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| with Tarja Turunen |
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| with Anette Olzon |
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| with Floor Jansen |
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| Tarja Turunen -ex vocalist |
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| Anette Olzon - ex vocalist |
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| Floor Jansen - present singer |
Anette & Tarja (fake)
Tuomas about Anette:
We absolutely wanted to have something different. That was our only criteria. We didn’t build a profile of what the new singer should sound like, what she should look like, or where she should be from. We just trusted the right one would be out there. The only thing we knew for sure was we did not want another classically trained operatic singer in the band. We thought it was time to move on and not find a copycat. The hard task was to find someone who had the same power and passion and emotion in her voice, but still sounded different. I personally think we hit the jackpot with Anette because her voice is really strong, but she can also do some wonderful interpretations. She has a lot of variety in her voice. She has a storytellers voice and doesn’t sound like Tarja at all."My favourite songs from the album:
ANGELS FALL FIRST (1997)
Angels Fall First is the debut album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It is much more folk metal and acoustic oriented than its successors.
Angels fall first
OCEANBORN (1998)
IT'S MY FAVOURITE ALBUM OF NIGHTWISH
This album marked a definitive change in musical scope from its folk-laden roots in Angels Fall First, showcasing a more bombastic, power metal-oriented sound with faster tempos, harmonic guitar/keyboard leads, and plenty of double-bass-heavy drumwork. Oceanborn's sound hearkens a more dramatic approach in the overall musical scope, mostly relegated to the symphonic keyboard work and lead singer's Tarja Turunen vocals. Most of the album is fantasy-themed with tracks like "Swanheart" and "Walking in the Air", a cover from the animated motion picture, The Snowman, however other songs such as "Gethsemane" have a more religious feel to them. In addition, there are also some theatrical tracks like "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean". Oceanborn is among their darkest albums, making use of the harsh vocals of Tapio Wilska in the songs "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" and "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean".
Since the album's release, "Sacrament of Wilderness" (I DON'T LIKE THIS SONG) has remained a fan-favorite at concerts, and it's still performed often. Both "Sleeping Sun" and "Walking in the Air" have also been performed often on shows, but "Stargazers" has been dropped since Turunen's dismissal in 2005. "Walking in the Air" returned to the live setlist of the band at September 19, 2009 at Hartwall Arena, this time as an acoustic song and sung by current vocalist Anette Olzon.
Swanheart
Devil and The Deep Dark Ocean
Gethsemane
WISHMASTER (2000)
Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed and heaviness. Perhaps even more so than its predecessor, Wishmaster has a very clear fantasy theme. While commonly considered to be closer to conventional power metal, there is still a great variety with slower songs like "Come Cover Me" and "Two for Tragedy", and more epic pieces like "Dead Boy's Poem" and "FantasMic". "The Kinslayer" is written about the victims of the Columbine High School massacre. Wishmaster was inspired by the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and Dragonlance, mentioning Elbereth, Lórien, and the Grey Havens from the former; and Dalamar, Raistlin Majere (Dalamar's shalafi, or "master"), Gilthanas, the Sla-Mori, and the Inn of the Last Home from the latter. "FantasMic" is a song about the Disney animated movies, particularly their fantasy and fable elements, taking its title from the Disneyland show Fantasmic!.
The song "Wishmaster" has remained one of Nightwish's greatest hits, appearing on several best of compilations. Since its release, it has been a recurring track during live performances, and was featured on the live DVD End of an Era, recorded in 2005. As of 2010, it is still often performed live despite the band's change of vocalists. A new orchestral intro for the track was recorded during the orchestral recording of Dark Passion Play. The song was brought back to the metal community's mind by a cover version and video of metal a-cappella band van Canto in 2008. Other recurring live songs from the album are "She Is My Sin", "Dead Boy's Poem" and "Come Cover Me".
The entire song is a dedication to Walt Disney himself, to his iconic characters, and to various Disney animated feature films.
The song's title and part of its main chorus are both references to the water-and-lights show entitled Fantasmic! that is shown at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida and at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The lines "Where the Warrior's heart is pure. Where the stories will come true" reference the theme of Fantasmic!, which takes place in Mickey's dreamworld.
References to Walt Disney are heard in the lines "Wishmaster's will - Join him in the quest for dream", "The realm of the king of fantasy", and "the master of the tale-like lore". Further, the line "The way to kingdom I adore" is a reference to the castle that leads into Fantasyland at the Disney theme parks.
The chorus line "Wish upon a star" is taken from a song from Pinocchio while referring to the star as "the second star to the right" is a reference to Peter Pan.
"The beauties sleeping awaiting deep in a dream for true love's first kiss" references both Snow White and Princess Aurora from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty, respectively.
Fantasia - The song mentions Chernabog and Yen Sid from the animation shorts Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, respectively. Just before the first chorus is also the line "Blossom ballet in the great wide somewhere". The "blossom ballet" is a Fantasia reference to the segment Nutcracker Suite, while "in the great wide somewhere" is a Beauty and the Beast reference to a song Belle sings.
Sleeping Beauty - "A Dragonslayer, The Awakener" is a reference to Prince Philip, "Maleficent's fury/The spindle so luring" references the villain Maleficent and the spindle that Aurora pricks her finger on, and "Dragon fight, dying night, dooming might" is referring to Philip's battle with Maleficent.
The Black Cauldron - "Black Cauldron born, Gurgi's heart forlorn. Pig keeper or hero on a quest of augury."
The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast - "Enchantress, A mermaid in a tale as old as time." Both "Enchantress" and "a tale as old as time" are references to Beauty and the Beast while the "mermaid" refers to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Even further, the line "Belle, the last sight for the dying gruesome" is another direct reference to Beauty and the Beast. The song also has a moment where a line of dialogue from the Beast, "...because, I love her," is heard.
Mulan - "A girl in the rain swearing to her father's name", referring to Mulan's decision to take her father's place in the Chinese army.
The Lion King - "A cub of the king betrayed by the usurper". This refers to Simba and Mufasa, the latter of whom is murdered by his brother Scar in order to become king.
The references to famous Disney comic characters include:
Scrooge McDuck - "The Phoenix of White Agony Creek" refers to White Agony Creek where Scrooge McDuck found gold in his youth.
Mickey Mouse - The title takes the name of the performance Fantasmic!, and capitalizes the "m" for "Mic," short for "Mickey." There is also a reference to Mickey in the lines "Apprentice of Yen Sid conducting the galaxy. Dreamer on mountaintop, spellbound masquerade." This refers to his iconic role as the title character in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Donald Duck - "The Sailor an idol for the six-year-old in me" refers to Donald Duck with his famous sailor uniform, who is supposed to be Holopainen's favorite Disney character.
The title track contains some lines written by William Shakespeare, and was dedicated to oceans.
CENTURY CHILD (2002)
It is the first album with current bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala. The album is a notable departure from previous Nightwish releases, lyrically and musically. The overall musical scheme is slower and darker than the more light-hearted likes of Oceanborn and Wishmaster, with more emphasis on ambience and melodic leanings. It contains orchestral backing, an ethereal production, a much more streamlined vocal work from Tarja Turunen and vocals by Marco in songs like "Ever Dream", "Slaying the Dreamer", "Dead to the World", "Feel for You" and "The Phantom of the Opera"; furthermore, the lyrics depict the strongest concept album undercurrents yet. This could also be considered one of Nightwish's darkest albums. The album received strong positive reviews. Century Child is also the first album on which guitarist Emppu Vuorinen tunes his guitar to D tuning in order to match Hietala's D-tuned bass.
Spinefarm Records released a 2-CD special edition version of the album in 2002. It includes the CD, liner art with the band members' signatures, and a Video CD containing the music video for their cover of Gary Moore's "Over the Hills and Far Away". In addition, the booklet contains an ID code that allows the owner to download the entire album and three extra tracks from the Internet for a limited time. The bonus tracks are "Nightwish", "The Forever Moments" and "Etiäinen", all from the band's first demo (1996).
Bless the child
The video for this song tells a sad love story in reverse, it's a mix between the scenes and the band playing in a disused warehouse. The band was a bit disappointed with the video, because they found it to be a bit too complex.
ONCE (2004)
In an interview Tuomas Holopainen (main song writer of the band) said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning of the title Once. Every name has a meaning — though, he doesn't feel comfortable talking about it. This is the last of the Nightwish studio albums to feature vocals by Tarja Turunen.
The album continues the more streamlined musical approach first heard on Century Child, moving even further away from the older, power metal-influenced sound of their previous albums into a slightly more mainstream-approachable feel. "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, which also features in their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play. It is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan". The band added a lot of new elements to their music for this album, as the chorus riff and synthesized drum-beat of Wish I Had an Angel, or the long Native American prayer chant on Creek Mary's Blood. The song Ghost Love Score is an apt example of the combined work done by the orchestra and Nightwish, which the name hints at.
The angel on the album cover is a view of the Angel of Grief, a sculpture by William Wetmore Story. The original is in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome, Italy. The statue shows an angel crying on the tomb of Story's wife; after his death, Story was buried under the same statue, close to his wife.
The Siren
"The Siren" has it in the title, a defiant song enchanting and dazing you.
Tuomas: "This is an experimental song, where we altered the mythology. I got an idea for this song from a documentary, which had an old scottish woman living alone on an island. Each night she'd go to the cliffs and play her violin to the seals. It was really incredible, so I had to write a song about it. This is almost an instrumental, with only a few lyrics. Sami Yli-Sirniö (Waltari/Kreator) plays citar here, so that brings an Indian touch to it. But when you think about the title, it goes to the Greek mythology. A song about Greek mythology with Indian melody about a Scottish violin player...I really like the choirs here. We got exactly what we wanted. This song has the most artistic touch to it on the whole album."
Tuomas: "I wasn't sure should we include this on the album, but when Tarja sang her parts we noticed that finnish language works really well with this kind of a song, and it still didn't sound too pop-like. It's one of the best ballads we've ever done. The cello that was used in the solo cost 3 million pounds and it sure sounds like it too ! But this song was basically written for the foreign people, that's why it's in finnish. We always want to try new things, that's why we've got a finnish song here, one with lakota language and a techno song. And eventhough this song has only ten rows of lyrics, I wrote them the longest. It was really tough to get it right. This is about my personal feelings, but people can interpret them how they want to."
Wish I had an angel
It was also the final mix without mastering. It has a really brutal beginning, which then turns into the familiar hammering we're heard in Nightwish many times before. But this song has a strange techno twist to it, you could call it a technometal song. This song made some people smile, the beginning is really rough.
Tuomas: "This song was an experimental one, we've never used machines before and we wanted to have this Rammstein-thing in at least one song. The difference between the first and the second song is quite harsh. This is the most down-to-earth song we've ever written. Usually we've had all kinds of emotion involved and historical lyrics, but this song got its spark from the Karhu-bar in Kitee. Just read the lyrics and you'll know what it's about. This will probably be the second single from us."
Ghost Love Score
It is one of the best songs, amazingly bombastic with orchestration, a soulful, touching song that equals to the best existing film music out there. And in its ten minutes it keeps its grip on you.
Tuomas: "This is the biggest and the most ambitious song we've ever written. There's no sense in this either, the song has different parts and changes its atmospheres a lot. The song was originally called "Ghost Love", but because of the nature of the song I wanted to include the score there too, so people will know what it's about. I had the idea that each song should sound like a five-minute movie soundtrack song. I worked this song to extremes."
Romanticide - Anette's version (training for tour)
Tuomas: "Don't know what to say about this. The word "romanticide" is cool though, you can't even find it from the dictionary. It's similar to "genocide" and such. Killing the romance..."
Tuomas: " It is the b-side of the "Nemo"-single, and it's really funny. There's different opinions about it, but it sounds like Björk (singer from Iceland). Tarja almost whispers the lyrics, but I really like the song, it's got a good feeling to it. "Live To Tell The Tale" is the worst song I've ever written. That will probably end up as a b-side to some Madagaskar single (laughs)...I guess we can use that song, eventhough we couldn't get it working at all. There's some curse on it or something. But people want b-sides, so...then there's the Anki Bagger cover song "Where Were You Last Night", which was done tongue-in-cheek. But I liked the song when I was a kid. But the melody and all sounds like us, so I thought we could use it. The lyrics are terrible though. And the point why we did this song was that people usually take us and the music too seriously, whatever we're wearing, what the lyrics are like, etc. Eventhough it's a good thing and also flattering, sometimes it really gets to you. It's like the football fans, same goes with the music fans, this is only music. So the point here is don't take everything we do so seriously."
DARK PASSION PLAY (2007)
It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album not featuring former vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was fired in 2005. Lead songwriter Tuomas Holopainen has referred to it as the "album that saved his life".
The first single, "Eva", was leaked on the Internet six days before its official release, prompting the band to release the single earlier to boost downloads. Several other versions of the song were posted on YouTube and torrent sites a month later; the entire album with record label voiceovers had been leaked on the Internet by 2 August. The full album (without voiceovers) was leaked on 21 September 2007, as a result of several stores in Mexico selling the retail album much prior to the worldwide release date.
Dark Passion Play brings an unusual amount of personal songs, including "The Poet and the Pendulum" which has been described as Tuomas Holopainen's life story, and about being a composer and musician. Another songs are pure fantasy, like "Sahara", based upon a dream Holopainen had during the recording process; the album also has the songs "Amaranth", with lyrics about never-fading things, and "Whoever Brings the Night", talking about sex and violence.
The main musical ideas turned into compositions at the back end of 2005 and into early 2006, in the period immediately after the huge media spectacle that surrounded the very public sacking of the band’s former singer Tarja Turunen. Two songs, "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Master Passion Greed" are about Tarja and her husband Marcelo Cabuli. "Bye Bye Beautiful" is for Tarja and his feelings before and after the time she changed her attitude towards the band and its music. This was at first rumoured among fans and later revealed by Holopainen in an interview. The chorus also contains the lyrics "Did you ever read what I wrote you?" and "Did you ever listen to what we played?" in which the first part is a reference to the lyrics written by Holopainen, and the second part is about her lack of dedication to the music.
According to Holopainen, the band's keyboardist and main composer, the album's title was originally intended to be The Poet and the Pendulum, named after the album's first track. However, it was changed to Dark Passion Play for several reasons; taking into account that The Poet And The Pendulum was too long for an album title, and that he didn't want to name an entire album after himself (as he is the poet in the band); Holopainen also describes Dark Passion Play as a having a "nice double meaning".
Meadows of Heaven
It is a depiction of Holopainen's childhood and the feeling that it'll never return.
The Escapist
Marco Hietala's mostly acoustic song. It has hand drums, wooden flutes and Uilleann pipes, the Irish version of the bagpipes. The album's cover picture takes to Ernest Hemingway's book Man and Sea.
"I would have been ready to raise this to a single if we just hadn't changed our vocalist. So Marco sings most of it. A celtic song he played a few years ago on backstage and saig this doens't really fit Tarot's style. It flashed to me that it's about a lighthouse keeper. So Marco finished the music and I wrote the lyrics.
A small elegy, poem song about a lonely lighthouse keeper. No symbolism, for once straight storytelling. This could be played acousticly on gigs. Again something new: few guys on bar chairs."
IMAGINAERUM (2011)
Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album and it's a concept album, which tells the story of an old composer on his deathbed, reminiscing of his youth.
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