Sleeping Sun 2005

"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad by Nightwish. The song was originally written by Tuomas Holopainen and dedicated to the solar eclipse that arose on the European sky in 1999. This version was released on CD and DVD Single in late October/early November 2005.

In 2005, Nightwish announced that they were busy recording a new version of this song for a compilation album, entitled Highest Hopes. Tarja Turunen sang lead vocals on the re-recorded version, this becoming her final studio contribution to the band before being replaced by Anette Olzon.

"Sleeping Sun" would appear on the Highest Hopes album titled " Sleeping Sun 2005 Version ". To promote the compilation it was released as a CD & DVD single.

The CD single include the full "2005 version", the radio edit of this new version, and the original 2000 version.

The band also made a video for the 2005 Version; It is a vicious medieval war scene including all the Nightwish band members, with Tarja In the aftermath of the battle. The original 2000 video version was filmed with vocalist Tarja Turunen walking about at Pakkahuone, Tampere, Finland. She is the only Nightwish band member featured in the original, far less dramatic, video. Both videos for 2000 & 2005 versions are included on The DVD Single.

I Walk Alone - Tarja Turunen

"I Walk Alone" is the first single from the album My Winter Storm by Tarja. It has been released on October 26, 2007 through Universal Music.

This song was written by Mattias Lindblom and Anders Wollbeck. It's inspired by a musical motif in "Requiem" by Mozart. It features a theater atmosphere accompanied by orchestra guitars and Turunen's powerful voice.

According to Turunen the song describes her personality perfectly well and identifies her as a singer.

Some fans have considered this as her response to Nightwish's "Bye Bye Beautiful," which was a song directed towards her. The song was a declaration of her independence and willingness to move on.

In 2009, the song was covered by the Norwegian singer Jorn on his album Spirit Black.

This video was shot at Devil's Lake in Berlin, Germany. It was directed by Jörn Heitmann (who had already worked with Turunen directing Nightwish's "Sleeping Sun" 2005 video). It also features four characters interpreted by Turunen herself. They are: the Phoenix, the Dead Boy, the Doll and the Queen of Ice.

Nightwish - Planet Hell [Lowlands]

Nightwish - Planet Hell Lowlands Festival 2005 from the album ONCE.

Nightwish - The Kinslayer (Live)

"The Kinslayer" was a promotional single released by Drakkar to promote the Finnish symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish's album Wishmaster.

The song was written by keyboardist/bandleader Tuomas Holopainen and is about the Columbine high school massacre. It features a dialogue between Tarja Turunen and Ike Vil of Babylon Whores. It also includes a line from William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which is said to be written by shooter Eric Harris on the page for Mother's day 1999 of his calendar. ("Good wombs hath borne bad sons.")

The song may also be written in reference to the Dragonlance series of fantasy novels. The line "Even the dead cry, their only comfort" is found in the book The Test Of The Twins, and the Kinslayer War was a major historical event in the Dragonlance universe.

Nightwish - Ever Dream (End of an Era)

"Ever Dream" was the group's first single release in two years. The single also preluded a new album, Century Child. It was number-one hit in Finland.

"Ever Dream" is of a more operatic nature than later works and the music itself is more on the heavy metal side.

In live performances of the song, the intro is played differently, with only the keyboard and vocals present for the first verse, before all the band come in after the intro.

This video comes from the Nighwish DVD called End of An Era.

Nightwish - Over the hills and far away

Over the Hills and Far Away was an EP by Finnish symphonic/power metal quintet Nightwish, released in 2001 by both Spinefarm Records and Drakkar Records. It was released in the United States in 2004 by Century Media Records. The bassist Sami Vänskä would leave the band after the recording of this CD, due to musical differences between him and Tuomas. Sami would be replaced by the current bassist and vocalist, Marco Hietala.

The title song was a cover version of a Gary Moore song.

Nightwish - Wishmaster （End of An Era） Live

The song "Wishmaster" has remained one of Nightwish's greatest hits, appearing on several best of compilations. Since its release, it has been a recurring track on live performances, and it was featured for example on the live DVD End of an Era, recorded in 2005. As of 2008, it's still often performed live despite the band's change of vocalists. The song was brought back to the metal community's mind by a cover version and video of metal a-cappella band van Canto in 2008.