Nightwish is a Finnish metal band formed in 1996 in the town of Kitee, Finland. The band's leader, keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, composes songs that are often classified as either symphonic metal or power metal; their musical style has also been described as a symphonic metal variant, called opera metal. Nevertheless, Nightwish is considered one of the main developers of the symphonic metal genre, which encompasses similar bands such as Therion, Epica, Sonata Arctica, Edenbridge, Lunatica, and Visions of Atlantis.
The band currently consists of Anette Olzon (vocals), Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards), Jukka Nevalainen (drums), Marco Hietala (bass and vocals) and Emppu Vuorinen (guitars). (Before 2005, the vocalist was Tarja Turunen. She currently performs as a solo artist under the name of Tarja.)
The original idea of Nightwish was majorly inspired by The Gathering, and the idea was to use keyboards, acoustic guitars and the operatic vocals of their then singer Tarja Turunen. This idea was changed majorly in 1997, as a drummer was added, and the acoustic guitar was replaced by an electric guitar.
The idea of using operatic vocals was changed dramatically with their third album Wishmaster (2000), and more so on future albums, especially their latest, Dark Passion Play (2007). In 2001, Holopainen asked Sami Vänskä, their bassist since 1998, to leave, and he was replaced with Marco Hietala (Tarot, ex-Sinergy), leaving Sinergy. The bassist would, apart from playing his instrument, also perform male vocals.
Century Child (2002) marked a new changed in Nightwish' music, as they used a live orchestra on several songs, to get a more present feeling of classical music. This was developed further with their US breakthrough Once (2004) and Dark Passion Play (2007), the latter being the first to use orchestra on all of the songs.
In October 2005, after touring for their Once album, the four other members of Nightwish decided that it was best to continue Nightwish without Tarja, a feeling they expressed through an open letter. This was due to the fact that they felt that her husband Marcelo Cabuli and commercial interests had changed her attitude towards Nightwish. Tuomas Holopainen gave the letter to Turunen after the last concert of the tour. In spring 2007, 35-year-old Anette Olzon from Katrineholm, Sweden was announced to replace Turunen.
The band released a new single, Eva, featuring their new singer in May, 2007. It was successed by another single, Amaranth, on August 22, and a studio album in late September entitled Dark Passion Play. Dark Passion Play is so far their best selling album. The third international single of the album was Bye Bye Beautiful, released on February 15, 2008.Official site: http://www.nightwish.com/
Once - 2004
1. Dark Chest Of Wonders
2. Wish I Had An Angel
3. Nemo
4. Planet Hell
5. Creek Mary's Blood
6. The Siren
7. Dead Gardens
8. Romanticide
9. Ghost Love Score
10. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
11. Higher Than Hope
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Dark Passion Play - 2007
1. Poet and the Pendulum
2. Bye Bye Beautiful
3. Amaranth
4. Cadence of Her Last Breath
5. Master Passion Greed
6. Eva
7. Sahara
8. Whoever Brings the Night
9. For the Heart I Once Had
10. Islander
11. Last of the Wilds
12. 7 Days to the Wolves
13. Meadows of Heaven
