Nightwish is a
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 Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by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Sami Vänskä, has been replaced by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. and in the autumn, the band released a new album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold almost 2 million copies. 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 is in production, set for release in 2011. the album also is 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. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because of Nevalainen and Holopainen’s obligatory Finnish military service, and Turunen finishing her schooling. Oceanborn saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release, with the only 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 very 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. 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 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. However, German magazine Rock Hard declared Wishmaster “Album of the Month”, despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi. In the summer the band returned to Europe, appearing at the Wacken Open Air festival and the Biebop Metal Fest.
The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska once again on "10th Man Down". 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's been described as one of their hardest points as a band. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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) (). 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. 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.
Hiatus and new lead singer
, at
Springfield, Virginia,
USA, on October 15, 2007.]]
In September 2006, the band entered the studio to record their sixth studio album, entitled "Dark Passion Play". 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; 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.
, France, on April 6, 2008.]]
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, 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". 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.
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".
Upcoming 2011 album
In the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine
Soundi, Holopainen stated he had started work on a new album. In October 2009, rumors about the new album's name were going around with the title
Wind Embraced, but 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 recent interview, "[...]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 has 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. On June 2, it was announced that Holopainen has finished recording the pre-production demo for the upcoming album, slated for a September 2011 release.
On July 17, 2010, Holopainen posted a note to the band's website stating that the band (except for Anette Olzon) has gathered to rehearse songs in the Finnish village of Sävi, and that twelve songs are so far finished, though some lyrics are still not entirely clear. He also announced that they will begin studio sessions on October 15, 2010. On September 6, 2010 Olzon joined the rehearsals and is now preparing vocals for the demos. She stated in a journal post that the actual vocals for the new album would be recorded in March next year (2011).
As of October 15, 2010, Nightwish is currently recording the new album. Jukka announced that he had officially started recording the first track in a post on the official Nightwish Website. He has, as of October 20, finished his drum recordings. It is now Emppu's turn to record the guitar tracks. Later, a post on the official Nightwish website also stated that more info on Nightwish plans for the future would come in late January 2011.
Music
Lyrical themes
.]]
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." "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. 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 , 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 in the Dark Tower series. 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.
Influence
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.
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.
Musical style
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
symphonic metal and
power metal. Their music has been described as “bombastic heavy, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere”.
The band is also known to be complex and multi-layered. Critic Chad Bowar notes that the music is "always very melodic with memorable choruses and a lot of hooks."
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, La Quinta Estación, and several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Tristania, Epica and the early Within Temptation.
Nightwish has also been identified by some critics as a Power metal act. Bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala describes the band's style 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,. 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.
Live performances
Having their first concert in hometown
Kitee on December 31, 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 using more professional lighting and pyrotechnics, which are now standard for most shows. The band also developed on stage, with wilder metal-like appearances.
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.
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 (while Vänskä was still in the band, they usually played an instrumental song). 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, but they have also played Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction" on several occasions after Olzon's joining.
Line-Up
Current members
;
Anette Olzon
:In the band since: 2007–present
:Instruments:
lead vocals
:Albums with the band:
Dark Passion Play
:Anette (born June 21, 1971) is a
Swedish soprano, she replaced
Tarja Turunen after her dismissal on October 21, 2005. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band
Alyson Avenue. After her admission in Nightwish, Anette played with several bands, in studio and live, including
Brother Firetribe and
Pain, and will release a new album in 2010, under her own name.
;
Tuomas Holopainen
:In the band since: 1996–present
:Instruments:
Keyboards,
piano and
male vocals
:Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since
the first 1996 demo
:Tuomas (born December 25, 1976) is a
Finnish composer,
musician,
poet and
producer. Known best for
heavy metal music, he has also studied
jazz and
classical styles, but he didn't appreciate these styles explaining to be influenced by harmonic film music. Holopainen has written several songs that have been included in movie soundtracks, including recent collaboration with Nightwish bass player, and male vocalist,
Marco Hietala on “
While Your Lips Are Still Red”, for the Finnish film “Lieksa!” in 2007. He has revealed that he is working on another "movie project", but that he can't reveal anything about it yet.), and "Heart Full Of Fire" worldwide.
;
Jukka Nevalainen
:In the band since: 1997–present
:Instruments:
Drums,
percussion
:Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since the first 1997 album,
Angels Fall First
:Jukka (born April 21, 1978) is a finnish
drummer. He spent his early years in the city of
Kitee; his drumming career started at the age of eleven when his music teacher at school told him that a new educational program for music was opening, and he thought Jukka would fit in well as a
drummer. His first band was "The Highway" but he joined his first real band at the age of 15–16. The band had a rehearsal place, but was restricted to practice only a couple of days a week. After he left that band, he joined up with
Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen and they got a permanent practice place.
;
Marco Hietala
:In the band since: 2002–present
:Instruments:
Bass guitar,
classic guitar,
male vocals
:Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since 2002 album,
Century Child
:Marco (born January 14, 1966) is a finnish vocalist and bassist, he is often seen as an icon for the Finnish metal scene. He is also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer/lyricist for heavy metal band
Tarot. He joined Nightwish following the departure of previous bassist
Sami Vänskä. He was a prominent guest musician in
Delain, a project involving many members of the
gothic/
symphonic metal community. Marco is the bassist and lends his voice to a number of songs. He also participated in the recording of
Invitation, by
Altaria, providing backing vocals. Hietala has also been part of the bands
Sinergy and
Northern Kings.In
Delain, Hietala played the bass for the album
Lucidity and was also the main male vocalist on the album. He is also featured as vocalist in two of the songs on
Delain's new album
April Rain. In March 2009, Marco joined the band
Sapattivuosi, they cover
Black Sabbath songs in Finnish.
Former members
,
Argentina, on
September 6,
2007.]]
;
Tarja Turunen
:Time with the band: 1996–2005
:Instruments:
lead vocals
:Albums with the band:
Angels Fall First until
Once
:Tarja () (born 17 August 1977) is a
Finnish singer-songwriter,
composer and
actress, whose work includes two solo albums, with the third coming in 2010. She was dismissed from the band on 22 October 2005 He made 2 albums, A Bard's Tale (1995), Chaos Without Theory (1997) and a demo, Dar Svanar Flyger (1995), with them. He joined Nightwish for the second studio album,
Oceanborn, and was soon replaced by
Marco Hietala.
Discography
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Dark Passion Play (2007)
See also
Tarja Turunen discography
List of heavy metal bands
List of symphonic metal bands
Music of Finland
Symphonic metal
Symphonic power metal
Symphonic gothic metal
Further reading
(Mape Ollila, 2007)
Dark Passion Gallery (Ville Akseli Juurikkala, 2008)
Once Partitures Book (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)
References and sources
External links
*
Category:1990s music groups
Category:2000s music groups
Category:2010s music groups
Category:Finnish gothic metal musical groups
Category:Finnish power metal musical groups
Category:Musical groups established in 1996
Category:Musical quintets
Category:World Music Awards winners
Category:Finnish symphonic metal musical groups
