Fugazi

Arjen has a knack for recruiting talented artists to work with. I was checking out Electric Castle Live and Other Tales, a live anniversary album to discover that Fish, former singer of one of my favourite non-metal bands (Marillion) was invited to sing during those shows. They even played one of the better known (read: commercial) Marillion songs, Kayleigh, during the show. Weird stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz5M08mrCG8

Good interview, very insightful! “After the [Tarja] split, the next few months were really, really dark. The things that really saved me from doing anything silly were my family, my close friends and the film The Village by M. Night Shyamalan. I watched it twice a day for weeks. That film made all the difference. Just the idea of this community living in peace in the middle of the wood, secluded from the world. Plus it has the best soundtrack ever written. It just filled me with comfort and hope. I was never suicidal, it wasn’t even close, but I was in a really dark place. It was the worst period of my life. Call it depression, but not suicidal. I want to make that clear.”

No worries, I hope you're doing well despite being busy! 🙂 Anyway you certainly know Tarja, you've got a perfect 10! 🤘 TarjaWorld is recruiting, we need you! 😁

Ok here's my belated quick review of "A Nightwish Story" by Mape Ollila, companion book to the Nightwish permanent exhibition of the same name in Kitee, Finland. Before I start, it must be noted that the book has an unusual structure. It's not a biography or straightforward history of the band, like the official biography. Given that it's based on the Nightwish exhibition, it follows the structure of the exhibition which is divided into thematic rooms. Therefore the book itself follows a meandering path which makes it a perfect guide book to the exhibition but a slightly jarring read for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, as a companion book it accomplishes everything expected of it. It's a great way to visit or revisit the exhibition without actually being there, or using the book as a textual support for a virtual visit (a worthy experience if you haven't tried it). There are quality pictures of many if not most of the exhibits, and the text completes the information available in the exhibition rooms. A commentary on the form factor: the book is a nice square format with a hard cover, allowing for big enough photos without going into the unwieldy coffee-table format. The paper and printing are of good quality, and the layout is simple and professional. Of great interest is a foreword by Tuomas himself, and I'll come back to this later. There's also a short preface by Esko Valtaoja, astronomer and narrator of "Please Learn The Setlist in 48 Hours". "Meadows Of Heaven", the first chapter, is about the early years (the Tarja era). This part is pretty much a very condensed version of the official biography from the same author. The main draw are the pictures, a collection of photos and items from a bygone era. Of note, Tuomas' saxophone, a tape of the first Nightwish demo, a ticket for faux cover band 'End Of An Era', a photo of Tuomas touring with Nattvindens Grat and many more. "A Lifetime of Adventure", the second chapter and exhibition room, is firstly about Tuomas' Scrooge solo work. Then there's a section about the former band members with short biographies, another about literary references in Tuomas' work, and finally short biographies of the current band members. If this seems a bit disjointed, it's again because the book follows the physical layout of the exhibition and therefore is not strictly chronological. Jukka Koskinen doesn't yet have a dedicated section in the exhibition, and the Nightwish family tree will need to grow a new limb! The section about literary references is new material, and provides an eye-opening scan of many of the literary sources used in Nightwish lyrics of songs old and new, from fantasy to science. It's a great read even for knowledgeable fans, I definitely learned new things! "Higher Than Hope" is a short chapter covering the trophy room, a collection of awards and statistics. "Noise" is a chapter about the band's post-Tarja years. After a section describing and depicting the artifacts in the 'Noise' room, the text picks up the Nightwish story a couple of years after the End Of Era show where the official biography left us back in 2005. The text sticks to the facts and lacks the deeply personal insight of the biography, and obviously skims over any internal band feuds as would be expected of this kind of book. Nevertheless it's a nice recap of the Anette and Floor years and certainly covers the essentials. It ends with the release of Human Nature and the pandemic so it's pretty much up to date given that the book was released in 2021. This part of the exhibition includes costumes from the Noise video, a grand piano that used to belong to Tuomas, a lifesize snowman from the Imaginaerum movie, and the tree-piano from the Élan video among many more items. "Elvenpath" is a short section with photographs of studios and arrangers Nightwish have worked with over the years, early band photo shoots and more, all adorning a passageway in the exhibit. "The Blue" describes a room of musical instruments belonging to the band and various branded clothes. "Nightwish and Science" is a short compilation of biological discoveries named for Nightwish band members or songs, such as Sciophila Holopaineni the mosquito. Finally the book is rounded out with some factual data about the band, including band line-up changes, a full discography, and an exclusive crossword puzzle (in Finnish). Now going back to the introduction, Tuomas is asked to comment on his creative process and what the essence of Nightwish is. He spends some time explaining that one must listen to the music first and not focus on the newspapers and the gossip. As I mentioned elsewhere in the forums, Tuomas admits that if there was anything he could have done differently in Nightwish, would be to hold their privacy closer to the vest. He wishes Nightwish had managed to keep a more mysterious public image, but in his view those wild behind-the-scenes documentaries ruined it for the band. And indeed, since the EMFB tour and except for Floor's efforts there's been very little fan interaction and insight into their private or even professional lives, so I wonder if they'll ever allow access to enough material for a writer to pen a follow-up to the official biography. 🤔 Anyway, as a companion to the Nightwish exhibition this is a brilliant and well-illustrated book, well worth the read. A detailed biography it is not, but it does bring the Nightwish story up to date in a condensed form, covering a lot of ground along the way. Get it while you can! 🤘 https://nightwishstory.com/en/product/a-nightwish-story-exhibition-book -- but do expect international shipping to be prohibitive. 😐 Is it me or shipping fees have increased significantly since last year?

Thanks! I'm sorry to hear that the book is not going to be released anytime soon, I had the feeling it was almost a done deal. Short stories sound interesting, I hope it will see the light of day eventually. I could even imagine a concept work merging literature and music, a bit like Charlotte Wessels' novella The Deviant Hearts.

Actually I did! 😄 I realize I never came through and post my thoughts about the book, but I have plenty of notes and I'll get them organized and posted later today! 😁 And while I have the chance, I want to thank you for what truly amounts to the Nightwish "bible" of the early years... Still a fascinating read and a defining work for a generation of NW fans! 🤘

I don't have the full setlist, but a number of recordings have surfaced on YouTube. Henk Poort took the stage again for Phantom Of The Opera (and Dangerous Game): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68fI1TrTvg And Oblivion was performed live for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Sx_EeND8w More here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnRZG2KlxbhDIWZHduGESx5A_HcsrDaml

Just leaving this here... 🔥

Troy performing some magic tricks for the band and entourage... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CvccELMhMc But the best were censored! 😢😁 Judging from the comments, filmed after a show in Argentina, around December 14-15 2012.

I've shared to our YouTube channel this video of Floor's karaoke performance of Colors Of The Wind (from the Pocahontas animation movie). Now I know this was filmed in a Thailand resort with the whole band on holiday. But I can't remember if it was during the Imaginaerum or EMFB tour, or a more precise date? The video quality is poor, but any patrons that night must have been impressed with the 'amateur' singer! 😆

Robin and Martijn on interview about Eye Of Melian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q72llx9Cy4s

Tomorrow (Sunday) at Paaspop is Floor's first solo show since AFAS in September 2021, and also the last of her tour. I expect her to sing 'Fire' live for the first time, and perhaps this will be a shorter setlist due to it being a festival. Which reminds me that we haven't had a new AFAS video in about a month now, what's the hold up?

Techs were a bit rusty during the pandemic! 😁

Got this in my e-mail, a special offer for the Lowell show: Other than that, only one week before the tour restarts... for good this time? 🤔🙏

Ok now who is this singer? I have no idea... this is the first snippet from a new song, "What Lies Beneath". Only on Facebook from what I can tell. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=402575754620817 Edit: and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcSjAa6lYyN/ It does sound very much like Delain I must say. Also in the comments, many guesses are debunked. And from Instagram:

A fourth Eye Of Melian single has been released, "Everstrong". It's another satisfying piece of music, and Johanna's is totally in the groove again, but the big surprise (for me anyway) is that backing vocals are provided by Martijn himself! Did he ever sing with Delain? He's doing a great job! I love the layered vocals in the verse, there are at least two voice tracks for Johanna plus Martijn's voice. This is gearing up to be a solid album in the genre.

Well done! Joanna's knit-work really was the star of the show, all her items were spoken for (both times) in a couple of days if not hours! 😮

Oops just realized I have never posted the quiz answers... Here you go! 😁

Still plenty of time left, and there are signed (double) CDs available. There's always the pain of exchange and shipping fees though. 😔

That's a different look, for "The Voice of Finland" 2022. 😮

EoM's crowdfunding campaign is doing well, with 5 days to go they have reached more than 93% of their goal. Also new single "Everstrong" is coming out in a couple of days. 👍

You might be interested in this gallery of preview photos from Sing Meinen Song... Looks like everyone is having fun! https://www.prisma.de/tv-programm/Sing-meinen-Song-Das-Tauschkonzert,37495981

More details about the new Crewish album: Surprising collaboration: Tarja Turunen re-recorded the old Nightwish song Turunen's voice will be heard on the new album of the band Crewish. Anna-Maija Flag 4 April 2022 https://www.iltalehti.fi/musiikki/a/b8579db2-45df-4fd8-8e7f-6dfdee8fec9e The band, made up of the backing band of the band Nightwish, has received a surprising visitor for their new album. The Crewish band is made up of Nightwish technicians. The band started when the corona pandemic was also taken by the work of technicians and they decided to make new arrangements for Nightwish’s songs. Now Crewish is getting another album called Twice , which will be released in May. Tarja Turunen, the former soloist of Nightwish, sings on one of the songs on the new album . This is reportedly the first time Turunen has sung Nightwish's music on the record since she was separated from the band in 2005. Crewish member Kimmo Ahola says that Turunen is happy to collaborate. However, Ahola first wanted to make sure that this was also suitable for Tuomas Holopainen of Nightwish. - Tuomas replied that of course. I wanted both of us to know about it and we play with so-called open cards, Ahola tells Iltalehti. Ahola and a few other Crewish members have been working with Nightwish since Turunen was involved. Turunen has lived abroad for a long time, formerly in Argentina and now in Spain, where she recorded her parts. - I told Tarja that we don't have a record company and we're trying to raise money for technicians, so we can't afford big compensation. It didn't bother her, Ahola says. Crewish wanted to make completely new versions of Nightwish’s songs. One of them was Dark Chest of Wonders, released in 2004. That's what they wanted Turunen in. - We wanted it to be a song that Tarja herself sang on an earlier album. It wouldn’t have felt right to ask her to sing the new Nightwish. Even with Holopainen Tuomas Holopainen will also take part in Crewish's upcoming album. - Tuomas came a little behind the tree. He heard about our arrangement of the song I Want My Tears Back and asked to play along with it. That, of course, suited us, Ahola says. Holopainen has been excited about Crewish’s project from the beginning, which has been important to Ahola as they adapt Holopainen’s works. - We don't want to make fun of the original songs or make them any humor. We make adjustments with a little twinkle in the corner of our eye, but serious nonetheless. ----- Tuomas Holopainen and Tarja Turunen with Nightwish-Crew's new album It’s been a long time since the former bandmates were on the same record last time. Vesa Siltanen 4/4/2022 https://www.inferno.fi/uutiset/tuomas-holopainen-ja-tarja-turunen-mukana-nightwish-crewn-uudella-levylla/ When the corona pandemic put a stop to gigs, the band’s tour staff - roudars, lighting and sound technicians, drivers and so on - came under financial discipline. The gig staff of Finnish Nightwish came up with the opportunity to earn a little extra by recording and releasing a album called Crewish on which they interpreted the songs of their employer, Nightwish. The Unemployed Blacksmiths EP, released in the Fall of 2020, will be followed in the spring by Twice , which includes the EP songs and seven new interpretations. What makes the album especially interesting is that after a break of many years, it brings Nightwish leader Tuomas Holopainen and singer Tarja Turunen , who was separated from the band in 2005, together again on the same album. "We decided to encourage our minds and ask Turku to sing the song Dark Chest of Wonders , which he gladly agreed to," guitar technician Antti Toiviainen tells the Future of the Countryside . “Holopainen, on the other hand, got excited about arranging the song I Want My Tears Back so that he demanded to be able to play that song. Of course we had to agree to this. ” Turunen recorded his vocals in his country of residence in Spain and Holopainen in Kitee. In addition to Toiviainen, Kimmo Ahola , a mixer belonging to the “soul” of the Crewish project, says that the former bandmates could fit on the same record without any problems. “Tuomas had nothing against it, it was just ok for him,” Ahola says . Crewish’s Twice will be released in May. Nightwish will perform at the Nokia Arena in Tampere on April 22 and on April 24. At the Helsinki Ice Rink. In late spring, the band will head out on a North American tour. ------- So combined with the picture above, we can pretty much guess the track list of the new album: Dark Chest Of Wonders (feat. Tarja Turunen) Storytime Amaranth (*) Last Ride Of The Day Wish I Had An Angel (*) Ever Dream Nemo (*) Élan (*) Sleeping Sun (*) I Want My Tears Back (feat. Tuomas Holopainen) Eva The Greatest Show On Earth (*) Originally released on Unemployed Blacksmiths (2000). Which gives another meaning to the album title -- they'll make us pay for the same songs Twice. 😆😉

The new Crewish album to feature Tarja and Tuomas? 😮 This was also posted on the Crewish Facebook page, so it's apparently not fake news but could be a late April Fools joke? Giant surprise over Nightwish after a long break - Holopainen and ex-member Turunen perform on the same album Tomi Olli - 4 April 2022 https://www.maaseuduntulevaisuus.fi/ihmiset-kulttuuri/artikkeli-1.1879865 Crewish is a band of Nightwish technicians for whom the record is also important to make up for the loss of livelihood caused by the corona. The technicians of the heavier Finnish music star Nightwish did not lament the crown's work. In 2020, they released a new version of five songs from Nightwish on the EP. Now, the Crewish band, which includes eleven technicians, will release their second album, “Twice,” in May, and the first single will be heard in April. The album features seven new songs as well as all the songs on the EP. Crewish's souls in the project have been Nightwish's mixer Kimmo Ahola , guitar technician Antti Toiviainen and keyboard player technician Tero Kinnunen . "The songs have been made with completely new arrangements again, including jazz, iron wire and techno," explains Toiviainen. The Twice album also comes with a pretty bombshell that Toiviainen is excited about and can be expected to delight many of Nightwish’s friends who have been around for over 25 years. "We decided to encourage our minds and ask Tarja Turku , who was fired in 2005, to sing the song Dark Chest of Wonders, which she gladly agreed to." “ Tuomas Holopainen , on the other hand, got excited about arranging the song I Want My Tears Back so that he demanded to be able to play that song. Of course we had to agree to this, ”Laughs Toiviainen. Turunen recorded his vocals in his current country of residence in Spain and Holopainen in his hometown of Kitee. Otherwise, the new album was largely recorded at Ahola's studio in Kauhava. Toiviainen is experiencing quite a stir in history: Turunen was suddenly separated from the band that rose to the top of his popularity. The matter was dealt with through the public when the gaps had become inflamed. “What makes it interesting is that Tarja and Tuomas are now on the same album after a break of years. In addition to them, Tapio Wilska is also involved . ” Wilska has been a technician in the early stages of Nightwish and has also performed as a singer in some songs. Kimmo Ahola says that Holopainen was very positive that the old bandmates are on the same album again. "Tuomas had nothing against it, it was just ok for him." He hopes the new album will be on the minds of listeners. “Still, you can never please everyone. However, we have done everything seriously and with respect to the songs, even though there has been a splash in our eyes. ” “The album will go on wide distribution like its predecessor, which has been sold in dozens of countries. The purpose of the album is to bring much-needed extra income to our technicians, whose bread was really cramped during the Corona era. ” Nightwish returns to the stage on April 22nd. At the Nokia Arena in Tampere and 24.4. In the Helsinki Ice Rink. In May, the band will launch their North American tour of Canada. --- Looking closely at this picture, one can make out some of the songs: "DCOW" (Dark Chest Of Wonders), Storytime, Amaranth (again!), then at the bottom "TB" (I Want My Tears Back?), Eva and "We Were Here" (possibly a part of The Greatest Show On Earth?).