Fugazi

I guess this is appropriate for the day and time. Music Teacher - Endlessness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k-Ddsaxm_k One of my favourites on the new album, and sadly one that we're likely never hear sung live by Marko...

A sad day for all involved. Comments here.

Ok I just woke up to this, and I'm... shell-shocked. I guess I'll take a few hours to digest the news before commenting further. But I'm sad for Marko and the group.

I hope he goes for one of the heavier songs next, he seems more metal-focused than most vocal coaches on YouTube.

Oh man, this guy is so entertaining! 😄 Kardavox Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir7y_f0D6wA

A remastered version of the "Let It Go" cover will be available shortly on all streaming platforms. https://floorjansen.streamlink.to/letitgo

Tomorrow is the (23rd) anniversary of the first ever NW gig, at a New Years's Eve party in Kitee, before an audience of 400. There is a description of the show in the NW biography, according to which the band was terrified on this first live performance. They were playing with Samppa Hirvonen, their live bassist for the tour, and Marianna Pellinen, the backing vocalist. There should be recordings of the event but none of them appear to be publicly available. A good audio recording of the third show is however available on YouTube.

Tuomas hasn't been idle either during the pandemic, on top of his work for the next Auri album he's also part of the Darkwoods My Betrothed revival (yes, that band from the nineties!) according to this loosely translated Finnish report. https://www.soundi.fi/uutiset/metallipioneeri-darkwoods-my-betrodhed-palaa-pitkalta-levytystauolta-tuomas-holopainen-on-nyt-mukana-vakiojasenena/ Metal pioneer Darkwoods My Betrothed returns from a long recording break - Tuomas Holopainen is now a regular member Timo Isoaho 12/25/2020 The epic black metal band Darkwoods My Betrothed released their debut demo Dark Aureoles Gathering in the spring of 1994. The first long-playing Heirs Of The Northstar followed in 1995, and two more albums were released in the coming years: Autumn Roars Thunder arrived in 1996 and Witch-Hunts in 1998. After these recordings, the release channels for Darkwoods My Betrothed’s original material fell silent, and hardly many have dared to long for the brand new Darkwoods material in recent years. However, one will be promised next year - 23 years after the previous long play. - For years, the making of a new record was at the stage of discussion, and there were also some preliminary raw songs in the songs. However, no time seemed appropriate when work, family life and other hustle and bustle swallowed all the time, and the making of the record was postponed time and time again, says guitarist Jouni “Halgrim” Mikkonen. - Yes, this Corona situation is largely to be thanked for the fact that the band has finally become really active. The best thing about this, though, is that the line-up for the new studio album is practically the same as the band’s early membership. What kind of story can be found in the background of DMB activation in particular? - Last summer we had the annual “Kitee Boys Weekend” and with Tuomas (Holopainen, keyboards) we started talking again about the return of DMB. At that time, it became preliminarily clear that Tuomas would find time until the beginning of 2021 for Nightwish's activities. After all, it quickly occurred to me that now or never… Towards the end of the summer, I updated my instrumentation a bit and started asking other gentlemen (singer Pasi “Emperor Nattasett” Kankkunen and bassist Teemu “Hexenmeister” Kautonen) that it was “that time”. Together, it was said that yes, it is otherwise. At the same time, I have to admit that the tight schedule meant sleepless nights, because there were no ready-made songs in the late summer, says Mikkonen. - Well, we immediately started spinning the riffs and it quickly became clear that our current musical interests are largely moving somewhere between Autumn Roars Thunder and Witch-Hunts. Of course, this is quite natural, because in those times of records, the responsibility for writing songs was fairly evenly divided between the three of us - me, Pas and Teemu. At this point, can you describe the songs on the upcoming album in any more detail? - The material is very versatile, and both raw black metal and more epic stuff are included. The album features some of the fastest and most vicious songs in DMB’s history, and on the other hand, there are also songs featuring the band’s big melodic choirs and acoustic guitars. - Some of the songs that have now been completed have been tentatively composed as early as the late 1990s after the preparation of Witch-Hunts, but the actual final writing work was not done until this fall. And even though I say it myself, we’re a little surprised - and certainly very happy - that the new blanks don’t come to mind any kind of “old warm-up” but the fresh material feels even the best of the band’s career. What has the preparation of the record been like so far? - The process of making the upcoming album has been completely different than before: the material of the old records was rehearsed together, while this time everyone has made their own demo songs themselves, after which they have been edited and worked together using remote connections. Fortunately, the current studio technology enables efficient and sensible teleworking, and things have gone very well. - At the same time, it should be underlined that Tuomas' share in the arrangement of songs has now been clearly more significant than in the old days. And after all, today he is also a full member of the band, and not just a session performer, as he once was. Let us then move the floor to Teemu Kautonen. - We have all clearly had a really strong latent need to make the new Darkwoods My Betrothed. Jouni received the first text message in August, and the dams opened immediately. I myself did a couple of new songs right away. From some subconscious, those ideas that had been brewing for twenty years began to pop out, almost as if by themselves. - Let me also say that we will go to the studio in February and continue the sessions during the spring. Kai Hahto will play the drum parts for the upcoming album, as the band's original drummer (Tero Leinonen) could not participate in the record project on such a fast schedule. The producer of the album is Tero Kinnunen, who has worked with us since the beginning! Soundi will return to Darkwoods next year. At the same time, we wish Tuomas Holopainen a very happy birthday! --- DMB also have what appears to be a new (or at least updated) web site, including a short biography: https://darkwoodsmybetrothed.com

Floor and his husband Hannes on interview, apparently from their home in Sweden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl9INVeS0VY Highlights: They first met on tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan (April 4th, 2014) while Floor was touring with ReVamp. Hannes didn't really know Nightwish, but was impressed with this opera singer who drank whisky and asked to share a cigar. Apparently there's more of the interview on the bandbond app, which I might download eventually. Edit: Here's the calendar for ReVamp's 2014 North American tour.

Metal Ave Maria! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbb8HwQuIso On my computer Floor's voice sounds quite a bit drowned in the mix though.

A new video, this time Dark Chest Of Wonders from M'Era Luna August 11 2013, Jukka's last show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BVzcIaoVoY It reminds me of the extra live videos on the EFMB Tour Edition... I'm not even sure that the audio recording is also from M'Era luna or another show (Wacken?). Perhaps someone can confirm.

Apparently the virtual Nightwish exhibition is now open to (virtual) visitors. https://nightwishstory.com/en/virtual-exhibition Tickets are available for 2 or 5 days. I'll update once I have a chance to try it myself.

Olivia Sparnenn (currently of Mostly Autumn) "I met Tuomas Holopainen through Troy and we’re great friends now. We regularly take them camping up in the mountains. Funnily enough, Olivia nearly got the job as their singer a few years ago – we now know that she was down to the last two or three vocalists – so it’s a really weird coincidence that our paths have crossed again." (Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn, from https://www.loudersound.com/features/mostly-autumn-we-could-be-an-arena-band)

Nightwish’s Floor Jansen: “The way that things are now aren’t the way things are for life” https://www.loudersound.com/features/nightwishs-floor-jansen-the-way-that-things-are-now-arent-the-way-things-are-for-life So Floor wanted to be a biologist too? The EMFB-HN themes are even more fitting then.

And here it is 😲 Everybody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk8vzRgSyy8

Well Marko has won the show, as can be seen here on Instagram, I wish I could speak Finnish: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CI_UkR8BLiv/?igshid=19bxm0bvnxal Well done! 👍 The final performance is yet to be published on YouTube.

A new cover is up. Autiosaari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQa8AuFLiTw

Well now that this virtual show has become a thing, it would appear that it will be focused on the new album. But since it's a one-off (well... two-off) they could attempt to play songs they wouldn't play in a regular tour. I do look forward to details about the setlist, but it's possible it will all be kept secret until the show. Anyway, looking forward to this. I know it won't be anything like a real show, but the thought of hearing the new songs live is exciting. And also a good way for the band members and crew to survive financially to the pandemic.

This "virtual experience" sounds very gimmicky, but as long as it doesn't distract too much from the music, I'm in! The FAQ mentions that the two events may have different set lists, and the ticket price is valid for both shows.

NIGHTWISH TO START ”HUMAN. :II: NATURE.” WORLD TOUR IN VIRTUAL REALITY ‍ ‍The band offers fans a unique experience by inviting them to a shared adventure at The Islanders Arms, a tavern built in virtual reality. Nightwish – one of the world’s leading symphonic metal bands and Finland’s most successful music export – sets the stage for an exquisite interactive experience in March 2021. In ”An Evening with Nightwish in a Virtual World”, the band will perform at The Islanders Arms, a tavern built in virtual reality. The event takes place on two nights, Friday and Saturday, March 12-13th, 2021. On both evenings, the audience can expect an unforgettable 90-minute performance, and will get to hear songs from the latest album ”Human. :II: Nature.” live for the first time. The setlist has variation for each night. Released in April amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, ”Human. :II: Nature.” has not been performed live yet. Having had to postpone their world tour in 2020, Nightwish decided to create something unforeseen to lighten up the dark times. A full-length live experience that reaches magical dimensions will be set in virtual reality – The Islander Inn tavern. During the evening, both the band and the audience can dive into diverse imaginary 3D worlds. The technical production is led by Zoan, whose Burst Live platform also powered Finnish rap superstars JVG’s May 1st virtual reality show that attracted more than a million viewers last spring. For an interactive virtual show experience, members of the audience can create avatars and join the show on their computers or mobile devices. The audience can react by gestures, cheers or emojis, and chat with other fans. One can also dress up their avatar with Nightwish merchandise. Nightwish is Finland’s most successful band globally, touring prominent arenas around the world and having sold over 10 million albums worldwide. The band’s most recent album ”Human. :||: Nature.” is their ninth studio album. Experience the live shows at www.burst.fi Recording can be watched for 48 hours after the show

Details of this unexpected event here!

A tempting teaser... what does it represent? 😮 (from the NW Twitter feed)