Nightwish w/ Sonata Arctica September 19, 2008

Following in the footsteps of such goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands featuring female vocalists as the Gathering and Lacuna Coil , Nightwish was formed in Kitee, Finland, in 1997 by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. From acoustic beginnings, he recruited trained opera vocalist Tarja Turunen, and soon added full metal-band instrumentation in the persons of guitarist Emppo Vuorinen, bassist Sami Vänskä, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen. The band's demos landed them a contract with the Finnish label Spinefarm, which released their debut album Angels Fall First in late 1997 (it appeared in the rest of Europe the following year). The follow-up, Oceanborn, appeared in late 1998 and made Nightwish a bonafide mainstream success in their homeland; the album reached the Finnish Top Five and spun off three Top Ten singles. The band toured Europe heavily, consolidating their success, and in 2000 recorded their third album Wishmaster. Not only did it top the Finnish charts, but it also became the group's first album to be released in the U.S. (by Century Media, which reissued their previous albums in 2001 as well).

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