Editing Nightwish (section)

==Music==
===Musical style===
[[File:Tuomas Holopainen, Palais.jpg|thumb|left|The use of keyboards is an important part of Nightwish's original music.]]

Nightwish performs goth-influenced [[symphonic metal]] with female vocals.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nightwish-mn0000868628/biography|title= Nightwish - Biography |publisher=ALLMusic |accessdate=6 July 2022}}</ref> Their music has been also described as [[symphonic gothic metal]] which mixes metal, [[opera]], weepy power ballads, and keyboard solos.{{sfn|Ladouceur|2011|p=196}} Although the combination of operatic vocals and melodic heavy metal made Nightwish famous,{{sfn|Ollila|2007|p=18}} they don't employ operatic vocals as much as they used to. On the ninth studio album, ''[[Human. :II: Nature.]]'', "Shoemaker" was the only song with an operatic vocal after [[Tarja Turunen]]'s departure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nordicmusicreview.com/post/nightwish-human-ii-nature-album |title=Nightwish – Human. : II: Nature. (Album) |date=April 13, 2020 |publisher=Nordic Music Review |accessdate=25 January 2023}}</ref> They have also been known to play [[power metal]], [[progressive metal]], [[folk metal]] and [[gothic metal]].{{efn|Musical styles:
* "power metal"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dangerdog.com/2015-music-reviews/nightwish-endless-forms-most-beautiful.php|title=New Music Review : Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful : CD Album Music Review : Dangerdog Music Reviews by Craig Hartranft|website=Dangerdog.com}}</ref>
* "progressive metal"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartranft |first1=Craig |title=Nightwish: Imaginaerum |url=https://dangerdog.com/2011-music-reviews/nightwish-imaginaerum-review.php |website=Dangerdog Music Reviews |access-date=8 September 2024 |date=12 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pierce |first1=Ken |title=Nightwish: Dark Passion Play |url=https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=5780 |website=Sea of Tranquility |access-date=8 September 2024 |date=28 November 2007}}</ref>
* "folk metal"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blackie |first1=Andrew |title=Nightwish: Dark Passion Play |url=https://www.popmatters.com/nightwish-dark-passion-play-2496208801.html |website=[[PopMatters]] |date=October 3, 2007 |access-date=October 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=TheKenWord |title=Yer Metal Is Olde: Nightwish – Oceanborn |url=https://www.angrymetalguy.com/yer-metal-is-olde-nightwish-oceanborn/ |website=Angrymetalguy.com |date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref>
* "gothic metal"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chartattack.com/news/2007/10/23/finnish-gothic-metallers-nightwish-want-to-grow-their-north-american-cult/|title=Finnish Gothic Metallers Nightwish Want To Grow Their North American Cult – Chart Attack|date=October 23, 2007|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829204706/http://www.chartattack.com/news/2007/10/23/finnish-gothic-metallers-nightwish-want-to-grow-their-north-american-cult/|archive-date=August 29, 2017|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/nightwish-dark-passion-play-2496208801.html|title=Nightwish: Dark Passion Play|date=October 3, 2007|website=PopMatters.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/nightwish-once-2496009270.html|title=Nightwish: Once / Over the Hills and Far Away|date=January 23, 2005|website=PopMatters.com}}</ref>}}

The band's music is known to be complex<ref>{{cite web| url=https://whus.org/2020/04/nightwish-continues-to-dominate-the-soundscape-of-symphonic-metal/ |title=Nightwish continues to dominate the soundscape of symphonic metal |date=April 23, 2020 |publisher=[[WHUS]] |access-date= January 22, 2023}}</ref> and layered.<ref name="AllEnd"/> Their approach is epic, theatrical and operatic.<ref name="AllEnd">{{AllMusic |class = album |id = r842788 |tab = review |label = Review of ''End of an Era'' |first = Katherine |last = Fulton |access-date = July 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/4/19/nightwish-elan-single-2015-retrospective/ |title= 'Élan' Retrospective: Nightwish Have a Laugh at the Orthodox |publisher=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |accessdate=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.wearethepit.com/2020/03/nightwish-debut-epic-new-song-ad-astra-and-video-announcing-world-land-trust-partnership/ |title=Nightwish Debut Epic New Song "Ad Astra" and Video Announcing World Land Trust Partnership |date=March 11, 2020 |publisher=The Pit |accessdate=27 January 2023}}</ref> Critic Steve Huey notes "their rich melodicism, dynamic textures, and theatrical approach to performance make them a unique musical entity"<ref>{{AllMusic |class = artist |id = p373181 |tab = biography |label = Biography of Nightwish |first = Steve |last = Huey |access-date = January 22, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Tarja Turunen at Obras Stadium 2008 09.jpg|thumb|right|A part of Nightwish's original sound was the soprano vocals of [[Tarja Turunen]], until her dismissal from the band in 2005.]]
The usage of a female vocalist has become a sort of trademark, though less so since the outbreak of new female fronted metal bands in the mid-2000s with the popularization of bands such as [[Evanescence]] and [[Within Temptation]] as well as several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as [[Lacuna Coil]], [[The Gathering (band)|The Gathering]], [[Tristania (band)|Tristania]], [[Epica (band)|Epica]] and [[After Forever]].<ref name="u-empire/holo" />

Former bassist and vocalist [[Marko Hietala]] describes the style of the band's music as "melodic symphonic metal;"<ref>{{cite web |last=Dusedau |first=Zack |title=Interview with Marco Hietala and Emppu Vuorinen of Nightwish |work=Metalunderground.com |url=http://www.metalunderground.com/interviews/details.cfm?newsid=9240 |date=August 19, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2008}}</ref> though this is not a view shared by all members of the group,<ref name="Hall of Metal">{{cite web |title=Interview with Tuomas Holopainen and Anette Olzon of Nightwish |url=http://hallofmetal.com/ver_entrevista.php?id=34&leng=en |work=Hallofmetal.com |access-date=March 16, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071231110506/http://www.hallofmetal.com/ver_entrevista.php?id=34&leng=en |archive-date = December 31, 2007}}</ref> including band composer [[Tuomas Holopainen]],<ref>{{cite video |people= Maria Paula Carvalho |date= December 23, 2004 |title= 'Nightwish Interview' in ''Almanaque'' TV program |medium= [[Globo News]] channel |location= Brazil |url= http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6553868459227033740 |access-date= March 13, 2009 |quote= '' Well, we kind of dress in black and we have a female singer, but that's pretty much it. I mean so many people consider us as a gothic metal band but I totally disagree. I don't think that... we can be put into any category'' |archive-date= April 17, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110417210543/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6553868459227033740 |url-status= dead }}</ref> who describes the band as simply [[symphonic metal]].<ref>{{ cite web |url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnbb9w_tuomas-holopainen-genre-answer_music |title=Interview with Tuomas Holopainen, Nightwish interview in Brasil |year=2008 |work=dailymotion}}</ref> Some critics find that the band had a gothic sound since their debut.<ref>{{cite web |language=de |title=''Angels Fall First'' review |url=http://www.metal.de/gothic-metal-mittelalter/review/nightwish/6508-angels-fall-first/ |work=Metal.de |access-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref> The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano [[Tarja Turunen]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://muzicisifaze.com/interviu.php%EF%B9%96id=6.html |title=Interview with Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish) |first1=Horia |last1=Diaconescu |first2=Ioan |last2=Cora |first3=Mihai |last3=Plămădeală |date=November 30, 2005 |access-date=March 4, 2008 |work=Muzici și Faze}}</ref> a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of ''Once''.<ref name="soniconce">{{cite web |last=Grant |first=Sam |title=''Once'' review |url=http://www.soniccathedral.com/webzine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=35 |work=Sonic Cathedral.com |date=May 7, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216145312/http://www.soniccathedral.com/webzine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=35 |archive-date=December 16, 2008 }}</ref> Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums, though the band somewhat reintroduced this style when [[Floor Jansen]] became lead singer.<ref name="soniconce"/>

While the music of Nightwish is centered on a female lead singer,<ref name="PopOnce">{{cite web |last=Begrand |first=Adrien |title=''Once'' review |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/23597/nightwish-once/ |work=[[PopMatters]] |date=January 24, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2008}}</ref> the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release, ''[[Angels Fall First]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Grant |first=Sam |title=''Angel Fall First'' review |work=Sonic Cathedral.com |url=http://www.soniccathedral.com/webzine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=35 |date=February 10, 2003 |access-date=July 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227100131/http://www.soniccathedral.com/webzine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=35 |archive-date=February 27, 2012 }}</ref> This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album, ''Oceanborn''.<ref name="AllOcean"/> However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album ''Once'' featured some use of folk-oriented [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] melodies, and their 2007 release ''[[Dark Passion Play]]'' featured folk music elements on the songs "[[The Islander (song)|The Islander]]" and "[[Erämaan viimeinen|Last of the Wilds]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Blackie |first=Andrew |title=''Dark Passion Play'' review |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/49140/nightwish-dark-passion-play/ |work=[[PopMatters]] |date=October 4, 2007 |access-date=July 14, 2008 |archive-date=June 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611004708/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/49140/nightwish-dark-passion-play |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Lyrical themes===
In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote about mythological and fantasy themes,<ref>{{cite web |author=lancelot |url=http://www.yopi.de/rev/206437|title=Nightwish: Oceanborn --> einfach genial!!!'' |website=Yopi.de |date=May 11, 2005 |language=de |access-date=August 3, 2007}}</ref> and often used references to "metaphysics and nature".<ref>Matthias Mineur: ''Nightwish. Suomi Superstars'' in ''EMP 4/99'', p. 26</ref> Fantasy novels especially are a big influence on Nightwish's lyrics. Songs such as "Wishmaster," "Elvenpath," and "Wanderlust" make fairly clear references to fantasy novels, in this case the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' series and [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name="u-empire/holo" /> "FantasMic" from ''Wishmaster'' is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences.<ref name="powermetal/00">{{cite web |first=Georg |last=Weihrauch |url=http://power-metal.de/interview/interview-27.html |title=Interview Nightwish – Tuomas Holopainen |work=Power-Metal.de |date=November 12, 2000 |language=de |access-date=August 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020413/http://power-metal.de/interview/interview-27.html |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> ''Dark Passion Play'' featured the return to the fantasy theme with songs such as "Sahara", "Whoever Brings the Night" and "7 Days to the Wolves", which is loosely based on [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla|Wolves of the Calla]]'', the fifth book in the [[The Dark Tower (series)|Dark Tower]] series.<ref name="u-empire/holo" /><ref name="pm 7/07">{{cite web |first=Ricarda |last=Schwoebel |url=http://powermetal.de/interview/interview-1325.html |title=Interview Nightwish – Anette, Tuomas |website=Powermetal.de |date=August 3, 2007 |language=de |access-date=November 4, 2007}}</ref> The song "The Poet and the Pendulum's" first section is called "The White Lands of Empathica", which is a reference to [[The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower|the seventh book]] in the Dark Tower series.<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net"/>

Over the years, the lyrics became more personal.<ref name="powermetal/00"/> "Dead Boy's Poem" from ''Wishmaster'' is an emotional piece, which Holopainen calls his "legacy and [...] testament for the whole world. [...] I wanted to do this song before I die because I wanted to tell the whole world what I think and feel. It expresses a lot of myself."<ref name="powermetal/00" /> The personal development became even more obvious on the ''Wishmaster'' successor ''[[Century Child]]''. Turunen thinks that the lyrics no longer deal "with the dreamland we were used to, but with the brutal reality of life."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Tom |last=Klaner |url=http://www.bright-eyes.de/baseportal/Stories/interviewdetail&Id==386 |title=Nightwish |work=Bright-Eyes.de |language=de |access-date=August 3, 2007}}</ref>

"Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (in English, "Death Makes an Artist") from ''Once'' describes the experience of loss and its impact on art, "[[Nemo (song)|Nemo]]" deals with the feeling of being lost,<ref name="u-empire/holo">{{Cite web |first=Klaudia |last=Weber |url=http://www.underground-empire.com/article.php?idx=611 |title=Nightwish Interview |work=Underground-Empire.com |language=de |access-date=August 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930081918/http://www.underground-empire.com/article.php?idx=611 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and "Dead Gardens" deals with a bout of [[writer's block]] Holopainen suffered.<ref name="u-empire/holo" /> "Creek Mary's Blood" is based on [[Dee Brown (writer)|Dee Brown]]'s story of the same name, which presents the situation of Native Americans at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="u-empire/holo" />

2007's ''[[Dark Passion Play]]'' included an unusual number of personal songs, including "The Poet and the Pendulum", which has been described as Holopainen's life story, and about being a composer and musician.<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net"/> "Meadows of Heaven" is a depiction of Holopainen's childhood and the feeling that it'll never return. "[[Bye Bye Beautiful]]" and "Master Passion Greed" are about ex-member [[Tarja Turunen]] and her husband Marcelo Cabuli.<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net"/> "Cadence of Her Last Breath" is a "very personal song" about running away.<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net">{{cite web |url=http://tuomasholopainen.net/darkpassionplay.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724114248/http://tuomasholopainen.net/darkpassionplay.html |archive-date=July 24, 2011 |title=Tuomas about the DPP tracks |work=Tuomasholopainen.net |access-date=October 23, 2011}}</ref> The album also contains many references to authors such as [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and [[Walt Whitman]].<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net"/>

''[[Imaginaerum]]'' has different lyrical themes. For example, the song "Ghost River" is about "a duel between the [[Devil]] and Mother Gaia", while "Scaretale" concerns "childhood nightmares and monsters".
<ref name="about">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoAfwVaniac | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/qoAfwVaniac| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Imaginaerum track by track |date=November 10, 2011 |via=YouTube |access-date=June 24, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On ''[[Endless Forms Most Beautiful (album)|Endless Forms Most Beautiful]]'', lyrical themes included the beauty of the world and everything it has to offer ("Shudder Before The Beautiful"),<ref name=spaziorock>{{cite web|title=Nightwish: track by track di "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"!|url=http://www.spaziorock.it/speciale.php?&id=nightwish-esclusivo-track-by-track-di-endless-forms-most-beautiful|website=SpazioRock.it|access-date=June 24, 2015|date=March 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704195744/http://www.spaziorock.it/speciale.php?&id=nightwish-esclusivo-track-by-track-di-endless-forms-most-beautiful|archive-date=July 4, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> criticism about how some religions restrict people's lives ("Weak Fantasy"),<ref name=FCMH1>{{cite web|title=Nightwish interview – Marco (part 1) |url=http://faceculture.nl/nightwish-interview-marco-part-1 |website=FaceCulture.nl |access-date=June 24, 2015 |date=February 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415174949/http://faceculture.nl/nightwish-interview-marco-part-1 |archive-date=April 15, 2015 }}</ref> and the meaning of life, which can be something different for all of us ("[[Élan (song)|Élan]]").

The first disc of ''[[Human. :II: Nature.]]'' continues the theme of Nightwish's previous album, with the album's theme being based on human nature and how they are as a species, with songs about modern society ("[[Noise (Nightwish song)|Noise]]"),<ref>{{cite web |title=NIGHTWISH's TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN Says 'Noise' Video Is 'Not A Criticism About Technology Or Cell Phones' |url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/nightwishs-tuomas-holopainen-says-noise-video-is-not-a-criticism-about-technology-or-cell-phones/ |website=Blabbermouth |access-date=December 22, 2020 |date=8 March 2020}}</ref> life ("Harvest"),<ref>{{cite web |title=NIGHTWISH's TROY DONOCKLEY Talks "Harvest" Single In New Countdown Video|url=https://bravewords.com/news/nightwish-s-troy-donockley-talks-harvest-single-in-new-countdown-video|website=BraveWords|access-date=December 22, 2020|date=April 5, 2020|language=en}}</ref> the human imagination ("Pan"), and an ode to human empathy ("How's the Heart?").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/nightwishs-tuomas-holopainen-on-human-ii-nature-its-a-concept-album-without-intending-it-to-be/|title=NIGHTWISH's TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN On 'Human. :II: Nature': 'It's A Concept Album Without Intending It To Be'|work=Blabbermouth|date=February 4, 2020|access-date=August 9, 2020}}</ref>

''[[Yesterwynde]]'', the tenth studio album, continues the themes on the previous two studio albums: time, humanism and history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2024 |title=Nightwish: "The whole theme of the album is time, history, humanism,... |url=https://www.kerrang.com/nightwish-album-yesterwynde-interview-tuomas-holopainen-first-look/ |access-date=1 May 2024 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}</ref>

Although the lyrics of Nightwish generally are serious with dark meanings, they have also produced several less serious songs, including the bonus track "Nightquest", which talks about the band members' (the three original members as well as [[Jukka Nevalainen|Nevalainen]]) connection as musicians, and the "quest" of Nightwish.<ref name="tuomasholopainen.net"/>

===Language===
Nightwish mainly writes songs in English, though a few are in Finnish: one song on band's debut album, ''[[Angels Fall First]]'' (1997); "[[Kuolema tekee taiteilijan]]", from the ''Once'' album (2004); the single "[[Erämaan viimeinen]]" (2007), which is a vocal version of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds"; and "Taikatalvi" ("Magic Winter"), from ''[[Imaginaerum]]'' (2011). Holopainen was very uncertain about the lyrics of "Erämaan viimeinen", because he thinks that writing in Finnish is rather hard, and has said that "Finnish [could] quickly sound really cheesy."<ref>{{cite web |first=Ricarda |last=Schwoebel |url=http://www.powermetal.de/interview/interview-1038.html |title=Interview Nightwish – Tuomas Holopainen, Mape Ollila |work=Powermetal.de |date=July 14, 2006 |language=de |access-date=August 10, 2007}}</ref>

===Influence===
[[File:Nightwish.jpg|thumb|Nightwish live in 2004. Band members from the left: Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, lead vocalist Tarja Turunen, bassist Marko Hietala, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen.]]
Tuomas Holopainen, writer of most of the band's lyrics and music, says that he gets most of the inspiration for Nightwish's songs from [[Film score|film music]].<ref name="tuomasprofile">{{cite web |title=Nightwish.com |work=Profile of Tuomas Holopainen |url=http://www.nightwish.com/en/band/members/facts?id=1 |access-date=December 28, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060410190000/http://www.nightwish.com/en/band/members/facts?id=1 |archive-date=April 10, 2006 }}</ref> Songs like "Beauty of the Beast" (from ''[[Century Child]]''), "Ghost Love Score" (from ''[[Once (Nightwish album)|Once]]'') and "The Poet and the Pendulum" (from ''[[Dark Passion Play]]'') are examples of this influence. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music he listens to for leisure.<ref name="tuomasprofile"/> He likes, for example, the musical scores to ''[[The Village (2004 film)|The Village]]'', ''[[Van Helsing (film)|Van Helsing]]'', ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' and ''[[Crimson Tide (film)|Crimson Tide]]'', and practically everything written by [[Hans Zimmer]].<ref name="tuomasprofile"/> Other songs, such as "[[Bye Bye Beautiful]]" (from ''Dark Passion Play''), and "[[Wish I Had an Angel]]" (from ''Once'') have elements of [[industrial metal]], and some others, like "[[The Islander (song)|The Islander]]" and "Last of the Wilds" (from ''Dark Passion Play''), "[[Creek Mary's Blood]]" (from ''Once''), and the ''[[Angels Fall First]]'' album have elements of [[folk music]]. Bands stated as an influence on Nightwish include [[Children of Bodom]], [[Theatre of Tragedy]], [[The Gathering (band)|The Gathering]], [[My Dying Bride]], [[Tiamat (band)|Tiamat]] and [[The 3rd and the Mortal]].<ref name="OUaN"/>

Nightwish has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. [[Simone Simons]], lead singer of Dutch [[gothic metal#Symphonic gothic metal|symphonic/gothic metal]] band [[Epica (band)|Epica]], stated that she began singing in a classical style because of Nightwish's 1998 ''[[Oceanborn]]'' album.<ref name="epica">{{cite web|title=Epica Online |work=Profile Simone |url=http://www.epica.nl/index.php?id=45&section=band |access-date=December 28, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422002048/http://www.epica.nl/index.php?id=45&section=band |archive-date=April 22, 2006 }}</ref> [[Sander Gommans]] of [[After Forever]] said that Nightwish "will certainly influence us in creating new songs".<ref name="musdiscafter">{{cite web |title=Musical Discoveries |work=After Forever |url=http://www.musicaldiscoveries.com/reviews/aftfor.htm |date=June 13, 2004 |access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref> [[Power metal]] band [[Sonata Arctica]]'s lead singer [[Tony Kakko]] has explained how much of an influence Nightwish is to him.<ref name="gauntlet">{{cite web|title=The Gauntlet |work=Sonata Arctica Interview |url=http://euro.thegauntlet.com/interviews/1159/Sonata%20Arctica.html |date=March 31, 2007 |access-date=June 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620091229/http://euro.thegauntlet.com/interviews/1159/Sonata%20Arctica.html |archive-date=June 20, 2007 }}</ref> In December 2015, ''[[Metal Hammer]]''{{'s}} Dave Everley described them as "mainland Europe's most successful metal band, give or take a [[Rammstein]]".<ref name="MHammer"/>