Nightwish turns 25 years old: one of Finland’s biggest metal exports began it’s journey from Kitee in 1996

The Finnish metal legend Nightwish is known today as one of the most successful Finnish bands and a stadium-filling act around the world. The band was one of the pioneers of symphonic metal, and has brought vocal powerhouses like Tarja Turunen and Floor Jansen to the attention of a large metal audiences as well as paving the way for Finnish bands to reach the world.

The story of Nightwish began in 1996 in Kitee, when composer and keyboard player Tuomas Holopainen, inspired by a Metallica concert he saw, decided to start a band. The idea was not to make metal music, but more atmospheric “campfire music”. In the beginning, the band consisted of Holopainen, singer Tarja Turunen and guitarist Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen.

The band released their debut album “Angels Fall First” in 1997 via Spinefarm Records. At the time, critics didn’t quite know what to make of the band, but the label and the listeners were optimistic about the band. The following year, bassist Sami Vänskä joined the band and Nightwish released their second album “Oceanborn”. It was then when Nightwish started to get some attention outside of Finland.

In 2000, Vänskä was replaced by bassist-singer Marko Hietala, and the band released their third album “Wishmaster”. Hietala was heard on the band’s next album, 2002’s “Century Child”, and by 2004’s successful album “Once” he had become an important voice alongside Turunen. The album sold platinum in several countries and was also released in the US via Nuclear Blast.

Tarja Turunen was fired for personal reasons in 2005, and the drama finally resulted in a new album in 2007, “Dark Passion Play”, which allowed the band to deal with the feelings of the separation with darker and heavier songs such as “Master Passion Greed”. The album featured vocalist Anette Olzon, who replaced Turunen. Olzon still sang on the band’s 2011 concept album “Imaginaerum”, but in 2012 she left the band due to a heavy touring schedule.

After Olzon left the band in the middle of the tour, Nightwish contacted the Dutch singer Floor Jansen. Jansen was asked on very short notice to support Olzon for the rest of the tour, and the singer took over the band’s demanding set list with admirable speed. Jansen performed brilliantly and the fans fell in love with her, so Jansen was officially inducted as a full-time member of Nightwish in 2013. Multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, who had previously played with the band, also joined as a proper member.

In 2015, a new album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” was released, the first to feature Jansen in vocal duties. Kai Hahto from Swallow The Sun and Wintersun joined the band as drummer, replacing Jukka Nevalainen, who was suffering from severe insomnia.

Nightwish’s most recent album is “Human. :II: Nature.”, released in 2020 and the band’s ninth album in a row. In 2021, the band experienced another change in its line-up when Marko Hietala announced his departure from the band. Jukka Koskinen, who had played in Norther and Wintersun, joined the tour as a touring bandmate.

Nightwish continues to conquer the world, as more and more metal fans come across the band’s music at major festivals and on the internet. For example, popular reaction videos on YouTube have increased the band’s popularity, as both industry professionals and metal fans alike marvel at Floor Jansen’s phenomenal vocals and Tuomas Holopainen’s powerful compositions.