Fugazi

And one translated from French: Nightwish: the sun shines in the tavern by Nicolas Gricourt http://www.radiometal.com/article/nightwish-soleil-brille-taverne,394895 Tuomas Holopainen is not idle: Auri’s new album is in the box, that of black metal band Darkwoods My Betrothed, reactivated after more than twenty years of absence, will be soon, and the successor to Human. : ||: Nature. of Nightwish is already launched and scheduled. And then he also resolved, after having hesitated for a long time, to offer two live-streams with the famous symphonic metal group on May 28 and 30. More than concerts, these are above all evenings to be spent alongside Nightwish in a virtual tavern. Once again, the Finns are trying to distinguish themselves while waiting for a return to normal, as Tuomas explains in the interview below. These "An evening with Nightwish in a Virtual World" events will also be an opportunity to present the band's new bassist, successor to Marko Hietala. Fans can rejoice because if "the sun is shining again", this departure almost marked the stop of Nightwish, tired of the line-up changes, especially since it had the effect of a real blow of the club. Radio Metal: The last time you spoke to Radio Metal was in Helsinki with my colleague Tiphaine last September. How has it been for you since? Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards): It was very inspiring! We did a lot of music. We finished Auri’s album last October. The initial idea was to do Auri's next album in 2021, so it would have been at the end of this year, but then there was the lockdown and we immediately brainstormed: "What if we took advantage of the time that we have available to go to the studio this fall?" And the album was ready around November or December, and now it's slated for release on September 3rd, with a first single coming out in mid-June. Then we have another project, an old black metal band that I played in the mid 90's called Darkwoods My Betrothed. We've done each of these two albums over the past few months. So that kept my mind busy. Then, of course, we organized a lot of things for the future of Nightwish, especially for the virtual concerts at the end of the month. So despite all the oddities going on in the world, personally, I haven't had time to be bored for a single day yet. These concerts "an evening with Nightwish in a Virtual World" will take place in a virtual tavern called "The Islanders Arms", obviously in reference to the song "The Islander", but do you have the impression that we are all islanders at the moment ? [Laughs] That's a good point! It hadn't crossed my mind. It's good to have this thing called modern technology and these little devices that allow you to communicate with people in real time, like you and I are doing right now. It keeps the world much more cohesive despite the strange times. Skype, and all those Zoom meetings we do, made it a lot easier and reduced the feeling of loneliness during confinement. So it wasn't that bad for me personally. Nightwish concerts are great productions. Obviously, seeing a concert on a screen is very different. How different will your approach to stage and performance be from a traditional concert? First, it will be very different in terms of dynamics, because there will be no audience. The only people going to see each other are the six band members on stage, plus the camera crew, but that's about it. Likewise, we will not have any scenery on stage. We will only play in front of a green background. As a result, the setting will be very spartan. I'm not sure how we're going to feel because we haven't started rehearsals for the show yet, it's going to happen in the middle of next week, but the band is really in high spirits right now. It’s really fun to be able to play together again after all these months. Likewise, the visuals I have seen so far for the tavern, exterior and interior, are absolutely stunning. All the elements are there. Now it only remains to put them together so that the group merges into the tavern and that we can provide a nice virtual experience for people or for ourselves, but that's for sure that will feel weird and it will take time to adapt. How do you prepare for such a concert, technically speaking and as a group? To prepare, first of all, you have to learn the setlist, first alone and then with the group. So far we've only done one group rehearsal over five days. So the most important thing is that we know what we're going to do on stage musically. Then we supervised the construction of the tavern, what we will see there, how the scenery will change depending on the songs. There will be different references to the songs. There will sometimes be changes in the weather outside, so it will be a great virtual experience. The big challenge, I think, will be that it will last about a hundred minutes. It’s a very long time to spend in a unique environment without any audience. So the question is: how do we keep it interesting throughout the concert? You don't want to give it all away from the start and you have to be very careful with the shots, the camera angles, all that to keep people interested visually and hearing. A lot of virtual concerts that I've seen so far were very intriguing at first, it immediately hits the mark, like, "How did they do that? It's awesome ! But after fifteen minutes, it repeats itself, we still see the same setting. Obviously the music changes and that compensates, but it gets a bit boring and we don't have the physical boost of the band, of course, because we're not there. So it will be a real challenge. We will have to wait to see how it will go. Obviously, you won't be able to have that exchange of energy that you have in a real concert. On the other hand, if you compare to twenty years ago, Nightwish is used to playing on huge stages: what level of energy exchange is there during a real concert of Nightwish? Isn't the size of the room sometimes a barrier to this? Yes, that matters a lot. It's not just the exchange between the band and the audience, it's also the exchange between the band members on stage. This is very important and this is where we get a lot of our energy. That’s something that we’ll have to rely on one hundred percent for these upcoming virtual concerts, to suck the energy out of the rest of the band. I also consider the fact that we can play in very different venues as an asset for Nightwish. When we go to Australia or North America, the venues are smaller, there are even clubs with less than a thousand spectators and that kind of place offers a real sense of privacy. I love it when people are close and it's really old school. But then, in Europe and at festivals, we play in front of fifty thousand people, it's a whole different dynamic and it's just as wonderful. We have it both ways. I like that it varies and that we can experience the full spectrum. It's like having all four seasons in Finland. We don't want summer or winter to last forever. The fact that it changes in cycles is the best option. Even though live-streams have been largely democratized now, we still see a lot of bands refusing to do it because it's not live for them. Did you yourself hesitate? Absolutely. I've been against the idea of doing a virtual concert for a very long time, and I still totally understand bands and artists who don't want to do it, because to create a live experience, you have to be there. But what we're doing with this virtual party with Nightwish is a little different approach. It's done in such a way that we have created this fantastic space, this steampunk tavern where we invite people to join us for a musical moment. So the idea is not so much to do a virtual concert for the whole world, but just to play for each other. I see it as a dress rehearsal for a concert or a jam session in a medieval tavern, and we invite people to join us and listen to what we have to say. So there will be no communication with people, like, "Hi, world, welcome to the virtual concert, clap your hands and all that. "It's not for nothing that it's called" an evening with Nightwish in a virtual world "instead of" a virtual Nigthwish concert ". The atmosphere will be special and that’s why we have decided to do it. We live in a time when bands can't rely on album sales to survive, so touring is crucial, making this pandemic particularly difficult for small and medium-sized bands. But what about Nightwish? How are finances going for a group of your level? We are still doing well, because we have twenty-four years of touring behind us and big savings thanks to that. We can go on without any concerts for a year or two, but it's very difficult for the people who are close to us, like the technical team, management and the rest of the staff. We have tried to help them as best we can during this difficult time. It has been such a nightmare for many people I know in this business that it really breaks your heart. We want to help the best we can and that's what we did, but neither can an individual. This is where governments really need to help. I imagine that for a band, a live-stream concert costs less than a full tour, and there are no capacity limits. On the other hand, I doubt that it can financially replace what you earn on a tour. So, to what extent can live-streams make up for the lack of tours? It all depends on the number of seats that will be sold. To be honest, I don't have any numbers. I don't know how many tickets will be sold for these virtual concerts. But the fees are surprisingly high. Creating the virtual world is extremely expensive. I won't go into details, let's keep it a mystery, but imagine an astronomical number. Just to get our expenses, we have to sell a lot of places. I also find it positive that now, after all these virtual concerts that have been put on, it hasn't been a huge success anywhere, because it means people still want to go to real concerts. It makes me very optimistic. What kind of mark do you think the current period with the virus will leave on the entertainment world? That remains to be seen. No one knows exactly, except it will clearly leave a mark. I just saw a poll in Canada, which said that even when things get back to normal, roughly thirty-seven percent of the country will never attend crowded events again. I found this figure to be surprisingly high. That is, a third of Canadians say that even after we get rid of the virus, they will never go to big concerts again. If this is any clue as to what lies ahead, we have cause for concern, but like I said, no one is sure. The vast majority of people still want to see concerts and will come to concerts when the world recovers their sanity. Once again, I am optimistic about the future. I imagine one of the problems is also that when everything reopens, all the bands will want to tour at the same time ... This is a very good point. So much is going to happen simultaneously all over the world when the world reopens that it's going to be chaos for a few years, that's for sure. Do you think that the current situation could push artists to be less dependent on concerts or to rethink the way they approach their work? Artists and groups today live from the concerts. I don't believe that will ever change. As I said, we have now tried these virtual concerts for a year without much success. So I think the future will be pretty old school when it comes to touring. Do you think the live streams will continue after Covid-19? I do not know. I have my doubts, just because I spoke to my colleagues who did these virtual concerts, none of them really enjoyed it. I haven't heard a single person say that doing a virtual live-stream was the best thing their band had ever done and that it was wonderful. I haven't heard anyone say that. Likewise, I haven't heard anyone say, “Have you seen their live stream? It was fantastic ! It was the best concert I have ever seen! We don't see that. This is something to be done temporarily before the world returns to normal. In January, Nightwish fans were surprised and sad to learn of the departure of Marko Hietala. But you, did you see it coming? Marko has been very transparent about his difficulties in the past years. It was mentioned everywhere in his book, his autobiography, and he spoke about it openly in an interview. This is why I can say loud and clear that he struggled mentally with his depression for a very long time. Still, that being said, his announcement took us by surprise. We knew he was going through a dark time, but we were still shocked. I remember last December, about five months ago when we got his announcement, for a few days I was sure that was the end of the band. I remember calling Emppu [Vuorinen], our guitarist, asking him, "What do you think? " He said: " I don't think I will be able to endure yet another departure from the group. "Line-up changes are the ultimate vampires that suck all of our energy, it's really demoralizing and it's hard to get over it. For a character as important as Marko to go away, it felt like it was, maybe not the end of the world, but the end of the group. But after a few days, having re-examined everything, discussed with the management and realized that we had lived a sacred adventure for twenty-four years with this group, we were there: "Do we want to put an end to it, like a lightning in a blue sky? It didn't seem like the right thing to do. The most important thing was to realize that the music was still there. When I think of Nightwish, my lineup, and the band that plays these songs, our unit, there's still so much to do, honestly. This realization made me realize that we had to give it a go at least once more. You must feel a certain weariness with the line-up changes ... I remember when it happened, I think my first reaction was to start laughing hysterically, like, "There's no way it's going to happen to this band again. I do not believe it. After that, I had to ask myself to think about it. It was really tough for a few days, I have to be honest, but now that it's done, five months later, the sun is shining again. We have a new line-up, the world is opening up, finally new gigs [are being scheduled] and we've also booked the studio for the next Nightwish [album]. Nightwish's album number ten is slated for Summer 2023. It's also something to look forward to. Marko was disillusioned with the music industry, saying, among other things, “We are the banana republic of the music industry. Are you in tune with his analysis? I try as much as possible to stay away from the music industry. Call me naive, I don't care, because this approach is the only way I can keep my composing mind clear and be inspired. The industry, the money, the contracts, all that is a giant seven-headed dragon and I don't want to go into it at all. This is the reason why we have hired as managers the most trustworthy people there is to take care of all this and try to spare me and spare some other members of the group as much as possible. Likewise, we now have a status that allows us to say certain things and set a standard, so to speak, so that makes it easier for sure. I don't have a strong opinion on it. I understand what Marko means and what's going on, and I agree with a lot of what he says, but personally I enjoy the process of making songs and albums too much to worry. I'm not going to ask you who the new bassist is because you'll be revealing it soon, but have there been a lot of applicants? It turns out yes! Not that we actively searched, but we had many applications. Since the virtual tavern is called "The Islanders Arms", will you be playing the song "The Islander"? Because Marko had a bit of the main role in this song… No, we are not going to play it. Before Marko left, the song "The Islander" was on the setlist because it’s the kind of song that fits the décor of this tavern perfectly, but we had to delete it because it’s too unique to Marko. He composed the music for that song, it's kind of his song, so we're never going to touch it again. There is a song in the new album called "Endlessness" which is also very much related to Marko and which we are never going to play again. Then there are a few songs on older albums that I think can't be played without Marko - maybe I'm wrong - but I think we'll be able to play the vast majority of songs without him. You mentioned at the start of the interview your old black metal band, Darkwoods My Betrothed, which you played with before founding Nightwish, and who will be releasing a brand new album. How did it happen? First, I want to stress that this is not my group. I was just a session musician on those first three albums that came out in the 90s. I wasn't the one who imagined this band, but now I'm a full time member. I've played the keyboards, I've arranged my parts, and I'm very involved in the band. Twenty-three years have passed since the previous album and because of the Covid-19 we figured that now everyone has the time and the means to finally make a reunion album. We decided last July to make songs, record the album and have it ready for May. Currently, it's in the very last phase of the mixing process and it's going to be released in early November this year. You can tell right away it's Darkwoods My Betrothed, but obviously the production is much better this time around because we spent a lot of time in the studio. The composition was the work of the three original members of the group - singer, bassist and guitarist. This is a concept album about the Great Northern War in Finland at the start of the 18th century. All texts are based on a book called Murhanenkeli by Finnish historian Teemu Keskisarja. So this is a complete concept on horrific historical events. What was your own history with black metal? When I was in high school, when I was sixteen or seventeen, I was really into it. Bands like Emperor and Enslaved have left a huge mark on me. I hardly listen to any type of music anymore, but I have always liked the purity and the primitive side of this musical genre. That’s the reason I love being part of Darkwoods My Betrothed. This is real black metal. You mentioned the next Nightwish album: do you have any vision or idea on where you want to take it, after two albums that have nevertheless pushed the limits a lot for Nightwish? We shouldn't deliberately try to invent something completely new all the time. I firmly believe in letting the spirit go and things come as they come. This is also the approach for the next album. I've been cobbling up a few ideas over the past few weeks. There are the basics of four new songs right now. The good thing is that there are still two years to go before we go into the studio, so we can take our time and really develop all the ideas to the maximum. So it's still in the very early stages. I have no idea if this will be a concept album or independent songs, or what form it will take. The adventure has only just begun, which is wonderful. But the point is, it's launched and we all feel very inspired, so I can't wait. Do you think that the unprecedented period that we are living could have an impact on this next album, conceptually or thematically? I do not believe. I can't be sure because there is still a lot to do on the next album. Maybe on a subconscious level, but I'm so fed up with the words coronavirus, Covid-19 and pandemic that I don't want to use them in our art [laughs]. I just want to forget about it!

Nightwish’s Tuomas Holopainen: “I've been gathering up ideas for the new Nightwish album” By Dave Everley (Metal Hammer) Tuomas Holopainen on Nightwish’s upcoming livestream, the departure of bassist Marko Hietala and how the world will know if the band decide to call it quits https://www.loudersound.com/features/nightwish-tuomas-holopainen-interview-livestream-marko-new-album A few interesting snippets: "All of last year people were approaching us and saying, ‘You need to do a virtual show’. I was vehemently against it because I hadn’t seen a really good one – I still haven’t to this day." "They’ve been working on the details of the tavern for months now, It’s going to be full of Easter eggs for the hardcore Nightwish fans. The background will change according to the song we are playing and the weather outside the tavern will change - little details here and there that you can actually investigate while we are doing the show. I'd like to think that it's a world-first when it comes to virtual shows by metal bands." "There will be songs from the new album, which will be a world premiere because they’ve never been performed before. But then it will also feature songs from all the albums – ‘best of’ or ‘greatest hits’ or whatever you want to call them." "He was with us for 20 years, so it's gonna be really weird. And when he announced his thing – this was last December when he sent us a group email – I have to be honest, I was completely devastated for a few days. I was almost completely sure that this was the end of the band. I remember calling out guitar player, Emppu, and saying, “Should we call it quits? This is too much, it just keeps happening and happening to us.” He said, “Yeah, let's do it, there's no future. But then after a few days passed, we had a little meeting with the band and the management, and I realised the music is still there and that's the most essential part of this whole thing." "For the past few weeks, I've been immersed in gathering up some ideas for the new Nightwish album. We even booked a studio for it, which is going to happen in the summer of 2023." "An acoustic album is going to happen at some point, I’m pretty sure. The romantic in me is excited by the idea that when we know Nightwish is ending, the last album we do will be acoustic. We started out acoustic, and we’re gonna finish acoustic. The circle will close."

Floor is back in Finland for rehearsals, so it looks like things are shaping up. The show link is this one: https://www.burst.fi/nightwish/ It's also the place to go to validate tickets in the 24 hours leading up to the show.

Can't wait for the show myself, it's been almost 3 years since the last NW live performance! But I'm a bit nervous about the new bassist... IMO they should have plainly introduced him (her?) beforehand, so that we can get used to the idea. I'm not sure that keeping the secret is such a great plan, as it shifts the focus away from the songs and the performance to this new band member... Oh well, it will feel weird without Marko.

Rock Fest Barcelona has also been postponed to 2022, so at this point there are only two potential Finnish gigs left for Summer 2021.

Kai is preparing... https://www.facebook.com/kai.hahto.96/posts/10222332819021968

Topic here.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe? No, it's the Islander Arms! Steampunk vibes. The setting is promising. Looks to me like the paddle wheel is moving against the water flow, a little design error?

Less than 3 weeks left! Welcome to the Islanders Arms...

Floor was asked to take part in a special Beste Zangers show in the Netherlands, but she couldn't make it physically because of her recent surgery. Nevertheless, she did perform virtually, singing Euphoria (a song originally performed by Loreen).

Another new interview with Tuomas, apparently the virtual show promotion is heating up! Some highlights: -The first Auri single from the second album will be released mid-June 2021, with the full album release in September. -The Darkwoods My Betrothed album is in the mixing process, for a release later in 2021. Tuomas is not involved in the writing. -Tuomas will also play keyboards on the next Kotiteollisuus album. -Nightwish only had 2 hours of rehearsals with the full band before Floor was incapacitated. -Marko informed the band in December 2020 that he would leave, and it came as a surprise to them. For a few days, Tuomas thought that the band was done (again), but eventually thought that they still had a lot of music and stories left to share. -Finding a new bassist was really easy. That person is not considered a permanent member at the moment. -Songs like "The Islander", "While Your Lips Are Still Red" and "Endlessness" are unlikely to be played ever again without Marko. Other songs worked surprisingly well in rehearsals with Floor or Troy replacing Marko on vocals. -The studio and rehearsal place for NW album #10 has been booked for Summer 2023.

It's been a few months since the last time I found a GLS reaction fresh and informative, but I guess this one fills the bill. It's not exactly a new one though, I just missed it. Soprano Notes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43H7ORaeDdo Edit: I actually like her few other NW reactions as well. 👍

Epica just announced a virtual show of their own, June 12 2021, tickets available now. https://epicastream.com/

NW is running a contest on their various social media for virtual show tickets, but be aware it's only open to residents of Finland.

Here's a sliver of hope for live shows to return perhaps before the end of the year. Few reported Covid infections after trial Barcelona gig Six people out of 5,000 who attended an indoor trial concert last month in Barcelona reported testing positive for Covid-19 afterwards, organisers said on Tuesday, giving hope for the revival of the live music industry. Ahead of the show, everyone underwent mass screening and antigen tests. There were no mass tests afterwards, but 15 days later only six people reported testing positive for Covid-19 according to public medical records of the participants. "There is no sign that suggests transmission took place during the event," Josep Maria Llibre, an infectious diseases specialist from the Germans Trias i Pujol hospital told a news conference exactly a month after the March 27 concert. Full article here: https://news.yahoo.com/few-reported-covid-infections-trial-172852170.html

A new date has been added, Tampere Finland on December 29, 2021. Of course Marko is absent from the promotional material.

Here we go, Marko's performance in Kuopio tonight. This first public performance since leaving NW starts at about 1:19:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvC-cT6p34I Black Sabbath - Children Of The Grave Isäni Ääni - Marko Hietala Too bad I can't get a single word of the chat-interview following the performance. But Marko seems to be in a good mood. 👍 Apparently he mentioned something about writing new songs.

Health update, Floor appears to be recovering nicely. 🤘

Tuomas Holopainen open about Nightwish's difficult start to the year – Marko Hietala's shock announcement was followed by a soloist being hospitalized Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen tells IS that the band's Dutch singer Floor Jansen is currently on sick leave at home in Sweden. Pasi Kostiainen 2021-04-22 https://www.is.fi/musiikki/art-2000007933762.html "I spoke to Floor on Tuesday night. She's recovered well." This is what Nightwish keyboardist and composer Tuomas Holopainen tells IS. "Floor stayed four days in a hospital in Joensuu," he says. "We had time to train with the whole band once. The next day, Floor called to say she was suffering from terrible stomach pains. She was taken to a hospital, where gallstones were removed. She also had pancreatitis. It took four days at the hospital. Then she was able to travel home to Sweden, where she is now recovering in peace." It is expected that Jansen will be in full singing condition at the end of May. Then Nightwish's long silence will be cut off by a series of two virtual concerts, An Evening with Nightwish in a Virtual World. Fans of the band will be interested in what kind of fantasy world the band has built for their concert. But it's also interesting who plays bass in Nightwish after Marko Hietala, who split in January. According to Holopainen, the bassist will be revealed on that virtual gig. "VIP ticket buyers will be the first to see who is involved. They get to see an interview with the bass player before the concert." But is the bass player getting a permanent mortgage on the band? We don't know that yet according to Holopainen. "For the time being, he is involved as a fill-in. Let's see how these virtual gigs and possible summer gigs go." Like all big names in large arenas around the world, Nightwish has not performed throughout the corona pandemic. Dozens of people transferred from Nightwish after the publication last year. :II: Nature album tour gigs this year. And since the movements of the pandemic are unpredictable, nothing is certain in the future either. "There are still a few festival gigs for the summer that have not been cancelled. In the autumn, we should tour America, and November-December in Europe. But let's see what happens to the gigs," Holopainen says. The beginning of the year was a trying time for Holopainen: first an old friend, Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho , died – and then Hietala left the band for personal reasons. "There have been all sorts of things... Then let it all come together so that we can be left alone in the summer," he says. Holopainen has spent the forced leave caused by the coronavirus focusing on recording. He joined his high school black metal band Darkwoods My Betrothed for a revival. At the time, Holopainen was involved as a session musician, now a full member. "We made the last album in 1998. And now, 23 years later, the next one comes!" Holopainen has also completed the second album by his spouse, singer Johanna Kurkela, and Nightwish bandmate Troy Donockley. It will be released in September. "I have not been crippled by the corona break. In addition, renovations have also been carried out in the house," he says. And Nightwish fans will be sure to be inspired by what Holopainen has recently begun to focus on: "I have been using keyboards to outline new Nightwish music." However, it may be expected for at least two years. In between is a harvest tour of the album released last year.

If you don't own Mape Ollila's biography, you can read it on Issuu at this link: https://issuu.com/danailvladimirov/docs/once_upon_a_nightwish.compressed It's also available as an e-book on Kobo and possibly other supports.

I thought this was a great montage!

Lacuna Coil will release a CD-DVD of their 2020 streaming performance Live From The Apocalypse (link). I wonder if NW will consider doing the same with their upcoming virtual show? Would that diminish the experience of a live streaming show, considering it wouldn't be unique and ephemeral anymore? On the other hand, it's probable easy enough to record bootlegs of a streaming performance, so it wouldn't remain exclusive for long.

I don't know Delain so well but they seem to thrive in a weird spot between contemporary pop-rock and metal, maybe I can compare them to early Lacuna Coil? Charlotte Wessels' voice is also quite unique for a metal singer. All in all I like what I heard so far, but they certainly don't fit perfectly in the "symphonic metal" mold.

While Delain is regrouping with Martijn Westerholt probably recruiting session musicians for his next album, singer Charlotte Wessels is busy composing and publishing music on her Patreon. A few songs have been shared on her YouTube channel so far. She is very versatile both as a singer and composer, so her new material is very diverse. The instrumental arrangements are all composed and programmed by Charlotte herself, which is quite a feat. Soft Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrGRUqRD7ZY Masterpiece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L728Y3HH_hs

Here's a brand new (and long) interview with Tuomas on "Breaking Absolutes". Lots of insight into Tuomas' writing and composing. Here are some highlights: -First rehearsals for the virtual show took place during the last few weeks. -Another teaser for the virtual show will be released in about 3 weeks. -Virtual show will include some but not all of the HN album songs, and older songs mostly from the more recent albums. -Setlist was adjusted after Marko's departure, for instance Endlessness was ditched for obvious reasons. -The new base player will be announced a few hours before the virtual show. -There's a "little" tour planned for Auri, when the schedule and pandemic allows. Presumably after the second album comes out in September 2021. -Tuomas has 12 stories written for an eventual short story book. -Still working on creating crosswords puzzles with his wife. -Would like to create a board game one day.