Nightwish

I don't exactly remember when I first heard a Nightwish song...likely on Pandora, somewhere around six years ago. I do remember that I liked the band enough to buy their then-latest release, Dark Passion Play, and most of the rest of their albums. I've been listening to them quite a bit recently because I plan to see them in concert later this month.

Nightwish is described on Wikipedia as a "symphonic metal" band, which seems as good a description as any. The hard rock/metal musical style, combined with vocals that are mostly sung (as opposed to screamed or growled, which is OK in moderation but often over-used), is one of my favorites. Several of their albums have a theme that runs through all the lyrics, which I also appreciate. I wouldn't want every release to be a concept album, but they're fun to listen to occasionally.

The band formed back in 1996 in Kitee, Finland, and have gone through a few iterations since. They've had three lead singers (all female), and switched bass players once, but the rest of the lineup has been pretty constant.

As I said, I was very impressed with Dark Passion Play (2007). I also really like Once (2004). The four earlier albums weren't as good, in my opinion, so I suppose it's a good thing that I didn't discover the band until the mid-2000s. Since then, there have been two more releases, Imaginaerum (2011) and Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015), both of which are excellent.

Since they're from Finland, Nightwish tours are an uncommon occurrence here in the United States. I consider myself fortunate to have caught wind of this one, with a concert location fairly close over in the Detroit area. Looking forward to the live show!