Nightwish discography explained

This is the discography of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which consists of ten studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, four compilations, eighteen music videos and twenty singles.

The band was formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, and its current line-up has six members, although Turunen has been replaced by Anette Olzon and later by Floor Jansen, and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä, has been replaced by Marko Hietala, who himself left the band in 2021 to be replaced by Jukka Koskinen, while Kai Hahto has been the band's drummer since 2015.^[1]

Although Nightwish has been popular in Finland since 1997 when they released their debut album, Angels Fall First, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn, Wishmaster and Century Child, which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002, respectively, and their 2004 album, Once, sold more than one million copies by the end of 2005, becoming their breaktrough album with hit singles "Nemo" and "Wish I Had an Angel. On 21 October 2005 they played their last concert with Turunen on vocals and in May 2007 Anette Olzon was revealed as her replacement,^[2] releasing two albums with the band, including hit singles "Amaranth" and "Storytime", until her dismissal in 2012. Floor Jansen then became the band's lead singer and holds the position to this day, having released three albums with the group. Nightwish's most recent studio album, Yesterwynde, came out on September 20, 2024.^[3]

As of 2024, Nightwish is Finland's most successful music act having sold around 10 million albums and singles worldwide,^[4] including about 900,000 in Finland,^[5] over 1 million in Germany^[6] and over 500,000 in the U.S.^[7]

Albums

Studio albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"

Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
FIN [8]	AUS [9]	AUT [10]	CAN [11]	FRA [12]	GER [13]	JPN [14]	SWI [15]	UK [16]	US [17]
Angels Fall First	Released: 30 September 1997 Label: Spinefarm Format: CD, LP, cassette	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: Platinum[18]
Oceanborn	Released: 7 December 1998 Label: Spinefarm Format: CD, LP	2	—	—	—	—	74	—	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: 2× Platinum
Wishmaster	Released: 19 May 2000 Label: Spinefarm Format: CD, LP	1	—	—	—	66	21	—	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: 2× Platinum BVMI: Gold[19]
Century Child	Released: 24 May 2002 Label: Spinefarm Format: CD, LP	1	—	15	—	32	5	—	50	—	—	IFPI FIN: 3× Platinum BVMI: Gold
Once	Released: 7 June 2004 Label: Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast Format: CD, LP	1	—	4	—	9	1	—	4	—	—	IFPI FIN: 3× Platinum BPI: Silver[20] BVMI: 3× Gold IFPI AUT: Gold[21] IFPI SWI: Gold[22]
Dark Passion Play	Released: 26 September 2007 Label: Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast, Roadrunner Format: CD, LP, DD	1	42	5	24	6	1	54	1	25	84	IFPI FIN: 4× Platinum BPI: Silver[23] BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Gold IFPI SWI: Gold
Imaginaerum	Released: 30 November 2011 Label: Sony Music, Nuclear Blast, Roadrunner Format: CD, LP, DD	1	57	9	13	41	6	32	3	69	27	IFPI FIN: 3× Platinum BVMI: Gold IFPI SWI: Gold
Endless Forms Most Beautiful	Released: 27 March 2015 Label: Sony Music, Nuclear Blast Format: CD, LP, DD	1	15	4	13	12	2	31	2	12	34	IFPI FIN: 2× Platinum BVMI: Gold[24] IFPI SWI: Gold[25]
	Released: 10 April 2020 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: CD, LP, DD	1	7	2	85	26	1	39	2	28	110	IFPI FIN: Platinum
Yesterwynde	Released: 20 September 2024 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: CD, LP, DD	1 [26]	—	2	—	15 [27]	2	50	2	20	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

Live albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		FIN [28]	AUT	BEL [29]	CZE [30]	FRA	GER	NLD [31]	SWE [32]	SWI	UK Rock
From Wishes to Eternity	Released: April 2001 Recorded: 29 December 2000 in Tampere, Finland Format: CD, DVD, VHS	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: Gold
End of an Era	Released: 1 June 2006 Recorded: 21 October 2005 in Helsinki, Finland Format: CD, LP, DVD, Blu-ray	7	41	40	—	24	3	3	35	18	7	IFPI FIN: Gold SNEP: Gold[33]
Made in Hong Kong	Released: 1 March 2009 Recorded: 2006–2008 Format: CD+DVD, LP	2	26	41	14	72	15	20	54	38	10
Showtime, Storytime	Released: 29 November 2013 Recorded: 3 August 2013 in Wacken, Germany Format: CD, DVD, Blu-ray	23	—	158	37	—	6	—	—	—	5
Vehicle of Spirit	Released: 16 December 2016 / 6 January 2017 Recorded: 30 July 2015 in Tampere, Finland and on 19 December 2015 in London, England Format: CD, DVD, Blu-ray	—	—	—	—	182	14	—	—	—	9
	Released: 6 December 2019 Recorded: 30 September 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina Format: CD, LP, DVD, Blu-ray	1	—	135	85	172	—	50	—	—	1
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Video albums

Year	Video details	Peak chart positions						Certifications
		FIN	AUT [34]	GER	NLD	SWI [35]	UK Rock
From Wishes to Eternity	Released: April 2001 Label: Spinefarm Records Format: VHS, DVD	7	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: Platinum BVMI: Gold
End of Innocence	Released: 6 October 2003 Label: Spinefarm Records Format: DVD	4	—	62	—	—	—	IFPI FIN: Gold BVMI: Gold
End of an Era	Released: 1 June 2006 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: DVD, Blu-ray	1	2	—	3	—	9	IFPI FIN: Platinum BVMI: 3× Gold
Showtime, Storytime	Released: 29 November 2013 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: DVD, Blu-ray	1	9	—	11	3	—
Vehicle of Spirit	Released: 16 December 2016 / 6 January 2017 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: DVD, Blu-ray	—	—	14	—	—	9
	Released: 6 December 2019 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: DVD, Blu-ray	1	—	—	—	—	94
Virtual Live Show from the Islanders Arms 2021	Released: 11 March 2022[36] Label: Deggael Format: DVD	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Compilations

Title	Compilation details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		FIN	AUT	CZE	FRA	GER	NOR [37]	NLD	SWE	SWI	UK Rock
Tales from the Elvenpath	Released: 17 October 2004 Label: Drakkar Format: CD	—	19	—	—	6	—	—	—	19	—	BVMI: Gold
	Released: 17 September 2005 Label: Spinefarm Format: CD	1	13	71	—	17	5	41	14	10	9	IFPI FIN: 3× Platinum BVMI: Platinum
	Released: 27 May 2011 Label: Sony Music Format: CD	45	65	—	—	32	—	—	—	35	—
Decades	Released: 9 March 2018 Label: Nuclear Blast Format: CD, LP	1	19	11	90	5	—	68	—	7	3
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Soundtracks

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Album
		FIN [38]	AUT	FRA	GER	HUN [39]	NLD	SPA [40]	SWE	SWI	UK Rock
"The Carpenter"		3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Sacrament of Wilderness"		1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Walking in the Air"		1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Sleeping Sun"		1	—	—	34	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Deep Silent Complete"		3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Ever Dream"		1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Bless the Child"		1	—	—	63	—	55	—	—	—	—
"Nemo"		1	12	64	6	1	64	—	12	14	4
"Wish I Had an Angel"		1	47	—	36	3	65	20	11	40	6
"Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan"		1	—	—	—	3	—	—	—	—	—
"The Siren"		3	—	—	51	1	—	—	30	59	4
"Sleeping Sun"		1	47	—	34	—	—	—	—	—	5
"Amaranth"		1	30	62	16	1	47	1	13	14	1
"Erämaan Viimeinen"		1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Bye Bye Beautiful"		5	—	54	35	4	—	4	—	—	2
"The Islander"		1	—	91	—	—	—	5	—	—	—
"Storytime"		1	57	19	39	2	—	2	—	31	5
"The Crow, the Owl and the Dove"		1	—	—	82	—	—	5	—	—	—
"Élan"		3	53	200	33	5	—	—	—	33	11
"Noise"		22	—	—	—	19	—	—	—	—	—
"Perfume of the Timeless"[41]		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"The Day of..."		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"An Ocean of Strange Islands"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released.

Promotional singles

Title[42]	Year	Album
"Passion and the Opera"	1998	Oceanborn
"The Kinslayer"	2000	Wishmaster
"Sleepwalker"
"Eva"	2007	Dark Passion Play
"Amaranth" (live)	2009	Made in Hong Kong
"Ghost Love Score" (live)	2013	Showtime, Storytime
"Storytime" (live)
"Endless Forms Most Beautiful"	2015	Endless Forms Most Beautiful
"My Walden"	2016
"Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean" (live)	2019	Decades: Live in Buenos Aires
"Harvest"	2021	Human. :II: Nature.
"How's the Heart?"

Music videos

Title	Year	Director
"The Carpenter"	1998	Sami Käyhkö [43]
"Sacrament of Wilderness"
"Sleeping Sun"
"Over the Hills and Far Away"	2001	Pasi Takula[44]
"Bless the Child"	2002
"End of All Hope"
"Nemo"	2004	Antti Jokinen[45]
"Wish I Had an Angel"		Uwe Boll[46]
"Sleeping Sun"	2005	Joern Heitmann[47]
"While Your Lips Are Still Red"	2007	Markku Pölönen[48]
"Amaranth"		Antti Jokinen[49]
"Bye Bye Beautiful"
"The Islander"	2008	Stobe Harju[50]
"Storytime"	2011
"Élan"	2015	Ville Lipiäinen[51] [52]
"Endless Forms Most Beautiful"
"Noise"	2020	Stobe Harju[53]
"Ad Astra"		Ville Lipiäinen[54] [55]
"Perfume of the Timeless"	2024
"The Day of..."		Stobe Harju[56] [57]
"Lanternlight"

Demos

Title	Details	Notes
Nightwish demo	Recorded: December 1996–January 1997 at Huvikeskus studio[58] Members: Turunen, Holopainen and Vuorinen	Three-track demo with "Nightwish", "The Forever Moments" and "Etiäinen".[59]
Angels Fall First demo	Recorded: April–May 1997 at Huvikeskus studio[60] Members: Turunen, Holopainen, Vuorinen and Nevalainen	Three-track demo with "The Carpenter", "Astral Romance" and "Angels Fall First", which eventually became the Angels Fall First album.[61]

See also

• Tarja Turunen discography

External links

• Nightwish's official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nightwish- The band. 20 September 2024. Nightwish.com.
2. Book: Mape. Ollila. Olga. Pohjola. Dark Passion Play. Ville Akseli Juurikkala. Torpinkylä . 2008. 978-952-92-4341-9. 5. fi.
3. Web site: Mäenpää . Arto . Nightwish drops new song "An Ocean of Strange Islands": New album "Yesterwynde" out this Friday . Chaoszine . 10 September 2024 . 10 September 2024.
4. Web site: Nightwish confirm UK Imaginaerum Tour for autumn 2012. Allgigs.co.uk.
5. Web site: Nightwish. Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. fi. 2012-01-29.
6. News: NIGHTWISH: 'Imaginaerum' Certified Gold In Poland. Blabbermouth.net.
7. Web site: Understanding "born global" cultural exports - Finnish heavy metal music in the United States. Laura Laaksonen, Toni-Matti Karjalainen, Antti Ainamo.
8. Web site: Nightwish. 20 September 2024. Hung Medien. Finnishcharts.com.
9. Peaks in Australia:
   • All except noted: Web site: https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Nightwish&titel=Dark+Passion+Play&cat=a. Nightwish. 20 September 2024. Hung Medien. Australian-Charts.com. en .
   • Imaginaerum: The ARIA Report: Issue 1137 . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120116045620/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20120116-1555/Issue1137.pdf . dead . 2012-01-16 . . 12 December 2011 . 1137 . 2 . 19 June 2022 . National Library of Australia.
10. Web site: Nightwish. 2 October 2024. Hung Medien. Austriancharts.at. de .
11. Peaks in Canada:
    • Dark Passion Play: Web site: Albums : Top 100 . . 7 October 2007 . 19 June 2022 . usurped . https://archive.today/20071011203249/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html . 11 October 2007.
    • Imaginaerum: Nightwish Chart History (Billboard Canadian Albums) . . 19 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091120/http://www.billboard.com/artist/312296/nightwish/chart?f=309 . 14 April 2016.
    • Endless Forms Most Beautiful: Nightwish Chart History (Billboard Canadian Albums) . . 21 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091120/http://www.billboard.com/artist/312296/nightwish/chart?f=309 . 14 April 2016.
    • Human. :II: Nature.: Web site: Tory Lanez Has Every Reason To Be Smiling This Week. FYIMusicNews. April 21, 2020.
12. Web site: Nightwish. 20 September 2024. Hung Medien. Lescharts.com. fr.
13. Web site: Discographie von Nightwish. GfK Entertainment. 15 April 2020.
14. Peaks in Japan:
    • Dark Passion Play: Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/118208/products/724950/1/ . ja:ダーク・パッション・プレイ ナイトウィッシュ . Dark Passion Play Nightwish . ja . . 16 May 2015.
    • Imaginaerum: Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/118208/products/945129/1/ . ja:イマジナリアム ナイトウィッシュ . Imaginaerum Nightwish . ja . . 19 June 2022.
    • Endless Forms Most Beautiful: Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/118208/products/1113773/1/ . ja:エンドレス・フォームズ・モスト・ビューティフル ナイトウィッシュ . Endless Forms Most Beautiful Nightwish . ja . . 21 June 2022.
    • Human. :II: Nature.: Web site: Oricon Top 50 Albums, 2022-04-22. ja . . 25 September 2024.
    • Yesterwynde: Web site: Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-09-30. ja . . 25 September 2024.
15. Web site: Nightwish. Hung Medien. Swisscharts.com. 20 September 2020. de.
16. Web site: Nightwish Chart History. Official Charts Company. 28 September 2024.
17. Peaks on the Billboard 200:
    • All except noted: Nightwish Chart History (Billboard 200) . Billboard . 19 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091108/http://www.billboard.com/artist/312296/nightwish/chart?f=305 . 14 April 2016.
    • Human. :II: Nature.: Billboard 200: April 25, 2020. Billboard. 21 April 2020.
18. Web site: Gold and Platinum albums- Nightwish. IFPI Finland. 20 September 2024. fi.
19. Web site: Gold/Platinum Datebank. GmbH & BVMI . 20 September 2024. German.
20. Web site: Nightwish- Once . 20 September 2024. BPI.uk . en.
21. Web site: Gold & Platin- Nightwish. 20 September 2024. IFPI Austria – Verband der Österreichischen Musikwirtschaft . de.
22. Web site: Awards 2004 – Albums & Singles . Hung Medien . 2011-06-17 . de . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100113151428/http://swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2004 . 13 January 2010 .
23. Web site: Nightwish- Dark Passion Play. 20 September 2024. BPI.uk . en.
24. Web site: NIGHTWISH - "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" gold-certified in Germany!. Nuclearblast.de. 20 September 2024.
25. Web site: AWARDS 2015. Swisscharts.com. de.
26. Web site: Albumit 39/2024. Musiikkituottajat. fi. 28 September 2024.
27. Web site: Tops de la semaine / Top Albums . September 2024 . Snepmusique.com . 11 October 2024. french.
28. Web site: Nightwish. Musiikkituottajat. 19 February 2023. fi.
29. Web site: Nightwish. 20 September 2020. Ultratop.
30. Web site: CZ- Nightwish -Albums - Top 100. 20 September 2020. IFPI.cz. Czech.
31. Web site: Nightwish. 20 September 2020. MegaCharts. Dutch.
32. Web site: Nightwish. 2010-06-01. Hung Medien. Swedishcharts.com.
33. Web site: SNEP- Les Certifications. 20 September 2020. 2010-06-01. SNEP. french.
34. Web site: AUSTRIA TOP 40 - MUSIK-DVD TOP 10 - 16.06.2006 . austriancharts.at . 2014-03-07. de.
    Web site: AUSTRIA TOP 40 - MUSIK-DVD TOP 10 - 13.12.2013 . austriancharts.at . 2014-03-07. de.
35. Web site: https://hitparade.ch/album/Nightwish/Showtime,-Storytime-[DVD-233075 Showtime, Storytime]. HitParade. 20 September 2024. de.
36. Web site: VIRTUAL LIVE SHOW FROM THE ISLANDERS ARMS 2021 DVD ANNOUNCED. 3 February 2022. 20 September 2024. Nightwish.com.
37. Web site: Nightwish. 2010-06-01. Hung Medien. Norwegiancharts.com.
38. Web site: Nightwish- Noise. 29 September 2024. IFPI.fi. fi.
39. Web site: Mahasz: Archive. 20 September 2024. Mahasz. hu.
40. Web site: Nightwish. 2010-06-01. Hung Medien. Spanishcharts.com.
41. Web site: Album- Yesterwynde. 20 September 2024. Nightwish.com. en.
42. Web site: Nightwish- Music. 20 September 2024. Nightwish.com. en.
43. Käyhkö, Sami (Director) . 1998 . . DVD . Helsinki (Finland), Henningsvaer (Norway) . Spinefarm records.
44. Web site: Nightwish music videos. 20 September 2024. Nightwish Online.
45. Web site: New video will be directed by Antti Jokinen. 2009-10-16. 2004-01-31. Nightwish.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20120217083356/http://www.nightwish.com/en/news/archive?month=01&year=2004. 2012-02-17. dead.
46. Web site: I Wish I Had A Video. 2009-10-16. 2004-05-23. Nightwish.com.
47. Web site: New "Sleeping Sun" video. 2009-10-16. 2005-08-22. Nightwish.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229144303/http://www.nightwish.com/en/news/archive?month=08&year=2005. 2012-02-29. dead.
48. Web site: While Your Lips Are Still Red. 2009-10-16. 2007-06-15. Nightwish.com.
49. Web site: Amaranth – video on Finnish MTV . 2009-10-16 . 2007-07-31 . Nightwish.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100102100320/http://nightwish.com/pt/news/archive?month=07&year=2007 . 2010-01-02 .
50. Web site: New single and video. 2009-10-16. 2008-03-24. Nightwish.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20131022224017/http://www.nightwish.com/en/news/archive?month=03&year=2008. 2013-10-22. dead.
51. Web site: New single and video. 2015-02-13. 2015-02-13. Nightwish.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20121031001744/http://nightwish.com/en/news#2546. 2012-10-31. dead.
52. Web site: Nightwish: 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' Video Released . Blabbermouth.net . 18 September 2024 . en . 8 May 2015.
53. Web site: Nightwish – First single & video "Noise" & start album pre-order for HUMAN. :II: NATURE.. Nightwish. 7 February 2020. 7 February 2020.
54. Web site: Nightwish Announce Partnership With World Land Trust International Conservation Charity Organization; Video Featuring New Track 'Ad Astra' Posted. BraveWords. 11 March 2020. 15 March 2020.
55. Web site: Ewing . Jerry . Nightwish unveil epic new eight-and-a-half minute single Perfume Of The Timeless . Louder Sound . 18 September 2024 . en . 21 May 2024.
56. Web site: Nightwish Releases Music Video For 'The Day Of...' From Upcoming 'Yesterwynde' Album . Blabbermouth.net . 11 September 2024 . en . 13 August 2024.
57. Web site: Nightwish Premier "Lanternlight" Music Video; Yesterwynde Album Out Now . Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles . 21 September 2024 . en . 20 September 2024.
58. Once Upon a Nightwish: Official Biography 1996–2006
59. Once Upon a Nightwish: Official Biography 1996–2006, page 28
60. Once Upon a Nightwish: Official Biography 1996–2006, page 46
61. Once Upon a Nightwish: Official Biography 1996–2006, page 48