Nightwish is a symphonic power metal band formed in 1996 in the town of Kitee, Finland. The band currently consists of Anette Olzon (vocals), Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards), Marco Hietala (bass, vocals), Emppu Vuorinen (guitars), and Jukka Nevalainen (percussion). The vocalist on all albums prior to 2005 was mezzo soprano Tarja Turunen. Anette Olzon joined the band for their most recent album Dark Passion Play and the corresponding World Tour.

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 Within Temptation, Therion, Epica, Sonata Arctica, Edenbridge, Lunatica, and Visions of Atlantis.

The original idea of Nightwish was largely inspired by The Gathering, and ... read more »