Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976)
is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
.
He has stated that his songwriting is influenced by harmonic film music.
Before founding Nightwish, he played in the band
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Darkwoods My Betrothed are a Finnish black metal band from Kitee.
History
Formed in 1993 as Virgin's Cunt, they set out to be the "most blasphemous black metal band in Europe". After recording a couple demos under this name, the band change ...
. He later recorded an album with them as a full member in 2020. He also collaborated with the
gothic metal
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...
band
For My Pain... and the band of
Timo Rautiainen.
Holopainen has written several songs that have been included in movie soundtracks, including a collaboration with Nightwish bass player and male vocalist
Marko Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic ...
on "
While Your Lips Are Still Red
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film '' The Matriarch'' ...
", for the Finnish film ''Lieksa!'' in 2007. He also co-wrote the music for Nightwish's own film, ''
Imaginaerum
''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Re ...
'', released in November 2012.
Holopainen released his first solo album ''
Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge
''Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge'' is the first solo album by Finnish songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, best known for his work in the symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was based on cartoonist Don Rosa's ''The Life a ...
'' in 2014.
Early and personal life
Tuomas Holopainen was born in
Kitee
Kitee ( sv, Kides) is a town and a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...
on Christmas Day 1976. His parents were entrepreneur Pentti Holopainen (1940–2021), and Kirsti Nortia-Holopainen, a former music and English teacher in a small elementary school. He has an older sister named Susanna who works as a surgeon-urologist, and an older brother named Petri who is an autopsy assistant. He and singer
Elina Siirala
Elina Siirala (born 27 October 1983) is a Finnish soprano. She is the founder and frontwoman for the English melodic metal band Angel Nation (formerly EnkElination) and the current female vocalist for the German symphonic metal/viking metal ba ...
are
second cousins
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
. His musicality and skill in text expression showed early in school.
His mother signed him up for piano class in school when he was seven years old, and he later studied
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
,
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
, piano and music theory for twelve years at a
music college
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
.
However, he has not played the clarinet nor the saxophone since the mid-nineties.
Originally aspiring to be a biologist,
Holopainen had no interest in metal until his school foreign exchange partner took him to see
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
in America, and he became hooked.
Holopainen is a fan of
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...
and
Dragonlance
''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...
.
In 2006 Holopainen said that he is "not religious, but an open-minded, thinking individual". He does not consider "religion to be bad, but human interpretation of it."
Holopainen married Finnish pop singer
Johanna Kurkela
Johanna Kurkela (born 25 April 1985) is a Finnish singer. Her first published work was a duet ''Tahdon tanssia kanssasi'' with Tomi Metsäketo in 2004. Kurkela released her first album ''Hetki hiljaa'' in 2005. She got a lot of publicity in the ...
on 28 October 2015.
He is a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
.
A new insect species, ''Sciophilia holopaineni'', discovered by a Finnish biologist named Jukka Salmela of Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife, has been named after Tuomas Holopainen, because of Holopainen's love for nature.
Musical career
First bands, formation of Nightwish and first releases
Holopainen joined his first bands in 1991. He played in several bands, including recording keyboards for three albums with black metal band
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Darkwoods My Betrothed are a Finnish black metal band from Kitee.
History
Formed in 1993 as Virgin's Cunt, they set out to be the "most blasphemous black metal band in Europe". After recording a couple demos under this name, the band change ...
and playing with Dismal Silence, Nattvindens Gråt and Sethian.
He was then
conscripted
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
for the
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...
, where he managed to earn a position as the clarinet player of the military band, which spared him from gun-related activities.
In July 1996, a 19-year-old Holopainen began thinking of starting a band of his own, for which he would write the music and play keyboards. This was the birth of
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
, around a camp fire. He asked Emppu Vuorinen and classmate
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
to join what was then an acoustic project,
with music he wrote during his time in the army.
After hearing Tarja's strong voice, and because of the metal influences of Vuorinen and drummer Jukka Nevalainen, Tuomas decided to turn
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
into a
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
act.
Before becoming a full-time musician, Holopainen worked for two years as a high school stand-in teacher in his hometown.
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
's first non-demo release, ''
Angels Fall First
''Angels Fall First'' is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 1 November 1997. The original 500-copy limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the ...
'', came in 1997,
followed by ''
Oceanborn'' in 1998.
In 1999, Holopainen and members of other Finnish metal acts like Embraze,
Eternal Tears of Sorrow
Eternal Tears of Sorrow (commonly abbreviated to EToS) is a Finnish symphonic/melodic death metal band formed in Pudasjärvi.
Biography
The band was formed in 1994 by Jarmo Puolakanaho, Altti Veteläinen and Olli-Pekka Törrö, after vario ...
,
Charon
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...
and Reflexion started the
gothic metal
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
For My Pain.... However, as all the members were busy with their own bands, the project was postponed for the future.
Nightwish's third studio album, ''
Wishmaster'', was released in 2000. The third release sold even better than the previous album. In 2001, again the idea of
For My Pain... was brought up, and the members started planning a debut.
World fame
![Tuomas-Holopainen-keyboards1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Tuomas-Holopainen-keyboards1.JPG)
In Nightwish's fourth studio album ''
Century Child
''Century Child'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in 2002 through Spinefarm Records in Finland, Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, Century Media Records in the US, and Toy's Factory ...
'', released in 2002, Holopainen began collaborating with
symphonic
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
orchestras from Finland and the United Kingdom, which was a change in the band's music and Holopainen's style of composition, and also allowed for more freedom with additional instruments. The use of orchestral elements has been present in the studio album releases from Nightwish since. The 2020 album
Human :II: Nature contains an entirely symphonic composition, "All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World".
In 2003,
For My Pain... released its debut album, entitled ''
Fallen
Fallen may refer to:
People
* Carl Fredrik Fallén (1764–1830), Swedish botanist and entomologist
* Gabriel Toledo (born 1991), known as FalleN, Brazilian ''Counter-Strike'' player
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional entities
* Fallen ( ...
''. The album was received well, but the band has since lost fans due to a lack of new albums –- for the same reason that ''Fallen'' was delayed by four years. In 2004 for My Pain... released "Killing Romance", a Finnish single with three previously unreleased tracks; "Killing Romance", "Joutsenlaulu" and "Too Sad to Live".
Nightwish's fifth studio album, ''
Once
Once means a one-time occurrence.
Once may refer to:
Music
* ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten''
* ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper
* ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...
'' was released in 2004, and became their US break-through. Singles "
Nemo
Nemo may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Games
* ''Nemo'' (arcade game), a 1990 arcade game by Capcom based on ''Little Nemo''
* NEMO (video game console), an unreleased console
Music
* Nemo (American band), an indie rock band
* Nemo ...
" and "
Wish I Had an Angel
"Wish I Had An Angel" is the ninth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the second from their fifth album '' Once''. The song features vocals by then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marko Hietala. The song was still performed ...
" were played on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. Nightwish started their most extensive tour to date, the Once World Tour, visiting several countries, like Japan, for the first time. After the last concert (a filmed show in
Hartwall Areena
Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,34 ...
, Finland which was featured on the ''
End of an Era'' DVD in 2006), in October 2005, Nightwish gave vocalist
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
a letter explaining her dismissal from the band.
Current career
In 2006, Holopainen went through a dark period filled with anxiety and depression, made worse by rumours about himself and Nightwish in the tabloids every day. These events also inspired him in the writing of ''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
'', Nightwish's sixth album.
![Tuomas Holopainen (Nightwish), Nantes en 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Tuomas_Holopainen_%28Nightwish%29%2C_Nantes_en_2012.jpg)
After heavy metal singer
Timo Rautiainen's break up of Trio Niskalaukaus, he published his first solo album titled ''Sarvivuori'' with a crew gathered from different bands, including Holopainen on keyboards. Holopainen also wrote one song on the album. Early the next year,
For My Pain... announced that they would soon start recording the successor to ''Fallen'', but it was reported in the same autumn that the album once again was postponed.
In April 2007 Holopainen collaborated with fellow Nightwish member
Marko Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic ...
to write a theme song for the Finnish film ''
Lieksa!
''The Matriarch'' (Finnish: ''Lieksa!'') is a 2007 Finnish comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Markku Pölönen and produced by the Pölönen-owned film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus.
Plot
Martta (Sanna-Kaisa Palo) and ...
''. The song, "
While Your Lips Are Still Red
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film '' The Matriarch'' ...
", was the first song he had written specifically for a film, though several Nightwish songs ("Nemo", "Wish I Had an Angel", "Amaranth") have been included in film soundtracks. Holopainen has said that writing film scores is something he would like to do in the future. On "While Your Lips Are Still Red", in addition to Holopainen on piano,
Marko Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic ...
performs vocals and acoustic bass guitar, and
Jukka Nevalainen
Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen (born 21 April 1978, in Kitee, Finland) is the former drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.
Personal life
He spent his early years in the city of Kitee. His music teacher at school told him t ...
plays drums.
In 2007, Holopainen played keyboards with Finnish punk band
Kylähullut
Kylähullut was a Finland, Finnish hardcore punk band consisting of Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Tonmi Lillman (ex-To/Die/For and Lordi), and Vesku Jokinen (Klamydia). The band name means "Village Idiots" in Finnish language, Finnish.
The ...
on their EP ''Lisää persettä rättipäille''. He would return to play keyboards on their following album ''Peräaukko sivistyksessä.'' Holopainen can be heard singing with the chorus on both of these releases.
The new vocalist for Nightwish was revealed in May 2007;
Swede Anette Olzon
Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish class ...
, who appears on ''Dark Passion Play'', released in late August of the same year. On 8 May 2008, it was announced that Holopainen would be the producer of Finnish pop/rock band
Indica's next album,
Valoissa, which was released in the fall of 2008. Holopainen was credited for helping to create the Finnish trance artist
Orkidea
Tapio Hakanen, better known by his stage name DJ Orkidea (predominantly shortened to Orkidea), is a Finnish electronic music artist. DJ Orkidea has been one of Scandinavia’s top DJs for over 10 years and has been voted twice ’ Most Popular No ...
's third album, Metaverse in 2008, for the collaboration in Orkidea's version of Nightwish's song "Bye Bye Beautiful" (Nightwish – Bye Bye Beautiful (DJ Orkidea Remix)).
Nightwish's seventh studio album, ''
Imaginaerum
''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Re ...
'', was released on 30 November 2011 in Finland and in North America on 10 January 2012.
Solo projects
Holopainen originally confirmed that he was producing a solo project in 2012. Holopainen stated on his website, The Escapist, that he planned to devote his time completely to songwriting for the project in Feb–April 2013 after the Nightwish Imaginaerum tour. In 2014 he released ''
Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge
''Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge'' is the first solo album by Finnish songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, best known for his work in the symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was based on cartoonist Don Rosa's ''The Life a ...
'' based on the comic book series "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" by
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
. The record featured Nightwish musician
Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley (born 30 May 1964) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of Uilleann pipes. Having performed with many artists as a session player, he is most notable as a member of Finnish symphonic metal ba ...
as well as the London session musicians used previously in recent Nightwish releases.
In a November 2015 interview, he revealed plans to release a book with short fantasy and horror stories influenced by
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
and
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
.
Holopainen also composed the song
"Lohtu" for year 2015 concert "Live Aid ULS2017".
Music
Composing
![Tuomas Holopainen Paris2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Tuomas_Holopainen_Paris2008.jpg)
Holopainen is a source of inspiration for other bands, especially within
symphonic
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
,
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
.
Simone Simons
Simone Johanna Maria Simons (born 17 January 1985) is a Dutch singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, which she joined at the age of seventeen, releasing eight studio albums and touring the world ...
, lead singer of
Epica
Epica or EPICA may refer to:
* Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band
* ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003
* ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012
* The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)
* The Epica Awards (International Adver ...
, stated that she began singing due to Nightwish.
Ex-singer of
Visions of Atlantis
Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis.
History
''Eternal Endless Infinity'' and lineup changes ( ...
,
Nicole Bogner
Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis.
History
''Eternal Endless Infinity'' and lineup changes (200 ...
, also acknowledged that Nightwish had greatly inspired the band, especially for their first album.
Sander Gommans
Sander Gommans (born 15 August 1978) is a Dutch musician and songwriter. He founded the symphonic metal band Apocalypse with Mark Jansen in 1995, which later changed its name to After Forever. He played guitar and performed the vocal grunting p ...
of
After Forever
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls.
In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jans ...
said that Nightwish "will certainly influence us in creating new songs".
Finnish
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup ...
's lead singer
Tony Kakko
Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko (born 16 May 1975) is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative lead of the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.
Biography
Kakko was born in Kemi, Finland and ...
, who has worked with Nightwish both in making the "Beauty and the Beast" duet with
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
and as a crowd warmer, several times explained how much of an influence Nightwish is for him.
Singing
In the early days of Nightwish, Holopainen was the band's male vocalist, performing all male vocals on ''
Angels Fall First
''Angels Fall First'' is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 1 November 1997. The original 500-copy limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the ...
''. For subsequent releases up until the arrival of bassist and male vocalist Marko Hietala, the band has recruited sessional male vocalists, as Holopainen preferred to focus entirely on his keyboards. However, he did sing ''Beauty and the Beast'' live if the band did not have a sessional singer available, contributed vocals to the track ''
The Carpenter'' on ''Angels Fall First'' and chanting to the track ''Moondance'' on ''
Oceanborn'' as well as vocals on ''Master Passion Greed'' (''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
''), although these songs are never performed live (with the exceptions of ''The Carpenter'', which was performed by Tuomas at the Tavastia Club, Helsinki in 1998, and again during the
Decades: World Tour in 2018, but the male vocals are performed by
Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley (born 30 May 1964) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of Uilleann pipes. Having performed with many artists as a session player, he is most notable as a member of Finnish symphonic metal ba ...
instead). He also performed the whispering in the background on ''
While Your Lips Are Still Red
"While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film '' The Matriarch'' ...
'', but he does not do this live.
Discography
Studio albums:
*''
Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge
''Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge'' is the first solo album by Finnish songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, best known for his work in the symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was based on cartoonist Don Rosa's ''The Life a ...
'' (2014)
Nightwish
Studio albums:
*''
Angels Fall First
''Angels Fall First'' is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 1 November 1997. The original 500-copy limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the ...
'' (1997)
*''
Oceanborn'' (1998)
*''
Wishmaster'' (2000)
*''
Century Child
''Century Child'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in 2002 through Spinefarm Records in Finland, Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, Century Media Records in the US, and Toy's Factory ...
'' (2002)
*''
Once
Once means a one-time occurrence.
Once may refer to:
Music
* ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten''
* ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper
* ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...
'' (2004)
*''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
'' (2007)
*''
Imaginaerum
''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Re ...
'' (2011)
*''
Endless Forms Most Beautiful'' (2015)
*''
Human. :II: Nature.'' (2020)
EPs:
*''
Over the Hills and Far Away'' (2001)
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Studio albums:
*''Heirs of the Northstar'' (1995)
*''Autumn Roars Thunder'' (1996)
*''Witch-Hunts'' (1998)
*''Angel of Carnage Unleashed'' (2021)
Nattvindens Gråt
Studio albums:
*''A Bard's Tale'' (1995)
*''Chaos Without Theory'' (1997)
Auri
Studio albums:
*''
Auri'' (2018)
*''II – Those We Don't Speak Of'' (2021)
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
* (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holopainen, Tuomas
1976 births
Living people
Heavy metal keyboardists
Finnish heavy metal keyboardists
Finnish heavy metal singers
Finnish pianists
Finnish songwriters
Nightwish members
People from Kitee
Finnish composers
Finnish male composers
Finnish multi-instrumentalists
Male pianists
Auri (band) members