Nightwish

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Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä, has been replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.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 December 2, 2011.

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.

Musical style

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.Their 2007 release Dark Passion Play featured a return to folk metal territory with the songs "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds". 

Line-up

Current members

• Anette Olzon - vocals (2007–present)
• Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards, main songwriter (1996–present)
• Emppu Vuorinen - guitars (1996–present)
• Marco Hietala - bass, vocals (2002–present)
• Jukka Nevalainen - drums, percussion (1997–present)

Former members

• Tarja Turunen - vocals (1996–2005)
• Sami Vänskä - bass (1998–2001)

Discography

• Angels Fall First (1997)
• Oceanborn (1998)
• Wishmaster (2000)
• Century Child (2002)
• Once (2004)
• Dark Passion Play (2007)
• Imaginaerum (2011)

if you want to get the songs from this artist

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD