For a long time Nightwish have been the figurehead of Symphonic Metal - which is not only due to the fact that the band around Tuomas Holopainen has been existing for almost 25 years now, but also to the fact that with every album they expand, refine and push their sound. On April 10th they release their ninth studio album "Human. II: Nature", a double album with nine shorter songs and one long track. It is once again an ambitious work that will help the band to remain the reference point of this sub-genre, precisely because they have basically long since outgrown it.
Tuomas Holopainen, the man behind the keyboards who is also responsible for the main part of the compositions, seems rather unimpressive on stage. Nevertheless he can be called the leader of the development of Nightwish, even if guitarist Emppu Vuorinen is also one of the co-founders of the band. The band has also been touring internationally for some time now: "Our base is and remains Finland, but with the success abroad our contacts are naturally expanding. But I myself am Finnish through and through, and hopefully you can always hear that in our music Nightwish are not only the internationally most successful Finnish band, they are also one of the biggest music acts in their home country: Even before Madonna, Metallica or ABBA they are in third place in the list of the most successful musicians in the country. In addition to Holopainen and Vourinen, the band currently includes bassist and singer Marco Hietala (since 2001), drummer Kai Hahto (since 2014) and the English bagpipe player as well as multi-instrumentalist and singer Troy Donockley (since 2007), who for some years now has been making sure that the folk part of their music stands out even more. The female voice of Nightwish, which is so formative for the sound, has been the Dutch Floor Jansen since 2012, after Tarja Turunen and Anette Olzon already the third female singer, who especially live takes over the role of the front woman.
