NIghtWish

Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation are all that I can think of.

Would Dio kinda fit into that category? Regardless, Dio kicks ass.

Perhaps Iron Maiden or Metallica.

Nightwish rocks :)
Unfortunately I can't think of similar bands (but yes, Within Temptation has a somehow similar style, but not very close).

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Original post by Drew_Benton Perhaps Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden yes, but the similarities are subtle.
Actually, Iron maiden and Nightwish are my top two favorite bands.

As the other guys said try Within Temptation etc. Though in honesty if you like the early Nightiwhs albums you'll most likely love pwoer metal so give Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Gamma Ray and Helloween a go to name a few. Most have lots of free samples on their webpages.

A few of the nightwish members have done other projects aswell, cant remember for the life of me what the bands were ( probably because Im smashed right now and Im trying to code and assignment for tomorrow and its already 4:30am :P) a quick search of their forums should find it out though.

You might want to check Rhapsody, Luca Turilli, Mandragoras Screams and Therion
But none of these have a hot opera singer in there like NightWish does but it's pretty much in the same "gothic-medieval" style

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Original post by tHiSiSbOb Would Dio kinda fit into that category? Regardless, Dio kicks ass.

Ah, my brother saw him in concert. He was touring with the Scorpions and Whitesnake a few years ago. If you want to do some research, you can find a good amount of his earlier, way way earlier stuff on the Internet. (He had a band called Elf, for one. What I heard wasn't bad either. :)

Evanescence...

and the only reason I say that is because I was downloading some evanescence songs and stumbled upon nightwish through them.

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Original post by nes8bit Evanescence... and the only reason I say that is because I was downloading some evanescence songs and stumbled upon nightwish through them.

Oh nooo, don't talk about Evanescence here :(

For the ones that just discovered Nightwish, listen to their 2d et 3rd albums: Oceanborn (their best i my opinion) and Wishmaster.

Nightwish is very unique but here are some similar bands:
After Forever
Epica
Edenbridge
Within Temptation

And I believe that Nightwish was influenced by these bands:
Iron Maiden (like most metal bands ^^)
Stratovarius
Rhapsody
The Gathering
Therion

Members of Nightwish have played in:
Sonata Arctica (the singer of this band was at some of their lives)
Tarot
Blackmore's Night (in fact both singers played in Beto Vasquez Infinity)

And if you like the Opera style, you can check:
Edguy
Kamelot
Domine

AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Def Lepoard, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motly Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N Roses... I know, its old heavy metal, but I like it.

I too also just discovered Nightwish and think they're totally awesoem, and with that, I'm off to go look for the place with the best price for their cds

You might very well like Dream Theater as well

Indeed an awesome band. I'll second that you should check out Dream Theatre and Sonata Arctica. Opeth may also interest you, although the style is notably different. Also, in spite of the fact that they seem to now be near universally hated, Evanescence have some music that is quite good and would fit nicely into the same playlist as Nightwish.

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Original post by Deckards Quote: Original post by nes8bit Evanescence... and the only reason I say that is because I was downloading some evanescence songs and stumbled upon nightwish through them. Oh nooo, don't talk about Evanescence here :(

Don't be hatin'

Theatre of Tragedy is a great band that got some similarities to Nightwish. Opeth's great too, while it doesn't sound anything like Nightwish, people who like one of them usually likes the other.

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Original post by Avenyr ...Therion... ...But none of these have a hot opera singer in there like NightWish does

Most assuredly false. In fact, Therion has several opera signers in there.

(Choir > Opera singer) -> (Therion > Nightwish)

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Original post by Boris Karloff Quote: Original post by Avenyr ...Therion... ...But none of these have a hot opera singer in there like NightWish does Most assuredly false. In fact, Therion has several opera signers in there. (Choir > Opera singer) -> (Therion > Nightwish)

I was under the impression that the band only consisted of four guys? They use a choir, but they don't have an opera singer in the band unless I'm mistaken. Also, he specified a hot opera singer. [lol]

Nightwish are an excellent band. The music is very technically accomplished and the songs have a high level of variation in speed and style.
As far as similar bands go, here are a few to check out:

Lacuna Coil:
Italian metal/hardrock with a powerful female lead singer – check out the music from their latest CD ‘Comalies’. Very good in my opinion. My long-time favourite alongside…

After Forever:
Absolutely brilliant Dutch metal band – my order for their highly received album ‘Decipher’ arrived from oversees a week or two ago and I am completely hooked. Extremely atmospheric (lots of violins and choirs etc), sinister sounding guitar riffs and vocals to die for. Interesting and political lyrical themes are an added bonus. Occasional growling but it contrasts the lead vocals well. I could not recommend this band more highly than I do.

Epica: very similar to After Forever (also Dutch if I am not mistaken) and well worth checking out.

The Gathering: female-fronted rock from Holland similar to Lacuna Coil and also very good.

Within Temptation: female fronted orchestral metal, similar to AF but more cheery to my ear.

Theatre of Tragedy: this band has been around for a while and is considered one of the founders of this music style. Doom metal, smooth female vocals accompanied by occasional growling.

Evanescence: I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Gothic rock or lame pop, depending on who you ask. Personally I love them. I suspect a lot of the Evanescence haters hate them because they are the mainstream version of a typically underground genre and thus must be shunned.

Evelyn Grace: emotional rock with ethereal female vocals. Download their best track ‘Within My Vision’ from their website.

Argh… I am out of time… here are some others that you might like to check out:

Amaran
Lunatica
Delight
Flowing Tears
This Accession
Mephista Walz
The Shroud

Hope this helps,
Jackson Allan