Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vanska after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vanska was replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.

In early 1997, following the release of the Nightwish demo, Jukka "Julius" Nevalainen joined the band, and acoustic guitar was replaced with electric guitar. The addition of heavy metal elements to the band's existing experimental style gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the Nightwish sound.  The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, Angels Fall First. In May 1997, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records, who wanted to release it as the band's debut album of the same name. The label offered Nightwish to a record deal, and the band returned to the studio to record four more songs to accompany the tracks of the demo. The full-length album was released in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single "The Carpenter" reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart. "The Carpenter" single was released as a split with label mates Children of Bodom and Thy Serpent; the album is also one of the two releases which features Holopainen's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks alongside Turunen's.  The band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee in December 1997. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member as an additional keyboard player and a backing vocalist for Turunen. There were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording Oceanborn, so they asked Sami Vanska to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Grat. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because Turunen was finishing her schooling, and Nevalainen and Vuorinen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service. Nightwish returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece to record their follow-up album for Spinefarm Records.

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