Nightwish performs symphonic metal with grandiose female vocals. When going to a symphonic metal concert, judging by what I have seen of Epica, Withtin Temptation and Nightwish, the fans are energetically jumping around really enjoying themselves and learning to appreciate the music. Strobe lighting with the fire shooting up and down followed by all the firework explosions is certain as the artists are trying to get the fans energetic and fired up ready for a spectacular show ahead of them. The sound of all these instruments combined together creates the gothic atmosphere that everyone sees at a Nightwish concert. When seeing Nightwish live, you are expecting to see the classic female vocals accompanied by the sweet gentle sounds of the orchestra with the soft piano notes in contrast with the heavily distorted guitars and the fast metal drum beats. They are luminaries of symphonic metal with an impressive gambit of intriguing songs. Lyrically rich, classically trained and nerdily fulfilled, for those that aren’t diehard fans, Nightwish are much to be discovered. “She is My Sin” is about frustrated desire and lust, “The Kinslayer” refers to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and “10th Man Down” deals with civil war.
Other songs touch on darker, perhaps more mature, themes. “FantasMic”, also off “Wishmaster”, is a tribute to Walt Disney and the animations to come out of Walt Disney Studios, amongst the broad list of references being Fantasia, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, The Lion King and Mulan, and the classic Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck. “Elvenpath” off their debut, Angels Fall First (1997), and “Wishmaster”, the title track of their 2000 album contain an array of references to Tolkien and other fantasy writers, the latter also taking its title from the 1997 horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman and produced by Wes Craven. Their songwriting draws strongly on fantastical and mythological themes. Typically of symphonic metal, their influences are expansive and literary, ranging from cinematic musical scores to nursery rhymes and fantasy novels by CS Lewis, JRR Tolkein and Steven King. They formed back in 1996 and lay the foundation for a new, classically-gilt sound that would take off in Scandinavia and across Europe in the 90s and into the 2000s with a new swathe of Nightwish-inspired bands appearing including the likes of Epica out of the Netherlands, Haggard out of Germany and Norwegian Leaves’ Eyes. Nightwish are some of the pioneers of the symphonic metal sub-genre, alongside Sweden’s Therion, the Netherlands’ Epica and Norway’s Theatre of Tragedy. Lead female vocalist, Floor Jansen, is partial to the odd bit of studded leather and, being classically trained as a soprano at the Dutch Rock Academy, can belt out operatic wails and death growls interchangeably. Vocalist and keyboard player, Thomas Holopainen is frequently seen in his cabaret-esque top hat, and vocalist/bassist Marco Hietala is equally impressive, with a meticulously maintained double-platted beard. Onstage, they adorn themselves with satin and red velvet, black, shin-length leather coats and silver trinkets, mascara and long, warlock-like locks.
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