Finland-based symphonic metal storytellers NIGHTWISH are kicking off their highly anticipated 26-date headlining tour of North America at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey on February 19th! The trek hits six Canadian cities plus Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and New Orleans, then closing out in Tampa, Florida on March 23rd. Direct support is Finnish melodic metal heroes and label mates SONATA ARCTICA. Opening the momentous night will be Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN!

NIGHTWISH will be touring in support of their eight album Endless Forms Most Beautiful as well as upcoming release of the special tour edition of the album with a bonus DVD, that will be available on the February 19th tour kick-off date.via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Watch the video for the NIGHTWISH single "Elán" ' a loving tribute to the stars of Finnish entertainment who came before them - on the Nuclear Blast YouTube channel: https://goo.gl/PFPgWN

SONATA ARCTICA is touring in support their eighth studio album, Pariah's Child, which debuted in Finland at #1. Watch the music video for 'The Wolves Die Young" on the Nuclear Blast YouTube Channel!

Tickets for the confirmed tour dates are now on sale at EnterTheVault.com and at all other ticket outlets.

A limited number of VIP Meet & Greet tickets (which include a poster signed by the band + a tour program) are available for purchase for each show.

Confirmed dates for the upcoming NIGHTWISH 2015 tour with Sonata Arctica and Delain are:

2/19/2016 Starland Ballroom ' Sayreville, NJ
2/20/2016 Webster Theater ' Hartford, CT
2/21/2016 Metropolis ' Montreal, QC CANADA
2/22/2016 Music Hall ' London, ON CANADA
2/24/2016 Carnegie Music Hall ' Pittsburgh, PA
2/25/2016 LC Pavilion ' Columbus, OH
2/26/2016 Royal Oak Music Theatre ' Royal Oak, MI
2/27/2016 Rave ' Milwaukee, WI
2/29/2016 First Avenue ' Minneapolis, MN
3/01/2016 Burton Cummings Theatre ' Winnipeg, MB CANADA
3/02/2016 O'Briens Events Center ' Saskatoon, SK CANADA
3/03/2016 Winspear Center ' Edmonton AB CANADA
3/05/2016 MacEwan Hall Ballroom ' Calgary, AB CANADA
3/06/2016 Wilma Theatre 'Missoula, MT
3/07/2016 Showbox SoDo ' Seattle, WA
3/08/2016 Knitting Factory ' Boise, ID
3/10/2016 Knitting Factory ' Reno, NV
3/11/2016 City National Civic of San Jose ' San Jose, CA
3/12/2016 The Grove ' Anaheim, CA
3/14/2016 Rialto Theatre ' Tucson, AZ
3/15/2016 City Auditorium ' Colorado Springs, CO
3/16/2016 Uptown Theater ' Kansas City, MO
3/18/2016 Diamond Ballroom ' Oklahoma City, OK
3/19/2016 Aztec Music Hall ' San Antonio, TX
3/20/2016 New Orleans Civic Theatre ' New Orleans, LA
3/21/2016 Iron City Live ' Birmingham, AL
3/23/2016 The Ritz ' Tampa, FL

With the second leg of the North American Endless Forms Most Beautiful tour just around the corner, NIGHTWISH are releasing a strictly limited (no re-prints!), special tour edition of their current record, coming with a bonus DVD, out in North America on February 19, 2016 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

The DVD will contain the 21 making-of episodes that were featured at various stages of the album release as well as two new, unreleased live-clips for "Yours Is An Empty Hope" and "Stargazers". Also on the DVD are five special clips including documentary scenes for the songs '"Planet Hell", "Last Of The Wilds", "Storytime", "Arabesque" and "Last Ride Of The Day". Fans will be be treated with a gallery of over 400 pictures that were taken on the road and during the promotional period for Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

ABOUT NIGHTWISH

Hugely influential, unique, and categorically unrivaled in the heavy metal pantheon, Finland-based symphonic master storytellers NIGHTWISH continue to expand the breadth and scope of their artistic vision with each successive release. Having received over sixty Gold and Platinum awards and selling more than seven million albums worldwide, theirs is an esteemed place among Finland's most successfully exported rock bands.

An avid reader whose childhood aspiration was to become a biologist, NIGHTWISH band leader, song composer, founding member, and keyboard player Tuomas Holopainen cites the works of American humanist, poet, and essayist Walt Whitman, English author & journalist Christopher Hitchens, and English evolutionary biologist & writer, Professor Richard Dawkins as inspirations to the themes explored in the new material that became the band's forthcoming epic 78-minute album for 2015, Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

The goals for this collection of songs were threefold: 1) To reflect the bliss of existence and its temporary character; 2) To capture the poetic nature of science; and 3) To musically illustrate the capacity of science to be profoundly spiritual. To that end, NIGHTWISH befittingly took up residence in the wilderness of Hattula, Finland with producer Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen to record their eighth studio release. The album title itself is an excerpt from the writings of English naturalist Charles Darwin, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory via his 1859 book On the Origin of Species.

A milestone in their 20-year career, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is resplendent in a sophisticated beauty and proudly features the participation of London's The Metro Voices choir group, London's Young Musicians Children's Choir, and the Orchestre De Grandeur led by the esteemed orchestral arranger Pip Williams, who teaches Music and Music Technology at the London College of Music.

In the album's opening track, "Shudder Before The Beautiful," we hear the regal voice of narrator Richard Dawkins, who also recites the Charles Darwin passage that gave the album its name in the album's grandiose 24-minute closing track, "The Greatest Show On Earth." An endeavour demanding that attention be paid to the rich detail in its spoken words, lyrics, and background noises, Endless Forms Most Beautiful includes the sounds of animal life on Earth as did the Voyager Golden Records on the two space probes launched into interstellar space in 1977. The digital single for "Elán" appropriately includes a bonus track entitled "Sagan," a musical tribute to American cosmologist, astronomer, and astrophysicist Carl Sagan who hosted the award-winning television series Cosmos back in the 1980s. This program - whose impact continues to radiate around the world - was re-launched in 2014 with new host American cosmologist and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The compositions on Endless Forms Most Beautiful are on-par with an emotionally engaging film score and brilliantly showcase the talented voice of NIGHTWISH's electrifying Dutch frontwoman Floor Jansen, who was announced as an official member of the band ' along with British multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley ' in October of 2014.

Tthe soaring melodies, momentous choruses, and grand orchestrations in the music of NIGHTWISH are essential components of their endearing and enduring magic. Endless Forms Most Beautiful urges us to remember that our time on Earth is fleeting, to embrace the opportunities to gaze at the Milky Way on a cold winter's night, to ponder the unfathomable vastness of space! and most importantly, to share such moments with the people we love in this limited time we're granted on this "pale blue dot" we call home.

"At the back of our brains, there is a forgotten blaze
or burst of astonishment at our own existence.
The object of the artistic and the spiritual life
is to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder."
- G.K. Chesterton

NIGHTWISH members include:

Floor Jansen - Vocals
Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards
Marco Hietala ' Bass & Vocals
Jukka Nevalainen - Drums
Emppu Vuorinen - Guitar
Troy Donockley - Pipes, Flutes, Whistles

Visit NIGHTWISH online at www.NIGHTWISH.com

Like: www.facebook.com/NIGHTWISH
Follow: www.twitter.com/NIGHTWISHBAND
Watch: www.youtube.com/NIGHTWISHOFFICIAL

Pre-order Endless Forms Most Beautiful tour edition here:
https://nblast.de/NIGHTWISHFormsNB

Or at the NIGHTWISH web shop:
https://www.madsupply.com/shop/item?id=1247