.

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/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 do two other songs on the album (The Poet and the Pendulum and 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” featured an orchestral version of the epic ballad "Meadows of Heaven" and also included 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 the Finnish Lapland. Holopainen described the video as "the Lapp wilderness meets the surrealism of Salvador Dalí". He also said that the lyrics actually for once goes hand in hand with the video's storyline. Except for the band, the video shows actor Hannu Vuorinen in the role of the old sailor, and features guest musician Troy Donockley in a bagpipe solo.

On December 13, 2007, Nightwish opened an official account on YouTube, linked to from their official website. On this, they've uploaded tens of live filmings from their concerts.

The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2009.

On March 3, 2008, Nightwish lost by a single vote to the American power metal band Kamelot, in the Metal Storm Awards 2007. Both Nightwish and Kamelot were among the nominees for Best Power Metal Album of 2007 (Dark Passion Play, and Ghost Opera respectively). They suffered another loss to Kamelot in the category for Best Music Video, their nominated video being for the song “Amaranth”. They, however won Biggest Surprise of 2007.

In October, the album was followed by a photobook, entitled Dark Passion Gallery, with photos by Finnish photographer Ville Akseli Juurikkala and with captions by the band members, as well as a foreword by Holopainen.

Made in Hong Kong and planned new album (2008–)

In July, 2008, Holopainen claimed that he has started working on songs to Nightwish's seventh studio album during the Dark Passion Play tour, probably to be released sometime during 2010. Holopainen will start working full time on the album sometime in 2009, after their Dark Passion Play tour has ended in the spring.

In October, Hietala, who is the composer of "The Islander" and co-writer of several songs (eg. "7 Days to the Wolves", "Romanticide", "Higher than Hope") on Dark Passion Play and Once , said he has got material ready for their next album, but it "has to go through Tuomas's filter first".

In November, Nightwish announced that they are to release a new live MCD/DVD on March 6 2009, 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 will also include two b-sides from the Bye Bye Beautiful single, a previously unreleased demo version of Cadence of Her Last Breath, and a bonus-DVD with music videos as well as a 37 minute documentary.

Music

Lyrical themes

“The Poet and the Pendulum” is inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe story The Pit and the Pendulum.

In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote on mythological and fantasy themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". For example the song "Beauty and the Beast" is based upon the fairy tale as well as the Disney film, "Elvenpath" is about fantasy in general with references to traditional stories as well as Tolkien. Through the years the lyrics became obviously more personal. On Wishmaster, the title track is still a "tribute to Tolkien and all the other fantasy writers",, but 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 deals with the male sexuality.

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.

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 Withman 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".

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.

Language

On their debut album Angels Fall First, several songs were written in Finnish language, but since then the band has only written songs in English, with the only exceptions being "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" from the Once album and the single "Erämaan Viimeinen" (2007), which is a version of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds" that features vocals. Holopainen thought that he was very uncertain about the lyrics of that song, because he is of the opinion that writing in Finnish is rather hard, and stated "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. Olzon has stated in an interview that there's a possibility they will write one or two songs in Swedish in the future.

Influence

Main article: Tuomas Holopainen

Tuomas Holopainen, writer of most of the band’s lyrics and musical scores, 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 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” and “Wanderlust” seem to be heavily influenced by the novels. References to The Kharolis Mountains, 'Shalafi' and Krynn, as well as 'Elbereth' 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 due to 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.

Musical style

The usage of keyboard through traditional piano, power metal-style and to create a special atmosphere is an important part of Nightwish's original music.

Nightwish performs a blend of power metal and symphonic metal. Their music has been described as "bombastic, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere." While the music of Nightwish is "laced with accessible pop sensibilities," the band is also known to be complex and multi-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."

Nightwish was early identified as pioneers in the field of female heavy metal vocalists, being laughed at in their early years as they followed bands such as The Gathering and Doro. According to Holopainen, the idea of Nightwish wasn't as brilliant as it may sound - to mix styles of female operatic vocals and metals - but it was a mere coincidence as Turunen was asked into the band while they still were an acoustic project, and then things developed by themselves. The usage of a female vocalist has however 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, and Within Temptation and several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Tristania, Epica and the early Within Temptation.

An essential part of Nightwish's original sound was the soprano vocals of Tarja Turunen, until her departure from the band in 2005.

Nightwish has also been identified by some critics as a gothic metal act. Bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala describes the band's style as "melodic symphonic gothic metal." Nightwish was perceived to shift from their trademark operatic 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. Their 2007 release Dark Passion Play featured a return to folk metal territory with the songs "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds".

Live performances

Holopainen, Vuorinen and Hietala in a live concert in Melbourne, 2008.

Having their first concert in hometown Kitee on December 31st, 1997, Nightwish has throughout the years grown as a live act, always with the attitude "the more gigs managed in a year, the better". Early in their career, Nightwish gained a bad reputation for not being "metal" enough. "As anyone can see from early photos, our image was pretty far from Rock'n'Roll", drummer Jukka Nevalainen explains their early days. "We all looked like ol' goody-goody nerds!".

As the band budget grew after the fame of Oceanborn and Wishmaster, the live performances had more space and along with better arenas and a wilder crowd, they could also start the using more professional lighting and pyrotechnics, which are now standard for most shows. The band also developed on stage, with wilder metal-like appearances.

Hietala, Vuorinen, Olzon and Nevalainen on tour in 2008.

Setlist

Their standard setlist has changed a lot through the years, but they have always tried mixing older songs with random ones from their latest album. For their Dark Passion Play and Once tourings, they have always finished with "Wish I Had an Angel", and (on Dark Plassion Play tourings alone) before that "Wishmaster" and "7 Days to the Wolves". During the Dark Passion Play tour, their standard setlist always included hit songs such as "Amaranth", "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Nemo". Every concert also includes the soft ballad "The Islander" halfway through, in which Anette Olzon can take a break for a few minutes. They usually include one more ballad as well, normally "Eva" or "Sleeping Sun". They also have songs they only play on certain occasions: They only play "Creek Mary's Blood" when guest musician John Two-Hawks has the possibility to assist, "Last of the Wilds" only when Troy Donockley guest-plays on several instruments, and "Higher Than Hope" only when the family of Marc Brueland, who inspired the writing of the song, is present.

When Tarja Turunen still was a member of the band, the band usually played a cover with only Hietala on vocals halfway through the set, while Turunen could rest for about five minutes. Since her dismissal and Anette Olzon's joining, they usually play "The Islander" instead, in which Hietala has the main vocal part and Olzon joins in the end.

Band members

Main article: List of Nightwish members

Nightwish's line-up has been a matter of discussion, more notably with the dismissal of female vocalist Tarja Turunen in 2005, and male vocalist/bassist Marco Hietala's joining in 2002. Two members - Holopainen and Vuorinen have stayed since the first line-up in 1996 and Nevalainen joined in 1997.

Current members

• Anette Olzon
  • Female vocals (2007-Present)
• Tuomas Holopainen
  • Male vocals (1996 - 2000)
  • Keyboards (1996-Present)
• Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen
  • Acoustic guitars (1996-Present)
  • Bass guitar (1996-1998)
  • Electric guitar (1997 -Present)
• Marko “Marco” Hietala
  • Bass guitar (2002 -Present)
  • Acoustic guitars (2007 -Present)
  • Male vocals (2002-Present)
• Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen
  • Drums, Percussion (1997-Present)

Former Members

• Tarja Turunen - Female vocals (1996-2005)
• Sami Vänskä - Bass (1998-2001)

Sessional Members

• Samppa Hirvonen - Bass (Sessional Live Member 1997-8)
• Marjaana Pellinen - Backing vocals, additional keyboards (Sessional Live Member 1997-8)
• Tapio Wilska - Vocals on Oceanborn album and Over the Hills and Far Away EP
• Tony Kakko - Vocals and backing vocals on Over the Hills and Far Away EP
• Ike Vil - Vocals on Wishmaster album
• John Two-Hawks - Vocals and Native American flute on Once album
• Jouni Hynynen - Roar on Once album
• Johanna "Jonsu" Salomaa - Vocals on "Erämaan Viimeinen"
• Troy Donockley - Uilleann Pipes, Low/Tin Whistle and Bodhran on Dark Passion Play

Discography

Main article: Nightwish discography

• Angels Fall First (1997)
• Oceanborn (1998)
• Wishmaster (2000)
• Century Child (2002)
• Once (2004)
• Dark Passion Play (2007)
• TBA (2010)

Media samples

• "Sacrament of Wilderness" [3]
• "Sleepwalker" [4]
• "Nemo" [5]
• "High Hopes" [6]

See also

• List of heavy metal bands
• Music of Finland
• Tero Kinnunen
• Symphonic power metal

Further reading

• "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996 - 2006" (Mape Ollila, 2007)

References

• Template:Fi icon Ollila, Marko. Nightwish, Like Kustannus Oy, 2006. ISBN 952-471-692-5
• "Turkish Wikipedia". Nightwish. Retrieved November 19 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
• English translation: “Once Upon a Nightwish”, Deggael Communications, 2007. ISBN 978-952-99749-2-4
• "Nightwish.com". The band — Biography. Retrieved April 25 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
• Alexander Milas (October 1, 2005). "Nightwish Is Not My Only Goal In Life". Kerrang! (1076). {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Hannu Jarva (October 29, 2005). "Interview with Tuomas". Keskisuomalainen. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996 - 2006" (Mape Ollila, 2007)
• "Nightwish.com". Dark Passion Gallery. Retrieved November 11 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)

External links

• Nightwish.com Official Site
• Template:MySpace
• nightwishofficial