Intro

Nightwish timeline

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1996.

After playing keyboards in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Nattvindens Gråt, Perkele Börk, and Darkwoods My Betrothed, Tuomas Holopainen decided to create his own project.
He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen to play acoustic guitars, and the classical vocalist Tarja Turunen, who shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov.

The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo in winter 1996.

The name “Nightwish” was derived from their 2. song together – the demo also included the song “The Forever Moments”, and an early version of “Etiäinen”.

The Forever Moments 0:01 / Nightwish 5:42 / Etiäinen 11:37

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1997

In early 1997, following the release of the Nightwish demo, Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen joined the band, and acoustic guitar was replaced with the electric guitar. The addition of heavy metal elements to the band’s existing experimental style gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the Nightwish sound.

The second demo album, Angels Fall First 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 a split with label mates Children of Bodom and Thy Serpent.

The album is also one of the two releases which feature Holopainen’s vocals, appearing on four of the album’s eleven tracks alongside Turunen’s.

 

first tour (1997–1998)

The band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee in December 1997.

Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen (bass, 1997-1998) 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 the band Nattvindens Gråt. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because Turunen was finishing her schooling, and Nevalainen and Vuorinen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service.

Live at Tavastia club 1997 / Elvenpath; Astral Romance; Beauty and the Beast:

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1998

music videos published in 1998:

Nightwish’s first-ever music video “The Carpenter”, taken from the 1997 debut-album “Angels Fall First”; Nightwish – Sacrament of Wilderness; Nightwish – Sacrament of Wilderness:

In 1998 they were joined by bassist Sami Vanskä (Sami Vänskä)

On October 7, 1998, Nightwish released their second full-length album, Oceanborn, in Finland only. Adopting 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. Oceanborn was an instant success in Finland, 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.

Nightwish – Sacrament of Wilderness:

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1999

In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the single “Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)”, and in one month the single sold 15,000 copies 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 the singles “Sacrament of Wilderness” and “Walking in the Air” were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.

Sleeping Sun; Walking In The Air:

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2000

While in the studio in early 2000 working on their third album, Nightwish was accepted in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest tryouts with the song “Sleepwalker”. Despite winning the public vote, Nightwish eventually finished in second place.

Deep Silent Complete is the single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, from their album Wishmaster. Single released in 2000.

Nightwish – Deep Silent Complete (with lyrics):

On May 19, 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album Wishmaster. This debuted at No. 1 on the Finnish album charts and was certified gold in Finland after three weeks at number one.

Allmusic citing the album as repetitive, and saying “as a whole album, it can be a little annoying, even frustrating”.

German magazine Rock Hard declared Wishmaster “Album of the Month”, despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi

.Following the release of Wishmaster, Nightwish embarked on their first world tour, playing dates in South America, Mexico, Canada, and the first headlining European tour with Sinergy and Eternal Tears of Sorrow. In the summer, the band returned to Europe, appearing at the Wacken Open Air festival and the Biebop Metal Fest.

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2001

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 a remake of “Astral Romance” (from the Angels Fall First album) with Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) singing Tuomas’ part.

Over the Hills and Far Away; 10th Man Down; 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 a frequent part of the band’s live performances, but the other songs never had a great break-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 Marco Hietala (current bass player and male vocalist). 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 December 29, 2000.

The band leaves Vansk for personal reasons, followed by Marko Hietala from the band Tarot, who, besides the role of a bass player, also plays the role of an additional male vocalist.