Nightwish

Nightwish

The genre I have chosen is metal. A metal group I really enjoy is this genre is called Nightwish. The members of the band in a town called Kitee, Finland and decided to form the band in 1996. The members they had at the start of their career was singer/songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Erno Matti Juhani "Emppu" Vuorinen, and lead vocalist Tarja Turunen. In 1997, drummer Jukka Nevalainen joined the group. In 1998, bass guitarist Sami Vänskä joined. Then he was replaced with Marco Hietala in 2001. Troy Donockley joined Nightwish in 2013 on the tin whistle. Over the years, the lead vocalist had been replaced with Anette Olzon in 2007, then she was replaced with Floor Jansen in 2013.

The type of metal they play is different kind of metal that most people think of when they hear the word. It is called symphonic metal. That means that there is a combination of heavy drums and guitars along with different elements of orchestral classical music. So even though the band is metal, it could have a full orchestra in it. Their music has been described as "bombastic heavy, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere.”

One of the songs in their album Once is called Nemo, and it is one of my favorites. Singer/songwriter Tuomas Holopainen created this song because it portrayed how he felt every once in awhile. The word nemo in latin means for nobody which he says he feels, nameless and doesn’t know where to go or who he is. He only knows his past and he longs to go then. The song is about being lost, not knowing where to go or what to do, yet desperate for everything in life.

Singer/songwriter Tuomas Holopainen was influenced by a certain three people, and all three of them were from very different countries. The first person to influence him was James Newton Howard, an american composer. The second person to influence him was Hans Zimmer, a german film score composer. And finally, the third person to influence him was Vangelis, a greek composer. Tuomas Holopainen grew up with traditional classical music, so he always played the piano and clarinet, and because of that, Tuomas Holopainen is now the great keyboardist for Nightwish.