Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger , active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre.
118-433: 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
236-479: A progressive death metal band, had released some demos and EPs in their early years in a simple death metal style, but in 1997 went a step forward. They changed their style to a mix of classical music with real classical and medieval instruments such as violin , viola , cello , flute , oboe , clarinet , crumhorn , keyboards and death metal , releasing their first symphonic metal studio album. Many new symphonic bands appeared or came to wide attention in
354-499: A sequencer . This is particularly characteristic of bands that feature deeper and more complex arrangements which could be more difficult for one or two keyboardists to reproduce faithfully in a live performance. It is more difficult to generalize about the role of the classic metal instruments (guitars, bass and drums), as they vary depending on the metal subgenre to which the symphonic band mostly associates. With varying frequency, symphonic bands may employ these instruments (as well as
472-416: A "pseudo-orchestral" sound, where parts are played idiomatically according to keyboard technique. This is particularly characteristic of lesser-known bands on tighter budgets. Some symphonic metal bands abstain from using keyboards entirely, preferring to use orchestral backing tracks pre-recorded by a live symphony orchestra and/or choir during an album session, or recorded using virtual software instruments in
590-568: A Theatre of Tragedy reunion, explaining that it is "as likely as a Doors reunion with the original lineup. No one has been approached or not approached." The band made use of contrasting vocals – male bass vocals (making some use of death grunts ) and female soprano singing (commonly referred to as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals ) – and on their first three albums, presented lyrics written predominantly in Early Modern English . Starting from
708-578: A bonus CD known as the Addenda EP , which contains song reworkings and unreleased tracks. Metal Mind Productions issued a press release in July stating that they were, with the co-operation of the band, re-releasing Musique and Assembly . Both albums have been remastered and will be backed with bonus tracks. New liner notes and artwork are said to be a part of the package. Each album is limited to 2000 numbered copies. On 1 March 2010, Theatre of Tragedy issued
826-670: A broad range of topics. As with two of its often overlapping elements, power metal and opera (including symphonic progressive rock ), fantasy and mythological themes are common. Concept albums styled after operas or epic poems are not uncommon. Bands in this genre may often feature a female lead vocalist, usually a soprano . Male vocalists ( baritone or bass-baritone ), are also common in gothic metal. Growling, death-metal-style vocals are not unknown but tend to be used less frequently than in other metal subgenres (a notable exception being Mark Jansen in Epica ). Backing vocals, often consisting of
944-443: A choral ensemble or full choir , may be employed. It is common for bands, particularly female-fronted bands, to feature operatic lead vocals. Such bands may be referred to as operatic symphonic metal and include the likes of Epica , Nightwish ( Tarja Turunen , then Floor Jansen ), Haggard , Therion , Operatika, Dremora, Dol Ammad , Visions of Atlantis , Aesma Daeva , and Almora , among countless others. The operatic style
1062-523: A classically trained soprano , Simone Simons , over a lush foundation of symphonic power metal ". The music of Epica has been described as combination of "a dark, haunting gothic atmosphere with bombastic and symphonic music". Like Within Temptation and After Forever, Epica has made use of an orchestra. Their 2007 album The Divine Conspiracy was a chart success in their home country. This blend of symphonic and gothic metal has also been arrived at from
1180-575: A concert in Hartwall Arena – the band's second concert there – with the band Apocalyptica . On 6 March 2009, Nightwish released a new live EP /DVD entitled Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places) . The eight live tracks were recorded during the " Dark Passion Play World Tour" in 2007–2008, and the album also includes one B-side from the " Bye Bye Beautiful " single, one B-side from
1298-447: A couple of months. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton - Gaiman - Dalí – amusement park we are about to enter". In the same statement, it was revealed that the album would be a theme album and "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before", and the orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff". In
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#17328477656541416-515: A division from which we cannot recover". This announcement came days after Olzon fell ill at a show in Denver , Colorado, and was unable to perform. Nightwish used replacement singers from the opening band, Kamelot , and Olzon later expressed her disappointment, saying "I was never asked if it was okay that they used Elize and Alissa in the show [Friday] night [...] I don't think it's a good decision they made and I'm sorry for those of you who came to see
1534-540: A female vocalist. It was clear that it had to have a female singer, because at the time, The 3rd and the Mortal , Theatre of Tragedy from Norway, and The Gathering from Holland were a big thing to me. Ulver 's album Kveldssanger was also a big influence. I listened to Kveldssanger a lot and thought that maybe I should try to do that kind of stuff even better. — Tuomas Holopainen He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen to play acoustic guitars , and
1652-519: A frequent part of the band's live performances, but the other songs never broke through and have not been re-released, with the exception of a live performance of "10th Man Down" on the End of Innocence DVD with Marko Hietala . In the same year, they also released (as VHS , DVD and CD) their first live album, From Wishes to Eternity , recorded during a show in Tampere , Finland, on 29 December 2000. Soon after
1770-419: A fully qualified opera singer". Founding member, guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen departed After Forever a few months after the release of their second album, Decipher . Jansen would go on to form Epica , another Dutch band that performs a blend of gothic and symphonic metal. Their debut album, The Phantom Agony , emerged in 2003 with music that combines Jansen's death grunts with the "angelic tones of
1888-495: A large focus on elements prevalent in film scores in addition to the more basic classical components utilized more widely in the genre. Many people who participate in this genre of metal music have a degree in musical thought or have been taught how to sing in a classical style. The metal subgenres most typically featuring a subset of symphonic bands are gothic metal , power metal , black metal , death metal and classic heavy metal . As with many other metal bands, those adopting
2006-465: A more technical and progressive sound than Angels Fall First , Oceanborn saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release, with the exception of the song "Moondance". In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska (ex- Finntroll ), since Tuomas did not want to sing again. Wilska is also a former member of Nattvindens Gråt. The AllMusic review said that
2124-415: A new musical project to play in. A friend of his told Hein that a band called Suffering Grief was looking for a new drummer, and after contacting them, he joined the band. At the time, Suffering Grief was composed of vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi and guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. No bassist had joined the band yet, but Eirik T. Saltrø had agreed to play with them in live concerts. After finding
2242-585: A part in her dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005. Nightwish released their fifth album, Once , on 7 June 2004, along with its first single, " Nemo ". The popularity of Evanescence in 2003 had piqued international and especially American interest in symphonic goth metal bands like Nightwish, Lacuna Coil , and Within Temptation . Consequently, Once sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, and gold in 6 other countries; it also reached No. 1 in
2360-546: A rehearsal place, the band decided to work upon a couple of piano arrangements composed by Lorentz Aspen . The vocals, at the time, were almost entirely composed of raw death grunts . After composing their first song, "Lament of the Perishing Roses", the band changed its name to La Reine Noir and then to Theatre of Tragedy. They subsequently invited singer Liv Kristine Espenæs - Rohonyi's then girlfriend - to do female vocals for one song, but quickly invited her to join
2478-526: A remake of " Astral Romance " (from the Angels Fall First album) with Tony Kakko ( Sonata Arctica ) singing Tuomas' part. This new material was released as their first (and until 2009 the only) EP , Over the Hills and Far Away . The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska once again on "10th Man Down". Nightwish's version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, becoming
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#17328477656542596-556: A remake of " Sleeping Sun " (from Oceanborn ) was included on the album and released as a single. A video for the remake was shot, featuring a medieval battle, and can be found on the German release of the single and as a separate DVD released by Spinefarm. The four other members of Nightwish had decided that it was best to continue Nightwish without Turunen. After a concert in the Hartwall Areena (Helsinki) on 21 October 2005, recorded for
2714-542: A show in Russia, he sent a text message to fellow musician Tony Kakko of metal band Sonata Arctica, telling him that he did not think he had a band any longer, and asking him what plans he had for next year. After the Over the Hills and Far Away tour in 2001, Holopainen called their labels Drakkar and Spinefarm, unofficially declaring Nightwish was over. He told them he might produce another album, but he'd never perform another show with
2832-469: A split with fellow Spinefarm artists Children of Bodom and Thy Serpent . The album is also one of the two releases which features Holopainen's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks alongside Turunen's. The band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee at the Huvikeskus on December 31, 1997, in front of 400 people. The band recalled being both nervous and terrified when performing for
2950-455: A statement informing fans of their decision to split on 2 October 2010. The statement cited personal desires to spend more time with family and an inability to juggle their everyday working lives with a "rock and roll" lifestyle. On 12 March, Theatre of Tragedy kicked off their farewell tour, "Forever is the World Tour". The Norwegian symphonic goth metal band Where Angels Fall opened for them on
3068-447: A statement on its website counterclaiming that the reason Olzon gave for her dismissal and other statements she made were untrue and that Olzon herself had agreed to help find a replacement while she was on maternity leave. Later, Olzon gave several interviews in which she said she never agreed with a replacement, even when she was pregnant, and proposed to the band to postpone the tour, which culminated in her firing. She also added that she
3186-695: A subgenre definition could be attributable to any bands simply defining themselves as symphonic metal. Symphonic heavy metal and symphonic gothic metal bands are the main objects of such neglect of classification, originating the misperception of "symphonic metal" as a coherent and separated metal subgenre excluding symphonic black, death, and power metal bands. Symphonic elements are often implemented in songs by bands of other subgenres. Symphonic black metal has similar components as melodic black metal , but uses keyboarding or instruments normally found in symphonic or classical music. It can also include black metal bands that make heavy usage of atmospheric keyboarding in
3304-633: A symphonic style may feature influences from several metal subgenres. Music workstation keyboards and orchestras are often a key feature of the style, distinguishing symphonic from non-symphonic bands within the same metal subgenre. Other instruments, including guitars, bass and drums, may at times play relatively simple parts in contrast to the complex and nuanced keyboard and/or orchestral parts. Bands that do not use live orchestral instrumentation on their recordings or when playing live typically utilize factory presets on workstation keyboards (i. e., strings, choirs, pianos, pipe organs, etc.) to conjure up
3422-952: A three-movement epic performed by the band at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , the Moody Blues , with Days of Future Passed , and the Nice , with Five Bridges . Black Sabbath followed suit with "Spiral Architect" and "Supertzar". Other bands began to experiment with heavier songs with arrangements, such as " Ma Ma Ma Belle " by Electric Light Orchestra . Symphonic metal can be traced to some early death metal and gothic metal bands who made use of symphonic elements in their music, notably Swiss extreme metal pioneers Celtic Frost , using French horn on their 1985 release To Mega Therion (which inspired
3540-640: A tour across Germany, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, and United Kingdom, with her own solo project. She performed songs from her solo project and from Theatre of Tragedy like she usually does in solo concerts. Moreover, Raymond István Rohonyi joined her on this tour. She also played at the Metal Female Voices Fest XIII on 23 October 2016 along with Raymond. They also played a few songs of Theatre of Tragedy like they did in December 2015. The band members have stated, however, that there are no plans for
3658-411: Is a two-sided picture disk that contains four early demos of "Storytime", "The Crow, The Owl and The Dove", "I Want My Tears Back" and "Slow, Love, Slow". On 1 October 2012, Nightwish announced via its Facebook page that they were parting ways with Olzon. According to the press statement, "it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to
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3776-571: Is also included on the Japanese version of Dark Passion Play . Within a week after the release, the fifth single was announced to be " The Islander ". It was released over a month after the release of its music video, shot in late 2007 in Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland . The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from late 2007 to September 2009, when it ended with
3894-479: Is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, " Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan " (English: "Death Makes an Artist"). The production cost of Once totaled approximately 250,000 euros (over 1,000,000 including video production), making it Finland's most expensive recording in history. The band would go on to break this record again later in their career. The success of the album allowed them to perform
4012-537: Is end of September. Rumor has it that there will be a vinyl version for the diehard fans. We will keep you posted." In June 2009 saw the band reveal Forever Is the World as the title of the new album. Their 7th album was released in Europe on 21 September 2009, with the band making a step towards their earlier sound of Aégis . A special tour edition of Forever Is the World was issued on 12 March 2010. The tour edition contained
4130-411: Is not tied exclusively to symphonic metal, but may appear in avant-garde metal , progressive metal and gothic metal. Many bands featuring operatic female vocalists also have a male vocalist who uses harsh vocals for contrast, in a vocal style often referred to as "beauty and the beast". Among the first rock bands to use orchestral elements were Deep Purple , with Concerto for Group and Orchestra ,
4248-495: Is the first Nightwish release to feature Jansen and to have her and Donockley credited as band members. The album also carries a documentary containing the behind-the-scenes of Jansen's first days in the band and the process of replacing Olzon. Symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features
4366-621: The Finnish Army , similar to the music usually played around campfires, but with a distinct sound and atmosphere and played on his keyboards. We were sitting by the fire, Teemu Kautonen, Tero Leinonen, the whole old gang. It was there that I got the idea: what if I put together my own project? I hadn't yet come up with the name 'Nightwish', but the concept was already in my head. The band would be acoustic and its style would be mood music. It wouldn't be heavy metal at all – we'd have acoustic guitar, some flutes, strings, piano, keyboards, and definitely
4484-610: The Greek , Norwegian and German album charts, and charted the Top 10 in France , Hungary and Sweden . "Nemo" topped the charts in Finland and Hungary, and reached the charts in six additional countries. The following singles were: " Wish I Had an Angel " (featured on the soundtrack of the film Alone in the Dark ), " Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan " (released only in Finland and Japan) and " The Siren ". Besides
4602-715: The Once Upon a Tour , in which the band played in many countries they had never visited before. Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics , held in Helsinki , highlighting the acclaim the band had gained. A "best of" album, Highest Hopes , was released in September 2005. The compilation also featured a live cover " High Hopes " (from the Pink Floyd album The Division Bell ). Besides "High Hopes",
4720-548: The Prague Symphony Orchestra . Nightwish , Rhapsody of Fire and Within Temptation all released their first album in 1997. Within Temptation's sound was usually defined as gothic metal, being overall simpler than Nightwish's power metal, but both bands shared two frequent symphonic metal elements: powerful female lead vocals from Tarja Turunen and Sharon den Adel respectively, and the heavy use of classically influenced keyboard playing. Haggard , which started as
4838-501: The " Amaranth " single, a previously unreleased demo version of "Cadence of Her Last Breath", and a bonus DVD with three music videos as well as a 37-minute documentary called Back in the Day is Now . In the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine Soundi , Holopainen stated that he had started work on a new Nightwish album. In October 2009, rumors about the new album's name were going around with
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4956-552: The Centuries , has been described as death metal–styled symphonic metal. Make Them Suffer is a band that mixes deathcore with symphonic/classical elements in their earlier material. Other bands that have mixed deathcore with symphonic metal include Winds of Plague , Shadow of Intent , Lorna Shore (in their recent material, most notably Pain Remains ) and Betraying the Martyrs ,
5074-469: The Demonknight" and "Erian's Mystical Rhymes". Finnish band Nightwish , who debuted the same year, also performed symphonic power metal, their style being well exemplified by songs like "Wishmaster" from the album Wishmaster and the rest of their discography until the year 2000. Since the album Century Child , they gradually decreased their power metal influences, with songs like "Ghost Love Score" from
5192-587: The Dutch Within Temptation in 1996, expanded on this approach. A debut album, Enter , was unveiled in the following year, followed shortly by an EP, The Dance . Both releases made use of the beauty-and-beast approach delivered by vocalists Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt . Their second full-length, Mother Earth , was released in 2000 and dispensed entirely with the death metal vocals, instead "relying solely on den Adel's majestic vocal ability", apart from one B-side track that did not make
5310-544: The European part of the tour. In September, fans helped the band to secure funds to finish their first and last DVD by making donations when the label pulled out most of the funding for the production. The result was Last Curtain Call, a concert film from their very last show on 2 October 2010 in their hometown Stavanger. On 5 July 2013, the band's first three albums were re-released and remastered . In December 2015, Liv Kristine did
5428-471: The Finnish album charts, selling enough records to be certified gold in Finland. Critical response to the album was mixed, with AllMusic calling the album repetitive, and saying "as a whole album, it can be a little annoying, even frustrating". However, German magazine Rock Hard declared Wishmaster "Album of the Month", despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi . Following
5546-509: The Finnish movie Kohtalon kirja (English: The Book of Fate ). The main difference from previous albums is the use of a live Finnish orchestra on the tracks "Bless the Child", "Ever Dream", "Feel For You" and "The Beauty of the Beast". An enduring favorite of fans is the band's version of " The Phantom of the Opera ", from the famous musical of the same name by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber . The song
5664-416: The Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs will not get any orchestrations at all, differing from their latest album on which all songs had the background orchestra. Announcements continued throughout 2011. On February 10, Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title would be Imaginaerum . They also declared that the band had been preparing a movie based on
5782-572: The Netherlands. A typical example of their most symphonic sound can be heard in the songs "Jillian (I'd give my Heart)" and "Our Solemn Hour". Another Dutch band in the symphonic gothic metal strain is After Forever . Their debut album, Prison of Desire in 2000, was "a courageous, albeit flawed first study into an admittedly daunting undertaking: to wed heavy metal with progressive rock arrangements and classical music orchestration - then top it all off with equal parts gruesome cookie-monster vocals and
5900-581: The Opera when they established their symphonic power metal style, mainly with the song "And Then There Was Silence". They gradually composed more and more symphonic songs such as "Sacred Worlds" and "Wheel of Time", both featured on the album At the Edge of Time , and "The Ninth Wave", "At the Edge of Time", "The Throne" and "Grand Parade" from their latest album, Beyond the Red Mirror . They also made orchestral versions of previously released songs like "The Lord of
6018-598: The Rings" and "Theatre of Pain", both included on the compilation album The Forgotten Tales . Blind Guardian went deeper into symphonic music with the album Legacy of the Dark Lands , a fully orchestral album composed by singer Hansi Kürsch and guitarist André Olbrich that kept the band's spirit but was credited to the Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra, as Hansi was the only member of the band to perform on
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#17328477656546136-610: The Theatre machinery there is many things [ sic ] to take into consideration when doing stuff and recently we were forced to change collaborators for the production of the album, and postpone the recordings. But fear not the heavy responsibility has been entrusted to Alexander Møklebust (Zeromancer, Seigmen, Gåte, Monomen, Delaware etc) and the ToT crew will enter Room 13 in May and June for recordings and general mayhem! Estimated release from AFM
6254-581: The United States. Their biggest US hit single, " Wish I Had an Angel " (2004), received MTV airplay and was included on three US film soundtracks. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for Once , as well as a re-recording of " Sleeping Sun " for the compilation album, Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish (2005), before Turunen's dismissal in October 2005. In May 2007, Nightwish announced Anette Olzon as Turunen's replacement. That September,
6372-527: The album Once , "The Poet and the Pendulum" from the album Dark Passion Play and "The Greatest Show on Earth" from the album Endless Forms Most Beautiful as the best examples of their new course making a more extensive use of orchestral elements. German band Blind Guardian also introduced some symphonic elements in the album Nightfall in Middle-Earth , although it wasn't until 2002 with A Night at
6490-409: The album "as a whole works great", with songs that are "very strong". Oceanborn was released on December 7, 1998 in Finland only. It was an instant success, reaching number 5 on the Finnish album charts. The album's first single, " Sacrament of Wilderness ", hit number 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks. The album's release was initially limited to Finland, but because of
6608-447: The album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for " The Islander ". On 22 August 2011, the band's official website announced that the album of Imaginaerum would be released at the end of the year. On August 31, Nightwish announced on its website a change in title, from Imaginarium to Imaginaerum , "to avoid mix-ups with various things named 'Imaginarium ' ". On September 2,
6726-498: The album. Symphonic gothic metal was first pioneered by American band Saviour Machine . One of the first gothic metal bands to release a full album featuring "beauty and the beast" vocals, where death metal vocals are contrasted with clean female vocals, was the Norwegian Theatre of Tragedy in 1995. From then on after the departure of lead singer Liv Kristine in 2003, she and her future husband, Alexander Krull , formed
6844-525: The band Nattvindens Gråt. During early 1998, the band performed seven concerts, while Turunen was finishing her schooling, and Nevalainen and Vuorinen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service. They played warm-up shows for bands Babylon Whores, Children of Bodom and Tarot . Nightwish returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece to record a follow-up for Spinefarm Records, which would become their second full-length album, Oceanborn . Adopting
6962-465: The band alongside longtime session uilleann pipes player Troy Donockley in October 2013. In July 2019, Nevalainen, who had been inactive since 2014 due to severe insomnia , announced that he would not be returning to the band, with Kai Hahto , who had acted as his replacement since 2014, becoming the official drummer. Bassist Marko Hietala parted ways with the band in January 2021, and Jukka Koskinen
7080-550: The band continued along the same musical path as on their previous album. It was seen as a more refined and confident electropop record than its predecessor. It was also the first album to feature their long-time session guitarist, Vegard K. Thorsen, as a full member of the band. In August 2003, the band declared in an official statement on their website that Liv Kristine was removed from the band's line-up due to "musical differences which could not be bridged". Female singer Nell Sigland (from The Crest ) joined Theatre of Tragedy on
7198-535: The band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn , Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called Nachtwasser. Their first official concert with Olzon was in Tel Aviv , Israel, on 6 October 2007. The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia. The third single of the album was " Erämaan viimeinen ", a previously unreleased vocal version of
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#17328477656547316-431: The band itself for information regarding the new vocalist. In the end, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue's ex-lead singer, Anette Olzon , from Sweden, was chosen. In September 2006, the band entered the studio to record their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play . In May, next year, Anette Olzon was announced to replace Turunen. Holopainen has said in interviews that he did not wish to reveal her identity until new material
7434-471: The band just "made it official". According to the band's webpage, the band would enter the studio in 2014 to record its eighth full-length album for a 2015 release. At that time, the band had already announced that it would contain Nightwish's longest song to date. At the end of November, the band released the live album Showtime, Storytime . Despite the recording happening when they were only four members, it
7552-399: The band members would be taking a break from Nightwish for several months. On 9 October 2013, Nightwish announced Floor Jansen as the permanent replacement for Olzon. Troy Donockley was also announced as a full-time member, making the band a sextet for the first time. In a later interview, Tuomas said that Donockley's previous work with Nightwish had already made him "much a band member", so
7670-416: The band on Dark Passion Play ), when asked about his involvement in the new album, he stated "Oh yes, I will be playing on the next album and from what Tuomas has told me, it is going to be something extraordinary..." On 1 February 2010, Olzon stated on her blog that Holopainen had nine songs ready for the new album. In April 2010, Holopainen revealed on the Nightwish homepage that he had finished writing
7788-507: The band permanently. In 1994, their first studio demo was recorded, and in 1995, the debut album Theatre of Tragedy was released, followed by Velvet Darkness They Fear in 1996 and the A Rose for the Dead EP in 1997, which contained unreleased material from Velvet Darkness They Fear . Arguably, the band reached the apogee of its career in 1998, with the release of the critically acclaimed album Aégis . Released in 2000, Musique
7906-451: The band released their sixth album, Dark Passion Play , which has sold almost 2 million copies. The album's lead single, " Amaranth ", became one of Nightwish's most successful in Europe. Their seventh studio album, Imaginaerum , was released in November 2011. Nightwish parted ways with Olzon in October 2012 and finished the tour with Floor Jansen , who later became a permanent member of
8024-410: The band's debut album. The label offered Nightwish a record deal, and the band returned to the studio to record four more songs to complement the tracks of the demo. The full-length Angels Fall First album was released in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single " The Carpenter " reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart; "The Carpenter" single was released as
8142-505: The band, and acoustic guitar was replaced with electric guitar. The addition of heavy metal elements to Nightwish's existing experimental music gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the band's distinct style. The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, titled Angels Fall First . In May 1997, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records , who wanted to release it as
8260-437: The band, feeling like "a hired gun who would only do what he's asked to". According to their music teacher, Plamen Dimov, he and Holopainen have totally different characters, and thus difficulties were expected to arise. But Vuorinen was told to stay cool and "bite the bullet", and the problem was never addressed again. Later, Holopainen confessed that, at that time, he seriously started thinking about breaking Nightwish up. After
8378-431: The band. Turunen responded to the incident twice, during press conferences in Finland and Germany, saying that her dismissal came entirely as a shock to her, given that she had not been notified before the letter was given to her. She felt that the personal attacks on her husband were unwarranted, and that playing the issue out in public was "senselessly cruel". She expressed these feelings through her own open letter, which
8496-522: The band. He would later cite musical differences as another reason for the breakup. Marko Hietala ( Tarot ) was asked to replace Vänskä, effectively leaving his previous band, Sinergy. In addition to playing bass guitar, Hietala would also perform male vocals. Holopainen has since said publicly that he and Vänskä still keep in touch, contrary to rumours saying that they have not met since. However, they are not interested in making another project together. In 2002, Nightwish released Century Child , along with
8614-645: The band. The same message was also written on the band's message board. Straight after the last show of the tour, Holopainen went on a week-long hiking trip to Lapland with Tony Kakko, where they talked about the band, leading Holopainen to decide that he could not break Nightwish up that easily. When he returned from Lapland he immediately received a phone call from Ewo Pohjola, CEO of Spinefarm, offering to become their manager and help him straighten things up, and Holopainen agreed. To continue with Nightwish, Holopainen decided some changes were in order. Beside choosing Ewo as their new manager, he also asked Vänskä to leave
8732-493: The basic, non-symphonic style of their subgenre. However, it is worth noting that the term is sometimes used to describe stylistic elements increasingly present in a growing number of metal music subgenres. The term "symphonic metal" denotes any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements; "symphonic metal" then is not so much a subgenre but rather a cross-generic designation. A few bands simply refer to themselves as "symphonic metal", particularly Aesma Daeva , and
8850-399: The classical vocalist Tarja Turunen , who had shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov , a few years earlier. The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo in late 1996. The name "Nightwish" was derived from their first song together – the demo also included the song "The Forever Moments", and an early version of "Etiäinen". In early 1997, Jukka "Julius" Nevalainen joined
8968-487: The commercial success, Once was also well received by critics, with many positive reviewers drawing comparisons with Oceanborn . "Nemo" remains the band's most successful single release to date. Once utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album. Unlike for Century Child , Nightwish looked for an orchestra outside of Finland this time, choosing the London Philharmonic Orchestra . It
9086-554: The documentary End of Innocence . It tells the story of the band in Holopainen, Nevalainen and Tapio Wilska's words for two hours. The documentary also features live performances and other exclusive footage. Vocalist Tarja Turunen got married during the summer of 2003, and there were rumours that the band was about to be dissolved. These rumors were, at the time, proven to be false, as the band continued to play concerts for another year and released another album. Tarja's marriage later played
9204-506: The early to mid 2000s, including Rain Fell Within, After Forever , Epica , Delain , Leaves' Eyes , Xandria , and Edenbridge , all featuring female vocals and the characteristic keyboards. Power metal, with its relatively upbeat fantasy themes and stylized keyboard sounds, tended to be an important influence on these groups. The term "symphonic metal" has sometimes been applied to individual songs or albums by bands that belong primarily to
9322-609: The final album release. The album was a commercial success, with their lead single, " Ice Queen ", topping the charts in Belgium and their native Netherlands. Their third album, The Silent Force , arrived in 2004 as an "ambitious project featuring a full orchestra and 80-voice choir accompanying the band". The result was another commercial success across Europe and introduced "the world of heavy guitars and female vocals" to "a mainstream audience". Within Temptation's brand of gothic metal combines "the guitar-driven force of hard rock with
9440-420: The final production cost coming in at over 500,000 euros (twice the cost of Once , the previous record-setter, and approximately $ 675,000). On this album, male vocalist Marko Hietala had more freedom in the use of his voice: he sings backup on the songs "Cadence of Her Last Breath" and "Sahara", lead vocals on the songs " The Islander ", "Master Passion Greed" and " While Your Lips Are Still Red " and chorus on
9558-460: The first time. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member as an additional keyboard player and a backing vocalist for Turunen. There were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording Oceanborn , so they asked Sami Vänskä to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from
9676-427: The following year. In winter 2004/2005, the band performed a short concert tour (together with Pain , Sirenia , and Tiamat ) with Sigland singing. The band released their sixth studio album Storm on 24 March 2006, and a European tour followed, with Gothminister as supporting act. The album's title song was released as a single on 24 February 2006. While still keeping on the industrial and electronic roots of
9794-461: The genre through their use of a live orchestra and classical compositional techniques; gradually these elements became a more important part of Therion's music than their death metal roots. Another key early influence was Finnish progressive metal band Waltari 's album Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C . In mid-1996 Rage released Lingua Mortis , the band's first collaboration with
9912-597: The group announced on its website that the new single, " Storytime ", would be released on Friday, November 11, and on September 9, Nightwish revealed the cover and track list. On 11 January 2012, Nightwish announced on its website that the second single, " The Crow, the Owl and the Dove ", would be released on February 29. Roadrunner Records announced that Nightwish would be releasing a 10-inch LP titled Trials of Imaginaerum in conjunction with Record Store Day (21 April 2012). The 10-inch LP
10030-668: The heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music , such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration. Symphonic metal bands can feature classically trained vocalists, in which case they can be attributed nicknames such as opera metal or operatic metal . Perhaps the most pioneering and prominent examples of symphonic metal bands are Swedish band Therion , Finnish band Nightwish , German band Xandria , Italian band Rhapsody of Fire , American bands Lorna Shore and Trans-Siberian Orchestra , and Dutch bands Epica and Within Temptation . Those bands place
10148-473: The instrumental "Last of the Wilds". It was released in Finland only on 5 December 2007. On this song, Jonsu of the Finnish pop and rock band Indica performs the Finnish vocals. " Bye Bye Beautiful ", the fourth single, was released on 15 February 2008, and concerns the 2005 dismissal of Turunen, as does one other song on the album ("Master Passion Greed"). The single includes yet another bonus track, "Escapist", which
10266-408: The last two albums, the album showed a return to some of the sounds developed in their first albums. On 2 October 2008, Theatre of Tragedy celebrated their 15th anniversary. In December 2008 the band posted a snippet of new track "Frozen," which was expected to be on the new album, on their MySpace music page: "Time for some updates. Things are slowly moving forward with the next album. As usual with
10384-504: The latter being known to "temper the punishing brutality of deathcore with melodic flourishes pulled from symphonic and progressive metal, giving it a theatricality that feels distinctly European." Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 1993 by vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi, guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. Drummer Hein Frode Hansen had recently quit his former band Phobia and started looking for
10502-442: The lead vocals) to play more simple, catchy melodies than non-symphonic bands, which arguably make the symphonic metal style one of the most accessible in metal. Songs are often highly atmospheric, though more upbeat than those of many non-symphonic metal bands; songs with morbid themes routinely feature prominent major-key fanfares. Particularly central to creating mood and atmosphere is the choice of keyboard timbre . Lyrics cover
10620-470: The live DVD End of an Era (released June 2006), they expressed their decision through an open letter which was given to Turunen by Holopainen, and afterwards posted on the band's website. It was written by Holopainen and signed by all four band members. The main justification given in the letter for Turunen's dismissal was that the band felt that both her husband Marcelo Cabuli (an Argentine businessman) and commercial interests had changed her attitude towards
10738-404: 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). Their 2004 album, Once , has sold more than one million copies and was the band's breakthrough in
10856-430: The music when compared to regular power metal, contributing not only an extra layer to the music, but a greater variety of sound. Bands in this genre often feature clean vocals, with some bands adding relatively small quantities of screams or growls. The first prototypical symphonic power metal song was " Art of Life ", a twenty-nine-minute song performed by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan in 1993. A defining role for
10974-548: The music, akin to symphonic metal or gothic metal . The symphonic aspects of this genre are normally integral parts of a band, and as such are commonly used throughout the whole duration of a song. The prototypical symphonic black metal bands are Dimmu Borgir , Cradle of Filth , Emperor and Carach Angren . Symphonic power metal refers to power metal bands that make extensive usage of keyboards, or instruments normally found in classical music, similar to symphonic metal. These additional elements are often used as key elements of
11092-550: The naming of symphonic metal pioneers Therion) and more prominent symphonic orchestra on their 1987 album Into the Pandemonium . NWOBHM band Golgotha's Orchestral Stab (1988) – later remixed as Unmaker of Worlds (1990) – also combined metal and heavily orchestrated sections. An early prototypical symphonic metal song was "Dies Irae" by American Christian thrash metal group Believer . Appearing on their 1990 album Sanity Obscure , it foreshadowed
11210-507: The operatic approach used by the bands Therion and Nightwish . According to Jeff Wagner in his book Mean Deviation , the song was a creative watershed in metal, and except for Mekong Delta , no other extreme metal band at the time had merged the genre with classical music so seamlessly. The gothic metal band Saviour Machine , which formed in 1989 and released its first studio album in 1993, has also been referred to as symphonic metal. The band Therion were influential in forming
11328-748: The opposite direction. The band Nightwish from Finland began as a symphonic power metal act and introduced gothic elements on their 2004 album Once , particularly on the single " Nemo ". They continued to mix their style of "bombastic, symphonic and cinematic" metal with a gothic atmosphere on their next album, Dark Passion Play , in 2007. The Swedish group Therion also introduced gothic elements to their brand of symphonic metal on their 2007 album Gothic Kabbalah . Bands described as symphonic death metal include Ex Deo , Septicflesh , Children of Bodom , MaYaN , and Fleshgod Apocalypse . Eternal Tears of Sorrow adds gothic/symphonic elements to melodic death metal . Haggard 's 2000 album, Awaking
11446-558: The release of Over the Hills and Far Away , Nightwish met what has been described as one of hardest points of their career. The issues centered on the bassist, Sami Vänskä, who had started misbehaving towards the band, according to Holopainen, by missing appointments and failing to take concerts as seriously as the other members did. After the band discussed his behavior with Vänskä several times, without getting any change, everyone simply stopped caring and tensions grew. Meanwhile, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen had started complaining about his role in
11564-726: The release of Wishmaster , Nightwish embarked on their first world tour, playing dates in South America, Mexico and Canada. In the summer, the band returned to Europe for their first headlining European tour with Sinergy and Eternal Tears of Sorrow , appearing at the Wacken Open Air festival and the Biebop Metal Fest. In 2001, Nightwish recorded a cover of Gary Moore 's " Over the Hills and Far Away " together with two new songs ("10th Man Down", unreleased from Oceanborn sessions, and "Away", unreleased from Wishmaster sessions) and
11682-414: The singles " Ever Dream " and " Bless the Child ". Century Child was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts of most distance between a first place album and the second place. A music video was filmed for "Bless the Child", with a second one filmed for "End of All Hope" later, without any single support. It contains clips from
11800-692: The singles "Sacrament of Wilderness" and " Walking in the Air " were certified gold in Finland in August 1999. While in the studio in early 2000 working on their third album, Nightwish was accepted in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest preselection final with the song "Sleepwalker". Despite winning the public vote, Nightwish eventually finished in third place, with the jury choosing gospel singer Nina Åström to represent Finland. On 19 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album, Wishmaster . It debuted and spent three weeks at number one on
11918-461: The songs " Bye Bye Beautiful " and "7 Days to the Wolves". He also sings one part in "The Poet and the Pendulum", besides singing backup in the chorus. Before the band found the new singer and the album was recorded, Marko sang on all the demo versions. Holopainen also sang on the demo versions of "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Master Passion Greed" but these songs have never been released. On 22 September 2007,
12036-438: The songs, and on June 2, it was announced that he had finished recording the pre-production demo. The band announced in late 2010 that more information on the album's actual content would be released in late January, but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that because of the schedule changes he can't yet give away as many details as he would have wanted, but more information will be out after
12154-658: The style's development was played by Italian band Rhapsody of Fire since their groundbreaking 1997 debut, Legendary Tales , first with a baroque approach influenced by Vivaldi and Paganini , and subsequently with a growing film-score-oriented turn employing full orchestras and choirs. The influence of symphonic and operatic music are equally audible in cognate bands Luca Turilli's Rhapsody and Turilli / Lione Rhapsody . Rhapsody's contributions to symphonic metal are best exemplified by short songs like "Emerald Sword", "Dawn of Victory" and "Lamento Eroico", and long suites such as "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness", "The Mystic Prophecy of
12272-410: The success of "Sacrament of Wilderness", Spinefarm released Oceanborn internationally in the spring of 1999. In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the song " Sleeping Sun ", and 13,000 copies of its single were purchased in pre-release sales in Germany alone. Following the band's first international success, Nightwish was added as the opening band for Rage 's 1999 European tour. Both the album Oceanborn and
12390-417: The sweep and grandeur of symphonic music". The critic Chad Bowar of About.com describes their style as "the optimum balance" between "the melody and hooks of mainstream rock, the depth and complexity of classical music and the dark edge of gothic metal". The commercial success of Within Temptation has since resulted in the emergence of a large number of other female-fronted gothic metal bands, particularly in
12508-424: The symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes . The band is one of the pioneers of the "beauty and the beast" vocal style. The contrasting styles of vocals are also sometimes performed by only one vocalist, an example of this being Ambre Vourvahis of Xandria , combining and layering her clean (and occasionally operatic) vocals with her deep gutturals on the band's 2023 album The Wonders Still Awaiting . Other bands, such as
12626-408: The term is applied by some to generically ambiguous metal bands like Epica and post-2002 Nightwish . Following heavy metal's tradition of classifying its subgenres based on the differences among the musical structures in the electric, "metal" part of bands' sound, the label "symphonic" is usually prefixed to the subgenre to which a band mostly belongs. No "symphonic metal" band being simply symphonic,
12744-428: The title Wind Embraced , but lead vocalist Anette Olzon listed the rumors as "not true" and said that the songs for the new album had not yet been completed apart from three songs written before May 2009. Holopainen said in a 2010 interview that "[...]I can't reveal to you any more but there is going to be a big twist so to say, on the next album." In an interview with Uilleann piper Troy Donockley (who recorded with
12862-443: The title and artwork for the new album on their official website, as well as the name and cover of the second single (this time CD), " Amaranth "; it was released in Finland on August 22 and included a bonus track entitled " While Your Lips Are Still Red " written by Tuomas as the main theme for the upcoming Finnish feature film Lieksa! . The single achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores. Dark Passion Play
12980-515: The whole band but got something else. But I was very ill and this decision wasn't mine." According to the statement, Dutch singer Floor Jansen (ex- After Forever , ReVamp ) would sing for the remainder of the Imaginaerum World Tour. On 11 January 2013, Olzon announced on her official blog that she was pregnant with her third child, due in spring 2013, which she claimed was a contributing factor to her being dismissed. The band then released
13098-433: Was a massive departure from the gothic metal sound that Theatre of Tragedy had developed over the previous three albums. The heavy guitars and Early Modern English lyrics were replaced by electropop and industrial -influenced metal. It was met with a very mixed reception, and while some older fans were understandably shocked by the new direction of the band, it did gain them a number of new fans. With 2002's Assembly ,
13216-423: Was against Jansen joining the band in her period of maternity, mainly because of the difference in their vocal styles. In a 2015 interview, Holopainen said the band "emerged stronger" from the line-up changes it went through. In an interview with Metal Hammer in November 2012, Tuomas Holopainen stated that they already had a rehearsal place booked from July 2014 to September 2014, but before they began rehearsing
13334-438: Was announced as Hietala's replacement in August 2022. Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and musical entity in Finland with certified sales of nearly 900,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band worldwide, selling more than 10 million records and receiving more than 60 gold and platinum awards, having released six Number 1 albums and thirteen Number 1 singles. On October 26, 2018, Nightwish
13452-429: Was available because he did not want fans judging her by nothing more than a picture, or past work. The day after this revealing, 25 May 2007, charity single " Eva " was released for download only as the first offering from the new album, and the first featuring Olzon. It was originally scheduled for release on 30 May, but the date was changed because of a leak on a British music download site. On June 13, Nightwish revealed
13570-492: Was inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame, becoming the honorary gallery's 11th member. After playing keyboards in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Darkwoods My Betrothed , Tuomas Holopainen decided to create his own project while sitting around a campfire with friends on July 6, 1996. He immediately had a clear idea of the music: experimental acoustic music he had written himself during his time in
13688-440: Was published on her personal website, and through various TV, magazine, and newspaper interviews. To find a replacement for Turunen as the female vocalist of the band, on 17 March 2006, the band allowed interested vocalists to send in demo tapes as an audition for the spot. During this time, speculation emerged about who would eventually be chosen and the band stated on their website that fans should not believe any source other than
13806-519: Was released around Europe in the last week of September 2007, in the UK on October 1 and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number one position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States. Dark Passion Play broke the band's previous record for Finland's most expensive audio recording, with
13924-559: Was routinely played in concerts until October 21, 2005, when vocalist Tarja Turunen was fired from the band and later replaced with Anette Olzon , whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again. This would hold true for 17 years until 27 and 28 November 2022, when Nightwish was joined by Dutch singer Henk Poort on stage at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam to perform the song. In 2003, Nightwish released their second DVD,
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