Fugazi

A new cover, Agape (original by Swedish band Kadawatha) - I'll have to give it a few more spins, but it's not one that grabs my interest at first listen. Also there's something about the mix that doesn't appear to match the quality of her previous covers, but it's maybe only me. Edit: Here's the actual video:

Now it's official, the Russian tour has been posponed to dates still unknown. No more shows until November and the European tour. In the meantime, there's still the Floor shows in Amsterdam, an Auri album, an Anette solo album, and a couple more things to keep us busy.

From her Indiegogo campaign page:

A new interview with Johanna and Tuomas, in Finnish only.

Something's happening with Floor's show schedule in Amsterdam, apparently they're grouping shows so instead of 6 (two per day) there will be only 3 (Sept 1-2-3 at 8 pm).

Bullhead City Festival in Wacken has now been cancelled. 🙁

I don't mind the difficult questions, that way I'm learning new stuff! 😁

Been checking out the mistaken lyrics in the new Once release... Weird stuff. On "Wish I Had An Angel" the editor decided to write down the chorus in full when actually only a part of it would be sung the first time over. Same mistake (or lazy attempt to shorten the lyric length) on "Nemo". On "Planet Hell", a single word is missing. On "Ghost Love Score" a whole line is missing, and they also swapped a word. "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" was messed up more badly. Two lines are missing, one word was added and an extra chorus was added to the beginning of the song. They thought we wouldn't notice if it's in Finnish? Finally on "Dark Chest Of Wonders" and "Romanticide" some brand new lyrics were made up. What is the source of that? Pure fuck-up or some sort of early demo lyrics? I wish the band would at least provide an explanation for messing up their definitive album release. It's not such a big deal, but a label statement about the mistaken lyrics and the "Nemo" sound blip would have been nice.

No worries about that, take your time and take care of yourself! As for my answers:

Scratch that, I found it. These tracks were first released on "The Siren" single (2005), and according to Discogs: The Siren recorded live February 27th 2005 at Chur, Switzerland. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan recorded live February 25th 2005 at Bayreuth, Germany.

Here's one review of the full album that will be released in a few weeks. https://www.velvetthunder.co.uk/auri-ii-those-we-dont-speak-of-nuclear-blast

When one wants to watch a reaction to "All The Works Of Nature...", might as well watch a composer -- Doug Helvering.

Nightwish sneakers to wear with your Nightwish coat, T-shirt and beanie? 😆 https://www.backstagerockshop.com/products/nightwish-human-nature-black-sneakers

Thanks for the new questions! Working extra shifts today so I will likely try answering tomorrow. 🤘

Tuomas interviewed by Metal Hammer. Many good, direct questions and straight answers. https://www.loudersound.com/features/tuomas-holopainen-if-floor-left-it-would-be-the-end-of-nightwish Tuomas Holopainen: “If Floor left, it would be the end of Nightwish” By Dave Everley (Metal Hammer) 2021-08-20, published in Metal Hammer #351. Disney, dark places, and accusations of being ruthless: inside the life of Nightwish mainman Tuomas Holopainen A few quotes: “[As a kid, I was] very introverted. I enjoyed being by myself. I was full-on into Walt Disney comics, fantasy board games, The Lord Of The Rings, all that. I had adventures in the nearby forests with my imaginary friends Huey, Dewey, Louie and Frodo Baggins. Was I a nerd? Yeah. And that still describes me pretty well.” “I was spending a night at my parents’ cabin at this little island with the guys from a high school band I was in called Dismal Silence. While we were barbecuing sausages and having a few drinks, I told the other guys that I wanted to form a band because I wanted to write my own songs. I said it will be completely acoustic campfire music, and they said, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ And then a week later I joined the army.” “I was completely broke, so I got this job as a stand-in teacher in the local high school. I was there for about two years. My main job was to take care of a girl in a wheelchair – I’d take her to class, take her to eat, all that. But whenever teachers got sick, they would call and say, ‘Can you replace me for a day?’ I have absolutely no qualifications for that, but they gave me notes, so it would be OK. It’s funny meeting those students, ’cos they’re 35, 40 years old now.” You fired Tarja Turunen after Once. Did you think, ‘This is it, the band is over’? “Funnily enough, no. I’ve had that feeling twice. The first time was in 2001, after we fired our first bass player, and the second was when Marko left. But when Tarja left, and when Anette left, I never felt, ‘OK, this is the end.’ On the contrary. The persistence was there: ‘We need to get over this and show the world.’” Have you spoken to Tarja since she left? “We have emailed a few times. Even though the wounds are still there on both sides, things are better.” Have you actually spoken to her? “No. Just emails. A few months ago, my father passed away and she immediately sent me an email with her condolences. I was very touched by that.” “There’s a very common misconception that people have of me, that I’m a tyrant and I want to take care of everything. I’m the opposite of a control freak. If you ask the other bandmembers, I think they would agree that I try to be as invisible a band leader as possible. I make the final decisions when it comes to important matters, but I don’t want to make an issue out of it.” “There was a period, maybe 15 to 20 years ago, when I was maybe drinking too much. There was the rock’n’roll lifestyle for a few years. But never drugs. I’ve never tried those.” “I trashed a backstage once, because it just had to be done. A bucket-list thing. But that was when the troubles with Tarja were happening, so the frustration just came out. I felt so ashamed afterwards.” “After doing this for this long, you’re bound to get a little bit jaded about doing another American or European tour for six weeks. I don’t mind at all, but the initial excitement is not there anymore, it’s not the same as it was in 1999 when we toured for the first time. To get that excitement back in would be something special.” You said in 2019 that if another bandmember leaves, it’s the end of Nightwish. And now Marko’s gone... “That’s how I felt back in 2019, and that’s also how I felt when Marko left. I take my words back when it comes to that. But if it would be Floor leaving, that’s it, it’s the end of Nightwish. Absolutely, 100%.” “If Nightwish ends [tomorrow], it was a great run, a wonderful adventure of 25 years. Then I’d just have to come up with something else.”

A strange piece of interview with the whole group on the Auri Facebook page. It's about the creative process in Auri, and it's nice to hear Johanna for a change. https://www.facebook.com/AURlband/posts/261688159117120

A third single from Anette's upcoming album has just been released, "Fantastic Fanatic".

Sounds like an amazing experience, especially meeting them all! 🤩 This is something I haven't done yet, and I wonder how many years before meet-and-greets are even possible again. 😐 On top of that, you saw some solid support bands too. It's sad to think that with each album since Dark Passion Play they toured quite a few cities in Canada, and now they're only playing 4 gigs in the USA, and perhaps 2 in Mexico. Still crossing fingers for more dates to be added though.

According to new information on setlist.fm, the Jyväskylä (Finland) show on June 23, 2002 was also a "secret" gig performed under the pseudonym of "Century Child". 😮 The original information is here: https://www.palasokeri.com/forum/1944/all/#1949 Adding this one to the list!

Among the scores of samey NW reactions turning up every day, here's a funny one IMO. This guy hasn't listened to NW since the Tarja era, and now he gets a taste of Tribal. Fun (and other F-words) ensues! 😁

Interview with Tuomas in O Povo Online (Brazil) on 2008-11-14 http://web.archive.org/web/20090107114744/https://www.opovo.com.br/opovo/vidaearte/835166.html (Google translated from Portuguese) NIGHTWISH O POVO - How is the reception of this new album, Dark Passion Play, the first with vocalist Anette? Tuomas - I think someone sabotaged the promotion of the album here in Brazil, because sales haven't been very good. On the other hand, the shows are being as full as ever, people seem to be happy with it. OP - How has the tour been? Tuomas - It's a tour that started a year ago, in October of last year, and it's still going on until September of next year, so it's a long tour. We played in Europe, Japan, China, Australia, USA, Mexico, Canada and now we have this Brazilian leg, which has been great, a lot of fun, especially as we have a new singer in the band. The schedule is pretty tight, we got to play 150 shows in a year, which is much more than what we did on the previous tour. It's hard, but it's worth it. OP - How many times have you come to Brazil and what makes you always come back? Tuomas - Five times. I like the people, the fans, their reaction to the music. This is probably the wildest country we know in the entire world as far as fans are concerned. It's completely different from our Scandinavian culture. People show their feelings, they go crazy, they follow you to the hotel, they stay at the reception all night. It's a little weird, but it's also something we like. OP - The record has more elements than just guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. What formation used in the show? Tuomas - Only the band. On the album, we had about 140 guest musicians, sopranos, Celtic instruments and stuff. But it's impossible to bring them all on tour. First because of the money, then because they wouldn't fit on stage (laughs). We then use samples in these parts of the show (with the instruments missing). OP - Anette is coming to Brazil for the first time and, at the show in Belo Horizonte, she left the stage during a song and never came back. What happened? Tuomas - She freaked out, she couldn't handle this way so different from the fans being here. There were a lot of people shouting the old singer's name, making obscene gestures (with the middle finger). Usually she can "let go" of it, she has a good self-esteem, but it's been hard to face fans and critics. I think it was a sudden breakdown, she just... lost her mind for a second. It's kind of scary, and we all feel for her and understand what she's going through. We hope she can calm her soul and do the rest of the shows. So far so good, she's feeling a lot better. OP - Behind this dark look and the dark atmosphere that surrounds Nightwish, you are quite normal in hobbies: you like American series, comics. What do you do when you're not on stage? Tuomas - We are all very normal. I do the same things everyone else does. My hobbies include reading, going to the movies. I collect Disney items/souvenirs, go to the gym to take care of myself, go out with my friends every now and then, dream a lot, sleep a lot... OP - Brazil is synonymous with beach. Do you like going to the beach? Tuomas - Yes, I'm a big fan of the sea, it's beautiful. The only thing I don't like is the heat. I'm from Northern Scandinavia, I have vicking blood running through my veins, so anything above 25° is too much for me, it takes my strength away. When you go out and go 35th, it takes all of your energy, and that's something I really don't like very much. OP - How do you usually label Nightwish music? Tuomas - I usually let other people categorize, but I'm happy with the term symphonic metal. OP - Would you like to leave a message for the fans? Tuomas - It's the first time we play in Fortaleza, so it has everything to be special. We don't know what to expect from the city, we don't know the people, it's going to be very exciting. And thanks in advance for being with us, despite all the rumors and comments that have been going on over the past few days. I hope you guys show up! SERVICE: Nightwish Show. Tomorrow, 15, from 8 pm, at the Arena (Avenida Washington Soares, near the entrance to Cambeba). Opening shows with the bands Triarchy, Alliance and Semblant (PR). Tickets: R$50. Other information: 3254 2993 and 3224 2260.

I found this Anette recording because of a YouTube reaction... though the recording itself is no longer on YouTube but can still be found on a Chinese platform. Anyway, it's Anette singing Meadows Of Heaven, apparently on August 25 2019. I don't know much about the context of the recording or who the guitar player is, but there's something different for you. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1pE41167tV

I'm still waiting for my copy of the Once Remaster but some of the extra tracks are available (for now) on YouTube. "Live To Tell The Tale" is still not growing on me. It had the right ingredients, but something's missing. Perhaps the bridge is a bit uninspired, compared to other NW compositions? I do have a soft spot for "White Night Fantasy", with Tarja's sweeter than usual voice and rather catchy chorus. I find Nightwish are often surprisingly good when they veer off their own beaten track. "Where Were You Last Night" is not my favourite cover, but it was recorded in good fun. "Nemo" orchestral version is smooth and soothing, a nice cure for greatest hit fatigue. "Nemo" demo is interesting for the different bridge section, including a short guitar lead piece and some different keys. "Siren" and "Kuolema" live are nice, I don't know yet where they have been recorded.

Tarja will be celebrating her (44th) birthday in or near Kitee tomorrow. https://www.instagram.com/p/CSpdCd8IRiB/

Well if everything goes as planned, maybe we will finally get that pro recording we helped to fund 2 years ago! 😄