Nightwish belts, BLACKGREY

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Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the original bassist, Sami Vnsk, has been replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.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

In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman, Anette Olzon, was revealed as Tarja Turunens 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, was released 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 900,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band abroad with more than 8 million records sold worldwide, and having collected over 60 gold and platinum awards.

After playing keyboards in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Nattvindens Grt 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 Etiinen.

After recording the Nightwish demo, Holopainen realized that Turunens operatic voice was too powerful for an acoustic band, and decided to incorporate heavy metal elements, including electric guitars and drums.

Emppu Vuorinen performing live with Nightwish at Norway Rock Festival in 2009

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 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 Vnsk to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Grt. 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.

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, 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 Grt.

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 albums first single, Sacrament of Wilderness, hit number 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks. The albums 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 bands first international success, Nightwish was added as the opening band for Rages 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 strm to represent Finland.

In 19 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album Wishmaster. This debuted at No. 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.

In 2001, Nightwish recorded a cover of Gary Moores 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. Nightwishs version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, becoming a frequent part of the bands 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 Vnsk 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 Vnsk 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.

Nightwish's current bassist, Marco Hietala, who replaced Sami Vnsk in the fall of 2001.

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 Vnsk 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 Vnsk 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 bands 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 Wilskas 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. Tarjas marriage later played a part in her dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005.

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 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 6 other countries, it also reached No. 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.

Nightwish live in Jms, Finland, on June 25, 2005.

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 Floyds 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 bands website. It was written by Holopainen but signed by the other three band members. The main justification given in the letter for Turunens 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.

Current frontwoman, Anette Olzon, in Springfield, VA, USA, on October 15, 2007.

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 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.

Nightwish live in Paris, France, on April 6, 2008.

On 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 Caf 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 "Ermaan 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.

Nightwish during the last concert of the Dark Passion Play World Tour in Helsinki, Finland, on September 19, 2009.

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. Nightwish's 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 20072008, 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".

In the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine Soundi, lead composer and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen 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..."

Imaginaerum official poster.

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-Dal - 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 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.

On January 11, Nightwish announced on their website that the second single The Crow, the Owl and the Dove will be released on the 29th of February.

Roadrunner Records announced that Nightwish will be releasing a 10' LP titled Trials of Imaginaerum in conjunction with Record Store Day (April 21, 2012). The 10" LP is a two sided picture disk, which contains four early demos of "Storytime", "The Crow, The Owl and The Dove", "I Want My Tears Back" and "Slow, Love, Slow".

Nightwish's main composer (and keyboardist), Tuomas Holopainen.

In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote on mythological 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.

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 Taiteilijan" from the Once album (2004), the single "Ermaan viimeinen" (2007), which is a vocal version (with the vocals contributed by Jonsu from Indica) of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds", and "Taikatalvi" from Imaginaerum (2011). Holopainen thought that he was very uncertain about the lyrics of "Ermaan 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.