Marko Hietala

Finnish heavy metal personality, bassist, guitarist and vocalist Marko Hietala is known for his participation in the bands Nightwish, Tarot, Northern Kings and Sinergy. Born in Kuopio on January 14, 1966, he made his debut in 1982 with the band Tarot, on bass and vocals, before joining Sinergy in 1999, until joining Nightwish in 2001. With the latter, he formed a songwriting trio with keyboardist/vocalist Tuomas Holopainen and singer Tarja Turunen, replaced in 2007 by Anette Olzon. Increasingly composing and singing with Nightwish, he continued to lead Tarot's destiny until 2011, and in the meantime formed another band, Northern Kings, with whom he recorded two albums. However, from 2019, Hietala emancipated himself towards a solo career with the album Mustan Sydämen Rovio, revealing new facets of his musical identity. He left Nightwish in 2021 to devote himself to his new occupation, and reunited with Tarja Turunen in 2024 for a duet on "Left on Mars". Several isolated singles follow until the release of his second personal album, Roses from the Deep, in 2025.