Nightwish

A symphonic heavy metal band from Kitee, Finland, founded in 1996 by Tuomas Holopainen.

Nightwish was initially founded as an acoustic band with Holopainen on keyboards, Tarja Turunen on vocals and Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen on guitar, but turned into a heavy metal band in 1997 when drummer Jukka Nevalainen joined and they started to use electric guitar instead of acoustic one.

The group has gone through a few lead vocalist changes in their career. First with original member Tarja Turunen in 2005 and then with Anette Olzon in 2012 before settling on Floor Jansen in 2013.

Long time drummer Jukka Nevalainen was forced to quit the band for good in 2019 due to health issues (insomnia). Another key member, Marco Hietala quit due to personal issues in 2021. They were replaced by Kai Hahto and Jukka Koskinen, respectively.

Nightwish has released ten studio albums, the most recent of which was released in 2024. In June 2023, the band went on an indefinite hiatus from touring. While the band intends to continue recording albums, no plans for future shows or tours have been announced.

Current line-up:

Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards (1996–present)

Emppu Vuorinen - guitars (1996–present)

Floor Jansen - vocals (2013–present; touring member 2012–2013)

Troy Donockley - flutes, pipes, whistles (2013–present; touring/session member 2008–2013)

Kai Hahto - drums (2019–present; touring/session member 2014–2019)

Jukka Koskinen - bass (2022–present; touring/session member 2021–2022)

Previous members:

Tarja Turunen - vocals (1996–2005)

Jukka Nevalainen - drums (1997–2014; on hiatus 2014–2019)

Sami Vänskä - bass (1998–2001)

Marco Hietala - bass, vocals (2001–2021)

Anette Olzon - vocals (2007–2012)