I've already gone catalogue on Nightwish, so I won't be buying this. Some strange song choices missing here, since most of the Tarja era smashes are missing, but I suspect that's because these songs are the ones Flor will be singing on tour.

Please note: if you're going to see them on this tour (like me!), you get this CD for free the night of the show. so enjoy!

why do i not know this band?

tell me about them.

They are the biggest symphonic metal band on the planet, combining the power metal sound of Iron Maiden and Helloween with an operatic female vocal delivery style and fast keyboards. From Finland, you can hear some of their traditional musical influences in the music, but their leader, songwriter, and keyboardist extraordinaire (Tuomas Holopainen) is really influenced by movie scores. So his songs are very lush, and theatrical.

The other big thing to know about the band - They've been through 3 female vocalists, each of them have a slightly different sound, and Tuomas writes to the strengths of the women singing. so they sound slightly different. Their male vocalist has been there from the start.
Tarja Turunen - everything before Dark Passion Play - the most operatic of the 3. Songs to check - Wishmaster, Oceanborn, and everything else listed on this comp.
Annete Olzen - DPP and Storytime - Amaranthe and Storytime are great examples. Tracks 4-6, and Ghost Love Score.
Flor Jansen - Endless Forms Most Beautiful (latest album) - I prefer the title track from it, but she does tracks 1-3 on CD1

They are not my favourite power / symphonic metal band but they are way up there.

This 2CD set is coming out next Friday (March 9th) and Amazon has reduced the pre-order price by $4, down to $11.99:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078Y7J7T9/?tag=imwan-20