<P> Bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala describes the style of the band's music as "melodic symphonic metal;" though this is not a view shared by all members of the group, including band composer Tuomas Holopainen, who describes the band as simply symphonic metal . Some critics find that the band had a gothic sound since their debut . The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano Tarja Turunen, a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of Once . Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums . </P> <P> While the music of Nightwish is centered around a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release Angels Fall First . This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album Oceanborn . However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album "Once" featured some use of folk - oriented Native American melodies, and their 2007 release Dark Passion Play featured folk music elements on the songs "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds". </P> <P> In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote about mythological and fantasy themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". 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 . "FantasMic" from Wishmaster is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences . 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 Wolves of the Calla, the fifth book in the Dark Tower series . The song The Poet and the Pendulum's first section is called "The White Lands of Empathica", which is a reference to the seventh book in the Dark Tower series . </P> <P> Through the years, the lyrics became more personal . "Dead Boy's Poem" from Wishmaster is a very 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 ." The personal development became even more obvious on the Wishmaster - successor Century Child . Turunen thinks that the lyrics do not anymore deal "with the dreamland we were used to, but with the brutal reality of life ." </P>

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