Nightwish

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…

To celebrate the end of the platinum-selling Finnish symphonic metal outfit's 2013 Imaginaerum World Tour, which boasted 104 performances in 34 countries, Nightwish decided to go out with a bang and bring their opulent live show to the tiny German village of Wacken and its mammoth annual metalfest, Wacken Open Air…

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…

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…

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…

Any Nightwish fan who looks at the track list for this album will instantly notice that a lot of Nightwish’s well-known and classic songs are on this album. For example Dark Chest of Wonders, Wish I Had an Angel, Nemo, Planet Hell and of course Ghost Love Score are all on Once…

Released at a time when Nightwish's future appeared uncertain because of the shocking departure of charismatic frontwoman and de facto band calling card Tarja Turunen, Highest Hopes is a comprehensive greatest-hits collection spanning the chart-topping Finnish pop-metal act's entire first decade. Summarized in one convenient CD at last, the 16-song set proves that Nightwish were nothing if not consistent – both in terms of quality and overall style – throughout the five and a half studio albums recorded during that period…

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…