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Samppa Hirvonen
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). Their 2004 album, ''Once'', has sold more than one million copies and was the band's breakthrough in 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 thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of North American cities by population, fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multiculturalism, multicultural and cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is a German heavy metal record label with offices in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oliver Withöft in Dortmund, Germany, in 1988 and has gone on to launch or further the careers of bands such as Grave, Samael, Tiamat, Unleashed, Asphyx, Architects, Butcher Babies, Devin Townsend, Diecast, Divine Heresy, Eyehategod, God Forbid, Iced Earth, In This Moment, Lacuna Coil, Moonspell, Nevermore, Shadows Fall, Suicide Silence, Warbringer, Winds of Plague and Skinlab. The label specializes in many different styles of heavy metal music. A number of artists listed are licensed to Century Media for the American market from labels mostly based in Europe. Century Media is also home to Arch Enemy, Napalm Death, Orbit Culture, and Queensrÿche. Shadows Fall experienced its greatest success during its tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Century Child
''Century Child'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in 2002 through Spinefarm Records in Finland, Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, Century Media Records in the US, and Toy's Factory in Japan. It is the first album which features now-former bassist and male vocalist Marko Hietala, who left the band in January 2021. It is also the first Nightwish album to feature an orchestra. Spinefarm Records released a 2-CD special edition of the album in 2002. It includes liner art with the band members' signatures, and a Video CD containing the music video for their cover of Gary Moore's " Over the Hills and Far Away". In addition, the booklet contains an ID code that allows the owner to download the entire album and three extra tracks from the Internet for a limited time. The bonus tracks are "Nightwish", "The Forever Moments" and "Etiäinen", all from the band's first demo of 1996. The album was certified double platinum in Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wishmaster (album)
''Wishmaster'' is the third studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 8 May 2000 through Spinefarm Records in Finland. The album was released in the rest of Europe by Drakkar Entertainment on 29 May, and in Japan by Toy's Factory on 19 July. In the US, it was released by Century Media on 6 February 2001. ''Wishmaster'' peaked at No. 1 in the official Finnish charts; the album also debuted in the European charts at No. 21 in Germany and No. 66 in France. ''Wishmaster'' has sold more than 79,447 copies in Finland alone, and as of January 2023, more than 150,000 copies have been sold in Germany alone, certifying the album Gold. In 2019, ''Metal Hammer'' ranked it as the 18th best power metal album of all time. Most reissues of the album contain the song "Sleepwalker", which was released in July 2000 to compete in the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Background and release The writing and recording of ''Wishmaster'' was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oceanborn
''Oceanborn'' is the second studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in Finland by Spinefarm Records on 7 December 1998 and in the spring of 1999 worldwide. It was released by Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, and by Toy's Factory in Japan. It is their first album with bassist Sami Vänskä. ''Oceanborn'' has sold more than 68,000 copies in Finland. The single " Sleeping Sun" was released in August 1999, and the song has been included in every reissue of the album since then. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001. In 2017, ''Loudwire'' ranked it as the 10th best power metal album of all time. Background Speaking to ''Kerrang!'' in 2008, band founder Tuomas Holopainen reminisced that the band got really ambitious after the debut album "that was never meant to be released as a proper record. It happened almost by accident, so we decided to put everything into making ''Oceanborn'' great." He added: According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angels Fall First
''Angels Fall First'' is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 30 September 1997 as a 500-copy limited edition. This edition is highly sought after by collectors and in 2012 a copy was sold for $1137.23 on eBay. It was subsequently released to the general public on 1 November, with four additional songs. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001. ''Angels Fall First'' is a power metal album with gothic, folk and classical elements. Background Tuomas Holopainen wrote the music for the album during his time in the Finnish Army. In a 2008 interview with the British magazine ''Kerrang!'', Tuomas Holopainen remembered: The original pressing featured Holopainen's home contact address, an accident from reprinting the demo sleeve for the album. As of December 2009, ''Angels Fall First'' has sold more than 36,000 copies in Finland alone. The band, and especially band leader and keyboardist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphonic Metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-genre 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 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 prominent examples of symphonic metal bands are Swedish band Therion (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 (band), Epica and Within Temptation. Those bands place a large focus on elements prevalent in film scores in addition to the more basic classical components utilized more wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), 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. Early life Olzon was raised in a musical family and has been singing since childhood. Her mother also forced her to play the oboe for eight years. She toured with her mother's band and sang with them on some occasions. Later, she started to take part in various talent shows and received laudable recognition. The first band she joined at seventeen years of age (Take Cover) was a cover band. However, it was short-lived as she took part in several bands and projects. At 21, she played the leading role in the rock opera/musical "Gränsland" in Helsingborg. After that she got into the Balettakademien in Gothenburg. She sang in choirs, did studio work for various p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marko Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish Heavy metal music, 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 (band), Tarot. He is also a member of the Supergroup (music), supergroup Northern Kings, and portrayed one of the main characters in Ayreon's 2013 album ''The Theory of Everything (Ayreon album), The Theory of Everything''. Biography Marko Hietala was born in Kuopio, and is the youngest child of the Hietala family. Hietala lived in Tervo until the age of 15, after which he moved to Kuopio to study classical guitar, vocals and musical theory in high school. In 1984, he and his brother Zachary Hietala, Zachary formed the heavy metal band Tarot (band), Tarot under the name ''Purgatory''. In 1986, Tarot r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sami Vänskä
Sami Vänskä (born 26 September 1976) is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Background Vänskä started playing bass when he attended music school when he was nine years old. Rush, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ... has been cited as sources of inspiration to his bass playing. He also studied computer science in university. When Emppu Vuorinen, Holopainen and Jukka Nevalainen, remembered Vänskä who was previously in the band Nattvindens Gråt, they asked if he wanted to play with them. Vänskä first appeared on the second studio album, '' Oceanborn''. He played on the following tour but kept to himself while on tour – often staying at the hotel with Tapio Wilska, who was with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jukka Nevalainen
Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen (born 21 April 1978, in Kitee, Finland) is the former drummer of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Personal life He spent his early years in the city of Kitee. His music teacher at school told him that a new educational program for music was opening, and he thought Nevalainen would fit in well as a drummer. He lacked a suitable place to practice so he made do at his home. His first band was "The Highway" but he joined his first real band at the age of 15–16. The band had a rehearsal place, but was restricted to practice only a couple of days a week. After he left that band, he joined up with Emppu Vuorinen and they got a permanent practice place. Nevalainen and Vuorinen played together in bands Ambrosia and Nidhro't before Nightwish. Nevalainen lives with his wife Satu, daughter Luna (born in 2003) and son Niki (born on 19 December 2005) in Joensuu, Finland. His second daughter, Lara, was born on 22 June 2010. He is a vegetaria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. Turunen studied lyrical singing at Sibelius Academy and Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. She is a professional classical lied singer with a three-octave vocal range, and founded symphonic metal band Nightwish with Tuomas Holopainen and Emppu Vuorinen in 1996. Their combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with Turunen's dramatic, "operatic" lead vocals quickly achieved critical and commercial popularity. Their symphonic metal style, soon dubbed "opera metal", inspired many other metal bands and performers. Turunen was fired from the band on 21 October 2005 (just after the performance of the band's ''End of an Era (Nightwish album), End of an Era'' concert) for personal reasons accompanied by an open letter from the band. She started her solo career in 2006 with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
