Nightwish
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Finland with music which has themes with romantic imagery and instrumentation that focuses heavily on electric guitar and powerful vocals. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. After their first album, the band added drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and former bassist Sami Vänskä. In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. In 2005, in a very public break, Turunen was fired and replaced in 2007 by Anette Olzon. In 2012, under more amicable circumstances, Olzon was replaced with Floor Jansen. In 2013, the band officially added long time contributor Troy Donockley to their roster. Nevalainen went on hiatus in 2014 due to health issues, and was officially replaced in 2019 by Kai Hahto. Hietala left in 2021 citing problems with depression.
Personal
I learned about the band Nightwish after I met at a Renaissance festival in 2003. I was crushing on her and saw on her MySpace profile that her favorite band was Nightwish, so, I downloaded some of their songs. The first song I heard was Stargazers which I immediately adored. This caused me to download a lot of their popular songs. And, not too long after Once, came out, and I eventually bought it on CD. I remained a fan of the band for several years and finally saw them live at Harpo's in Detroit, Michigan on 2008-09-05. Although I enjoyed the concert, and was very impressed to see Holopainen head-banging while surrounded by keyboards, I was still unimpressed by the vocals of Olzon. After being unimpressed with Dark Passion Play and even less by Imaginaerum, I haven't paid much attention to the band since.
Members
- Tuomas Holopainen - Composer, writer, keyboards.
- Emppu Vuorinen - Guitar.
- Marco Hietala - Bass, vocals.
- Troy Donockley - Folk instruments, vocals.
- Kai Hahto - Drums.
- Tarja Turunen - Vocals (1997-2005).
- Jukka Nevalainen - Drums (1997-2019).
- Anette Olzon - Vocals (2007-2012).
- Sami Vänskä - Bass (1998-2001).
Discography
Studio Albums
| Released | Title | Own | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-09-01 | Angels Fall First | - | 6 | |
| 1998-12-07 | Oceanborn | - | 1 | |
| 2000-05-08 | Wishmaster | - | 4 | |
| 2002-05-25 | Century Child | - | 3 | |
| 2004-06-07 | Once | CD | 2 | |
| 2007-09-26 | Dark Passion Play | - | 5 | |
| 2011-11-30 | Imaginaerum | - | 7 | |
| 2015-03-25 | Endless Forms Most Beautiful | - | - | |
| 2020-04-10 | Human. :II: Nature. | - | - |
Songs
This is a list of some of my favorite Nightwish songs. For all their songs, see Nightwish Songs.
- Beauty of the Beast
- Nemo
- Nightquest
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Planet Hell
- Romanticide
- Sleeping Sun
- Stargazers
- Swanheart
- Wish I Had an Angel
Media
c. 2000 with Sami Vänskä.
2004 with Tarja Turunen.
c. 2008 with Anette Olzon.
Current lineup.
Links
