Nightwish
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland, formed in 1996 by composer and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen and singer Tarja Turunen, all of whom are high school friends. Nightwish's music draws heavily on film music, literature, sentiment, and Nordic folklore. Furthermore, Holopainen revealed that before forming the band he was inspired by Stratovarius.
Since their first album Angels Fall First, Nightwish has held a prominent place in their home country. They achieved international recognition with the albums Oceanborn (1998) and Wishmaster (2000), and their consolidation as a reference band was in 2002 with Century Child and with the album Once (2004). In October 2005, Turunen was kicked out of the band through an open letter written by Holopainen and endorsed by the rest of the group. After reviewing more than 2,000 demo tapes by aspiring singers, it was announced in May 2007 that the new The vocalist was the Swedish Anette Olzon. At the end of 2007 Dark Passion Play was released, and at the beginning of 2011 they released Imaginaerum. In October 2012, the band announced their separation by mutual consent with Olzon and hired vocalist Floor Jansen (formerly of After Forever-ReVamp), who is the group's current female vocalist.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Nightwish is one of the most important and emblematic heavy metal bands of the genre at European and international level, as well as being the most successful music group from Finland with more than nine million copies sold worldwide. And received more than 60 gold and platinum awards, after having released five Number 1 albums and thirteen Number 1 singles.
On October 26, 2018, Nightwish was inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame, becoming the 11th member of the honorary gallery.
History
Line-up and debut albums
Nightwish was born by Tuomas Holopainen in the summer of 1996 during a camping trip. He invited his high school classmates Tarja Turunen (at the time a novice soprano from the Sibelius-Akatemia in Helsinki) and Emppu Vuorinen to join, later joining the band on the recommendation of Emppu Jukka Nevalainen. During the first half of 1997, they signed signed a contract with Spinefarm Records and recorded a 7-song demo (among them Nightwish, which would give the band its name), which were later included on Angels Fall First, the band's first album.. In the second half of that year they recorded another 4 songs and published the single entitled "The Carpenter", with the collaboration of Darkwoods My Betrothed and Children of Bodom, which was a sales success in Finland. Finally, at the beginning of November, Angels Fall First was released, with the same result.
At the beginning of 1998 the lack of a stable bassist was solved with the incorporation of Sami Vänskä, who in November was summoned to play this instrument on the Angels Fall First tour and on the recording of his second work entitled Oceanborn, which included the collaboration of Tapio Wilska on the vocals of the songs "Devil And The Deep Dark Ocean" and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion", for which he was the first vocalist group guest. Oceanborn peaked at number 5 on the Finnish sales charts, and the album's first single, "Sacrament of Wilderness" went straight to number 1, where it stayed for several weeks. The second single was "Walking in the Air", a version of a Howard Blake piece included in the soundtrack of the cartoon "The Snowman" that Tuomas wanted to cover since he was 7 years old. "Walking in the Air" managed to sell 5,000 copies in Finland. In 1999 they recorded the video "Sleeping Sun (Four ballads of the Eclipse)", the single of which sold 15,000 copies in its first month on the market and contains the songs "Sleeping Sun", "Walking in the Air", "Angels Fall First" and "Swanheart".
2000: International Recognition
At the beginning of the year 2000, the Finnish group returned to their studies and began working on their third album Wishmaster, work that was interrupted when they decided to present themselves to their country's national team for Eurovision. They made it to the final but the Finnish television jury vote saw them come third, having swept the telephone vote, which prevented the band from participating in the festival.
Wishmaster was released in May and the "Wishmaster World Tour" kicked off in Kitee, the band's hometown. After the concert, the band received gold records for the album Oceanborn and the singles "Sacrament of Wilderness", "Walking in the Air" and "Sleeping Sun". Wishmaster went straight to number one on the Finnish sales charts and stayed at that position for three weeks, also reaching the gold record mark. The album was approved by both fans and specialized media, and was named album of the month by German magazine Hard Rock, debuting on the German national charts at number 21 and at number 21. number 66 in France.
The "Wishmaster World Tour" continued from Kitee to the major festivals in Finland and in July 2000 moved to South America with concerts in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Panama and Mexico. It continued at the Wacken music festivals Open Air and Biebop Metal Fest and with his first European tour with Sinergy and Eternal Tears Of Sorrow.
Nightwish's next project included making a live album titled From Wishes to Eternity, released on DVD and VHS (for Finland only), the concert was in Tampere on December 29, 2000. The material was released on May 31, 2001 in Finland and worldwide.
2001: Over The Hills and Far Away
In 2001, Nightwish recorded again choosing a version of Gary Moore's theme Over The Hills and Far Away, two new songs («Tenth Man Down» and «Away») and a re-recorded version. of «Astral Romance» from the album Angels Fall First, with the collaboration of Tony Kakko, vocalist of Sonata Arctica. To complete the EP some live versions of the band's songs were included.
On June 30, 2001 Over the Hills And Far Away reached number one on the Finnish music charts for three weeks in a row, which was certified gold. in Nivala the band was about to break up, which is why Tuomas retired to Lapland to reflect on the changes that would be necessary for Nightwish to continue. In his own words, Tuomas wanted to end the gang due to longstanding disagreements within the gang.
Sami Vänskä, who had been with them since Oceanborn was kicked out of the band. Marco Hietala, known from Tarot and Sinergy, promised to step in as a substitute for the next album and tour. King Foo Entertainment became Nightwish's new agency and his old friend Ewo Rytkönen became his manager. To celebrate the new beginning, the first official store for band merchandise, called Nightwish-Shop, was opened, listed on the band's official website on November 24, 2001, one month before Christmas.
2002: Century Child, new bass player and change of style
In 2002 they released Century Child, the group's fourth album, whose recordings had begun in January and in which there was a slight change in style. "Ever Dream", the first single it went gold in Finland in just 2 days. At the same time, Nightwish announced that they would be taking a break as soon as "World Tour of the Century" ended.
The album was released in May 2002 and went gold in Finland in just two hours and platinum after two weeks by selling 30,000 copies. of singles as well as albums, and for the first time in foreign countries such as Germany positioning itself at number 5, and in Austria positioning itself at number 15.
In July, Nightwish toured South America successfully, where almost all the tickets were sold out. Nightwish signed a contract with the record label Nuclear Blast, which resulted in a considerable improvement in the international marketing of this album. Century Child was the second best-selling album in Finland in 2002. At the end of 2002, the band began a break that allowed its members to have other experiences; Jukka went on with Sethian and had a daughter named Luna with his girlfriend Satu, Tuomas went on with For My Pain and Timo Rautiainen & amp; Trio Niskalaukaus, Emppu played with Altaria and Marco with Tarot. In 2003 Tarja Turunen married Argentine Marcelo Cabulli, a businessman from the Nems record company, and she received a scholarship to study lyrical singing in Germany.
2004-2005: Eleven, consecration and departure of Tarja Turunen
Tuomas Holopainen decided to provide a larger recording budget and hired an orchestra to accompany the band on their new album; the one chosen was the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whose musicians recorded all their parts in just 8 hours in the studio. The band reunited to finish the album in Finland, as usual. Once was released on June 7, 2004, and achieved great commercial success, reaching number one on the German charts, Slovakia, Greece, and Finland, where it sold more than 30,000 copies and went platinum on its first day, breaking the Century Child record for best-selling album in the shortest time in the country, in addition to becoming the best-selling album in Europe. The band began the "Once Upon a Tour" that took Nightwish for the first time to Portugal as part of the Vilar de Mouros Festival, to Japan, Australia and the United States, and to various stadiums in Europe.
In 2005, after more than 130 performances, the band ended the tour with a special concert in Helsinki in front of more than 11,500 people, which was recorded for a DVD titled End of an Era released June 1, 2006. Immediately after this concert, Tarja was expelled from Nightwish through an open letter, published on the group's website, and written by Tuomas Holopainen on behalf of the rest of the members.
Despite everything, by the end of 2005 Once had won three platinum albums in Finland and another in Germany, had sold more than 200,000 copies and increased sales in several countries., including a gold certificate for sales of over 500,000 copies in Europe, and total sales of over one million copies worldwide.
2006-2009:Dark Passion Play and entry by Anette Olzon
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In order to find a replacement for Turunen on March 17, 2006, the band allowed interested vocalists to submit demo tapes. On May 24, 2007, Swedish former Alyson Avenue singer Anette Olzon, 35, was announced to be as Turunen's replacement. The following day the single "Eva" was released for digital download, all proceeds from Europe from the purchase of the single were donated to the foundation for underprivileged children Die Arche, the single was exclusively for Internet portals, and was the first song in which Olzon could be heard singing with the group. On June 13, Dark Passion Play was revealed to be the title of the new album, as well as the name and cover art of the second single, "Amaranth", which was released in Finland on August 22. along with an additional song titled "While Your Lips Are Still Red", written by Tuomas as the theme song for the Finnish film Lieksa. The album cover was inspired by the tale The Pit and the Pendulum of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, which is why the first song on the album bears the name The Poet and the Pendulum, in a clear allusion to Holopainen himself as the poet who loses his life on the pendulum of time. Dark Passion Play achieved the gold record in that country in less than 2 days, The cost of recording the album was 500,000 British pounds, which becomes the most expensive album in the history of music in Finland. To promote Dark Passion Play they released 4 singles, "Eva" (for digital download only), "Amaranth", "Erämaan Viimeinen", "Bye Bye Beautiful" and by last "The Islander". In several European countries the singles reached the top positions. Dark Passion Play was released in Europe in the last week of September 2007, in the United Kingdom on October 1, and in the United States on October 2. As of December 16, 2007, the album has sold 120,000 copies in Finland alone, going four platinum. In February 2010 the album received its fifth platinum record in Finland. Dark Passion Play has sold more than 2 million copies since its release, making it the band's most successful album.
The world tour entitled "Dark Passion Play World Tour" began on October 6, 2007 in Tel Aviv and ended on September 19, 2009 at the Hartwall Arena (same place where the world tour for the album ended Once and where they would give their last show with Tarja Turunen). On March 6, 2009 the band released the album Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), with eight songs recorded during the promotional tour of the "Dark Passion Play World Tour" between 2007 and 2008.
2011-2012: Imaginaerum, separation from Olzon
In June 2009 the Finnish magazine Soundi revealed that composer and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen had started working on a new album. In October 2009, a rumor spread that it could be called Wind Embraced, but vocalist Anette Olzon claimed that the rumors were "not true", saying that the songs were not finalized, except for three of them. which had been finished before May 2009. On February 10, 2011, Nightwish revealed the album title Imaginaerum, which is a concept album based on a fantasy film musical of the same name.
Filming for Imaginaerum began in the spring of 2011, and its premiere was in 2012. The album's release date was announced on November 30, 2011 in Finland on the official website., on December 2, 2011 in Europe, and on January 10, 2012 in the United States. Quinn Lord. On the other hand, all the members of the band appear in small roles: Anette as Ann, Tuomas as Tom, Marco Hietala as Marcus, Emppu as Emil and Jukka as Jack. These similarities in the names were made intentionally by the director, so that the audience could feel the presence of the group. The film's soundtrack was primarily based on tracks from the album, although Tuomas worked with composer Petri Alanko to include previously unreleased material that was released on the film's soundtrack album. Recordings were made in Montreal between late September and early October 2011 over eighteen days, with editing work beginning shortly thereafter. In May 2012, the band released a short preview of the film and later confirmed the official release for November 23, 2012.
On September 2, the name of the first single "Storytime" was revealed, which was released on November 11, 2011. On January 21, 2012, the "Imaginaerum World Tour" began, the first concert was in the Gibson Amphitheater located in Universal City, California. On February 29 the second single, "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove", was released in Finland.
On October 1, 2012, the band announced the separation by mutual agreement between Olzon and the band. Part of the problem had been that when the singer was going through an illness, and in the midst of it, the band members They were replaced at the concerts by singers Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) and Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy). Anette stated that she had been annoyed that they replaced her without asking her for an opinion on the matter and without informing her of the decision made, in addition to the fact that during her internment Holopainen had mainly concerned herself with finding a replacement to avoid the cancellation of the tour or a change of date. Olzon wrote about it on his blog: "For a show to be more important than a band member, seems totally out of this world to me." The band's last concert with Anette Olzon was on September 29, 2012 in Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). After these statements, the band published a statement in which they denied that they had dispensed with it. due to illness or pregnancy, and stating that they had done so because Annette's personality was detrimental to the band. After Anette's departure, Nightwish continued the "Imaginaerum World Tour" with Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever-Revamp member) as a temporary singer.
2014-2015: Endless Forms Most Beautiful and lineup changes
In an interview conducted for Metal Hammer in November 2012, Tuomas Holopainen stated that they had booked a rehearsal spot for 2014, from July to September, but before starting rehearsals the band would she was going to take a break. On October 9, 2013, Floor Jansen was made official as the new vocalist, along with Troy Donockley. They entered the studio in 2014 to begin recording the album, which was released in Europe in the spring. from 2015, which includes "the longest song in the band's history to date".
On July 9, 2014, the band posted a video of the beginning of the recording process for the album, mentioning that a 12-song demo was already ready by Tuomas Holopainen and producer Tero "Tee Cee&# 3. 4; Kinnunen, and that the record label was still Nuclear Blast. The album was recorded in the Finnish city of Eno.On August 6, Jukka Nevalainen announced that he was retiring from his role as drummer due to chronic insomnia, which did not allow him to fully fulfill his mission in the band. The group confirmed Kai Hahto (Wintersun) as drummer for the new album and tour, but also admitted that Jukka Nevalainen would continue to keep an eye on the band's business and touring, and would return to his post if he ever recovered from his illness. disease. Evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins was a guest star on the record, because Holopainen "has been so enthusiastic about this kind of literature in the last few days, that in the next few months it was going to come out of some way", as he himself commented.
On August 12, the first single from the album called "Élan" was revealed, which was released on February 13, 2015 along with a non-album song called "Sagan". On December 22, the name and cover of the new album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, was revealed on the official Holopainen website. On January 16, they made public the list of songs that were put on sale. in different formats of the new album. It was published on March 27, 2015 and on April 10 worldwide, in the Czech Republic it debuted at number one and received the gold record after only two days. On December 16 the fifth live album will be published Entitled Vehicle of Spirit the material contains the Tampere and London shows.
On June 9, 2017, the band announced that March 9, 2018 would mark the debut of a nine-month world tour titled "Decades: World Tour", ending on December 15 of that year in Helsinki.. Additionally, they revealed the release of a new compilation album titled Decades. The tour will feature "rarely heard material" and a special set for fans; on the opening date of March 9, all audience members will be offered the Decades album for free. During the Latin American leg of the tour, the Buenos Aires concert will be filmed for a live DVD known as Decades: Live in Buenos Aires, which was released on December 6, 2019.
2020-present: Departure of Nevalainen, Human.:ll: Nature and Marco's resignation
On July 15, 2019, the group announced through their official website that they had begun work on what will be their ninth studio album, which will be released in the spring of 2020. Along with the same statement, published a statement in which drummer Jukka Nevalainen announces his definitive retirement as a member of the band, arguing that, due to severe insomnia that kept him away from the stage in the past, he had decided not to force his recovery by resuming his work in front of the band. drummer, so Kai Hahto will take his place as full-time drummer.
On September 29, 2019, Kai Hahto posted news about what would be the next Nightwish music video through his Facebook page. Additionally, Floor Jansen, through his official Instagram and Twitter account, confirmed that the group met in Helsinki from October 1, 2019 to start filming the music video for their next studio album.
For their 2020 tour, the band initially announced concerts in Latin America, which included the cities of Santiago, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
On January 16, 2020, the band announced that the recordings of their new studio album have been completed and revealed through their official website the artwork, the cover of the new album, the track list and the title of the album: Human.:II: Nature. which was officially published on April 10, 2020. The band's new musical work was recorded between August and October 2019. It should be noted that the promotional photos of the band for this album were performed at the Natural History Museum in London.
On February 6, 2020 the band released, through their official YouTube account, the first single from the album titled 'Noise', the official video for the song was released on February 7, 2020. February of the same year and was directed by Stobe Harju. The second single, titled Harvest, was released on March 6, 2020 through the official YouTube account of Nuclear Blast Records. The release was made in the middle of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, so the concerts and the promotional tour were suspended until 2021.
On January 12, 2021, Marco Hietala announced his departure from the band. On May 27, Jukka Koskinen is announced as session bassist.
In April 2021, Holopainen said in an interview that he had already begun writing drafts for Nightwish's next album. He commented in May 2021 that he had been working on new material for "the last month or two& #3. 4; while busy with his reunited side projects Auri and Darkwoods My Betrothed in which he became a full-time member. He confirmed that the band booked a studio for the next album, which is scheduled for 2023.
On August 21, 2022, the band announced that bassist Jukka Koskinen, who had been playing with them filling in for Marco Hietala, would remain in Nightwish as an official member.
In April 2021, Holopainen had said in an interview that he had already begun writing drafts for Nightwish's next album. He said in May 2021 that he had been working on new material for the last month or two while he was busy with his side projects Auri and Darkwoods My Betrothed reunited in which he became a full-time member. He confirmed that the band booked a studio for the next album, which is due in 2023. Holopainen confirmed that the next album will be a follow-up to Human.:II: Nature and the third and final part of a trilogy that started from Endless Forms Most Beautiful, as well as stating that the album will be out in early 2024.
Music
Style
In the beginning, its main composer, keyboard player and director Tuomas Holopainen mixed mythology and fantasy, Tuomas also has a special admiration for soundtracks (Hans Zimmer, Vangelis, Danny Elfman, Trevor Jones). The band has sought on some occasions to get a little closer to this genre, adding new and fresh elements such as the sound of an orchestra or the help of a choir. However, Holopainen, its leader and creator, first came into contact with metal at a Metallica concert, and feeling so comfortable with this atmosphere, he leaned towards this musical genre since his teens. He has also used elements of metaphysics. and nature.
They also use a mix of power metal and symphonic metal, their music is described as "acoustic" and "cinematic". Bassist and former vocalist Marko Hietala describes the group's sound as symphonic and melodic metal. The band abandoned their classical style for a more accessible sound on Century Child and Once. Their music was recognized by soprano Tarja Turunen, described as a charismatic leader with a voice far-reaching. Criticism of his assessment became less operatic only with the release of Once in 2004. The increased use of vocal and instrumental choirs, in addition to a large number of orchestras, led to the band becoming known as an "epic metal" band, most notably on the 2007 song "The Poet and the Pendulum". On their first album Angels Fall First was the introduction of folk elements, which were abandoned on Oceanborn. However, the release of Dark Passion Play marked the return of this style on some songs like "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds".
While Nightwish's music focuses on a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums since their debut release Angels Fall First. This debut album also featured & #34;elements of folk music and ambient" which were discarded on their subsequent album Oceanborn. However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album Once featured some folk-oriented Native American tunes.
Languages
On their debut album Angels Fall First, the songs were written in English and Finnish, but since then the band has only written songs in English, with the sole exception of "Kuolema tekee taiteilijan" (2004) and "Creek Mary's Blood" (2004) in the final parts is sung by John Two-Hawks, "Erämaan viimeinen" (2007), which is a version of "Last Of The Wild" (sung by Jonsu from Indica) and "Taikatalvi" from Imaginaerum.
Influences
Holopainen being the writer of most of the band's lyrics and music, says he gets most of the inspiration for Nightwish's songs from film music. Songs like "Beauty of the Beast" (by Century Child), "Ghost Love Score" (from Once) and "The Poet and the Pendulum" (from Dark Passion Play) are examples of this influence. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music that he listens to for pleasure. He likes, for example, the scores of The Village , Van Helsing, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Crimson Tide , and practically everything what was written by Hans Zimmer. Other songs, like "Bye Bye Beautiful" (from Dark Passion Play), and "Wish I Had an Angel" (from Once) have elements of industrial metal, and some others, like "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds". . 4; (from Dark Passion Play), "Creek Mary's Blood" (from Once) and the album Angels Fall First have elements of folk music. Bands stated as influences on Nightwish include Children of Bodom, Theater of Tragedy, The Gathering, My Dying Bride, Tiamat, and The 3rd and the Mortal.
Nightwish has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. Simone Simons, lead singer of the Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Epica, stated that she started singing in a classical style due to Nightwish's 1998 album Oceanborn. Sander Gommans of After Forever said that Nightwish "it will definitely influence us in the creation of new songs". The lead singer of power metal band Sonata Arctica, Tony Kakko, has explained how much of an influence Nightwish holds for him. In December 2015, Dave Everley of Metal Hammer described them as "the most successful metal band in continental Europe, more or less a Rammstein".
Live performances
Nightwish gave their first live performance on December 31, 1997 in Kitee, Finland, to an audience of 400 people. The band played only seven more shows until the end of 1998, because Jukka and Emppu needed being in military service and Tarja had not finished her studies. After Oceanborn and Wishmaster, the concerts have become more elaborate, with the best sets and special effects. The band's first international performance took place on November 12, 1999 in Germany during the "Oceanborn Europa Tour". When the band still had Tarja as singer, she performed songs by Wishmaster but also by Oceanborn as "Sleeping Sun", it has also been performed from time to time. Nightwish played at some of the biggest music festivals such as "Lowlands", "Summer Breeze", "Tuska", "Rock am Ring", "Exit Festibal", "Gates of Metal", "Wacken Open Air" and "Rock in Rio."
Contrary to rumors that Anette would never be able to sing the band's old songs, the singer has already managed to perform several classics such as "Nemo", "Ever Dream", "Wish I Had an Angel", "Sleeping Sun", "Wishmaster". "Walking in the Air", "Dead Boy's Poem" and "Higher Than Hope". However, some are out of the question like "Stargazers", "Passion and the Opera", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Angels Fall First" she could not get to sing because of the mezzo-soprano voice. de Turunen. In 2012 Olzon decided to leave the group during the Imaginaerum World Tour. To finish it, Tuomas hired the Dutch Floor Jansen. During the "Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour" the songs "Stargazers" and "Sleeping Sun" were performed again.
Members
- Current members
 | | | | | | | | | ||
| Angels Fall First | Oceanborn | Wishmaster | Century Child | Eleven | Dark Passion Play | Imaginaerum | Endless Forms Most Beautiful | Human.:II: Nature. | ||
| 1997 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2020 | ||
| Emppu Vuorinen | ||||||||||
| Tuomas Holopainen | ||||||||||
| Jukka Nevalainen | Kai Hahto | |||||||||
| E. Vuorinen | Sami Vänskä | Marco Hietala | ||||||||
| Tarja Turunen | Anette Olzon | Floor Jansen | ||||||||
| Troy Donockley | ||||||||||
| Album edited | voice (music) | Low |
| Battery | Guitar | Keyboard/Piano |
| Gaitas/Flautas |
- Floor Jansen (2012 (Official Member in 2013) -): voice
- Emppu Vuorinen (1996 -): electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Tuomas Holopainen (1996 -): keyboard, piano
- Kai Hahto (2014 (Official Member in 2019) -): Battery, Percussion
- Troy Donockley (2007 (Official Member in 2013) -): gaitas, flutes, choirs, bodhrán, acoustic guitar
- Jukka Koskinen (2021 (Official Member in 2022 -): electric bass
- Former members
- Tarja Turunen (1996 - 2005): voice
- Anette Olzon (2007 - 2012): voice
- Sami Vänskä (1998 - 2001): electric
- Marco Hietala (2001 - 2021): under electric, male master voice, choirs, acoustic guitar
- Jukka Nevalainen (1997 - 2019): drummer, percussion
- Musical guests
- Alissa White-Gluz: guest vocalist at "Imaginaerum North American Tour" (2012)
- Elize Ryd: guest vocalist at "Imaginaerum North American Tour" (2012)
- Troy Donockley: bodhrán, gaita Uilleann, acoustic guitar and flutes, guest in Dark Passion Play (2007), Imaginaerum (2011) and "Imaginaerum World Tour" (2011-2013)
- Tapio Wilska: male voice, gutural voice, guest in Oceanborn (1998), Over the Hills and Far Away/From Wishes to Eternity (2001), “Oceanborn Europe Tour” (1999), “Wishmaster World Tour” (2000), “World Tour of the Century” (2003) and “Decades: World Tour” (2018)
- Tony Kakko: male voice, guest Over the Hills and Far Away/From Wishes to Eternity (2001), “Wishmaster World Tour” (2000) and “Endless Forms Most Beatiful World Tour” in Rock in Rio (2015)
- John Two-Hawks: flute and male voice, guest in Eleven (2004), End of an Era (2006), «Once Upon a Tour» (2004) and «Dark Passion Play Tour» (2007)
Discography
- Angels Fall First (1997)
- Oceanborn (1998)
- Wishmaster (2000)
- Century Child (2002)
- Eleven (2004)
- Dark Passion Play (2007)
- Imaginaerum (2011)
- Endless Form Most Beautiful (2015)
- Human.:II: Nature. (2020)