Fugazi

It's a shame because it was actually a great show starter but understandably Floor would never sing a song about Tarja leaving the band and all that nasty stuff. At least all the songs dealing with Tuomas' heartbreaks and unrequited love have less explicit lyrics so they didn't go out of style so quickly! 😁

It was also one of the first songs I heard, while looking for more NW material on YouTube back in 2015 after I watched GLS at Wacken. What I found was Amaranth and Bye Bye Beautiful, and for a minute there I was confused at the different singers. 😳 I was impressed by the video though, and it's still today one of their better ones IMO, except for those second-rate special FX right there at the end. 😁 But it's a song that Anette really elevated (compared to Marko's demo) and was well suited to her voice range and bubbly style.

Marko is everywhere, isn't he? And this Arjen guy is really creative, and seems to be a nice guy too. Artists seem to enjoy taking part in his projects anyway from what I can see. Ah Dream Theater, they used to be my favourite band some time back, I kind of lost track of them eventually but still have good memories and many albums. But I guess this is a topic for another thread! 😁

A different type of song breakdown, of one of my favourite NW tracks. JW Soundworks - Gethsemane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM6Rwww1QzU Edit: his other NW reactions are all worth watching too.

You're welcome, I'm doing my best to stoke the fire until something actually happens! 😁 May is coming up fast now, I'm certainly looking forward to hearing from you on those dates! 🤘

I like it! Marko sounds great! This is around the time of EMFB... AVANTASIA - Marco Hietala on album! October 30, 2015 https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/band/news/avantasia-marco-hietala-on-album-4073964 "What do Geoff Tate, Dee Snider, Michael Kiske, Robert Mason, Jorn Lande, Bob Catley, Ronnie Atkins, Olli Hartmann and me have in common with Marco Hietala of NIGHTWISH? Yes, we're all good looking, funny and amazingly talented… AND: we'll be on the new AVANTASIA album »Ghostlights« - out on January, 29th 2016. About Marco: It was August 1997 and we were in Helsinki to mix the »Vain Glory Opera« album of EDGUY when someone played the band TAROT to me. That great band seemed to be some sort of a legend in Finland (in Germany TAROT were not really known at the time). A few years later a band called NIGHTWISH had appeared on the map and were about to take the European Metal world upside down. EDGUY played a festival in England with SAXON and amongst others: NIGHTWISH! I remember even though they had a great female vocalist how much I loved the rendition of Ozzy Osbourne's 'Crazy Train' that they did - if I remember correctly - which was sung by their bass player. You know, a lot of bass players are bass players because they wanna be in a band too; and there's only so much damage you can do to the sound of a band with just a bass. Sometimes they're only in the band because they talk enough to organize things or they have a day job to finance the first demo recordings, nice stage clothes, or sun glasses, but at the end of the day, most of them aren't taken seriously because… well, because they're bass players. 🙂 And they're always suspicious... 😉 Anyway - I don't need a bass player because I play bass myself (not as good as Marco, but I am the cheaper solution for my own project, ha!). AND Marco is more than a bass player, he is a proper musician! I have no clue why it took so long until I eventually asked Marco Hietala (that bass playing vocalist with the two beards and the voice!!) if he could imagine singing a role on an AVANTASIA album. Now it is happening! And the results kick ass! You will love it! We're putting together an epic metal record I believe… Furthermore Robert Mason (WARRANT) can been confirmed to sing on the new album as well. Robert first made a name for himself back in the early nineties as the lead singer in LYNCH MOB. Robert is an amazing singer coming from what some would call a different musical world, and he contributed something very unique to the AVANTASIA world. He really gave the songs what they needed! You will hear it! Cheerz, Tobi"

There's a Gear Gods feature from 2015 describing in nice detail all the band's gear, that's the latest information I am aware of. Has it changed much for Decades and now the HN tour? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dhSkfbHXJc Emppu also has this Ruokangas Hellcat that he apparently used for EMFB recordings, did he ever use it live? Not clear if he is still endorsed by ESP. https://www.instagram.com/p/BbhxVK2DO2-/

Thank you, this is huge! 😮 And yes, I'm sure pretty much everyone can give it a try and nail at least a few answers, no pressure and nobody's judging! 😈😉

You are totally badass! 😮😁

Here's Troy's biography from when he first appeared on the official Nightwish website in October 2012 as a "Guest musician on the Imaginaerum World Tour 2012-2013", together with Floor. Biography I was born as a baby in Cumbria to my wondrous parents. I spent my childhood dreaming of being a musician and aged 16 I achieved an end of year school report which read - "Troy seems to be out at sea, and it looks like he's never coming back". Since then, I have been lucky enough to prove them right and have spent all of my life and adventures immersed in writing and performing music. I also have a glorious wife Terri and glorious daughter Mia and live in a little village in North Yorkshire. For more info go to - www.troydonockley.co.uk. TOP 5 Albums 1. Tir na Nog - Alan Stivell 2. Going for the one - Yes 3. Words and Music - Planxty 4. Wish you were Here - Pink Floyd 5. Wrecking Ball - Emmylou Harris Songs 1. Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush 2. Life on Mars - David Bowie 3. Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads 4. Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet 5. Whole of the Moon - The Waterboys Movies 1. Sons of the Desert 2. Ghost and Mrs Muir 3. Dead Poets Society 4. Harvey 5. Jaws Books 1. Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan 2. The Sea Lady - H.G. Wells 3. Complete Short Stories - Mark Twain 4. End of Faith - Sam Harris 5. Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers Drinks 1. Water 2. Shiraz 3. Cream Soda 4. Old Peculiar Ale 5. Laphraoig Food 1. Spinach & Vegetable Masala 2. Crumpets 3. Houmous 4. Oatcakes 5. Cornish Pasties Hobbies Conjuring/close-up Magic, interesting T-Shirts, Baking Bread, The Study of the Origins of Christianity, looking wistfully at Skateboards, making Houmous, detesting Football, loving Freethought and science, talking to myself and being rubbish at DIY. Life philosophy "Laughter is the sound of freedom." Equipment Uilleann Pipes made for me by the late, great Dave Williams. Low Whistles by Bernard Overton. Bouzouki's and Acoustics by Fylde Guitars. Roland keyboards. PRS Electric Guitars and Rotosound Strings. Links Personal website

Well it's not too bad, one can guess the general idea, but the double operation of converting sound to text then translating to another language is a technological challenge!

Just a tell that I'm super jealous lol! As for the headbanging maybe you have a chance now, I think Floor has slowed down a bit, maybe wants to pace herself before osteoarthritis kicks in! 😁

The automatic translation is nearly incomprehensible but I got the main idea. 😆

Nice review! They even had an interview with Floor back in 2020! 😮 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bD7et2A_Wk

Ik spreek geen Nederlands 😁

Interview with Tarja Turunen from Nightwish by Yiannis Mitsakos, 05 October 2004 http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/musicians/tarja_turunen.htm Selected excerpts: It's no secret around here that I am a big fan of female vocalists in metal bands and Tarja Turunen from Nightwish is my favorite lady. The interview was taken a couple of days before the band leaving for the North America tour [August-September 2004] and it's really interesting with info about their next album, the 2005 tour, her future plans and much, much more. [The album Once] was a huge success especially for a heavy metal band. What were the elements in your opinion that made Once so successful? Oh, that’s a good question. Well I believe that it has to do with our background that we’ve already worked for like 7 years. We had created a fan base in so many countries around the world, so they already knew us but basically it’s a music business and there are new companies working with us very well. With the promotion and the hard work we have done, traveling around the world promoting the new album etc. All these campaigns you can get with the TV, the media generally. Then of course, we have a great album in our hands, so…\[laughs]. So I guess probably that also has something to do with the media. It’s a package you know, it’s a package and I think that we were ready to take this challenge. You’ve conquered Europe and the band is bigger than ever. Do you feel that perhaps your destiny lies with Nightwish after all? I mean, a few years ago your top priority was to be an professional opera singer. Not actually that. I’m a chamber singer, a lead singer when I’m making that kind of church music, I’m on my own lead concerts but my goal with Nightwish is still as long as we’re having a good time, as long as we’re doing this music with Nightwish I’m going to be the singer of the band. But on the other hand Nightwish needs to give me time to do my own classical career, I mean the thing with the concerts because I’m not studying anymore in order to be free and concentrate on all the concerts, the touring and stuff like that on my own. So this means that I’m still concentrating on those things too because they keep me going, they keep me healthy – mentally. I don’t think I’d be healthy if I only were a Heavy Metal singer. I am still concentrating on both things. Of course priority number one is Nightwish now. In Once you’re using a much softer voice, less operatic. In my opinion it sounds much better than Century Child. Considering though that your area of expertise is operatic vocals, did you feel weird or perhaps uncomfortable? I feel very comfortable with Once because I have tried to change my singing style with Nightwish already since Century Child because Tuomas requested that, the songs requested that. Also it’s easier for more people to listen to this kind of voice. It has been hard work and I didn’t manage to do that on Century Child, I was not very happy with it. On Once it’s all very natural, how I’m singing and what I’m singing. But as I said, it has been really hard work because I’ve been a classical singer for the last ten years so it was hard to start over again and think of different styles. Of course I’m always singing with my classical techniques, I never sing with my poor speaking voice – I cannot do that anymore\[laughs]! So now I’m very comfortable with what Tuomas has done because he was able to write for my voice; it was also a lesson for him as it was for me. Many people consider Once to be a once in a lifetime album. How easy do you think it will ever be for Nightwish and especially Tuomas to top Once in the future? He has already written three new songs for Nightwish! \[laughs] [...] Yeah and he has told me that it’s going to be a really better album than Once. Do you believe me??? he asked me and I said Yes I do! If you say it’s going to be a better album, I do!. \[laughs] I couldn’t help noticing that the entire theme and lyrics of the album were a lot darker than the previous ones. What inspired Tuomas and perhaps the rest of the band to take that turn? Well yes, the album’s completely more heavier and darker yet still I think that Century Child was like a shock for everybody to read the lyrics because it was really rough writing and deeply darkly emotional album. I think Once has more light in it. The lyrics are mostly from Tuomas’ diary; he’s really very honest with his music – he’s writing from his diary, his own experiences, ambitions, his own dreams.He’s like an open book! It’s amazing that somebody can write like that. How do you feel that metal fans have been towards you all this time? Amazing. I mean, as a female singer in Heavy Metal…it’s not easy being a female singer in Heavy Metal. It’s not easy being a woman in Rock or Pop; you need to take care of your looks, you need to take care of your attitude. But for me when I entered the Heavy Metal circle people already knew my background, that I was not a Heavy Metal singer or Rock singer, they knew that I was a classical singer. I have kept that attitude and I have kept that classical side besides Nightwish and they know that. They really respect me and that’s amazing. It has been an amazing experience for me to be with Nightwish and tour around the world and meet people. They really appreciate what I’m doing and that’s what keeps me going! So do you think that people would have the same attitude towards you in other kinds of music, if you were Pop or just Classical? If you think about Classical, there are many Nightwish fans coming to my Classical concerts. It’s interesting for them to really hear my real voice. The full capability of your voice… Yeah and they go wow, this is your voice? We only hear 1/3 of your voice in Nightwish concerts, so it’s interesting for them. Some of the people who probably discovered Nightwish a couple of months ago, compare you a lot to Evanesence, which has pissed off a lot of your fans. They even compared the cover artwork of Once to that of an Evanesence single… It was not meant to be like that, it did not have anything to do with Evanesence’s cover. We just realized that afterwards, you know. Hey if people think that this is similar, so let them think. It has nothing to do with that really. I can also mention that when Tuomas heard Evanesence’s music for the first time, he was completely pissed off. He was pissed off by the fact that it’s a totally different style (that of Evanesence) and because they had a woman singing and because it had a little bit of metal inside it…but it’s a totally different style and kind of music. People tend to compare our music to Evanesence and it’s very funny because there are not that many elements there that we have in common. \[laughs] With your North American tour on mind, how are things there? (The interview was taken a couple of days before that tour). It’s a very hard market area. Our albums have been released in USA but nothing big happened there… Perhaps it’s due to the MTV industry of nu-metal. Yes and you should really be there to work hard for three or four months in a row and we have time to be there one month. It has to do a lot with promotion, it’s very hard for European bands to win the US. Can you see yourself having a family and still touring with Nightwish in say…ten years from now? Not touring like this, I don’t think so! \[laughs] We have been thinking about it, talking about it with the other guys in the band and well…some of us already have kids and wives waiting at home so like if Nightwish is still alive in the future…it’ll probably be like two concerts every year or something like that! \[laughs] Maybe you’ll be just a studio band? Yeah, maybe that or everyone of us will be doing something different and we’ll just be getting together again for some concerts or who knows. Nightwish has always been a band that doesn’t look or think much ahead into the future. Right now we only know what we have to do until 2006 and that’s enough for us I think. Full interview here.

TARJA TURUNEN's Husband Files Lawsuit Over NIGHTWISH Book November 13, 2009 https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/tarja-turunen-s-husband-files-lawsuit-over-nightwish-book/ Marcelo Cabuli, the husband of former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, and his business partners have filed a lawsuit against the parties behind the NIGHTWISH book "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996-2006" for slander. Named in the lawsuit were the publishing house Like Kustannus Oy, its CEO Päivi Isosaari and the author of the book, Marko "Mape" Ollila. Cabuli claims that the information published about him and his businesses in the book is completely false. Isosaari, however, stands behind the 380-page book, which chronicles NIGHTWISH's rise to the status of one of the most successful symphonic metal acts in the world, including the circumstances that led to the departure of Turunen. "Well, I did read the text and I authorized it to be published and therefore I stand behind the book," Isosaari told the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. In his 2006 review of the book, Jarkko Jokelainen of Helsingin Sanomat wrote, "The book points the finger [for the split with Tarja] most firmly in the direction of Marcelo Cabuli, husband and personal manager of the band's former vocal soloist Tarja Turunen. With every turning page, the charges against the Argentine Cabuli get heavier and heavier. "The portrait of Marcelo Cabuli depicts a money-grasping, less-than-honest, arbitrary, and manipulative manager who was engaged on setting up his wife's solo career and who drove a wedge between her and the other members of the power metal band. "NIGHTWISH's contractual dealings and touring plans became a painful exercise, as there was 'a Hispanic in the works' at every turn. "Against this background, it is somewhat awkward that the defendant himself does not get a hearing in the book, even though the other sources close to the band are given full rein to open their hearts and mouths. Not even Tarja Turunen gets to comment on her husband's doings. "It is probable that the decision is the couple's own, but this does not disguise the fact that it is the book's greatest drawback. The author Marko 'Mape' Ollila has sought to be even-handed in his coverage, but in part for the reasons above, this band-history inevitably becomes a speech on behalf of the male members of the group and other figures in the background. "NIGHTWISH would seem on the basis of this work to have been so divided into two distinct camps that both sides of the story cannot be fitted between the covers of one book." [...] TARJA TURUNEN's Husband Pursuing Defamation Case Over NIGHTWISH Book April 13, 2011 https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/tarja-turunen-s-husband-pursuing-defamation-case-over-nightwish-book/ Marcelo Cabuli, the husband of former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, and his business partners are demanding 50,000 euros (approximately $72,500) in defamation damages from the parties behind the NIGHTWISH book "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996-2006". Named in the lawsuit were the publishing house Like Kustannus Oy and the author of the book, Marko "Mape" Ollila. According to the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, the Helsinki District Court began processing the defamation case last Thursday in a preparatory session. Cabuli dropped some of his previous demands, such as that the author and publisher should receive harsher punishment because "Cabuli is a citizen of Argentina," according to Ilta-Sanomat. Cabuli and his three Brazilian business partners are demanding 15,000-euro compensation each. They claim that the information published about them in the book is completely false. Like Kustannus Oy CEO Päivi Isosaari and Ollila deny the charges and stand behind the 380-page book, which chronicles NIGHTWISH's rise to the status of one of the most successful symphonic metal acts in the world, including the circumstances that led to the departure of Turunen. Isosaari and Ollila insist that they had good reason to believe that the claims of the book were true and they intend to call Ollila's sources, including several influential music-business figures, as their witnesses. [...] Court Dismisses TARJA TURUNEN's Husband's Defamation Case Over NIGHTWISH Book December 12, 2011 https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/court-dismisses-tarja-turunen-s-husband-s-defamation-case-over-nightwish-book/ According to YLE, the Helsinki District Court has dismissed charges of libel related to the contents of an authorized book about the Finnish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH. [...] The book, which was published in Finnish in 2006 and in English three years later, blames Cabuli for the events leading up to Turunen's dramatic expulsion from the band in late 2005. The court ruled that the book — which criticizes Cabuli on only a few of its 380 pages — did not detrimentally affect his work or reputation in South America. In addition, the court determined that Ollila did not maliciously portray Cabuli in a negative light. As a writer, Ollila had the right to report what people familiar with NIGHTWISH told him in interviews, the District Court said. [...]

I think I missed this one when it came out... A return to GLS for Mike (MTR) with a more technical attempt at explaining Floorgasm. Not sure if he proves anything but his analysis is entertaining nonetheless, in a Da Vinci Code kind of way! 😁 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ql4Y12xbck

I'm curious about the name of this tour. 'Once Upon A Tour' was seen at least on a poster in Romania (Bucharest, November 2004) but most official material had either 'Touring The World 2004' or 'Once World Tour 2005'. Was 'Once Upon A Tour' an official name at all? 2004-2005 Tour books from tarjas_collection_brazil on Instagram. 2004: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQlx8ILg_fS/ 2005: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtmO_OMZlC/

She certainly did, but I'm sorry to tell you it wasn't Floor, just a Russian impersonator, I thought you would have figured it out by now! That explains why she didn't have the proper show outfit. 😉 While Floor certainly had some amazing costumes over the years, my favourites are some of the less elaborate ones. This one for instance, very simple and classy, still has lots of appeal. Decades tour.

Haha thanks! I will find the time, I will probably listen to the interview while vacuuming the house. 😁 Guide vocals, huh? Like Marko singing the Imaginaerum demos before they chose the new singer? Interesting.

Next up in the AFAS setlist, Shallow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adPGSh5ktZo Floor sings 'tell me something girl' twice again. At Beste Zangers it definitely sounded like a little goof, from her body language I thought she realized she just made a little mistake there. Now did she decide to stick with it or was the lyric alteration planned from the start? 🤔

That's... a long interview! 😯

Here's an early interview on Finnish TV where Tarja and Tuomas tell about how AFF was received. It's not groundbreaking content, but just good fun to see them so young and (as Tuomas would probably put it) innocent. 20 May 1998

I was curious about Tarja featuring on a Scorpions' song -- "The Good Die Young" from the 2010 album "Sting In The Tail" -- but I was disappointed to find out it's really a token presence as a sort of backing vocalist. Here is "The Good Die Young" is all its lip-sync glory. 😁