Nightwish The Islander

All things considered, Finnish heavy metal hitmakers Nightwish rebounded remarkably well from their traumatic divorce proceedings with lead singer Tarja Turunen, moving relatively quickly, once the dust had settled, to replace her with accomplished Swedish siren Anette Olzon (multiple auditions notwithstanding) before carrying on with their career, as usual, on 2007's Dark Passion Play…

Nightwish are a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. 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 Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers…

Judging from the way Dark Passion Play starts out, it's understandable to assume that it's some sort of opera aria. But hold tight, dear friends, because from out of nowhere metal guitar riffs come swooping in. That's Nightwish for ya – a Finnish quintet that had been walking the line between symphonic and metallic for ten years by the time of this 2007 release…

With every year that we move further away from our childhood, we lose more of the fascination for the world and forget our initial sense of beauty. The world grows duller, gets swept by everyday routine and a work-sleep-eat-repeat-rhythm – but every few decades, a bunch of musicians are able to break down these grey walls of concrete. And those who’ve seen NIGHTWISH live since their inception in 1996, know that they are the ones to shine a little light with magic, intensity and melancholy into the corners of the one’s mind that seemed long lost and forgotten…

Following in the footsteps of the Gathering and Lacuna Coil (goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands with female vocalists), Nightwish were formed in Kitee, Finland, in 1997 by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. Initially attempting to create acoustic music, he recruited trained opera vocalist Tarja Turunen, but soon added full metal band instrumentation in the persons of guitarist Emppo Vuorinen, bassist Sami Vänskä, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen…

Judging from the way Dark Passion Play starts out, it's understandable to assume that it's some sort of opera aria. But hold tight, dear friends, because from out of nowhere metal guitar riffs come swooping in. That's Nightwish for ya – a Finnish quintet that had been walking the line between symphonic and metallic for ten years by the time of this 2007 release. The album signals the arrival of new singer Anette Olson (who replaced longtime member Tarja Turunen), but for longtime fans worried that this lineup shuffle may alter the band's sound and direction, there's no reason to fret – Nightwish are as bombastic and dramatic as ever…