Nightwish – Finnish metal group
Nightwish was formed in Finland in 1996. Initially, the group consisted of the vocalist Tarja Turunen (left the band in 2005), keyboardist and piano player Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. Today, besides Tuomas and Emppu, the lineup includes Floor Jansen, Marco Hietala, and Troy Donockley.
The founder of the group is Tuomas Holopainen. He started writing lyrics for rock ballads back in high school. In the 1990’s he worked as a keyboardist in several heavy-metal bands. Tuomas always had an idea to form a band, which could play experimental acoustic music. He invited his friend and classmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen to play the guitar and found Tarja Turunen to be the vocalist. The trio called itself Nightwish and, in 1996, recorded three singles “Nightwish”, "The Forever Moments", and "Etiäinen".
Less than a year after the formation, the group released its debut LP, Angels Fall First. The album was impressively successful. It reached the 31st spot of Finnish Albums Chart. The band quickly became popular among rock music fans in Finland. The songs "Elvenpath", "The Carpenter", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Astral Romance" featured in the album became hits. At that time, many fans tried to book Nightwish for their private events.