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Lineup as of 2022 (from left to right): Koskinen, Hahto, Jansen, Holopainen, Donockley, Vuorinen

Nightwish is a symphonic power metal band that originated in Kitee, Finland in 1997. Nightwish consists of six main members.

In 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman Anette Olzon was revealed as Tarja Turunen’s replacement. In the autumn, the band released a new album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold almost 2 million copies, with their big single, "Amaranth", being released one month before.

In 2013 former After Forever frontwoman Floor Jansen became Nightwish's lead singer after Olzon's dismissal the year before.

Current members[]

Floor Jansen[]

Active: October 1st 2012 present

Instruments: Lead vocals

Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Background: Floor (born February 21, 1981) is a Dutch vocalist and songwriter. In 1999, at the age of 18, she joined the Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever which was disbanded in 2010. Jansen formed the progressive metal band ReVamp the same year, which was disbanded in 2016, after she had joined Nightwish. Jansen filled in for Anette Olzon for the remainder of the Imaginaerum World Tour after Olzon's dismissal in 2012, and subsequently joined the band when the tour concluded.

Tuomas Holopainen[]

Active: 1997-present

Instruments: Keyboards, piano and male vocals

Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since the first demo

Background: Tuomas (born December 25, 1976) is a Finnish composer, musician, poet and producer. Known best for heavy metal music, he has also studied jazz and classical styles, but he didn't appreciate these styles, explaining to be influenced by harmonic film music. Holopainen has written several songs that have been included in movie soundtracks, including recent collaboration with Nightwish bass player and male vocalist Marco Hietala on While Your Lips Are Still Red, for the Finnish film “Lieksa!” in 2007. In 2017, Holopainen, alongside Johanna Kurklea and fellow Nightwish member Troy Donockley, formed a progressive folk band called Auri, which released it's first album the following year.

Emppu Vuorinen[]

Active: 1997-present

Instruments: Lead guitar, bass guitar (1997–1998) and classic guitar

Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since the first demo

Background: Erno or Emppu (born June 24, 1978) is a Finnish guitarist. He started to play guitar as a private study at the age of 12 and since then he has played in various bands including Nightwish, of which he is a founding member, Brother Firetribe, Almah (with Angra's frontman Edu Falaschi) and Altaria. As of 2008 one of his side-projects Brother Firetribe released their two albums, "False Metal" (Re-released as "Break Out"), and "Heart Full Of Fire" worldwide.

Troy Donockley[]

Active: 2015-present (session member: 2008-14)

Instruments: Uilleann pipes, tin whistle, low whistle, guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, vocals

Albums with the Band: All Nightwish releases since Dark Passion Play

Background: Troy (born May 30, 1964) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist. He joined a band called Travelling Country at the age of 16, and soon developed a fondness of traditional Celtic music. His first appearance in a Nightwish song was Dark Passion Play's The Islander and appeared in it's accompanying music video. He was again a session member for Imaginaerum, and was made a permanent member soon after the Imaginaerum World Tour.

Kai Hahto[]

Active: 2015-present

Instruments: Drums, percussion

Albums with the band: All Nightwish releases since Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Background: Kai (born December 31, 1973) is a Finnish drummer and percussionist. Originally the dummer for grindcore band Rotten Sound, he soon joined Finnish heavy metal band Wintersun. He filled in for Jukka Nevalainen, who’d taken a break because of insomnia, starting in 2015 for Endless Forms Most Beautiful and the two subsequent tours. In 2019, he ultimately became Nevalainen’s replacement after the latter decided to not come back to the band.

Jukka Koskinen[]

Active: 2022-present (touring member: 2021-22)

Instruments: Bass guitar

Albums with the band: No official albums; member since The Islanders Arms live show

Background: Jukka (born July 16, 1981) is a Finnish musician and bassist. Alongside Kai, he is a member of the band Wintersun. He has also performed with a number of bands since joining Wintersun. He was announced as the session bass player for the Human :||: Nature tour in May 2021 following Marco's departure that January, and subsequently joined the band in August 2022.

Former Members[]

Anette Olzon[]

Active: 2007-2012

Instruments: Lead/female vocals

Albums with the Band: Dark Passion Play and Imaginaerum

Background: Anette (born June 21, 1971) is a Swedish soprano who became the new Nightwish singer for eight years, by 2007 until 2012. Olzon was formerly the vocalist in the Swedish melodic rock band Alyson Avenue. After her admission in Nightwish, Anette played with several bands, in studio and live, including Brother Firetribe and Pain, and released her first solo album in 2014. She was replaced by Floor Jansen in 2013. She formed the Swedish/Finnish symphonic metal band Dark Element with former Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen in 2017, with great success.

Tarja Turunen[]

Active: 1997-2006

Instruments: Lead/female vocals

Albums with the band: Angels Fall First until Once

Background: Tarja (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑrjɑ ˈturunen]) (born 17 August 1977) is a Finnish singer-songwriter, composer and actress, whose work includes three solo albums, with the third, "What Lies Beneath", coming in 2010. She left the band due to musical differences in the end of 2006, after ten years. On November 2006, Tarja released a Christmas album, Henkäys Ikuisuudesta, with a support classical tour between November 25 and December 26. In 2007, Tarja released My Winter Storm, an album with various styles, including alternative rock and symphonic metal, that sold over 500.000 copies worldwide. The support tour, Storm World Tour, started on November 25, 2007, and ended at London on October 19, 2009, selling out.

Sami Vänskä[]

Active: 1998-2001

Instruments: Bass guitar

Albums with the band: Oceanborn until Over the Hills and Far Away

Background: Sami (born 26 September 1976) started playing bass as a private study. He has played in a few bands which have been mostly from the metal genre. He started his career in the band Nattvindens Gråt, with Tuomas Holopainen. He made 2 albums, A Bard's Tale (1995), Chaos Without Theory (1997) and a demo, Dar Svanar Flyger (1995), with them. He joined Nightwish for the second studio album, Oceanborn. He left the band in 2001, and was replaced by Marco Hietala.

Jukka Nevalainen[]

Active: 1997-2014 (on hiatus: 2015-19)

Instruments: Drums, percussion

Albums with the band: Angels Fall First until Imaginaerum

Background: Jukka (born April 21, 1978) is a Finnish drummer. He spent his early years in the city of Kitee; his drumming career started at the age of eleven when his music teacher at school told him that a new educational program for music was opening, and he thought Jukka would fit in well as a drummer. 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 Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen and they got a permanent practice place. He had been on hiatus since 2015 because of persistent insomnia, and Wintersun drummer Kai Hahto filled in for him on Endless Forms Most Beautiful and the two subsequent world tours. In July 2019, it was announced via Facebook that he would not be returning to Nightwish and that Hahto was to replace him. However, he will still work with the band behind the scenes.

Marco Hietala[]

Active: 2002-2021

Instruments: Bass guitar, classic guitar, male vocals

Albums with the band: Century Child until Human. :II: Nature.

Background: Marco (born January 14, 1966) is a Finnish vocalist and bassist. He is often seen as an icon for the Finnish metal scene. He is also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer/lyricist for heavy metal band Tarot. He joined Nightwish following the departure of previous bassist Sami Vänskä. He was a prominent guest musician in Delain, a project involving many members of the gothic/symphonic metal community. Marco is the bassist and lends his voice to a number of songs. He also participated in the recording of Invitation, by Altaria, providing backing vocals. Hietala has also been part of the bands Sinergy and Northern Kings. In Delain, Hietala played the bass for the album Lucidity and was also the main male vocalist on the album. He is also featured as vocalist in two of the songs on Delain's new album April Rain. In March 2009, Marco joined the band Sapattivuosi, they cover Black Sabbath songs in Finnish. In 2021, he announced his departure from the band and the public eye.

Guests[]

Online Resources[]

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