Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002).
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 7 June 2004 by Spinefarm Records in Finland and Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe. It is the fifth and last album to feature Tarja Turunen on lead vocals. The album cost nearly €250,000 to make, which made it Finland's most expensive recording ever until the release of Nightwish's next album, Dark Passion Play, which cost over €500,000 to produce. As of 2013, Once had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, becoming Nightwish's most successful album to date. The remastering of the album was released on 6 August 2021.
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli, known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish.
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He is also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer and lyricist for the heavy metal band Tarot.
"Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" is the third single released from the album Once by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of Once. The single was never released outside Japan and Finland.
"Nemo" is the eighth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and the first from the album Once. A big-budget video was made for the song; the director was Antti Jokinen, who had previously worked with Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Eminem. The video was number one on MTV Brasil Video Chart. The song was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. Although Nightwish already enjoyed a solid fan base in Europe and South America by the time of the single's release, it is considered their breakthrough song since it helped them reach a wider audience.
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad and the fourth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released as a maxi single with three other songs on 2 August 1999 to coincide with the total solar eclipse that would occur on 11 August.
"Bless the Child" is the seventh single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released as the second single from their album Century Child. It is one of two songs which were filmed from the Century Child album, with other one being "End of All Hope". It was also the first song bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala worked on after he joined the band replacing Sami Vänskä.
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in the US. It is the first album without original vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was dismissed in 2005, as well as the first album involving future member Troy Donockley on uilleann pipes and tin whistle. It is the first of only two albums with vocalist Anette Olzon, who was eventually dismissed in 2012 after the release of the band's subsequent album, Imaginaerum. Tuomas Holopainen has referred to this album as the "album that saved his life".
Indica is a Finnish pop rock band founded in 2001. Jani Jalonen of Sony Music became interested in the group, and a recording contract was signed 2003. Indica's first album, Ikuinen virta was released in 2004. It has since sold platinum in Finland.
Anette Ingegerd Olsson, known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish classic rock band Alyson Avenue, and of the Finnish heavy metal band The Dark Element.
"Symphony of Destruction" is a song by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released as a single from the band’s fifth studio album, Countdown to Extinction (1992). The lyrics explore the hypothetical situation where an average citizen is placed in a position where he runs the country while the public is led by a phantom government. Penned by vocalist and frontman Dave Mustaine, the song received significant radio play and charted in various territories, making it one of Megadeth's best known songs.
Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical-style Metallica tribute band, the band eventually adopted a neoclassical metal style without the use of conventional guitars and bass. They have sold over four million albums to date.
"Erämaan Viimeinen" is a single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on December 5, 2007.
Lokikirja is the fifth box set by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 18 November 2009. This box set contains the remastered edition of Angels Fall First, the regular editions of the other six Nightwish studio albums and the special edition of Over the Hills and Far Away. The album was in pre-order at the Nightwish-Shop website. "Lokikirja" is Finnish for "logbook".
Once Upon a Tour was the third world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in 2004 and 2005, to promote the release of their fifth album, Once, released June 7, 2004. A new greatest hits compilation, Highest Hopes, was also released to tie in with the tour. The albums combined with the band's most expansive merchandise campaign by Nuclear Blast Records meant this tour was heralded as the band's most important in many years. Many of the band's songs had not been played in a long time.
The Dark Passion Play World Tour was the fourth world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, taking place from 2007 to 2009 in support of their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play, released by Nuclear Blast on September 26, 2007; it was the first tour with former frontwoman Anette Olzon, who joined the band in 2006, after Tarja Turunen's dismissal on October 21, 2005. During this tour, the band played for the first time in Israel, China, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Ireland, Serbia and Croatia.
Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Records worldwide. According to Nightwish songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, the album is a concept album that tells the story of an old composer who is reminiscing of his youth on his deathbed. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish's "The Islander" music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story. It is their second and last album with vocalist Anette Olzon, as well as the last with drummer Jukka Nevalainen.
"Storytime" is the lead single from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's seventh studio album, Imaginaerum. It was released on November 9, 2011, twenty days prior to the album, along with a music video. The song premiered on Radio Rock, a Finnish radio station at 9.00 GMT +2 on November 7, 2011, two days before its commercial release.
Alexandra Salmela is a Slovak author, best known for her Finnish novel 27 eli kuolema tekee taiteilijan (2010), for which she won a Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize, and was nominated for a Finlandia Prize. In 2013, Salmela published the storybook Giraffe Mum and Other Silly Adults. The book was also published simultaneously in Slovakia. It was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Prize. Salmela's second novel, The Antihero, was published in September 2015.
