Marko Hietala

Born in Finland on the 14th of January 1966, Marko "Marco" Tapani Hietala became a name in Finn music with his first band, Tarot, his and his brother Zachary's project, in which he plays bass and is vocalist. They became famous after hit-single "Wings of Darkness" (1986). Since then, he's been member of bands such as Sinergy, Impaled Nazarene or Delain. Since 2002, he became member of Nightwish, after former bassist Sami Vanska left the band. Their first album together is "Century Child". His arrival meant a slight change of style, now involving powerful male vocal parts. Such songs as "Planet Hell", "Wish I had an Angel", "Slaying the Dreamer" or cover "The Phantom of the Opera" are clearly proof of his special vocal qualities, somewhere between hardcore and opera. Since October 2005, when Tarja Turunen was fired from the band, Hietala remains until present (October 2006) the only vocal of Nightwish. The band started recording a new album and a search for a new vocal.