Fugazi

One of the earliest available NW interviews, by Hannu Jarva, published on December 11, 1997. From Karjalainen, a Finnish newspaper based in Joensuu. Source: http://nightwishtaikatalvi.epizy.com/article36.html for the original text and Once Upon A Nightwish (Mape Ollila) for a partial English translation. The mistakes are mine and Google Translator's. Nightwish's Record An Incredible Success Kitee has hitherto been well known for its typical Finnish hobbies. They've been playing baseball and distilling moonshine. Exporting both hobbies abroad has been very difficult. But don't worry, Kitee will go international, too. It simply happens like this: Tuomas Holopainen - a student of environmental sciences who hates baseball, who has moved to Kuopio, is innovating with an eye for international fame. He started writing English-language music, forming a band, recording a demo, playing it to a Finnish record executive, and everything was settled. On to record an album. Praise Once and for all Nightwish's past is even stranger. Nightwish, a Kitee-based mood metal band, hasn't performed a single gig in its year-long history, but when it released a record in November, the album was an incredible success. The stores ran out of records. - I'm sorry they made so few copies of the disc. Tuomas Holopainen regrets the error of judgment. Now, however, the situation is improving. More copies of the album of the first charting musicians in Kitee's history will be released as soon as possible. At the same time, we will also see how large sales volumes are being made from the Eastern border. The first album "Angels Fall First," praised from Earth to Heaven, has been exported to Sweden and Germany. In Finland, the album ended with a handshake and the chipped single Carpenter has been rocking for seven weeks on the Finnish singles chart. Acoustic Start The band's songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is rightly satisfied. The impulse of Thomas, who is playing in another metal band in Kitee, Nattvindens Grat, also gave rise to the basic idea. - Nattvindens Grat was not enough for me. It didn't have enough room to move. I wanted to do something of my own. I wanted to play my own songs, Tuomas Holopainen sums up the beginnings of his idea just over a year ago. First, Holopainen gathered a small acoustically playing group around him, which included guitarist Emppu Vuorinen and Tarja Turunen, who is studying to become an opera singer at the Sibelius Academy. In the band, the guitar didn't play with an edge and the drums didn't bang. Nevertheless, the trio made a three-song demo and tested the ice. - The record companies were not very enthusiastic, even though there was positive feedback. The companies interpreted our music as too marginal. But the hunger grew when I ate. Nightwish continued to fight for existence and acceptation. Drummer Jukka Nevalainen joined us, and the line became the most heinth. Tuomas Holopainen wrote three new songs and then played a new demo to Spinefarm Records management during a Nattvindens tour in Germany, and the path was clear. - Then it all exploded. The reception of the album has been absolutely incredible. It's even been praised as the best record of the year. The feedback has been so positive that it can no longer be any more positive," says Tuomas Holopainen, who is enthusiastic. Listeners' enthusiasm for Nightwish's harmonious heavy metal is understandable, there is hardly another equally exotic band on the planet that combines operatic singing with heavy music quite as successfully. "It's a unique thing," Tuomas Holopainen admits. Straight to the studio Nightwish appeared in the limelight as if out of nowhere. To this day, it has not stepped in front of the audience, even if there is demand. - There have already been requests for performances for next summer's festivals: The Province, Ilosaarirock and Nummirock. If there's any rehearsal time, and why can't we, we'll go to the festival. The whooping for gigs is tough. However, Nightwish will make its actual debut on New Year's Eve in his hometown of Kitee. "It shows how the band works live," says Tuomas Holopainen. Nightwish's speed doesn't take a turn. Even though the first album just saw the light of day, one new record of new music has already been created. - There is plenty of material in the pile. After the New Year, we go to work out, we go to the studio in the summer and the second album is probably ready by the end of the summer," Tuomas Holopainen says of Nightwish's future. The fact that the band is very scattered all over Finland, Tarja and Tuomas live in Kuopio, Jukka Nevalainen is in the army and Emppu Vuorinen also navigates the greys of the army in January.

2007-09 Dark Passion Play World Tour Details on Wikipedia Setlist (from Wiki; specific setlists at setlist.fm) Shows (with links to recordings available on YouTube - 🎤🎤🎤 sound quality - 🎞️🎞️🎞️ image quality - ⭐ pro recording) Estonia-Tallinn-Rock Café-September 22, 2007 (warm-up concert, playing under the pseudonym "Nachtwasser") Finland-Helsinki-Tavastia Club-September 26, 2007 (album release party, playing as Estonian cover band "Natuvissyset") Ever Dream 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Amaranth 🎤🎤 (audio only) Sacrament Of Wilderness 🎤 🎞️ Sacrament Of Wilderness 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) She Is My Sin 🎤🎤 (audio only) Sleeping Sun (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Slaying The Dreamer 🎤🎤 🎞️ Slaying The Dreamer 🎤 🎞️ Eva (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Eva (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Wishmaster (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Germany-Hamburg-Delphi Club-September 28, 2007 (album release party, playing as Japanese cover band "Sushi Patrol") Dark Chest Of Wonders (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Amaranth (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Ever Dream 🎤 🎞️ The Islander (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ She Is My Sin (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Sleeping Sun (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Nemo (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Wishmaster (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Wish I Had An Angel (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Israel-Tel Aviv-Hangar 11-October 6, 2007 Partial show 🎤 🎞️ Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎤 🎞️ Eva 🎤 🎞️ United States-Springfield VA-jaxx-October 15, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Slaying The Dreamer-Nemo 🎤 🎞️🎞️ United States-Philadelphia PA-Trocadero Theatre-October 16, 2007 She Is My Sin 🎤🎤 🎞️ United States-New York NY-Nokia Theatre-October 18, 2007 Sleeping Sun 🎤 🎞️ She Is My Sin 🎤 🎞️ United States-Fords NJ-Vintage Vinyl Records-October 19, 2007 (short promotional performance) Amaranth 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ United States-Worcester MA-Palladium-October 20, 2007 Eva 🎤🎤 (audio only) Canada-Montreal QC-Metropolis-October 21, 2007 Full show 🎤🎤 🎞️ She Is My Sin 🎤 🎞️ Canada-Toronto ON-The Docks-October 23, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ She Is My Sin (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Slaying The Dreamer (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ United States-Cleveland OH-Peabody's-October 24, 2007 United States-Detroit MI-Harpos Concert Theatre-October 26, 2007 United States-Chicago IL-House Of Blues-October 27, 2007 United States-Minneapolis MN-First Avenue-October 28, 2007 She Is My Sin (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ United States-Seattle WA-Showbox-October 31, 2007 Ever Dream 🎤 🎞️ United States-Portland OR-Roseland Theater-November 1, 2007 United States-San Francisco CA-Slims-November 2, 2007 United States-Los Angeles CA-House Of Blues-November 4, 2007 United States-Santa Ana CA-Galaxy Theater-November 6, 2007 United States-Phoenix AZ-Marquee Theater-November 7, 2007 United States-Albuquerque NM-Sunshine Theater-November 8, 2007 United States-San Antonio TX-White Rabbit-November 10, 2007 United States-Dallas TX-The Palladium Ballroom-November 11, 2007 United States-Houston TX-Meridian-November 12, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤🎤 🎞️ United States-Ft Lauderdale FL-Culture Room-November 14, 2007 United States-Orlando FL-Club Firestone-November 15, 2007 Wish I Had An Angel 🎤 🎞️ United States-Atlanta GA-Masquerade-November 17, 2007 Wishmaster 🎤 🎞️ Wish I Had An Angel 🎤 🎞️ Denmark-Copenhagen-KB Hallen-November 28, 2007 Partial show 🎤🎤 🎞️ Sweden-Göteborg-Lisebergshallen-November 30, 2007 Wishmaster (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Everdream 🎤🎤 (audio only) Norway-Oslo-Sentrum Scene-December 1, 2007 Norway-Oslo-Sentrum Scene-December 2, 2007 Sweden-Stockholm-Arenan-December 4, 2007 Sweden-Umeå-Skycom Arena-December 5, 2007 Finland-Levi-Hullu Poro Areena-December 8, 2007 Finland-Levi-Hullu Poro Areena-December 9, 2007 Finland-Oulu-Teatria-December 11, 2007 Finland-Joensuu-Areena-December 12, 2007 Finland-Jyväskylä-Paviljonki Areena-December 14, 2007 Finland-Tampere-Ice-hall-December 15, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤🎤 🎞️ Finland-Turku-Karibia-December 16, 2007 Austria-Salzburg-Arena-December 28, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤🎤 🎞️ Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤 🎞️ Sahara (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Ever Dream (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ The Islander (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dark Chest Of Wonders (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Poet And The Pendulum part 1, part 2 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Sacrament Of Wilderness 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Nemo 🎤🎤 🎞️ 7 Days To The Wolves (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Germany-Oberhausen-König-Pilsener-Arena-December 29, 2007 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤🎤 🎞️ Sacrament Of Wilderness 🎤🎤 🎞️ Nemo 🎤🎤 🎞️ Wishmaster 🎤🎤 🎞️ Finland-Helsinki-Ice-hall-January 1, 2008 Higher Than Hope 🎤🎤 🎞️ Japan-Osaka-Big Cat-January 17, 2008 Japan-Tokyo-Ebisu Liquid Room-January 18, 2008 China-Beijing-MG Live House-January 21, 2008 China-Shanghai-Shanghai Hongkou Indoor Coliseum-January 23, 2008 China-Hong Kong-HITEC Auditorium-January 24, 2008 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Ever Dream 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Australia-Perth-The Metro-January 27, 2008 Australia-Adelaide-HQ-January 29, 2008 Australia-Melbourne-The Palais-January 30, 2008 Australia-Sydney-The Enmore-February 1, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Australia-Brisbane-The Tivoli-February 2, 2008 Lithuania-Vilnius-Siemens Arena-February 17, 2008 Poland-Krakow-Visla Hall-February 19, 2008 Czechia-Prague-T-Mobile Arena-February 20, 2008 Germany-Berlin-Arena-February 21, 2008 Germany-Leipzig-Arena-February 23, 2008 Germany-Stuttgart-Schleyerhalle-February 24, 2008 Germany-Frankfurt-Jahrhunderthalle-February 25, 2008 Slaying The Dreamer 🎤🎤 (audio only) Germany-Bamberg-Jako Arena-February 27, 2008 Austria-Wien-Gasometer-February 28, 2008 Switzerland-Zürich-Hallenstadion-February 29, 2008 Italy-Milano-Palalido-March 2, 2008 Slovenia-Ljubljana-Tivoli Hall-March 4, 2008 Hungary-Budapest-JRC Ice Hall-March 5, 2008 Greece-Athens-Olympic Fencing Arena-March 8, 2008 Germany-Hamburg-Color Line Arena-March 17, 2008 Germany-Hannover-AWD Hall-March 18, 2008 Germany-Dortmund-Westfalenhalle 1-March 19, 2008 Netherlands-Amsterdam-HMH Music Hall-March 21, 2008 Luxembourg-Luxembourg-Rockhal-March 22, 2008 Belgium-Antwerp-Lotto Arena-March 23, 2008 United Kingdom-London-Astoria-March 25, 2008 The Islander (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ (Note 4) Last Of The Wilds 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ (Note 4) United Kingdom-London-Astoria-March 26, 2008 The Islander 🎤🎤 🎞️ (Note 4) United Kingdom-London-Astoria-March 27, 2008 United Kingdom-Birmingham-Carling Academy-March 29, 2008 United Kingdom-Newcastle-Carling Academy-March 30, 2008 United Kingdom-Glasgow-Carling Academy-March 31, 2008 United Kingdom-Belfast-Mandela Hall-April 2, 2008 Ireland-Dublin-Vicar Street-April 3, 2008 United Kingdom-Manchester-Apollo-April 4, 2008 France-Paris-Zenith-April 6, 2008 France-Strasbourg-Zenith-April 7, 2008 France-Lyon-Halle Tony Garnier-April 10, 2008 France-Marseille-Dome-April 11, 2008 France-Toulouse-Zenith-April 12, 2008 Wish I Had An Angel 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Spain-Barcelona-Razzmatazz 1-April 14, 2008 Spain-Bilbao-Santana 27-April 15, 2008 Spain-Madrid-La Riviera-April 16, 2008 Portugal-Porto-Coliseum-April 18, 2008 Portugal-Lisbon-Coliseum-April 19, 2008 Mexico-Mexico City-Vive Cuervo Salon-May 2, 2008 Mexico-Mexico City-Vive Cuervo Salon-May 3, 2008 United States-Sayreville-Starland Ballroom-May 5, 2008 (cancelled due to cargo flight cancellation) United States-Hartford-Webster Theatre-May 6, 2008 (cancelled due to delays getting all the gear from Mexico) United States-Poughkeepsie-Chance Theater-May 7, 2008 Canada-Quebec City-Centre De Foire-May 9, 2008 Canada-London-Cowboy´s-May 11, 2008 Canada-Winnipeg-Garrick Centre-May 14, 2008 Canada-Regina-The Drink-May 15, 2008 Canada-Edmonton-Starlite Room-May 16, 2008 Canada-Calgary-MacEwan Hall Ballroom-May 17, 2008 Canada-Victoria-Sugar-May 19, 2008 Canada-Vancouver-Croation Cultural Centre-May 20, 2008 United States-Orangevale-The Boardwalk-May 22, 2008 United States-San Diego-House of Blues-May 23, 2008 United States-Las Vegas-House of Blues(LV)-May 24, 2008 United States-Denver-Ogden Theater-May 26, 2008 United States-Lawrence-Granada-May 27, 2008 United States-Sauget-Pop´s-May 28, 2008 (Note 1) Creek Mary's Blood 🎤🎤 🎞️ United States-Louisville-Headliner´s Music Hall-May 30, 2008 (Note 1) Creek Mary's Blood 🎤 🎞️ United States-Mokena-The Pearl Room-May 31, 2008 (Note 1) Germany-Nürburg-Rock am Ring-June 7, 2008 Germany-Nürnberg-Rock im Park-June 8, 2008 excerpts 🎤 🎞️ Finland-Helsinki-Kaisaniemi Park-June 26, 2008 Slaying The Dreamer 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Sweden-Göteborg-Metaltown-June 28, 2008 Finland-Turku-Ruisrock-July 4, 2008 Belgium-Werchter-Rock Werchter-July 6, 2008 Sleeping Sun 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Serbia-Novi Sad-Exit Festival-July 10, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Finland-Joensuu-Ilosaarirock-July 13, 2008 Spain-Lorca-Lorca Festival-July 26, 2008 Germany-Wacken-Wacken Open Air-August 2, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Denmark-Skanderborg-Skanderborg Festival-August 7, 2008 Finland-Tuuri-Miljoonarock-August 9, 2008 France-Colmar-Foire aux Vins-August 13, 2008 Switzerland-Gampel-Gampel Open Air-August 15, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Netherlands-Biddinghuizen-Lowlands Festival-August 16, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ United Kingdom-Derby-Bloodstock Open Air-August 17, 2008 United States-Philadelphia-The Trocadero-August 29, 2008 United States-Worcester-The Palladium-August 30, 2008 Canada-Montreal-Metropolis-September 1, 2008 Canada-Toronto-Sound Academy-September 2, 2008 United States-Cleveland-Agora Theater-September 4, 2008 United States-Detroit-Harpos-September 5, 2008 United States-Chicago (IL)-House of Blues-September 6, 2008 United States-Seattle-Showbox SoDo-September 9, 2008 United States-Portland-Roseland Theater-September 10, 2008 United States-San Francisco CA-The Filmore-September 12, 2008 United States-Los Angeles CA-The Wiltern-September 13, 2008 United States-Phoenix AZ-Marquee Theater-September 14, 2008 United States-Dallas TX-The Palladium-September 16, 2008 United States-Austin TX-La Zona Rosa-September 17, 2008 United States-Houston TX-The Meridian-September 19, 2008 (cancelled due to hurricane damage) United States-New Orleans LA-House of Blues-September 20, 2008 United States-St Pete FL-Jannus Landing-September 21, 2008 United States-Knoxville TN-Valarium Club-September 23, 2008 (cancelled due to illness) United States-Charlotte NC-Tremont Hall-September 24, 2008 (cancelled due to illness) United States-Baltimore MD-Rams Head Live!-September 26, 2008 (cancelled due to illness) United States-New York NY-Nokia Theatre-September 27, 2008 (cancelled due to illness) Russia-Moscow-Luzhniki Hall-October 11, 2008 (cancelled due to promoter issues) Iceland-Reykjavik-Laugardalshöll-October 25, 2008 (cancelled due to promoter issues) Brazil-Porto Alegre (RS)-TBC-November 4, 2008 (cancelled due to promoter issues) Brazil-Curitiba (PR)-Curitiba Master Hall-November 5, 2008 Brazil-São Paulo (SP)-Via Funchal-November 7, 2008 Brazil-São Paulo (SP)-Via Funchal-November 8, 2008 Brazil-Belo Horizonte (MG)-Chevrolet Hall-November 10, 2008 Bye Bye Beautiful 🎤 🎞️ The Siren 🎤🎤 🎞️ Dead To The World 🎤🎤 🎞️ Whoever Brings The Night 🎤🎤 🎞️ The Poet And The Pendulum (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ The Poet And The Pendulum (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ (Note 3) Marko speaking 🎤🎤 🎞️ Brazil-Brasilia-Club AABB-November 11, 2008 Brazil-Manaus (AM)-Arena Amadeu Teixeira-November 13, 2008 Full show 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Brazil-Fortaleza (CE)-Arena-November 15, 2008 Brazil-Recife (PE)-Clube Português-November 16, 2008 Brazil-Vila Velha (ES)-Ginásio Marista-November 18, 2008 Brazil-Rio de Janeiro (RJ)-Circo Voador-November 19, 2008 Argentina-Buenos Aires-Obras-November 21, 2008 Chile-Santiago-Teatro Caupolican-November 23, 2008 European Déjà Vu Tour (training session in Helsinki-March 2, 2009) Amaranth 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Romanticide 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ United Kingdom-London-Carling Academy Brixton-March 11, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem 🎤 🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Belgium-Brussels-Forest National-March 14, 2009 Netherlands-Rotterdam-Ahoy Arena-March 15, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Germany-Cologne-Palladium-March 17, 2009 Germany-Lingen-Emslandhallen-March 18, 2009 Germany-Karlsruhe-Europahalle-March 20, 2009 Germany-Erfurt-Messehalle-March 21, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️ France-Paris-Zenith-March 23, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ France-Paris-Zenith-March 24, 2009 Ghost Love Score 🎤🎤 🎞️ Germany-München-Zenith-March 26, 2009 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Switzerland-Basel-St. Jakobshalle-March 28, 2009 Italy-Mantova-Palabam-March 30, 2009 Escapist 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Ghost Love Score (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Italy-Pordenone-Palasport-March 31, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Croatia-Zagreb-Cibona Hall-April 2, 2009 Hungary-Debrecen-Fonix Hall-April 4, 2009 United States-Hartford CT-Webster Theater-May 1, 2009 United States-New York NY-Nokia Theater-May 2, 2009 United States-Allentown PA-Crocodile Rock-May 3, 2009 United States-Baltimore MD-Sonar-May 5, 2009 United States-Louisville KY-Club Oasis-May 6, 2009 United States-Sauget IL-Pops-May 8, 2009 United States-Oklahoma City OK-Diamond Ballroom-May 9, 2009 United States-Corpus TX-Pavillion at Concrete Street-May 11, 2009 United States-Houston TX-Warehouse Live-May 12, 2009 United States-Atlanta GA-Masquerade-May 14, 2009 Finland-Tampere-Sauna Open Air-June 7, 2009 Switzerland-Interlaken-Greenfield Festival-June 12, 2009 Finland-Pori-RMJ Party Camp-June 18, 2009 Belgium-Dessel-Graspop Metal Meeting-June 28, 2009 Full show 🎤🎤 (audio only) Ghost Love Score 🎤🎤 (audio only, video from Hartwall) Dead To The World 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Slovenia-Tolmin-Metalcamp Festival-July 3, 2009 Czechia-Vizovice-Masters of Rock Festival-July 9, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Norway-Kvinesdal-Norway Rock Festival-July 11, 2009 Romania-Sibiu-Artmania Festival-July 18, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem 🎤🎤 🎞️ Dead Boy's Poem 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Escapist 🎤🎤 🎞️ Romanticide 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Finland-Seinäjoki-Seinäjoen Vauhtiajot / Race & Rock Festival-July 24, 2009 Dead Boy's Poem (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Germany-Hildesheim-M'era Luna Festival-August 8, 2009 Finland-Savonlinna-Olavinlinna-August 15, 2009 Finland-Savonlinna-Olavinlinna-August 16, 2009 Russia-Moscow-Luzhniki Hall-September 5, 2009 Ghost Love Score 🎤 🎞️ Romanticide 🎤🎤 🎞️ Finland-Helsinki-Hartwall Areena-September 19, 2009 (Note 2) The Siren 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Walking In The Air (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Meadows Of Heaven 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Ghost Love Score 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Notes Featuring John Two-Hawks. Including Anette's only performance of "Walking In The Air" (acoustic) and "Meadows Of Heaven". Also featuring violinist Pekka Kuusisto on "The Siren" and "While Your Lips Are Still Red". Set shortened due to Anette being unwell. Featuring Troy Donockley.

Vehicle Of Spirit (2016) recorded during the Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour (2015-2016) DVD/BR Track list (with relevant threads when available) The Wembley Show (Wembley Arena, London UK, Dec. 19, 2015) Shudder Before the Beautiful Yours Is an Empty Hope Ever Dream Storytime My Walden While Your Lips Are Still Red Élan Weak Fantasy 7 Days to the Wolves Alpenglow The Poet and the Pendulum Nemo I Want My Tears Back Stargazers Ghost Love Score Last Ride of the Day The Greatest Show on Earth The Tampere Show (Tampere Stadium, Tampere Finland, July 31, 2015) Shudder Before the Beautiful Yours Is an Empty Hope Amaranth She Is My Sin Dark Chest Of Wonders My Walden The Islander Élan Weak Fantasy Storytime Endless Forms Most Beautiful Alpenglow Stargazers Sleeping Sun Ghost Love Score Last Ride of the Day The Greatest Show on Earth Extras Weak Fantasy (Orpheum, Vancouver Canada) Nemo (Luka Park Stadium, Buenos Aires Argentina) The Poet and the Pendulum (Teatro Metropolitan, Mexico City Mexico) Yours Is an Empty Hope (Laulurinne Autodrome, Joensuu Finland) 7 Days to the Wolves (Barona Areena, Espoo Finland) Sleeping Sun (Masters Of Rock Festival, Vizovice Czech Republic) Sahara (Ritz Club, Tampa USA) Edema Ruh (acoustic) (Baltic Princess Cruise, Turku Finland) Last Ride of the Day (Rock In Rio, Rio de Janeiro Brazil) Élan (Enmore Theatre, Sydney Australia) Richard Dawkins interview Backstage documentary From the band: Troy: Back in the Imaginaerum tour we were playing in Los Angeles, and I invited a friend of mine. He’s a keyboardist who, at the time, was playing with Joe Cocker, the legendary blues singer. I invited him along to see it, and he was curious to see what I was up to. He was expecting a straightforward metal band; he was expecting the star of Astaroth and the naked woman covered in blood kind of stuff. He was came to us after the show visibly shocked, saying that he didn’t expect what he saw. He didn’t expect the subtlety within the band, the intricacy of some of the music, the symphonic elements of it. He came to it cold, he had no idea what we were doing, he only knew that I was on it. He later sent me an email, just fanatical about how wonderful the night had been, and he described the connection between us on stage was like no other band he had ever seen. He could sense something coming from the people, and he called us “a vehicle of spirit that defies category.” That was the most beautiful bunch of words. When I told Tuomas about it he kind of flipped out on how beautiful it was too. We used the phrase “Vehicle of Spirit” on the back of a t-shirt on the Imaginaerum tour, but it kind of stayed there. When were looking for a title for this DVD, something that would express how we all feel, the way we all are at this point in time within the band, and “Vehicle of Spirit” had to be it. Also, it describes us as a band, but it also describes the fans as well. It’s a lovely title. (From https://www.metalblast.net/interviews/the-greatest-show-on-earth-troy-donockley-of-nightwish/)

Two of my favourite YT reactors, Chase Carneson and Julia Nilon, joining forces to dissect Weak Fantasy. Fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N1v1Oa6tlY

Yes, as an album it was off to a great start with 5 very solid songs. I can't say I ever got into the rest of the album very much, except Beauty Of The Beast which I like a lot and Phantom of the Opera which was redeemed for me by the live performances. Marko's voice added a lot of diversity to the album, and it's a huge improvement IMO over any of the previous male vocalists. Tarja's attempts at singing with a more contemporary voice leave me with mixed feelings. On the one hand I welcome more variety in her singing style, but in the process she perhaps lost some of her uniqueness. In general live performances of the songs were superior to the studio version, and I'm a sucker for the live NW sound so it's all good! 👍

Been thinking about this, if NW were to put on a live streaming show, it would be a perfect time to bring back a few oldies that haven't been played so often. Or some of the lesser known songs from their more recent albums. There won't be anyone clapping and cheering anyway, so who cares if they don't play all of their usual hits! 😆 That's if they don't want to spoil too much of their Human Nature show, of course. They could just go ahead and play the normal HN show playlist, but wouldn't that hurt their tour sales? Anyway, I remember reading somewhere that the band would consider doing a live streaming show eventually, but since Floor and Troy can't travel right now it's not something possible in the short term.

Yes! 👍 Thanks, it was labeled as "2002 Summer Breeze" and that didn't match the setlist (although not all setlists are accurate).

I have a list of live recordings from different tours that I can't link to a specific location-venue. Can you help out? 2002 Wild Child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_b7ISM_SXQ OSLO 2003 2005 Dark Chest Of Wonders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj6dUCQfSoI TOSCOLANO MADERNO 2005 Planet Hell-Ever Dream-Phantom Of The Opera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvpiQ6yCNGo MILAN 2004

Decades: An Archive Of Song 1996-2015 (compilation, 2018) Material arranged chronologically backwards from EMFB to the band formation. No new material on this compilation, but everything has been skilfully remastered and the result is worth the effort. The Nightwish demo has been released previously as a bonus track on reissues of "Angels Fall First". Track list (with relevant threads when available) Disc 1: The Greatest Show On Earth (EMFB, 2015) Élan (EMFB, 2015) My Walden (EMFB, 2015) Storytime (IRUM, 2011) I Want My Tears Back (IRUM, 2011) Amaranth (DPP, 2007) The Poet And The Pendulum (DPP, 2007) Nemo (ONCE, 2004) Wish I Had An Angel (ONCE, 2004) Disc 2: Ghost Love Score (ONCE, 2004) Slaying The Dreamer (CC, 2002) End Of All Hope (CC, 2002) 10th Man Down (OTHAFA, 2001) The Kinslayer (WM, 2000) Dead's Boy Poem (WM, 2000) Gethsemane (OB, 1998) Devil and The Deep Dark Ocean (OB, 1998) Sacrament Of Wilderness (OB, 1998) Sleeping Sun (single, 1999) Elvenpath (AFF, 1997) The Carpenter (AFF, 1997) Nightwish (demo, 1996) From the band: (Nuclear Blast) "Let's be honest; it does not take any overstated words to present this exceptional band to the world out there, for they are the undisputed pioneers of symphonic metal and the icons of a whole genre. Their virtuosity is consummate perfection, their inspiration lived passion! NIGHTWISH truly understand how to captivate and enchant within seconds. Since the beginning of their career, which started on a mild summer night in July 1996, they have been regarded as the epitome of the most demanding, compositional music art and innovative sound ventures. When creative mind Tuomas Holopainen was sitting around the campfire with friends on a small island in the middle of the tranquil Lake Pyhäjärvi in Kitee and improvising a bit, he probably could not have guessed where this journey would take him. Meanwhile, more than 20 years have passed and the visions of the ambitious musician have long been an impressive reality, manifesting themselves on eight fantastic studio albums. With NIGHTWISH, the Finnish songwriter is able to create breath-taking sound cascades with cinematic imagery, combining epic bombast with opulent metal attitudes in beautiful melodic symphonies. NIGHTWISH forged their own style long ago; often imitated, never duplicated! Mastermind Tuomas Holopainen is not just an excellent and unique composer; he is open to new influences and eager to experiment with the unknown. These are some of the key components of success for the band, which was always ahead of its time and not only set new standards with its latest album »Endless Forms Most Beautiful«, but also created a monumental masterpiece. Never before has a band merged the most complex elements of classic, soundtrack and metal so consistently and brought such a powerful result to life. Now it’s time to take a look back and review the last 20 years in a musical way. In keeping with their upcoming 2018 world tour, NIGHTWISH will release a brilliant best of work called »Decades«, which unites the most important songs of the band on two CDs in their original versions. The Suomi sound makers have always been recognised for their exciting journey of discovery and as a tribute to all that, this release presents a phenomenal cross-section of this formidable career through the lens of their grandiose evolution." Trailer #1 (Tuomas talks about the song selection): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvnnJ9JxaWk Trailer #2 - The Evolution of Nightwish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57sdDtnZ4nE Trailer #3 (Tuomas talks about the song selection again): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7AT9qsGVtk Trailer #4 (Tuomas talks about the Decades tour and future plans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7efkgZ9L2Q

I can see how one might not enjoy Oceanborn overmuch. Listening to it next to Human Nature or any recent album shows just how much NW was a different beast back then. But Oceanborn was a huge step up from Angels Fall First, and they kept evolving with each album. At first listen, I found the album a bit repetitive -- same operatic voice, same fast rythms, same huge guitar and drums... And I thought it was very "metal" for someone like me who used to listen to more intricate, proggy music. But it grew on me eventually, and I started to find diversity where at first there was little. And the first NW song I ever heard was from Oceanborn, it was Walking in the Air. I was listening to the Snowman short movie, and I was captivated by that one song. When I found the NW version, I was completely blown away! But somehow I wasn't ready to listen to song after song of operatic metal at the time... not yet! 😄

Thank you, much appreciated! 👍 There were bits that Google didn't manage to translate properly but I couldn't figure out what the original intent was, so I left tham as is.

Over the Hills and Far Away (2001) Track list (with relevant threads when available) Over The Hills And Far Away (Gary Moore cover) (lyrics) 🎞️ official video Tenth Man Down (lyrics) Away (lyrics) Astral Romance (2001 remake) (lyrics) (Note 1) Notes: With Tony Kakko on male vocals instead of Tuomas. From the band: Tuomas (from the 2007 re-issue album liner): "This song by Gary Moore is a timeless classic that never grows old. I remember when I heard it for the first time -- I was watching the Finnish TV programme Hittimittari back in 1986. 'Over The Hills...' had an immediate impact on me, and to my mind, it's still one of the greatest rock songs ever! I was also very pleased with the way '10th Man Down' turned out -- it's one of our best songs to date, and it could easily have appeared on a full studio album."

Just a sticker promoting the 2018 Decades tour. It's very nicely done I think, and I like the "Est. 1996".

Oceanborn (1998) Track list (with relevant threads when available) Stargazers (lyrics) Gethsemane (lyrics) Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean (lyrics) Sacrament Of Wilderness (lyrics) 🎞️ official video Passion & The Opera (lyrics) Swanheart (lyrics) Moondance (lyrics) The Riddler (lyrics) Pharao Sails To Orion (lyrics) Walking In The Air (Howard Blake cover) (lyrics) Related tracks: (Note 1) Sleeping Sun (single, 1998) (lyrics) 🎞️ official video (1998), official video (2005) Nightquest (B-side of "Walking In The Air" single, 1999) (lyrics) Note: Included together or separately as bonus tracks on various regional releases or reissues of "Oceanborn", some as early as 1998. From the band: from http://nightwishtaikatalvi.epizy.com/article58.html (1999 Morbid Noizz interview) Okay, now a question about "Passion and the Opera".. [...] Has Tarja's part taken a deliberate inspiration from this wonderful film? ["The Fifth Element" ] Tuomas: It's amazing - no one has paid attention to that yet. Just before you, I was talking to some journalist and he asked me what inspired me to write this song, I admitted honestly that part of the vocal parts is taken in a straightforward way. When i saw this film for the first time, I was enchanted and I remember perfectly well that the same evening I just sat down and composed "Passion and the Opera". Film music has always been a great source of inspiration for me and "The Fifth Element" is one of my favorite films. Bombastic elements, the majesty of the atmosphere in our compositions comes directly from the the world of films and film music. What is "Sacrament of Wilderness" about? Tuomas: The text was written on the basis of Jim Brandenburg's book Brother Wolf. It tells the story of how thousands of years ago a man and a wolf were able to live together... in a symbiosis. At that time there was respect for nature and understanding of its rules. Unfortunately, such a covenant with nature no longer exists, so it is worth recalling it in the lyrics of these works "Moondance" still brings to mind the Russians, drinking vodka & eating onions... why? Tuomas: The theme for this song sounds a bit Russian, no doubt. The funny thing about all of this is that our intention was never to soak the song in Russian, it just came out by itself. It was only when we finished recording this song, when we were surprised to find out that it sounded so Russian.

Most band member interviews these days are made by Finnish outlets. But Google is getting better at translating Finnish! Covid-19 got Nightwish Floor Jansen to make your own music: "I am currently in the rock, I did not survive the opera stages" Floor Jansen is currently considered one of the most talented and versatile metal singers. 20.8.2020 Jussi Mankkinen https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11499953 The cat has had puppies two days ago, and the home of Floor Jansen and her Swedish musician is now full of hustle and bustle. - Emo and the chicks are in our bedroom next to the bed in a box so we can keep an eye on them during these first critical days. There is a little cute sound from the box all the time, Jansen says and imitates the kitten's wick at the same time: viuu, viuu, viuu. The voice of Jansen, who was reached by telephone from southern Sweden, is pleasant to listen to - it exudes musicality - and in addition, the singer often laughs. The impression is created of an uncomplicated person who is with you. Jansen loves animals. He also has two horses at home, Lily and Auri, of which he shares frequent images on social media. Current daily routines do include grooming and feeding horses, but not necessarily riding. - One of my horses is still too young to ride, the other doesn't really like it. Last night, however, it was great weather, so we made a horseback ride to the nearby forest. Riding and grooming animals is a great way to relax for Jansen - who has spent a lot of time touring and recording studios in recent years. - Everyone needs to relax things that have nothing to do with the actual bread work. Riding and being outdoors are good ways for me to relax. Nightwish is a positive escape from reality Jansen, who sang in the Dutch After Forever and ReVamp playing symphonic metal, became familiar to Finns in 2012 at the latest, when she was attached to Nightwish. With the new vocalist, the album Endless Forms Most Beautiful was born in 2015, and this spring the mind-boggling Human. : II: Nature .. The bold Jansen is naturally able to produce soft pop singing, death metal rumble, screaming as well as opera aria, so it's no wonder that Tuomas Holopainen grabbed her from record to his ever-expanding project. And the latest wash at Nightwish has shown that Jansen is not in vain considered one of the most talented and versatile metal singers of our era. So far, she has undoubtedly been the best choice to realize even Tuomas Holopainen's wildest vocal visions. - Getting To me, a singer of Nightwish has been a dream come true - the fact that I got to be involved, to see the band's growing and changing current form, Jansen says. According to Jansen, the cornerstones of Nightwish’s concept include a positive message - despite the fact that the band’s strongly orchestrated and cinematic music can sometimes be incredibly dramatic and pompous. - It's a kind of escapism, an escape from reality. Previously, Nightwish’s music was based more on fantasy, now bringing out the splendor, beauty and splendor of the world and all of life. The music takes you somewhere very far away, and you don’t even need to notice the details of the lyrics. With this in mind, Jansen believes that Human appeared in April. : II: Nature. album was released just in time. - During the Corona Spring, the album has brought people comfort, and they have gained new energy from it. Challenging singing performances Human. : II: Nature. When listening to the song parts of the album, the first thing that comes to mind is that these have probably not been very easy to perform. Jansen does not deny this. - The songs on the album - and especially the vocal parts - are very complex. It was really hard work to practice and learn the vocal parts, and internalize them holistically. It’s not just about singing, it’s about telling a story - that expression is more than just notes and words. This was definitely a challenge. A good example of the challenge is Human. : II: Nature. the third song in the album, Shoemaker, about astronomer Eugene Shoemaker. The intricately meandering structure of the piece contains a wealth of stylistic and rhythmic variations, and its lyrics extend into the planetary spheres, travel through the craters of the moon, and wander in the farthest reaches of space. Such should therefore be experienced. A vocal track culminates in the second half of the opera rugged portion where Jansen dazzling soprano praise for Latin stars - Ad Astra. Songs like Shoemaker Jansen practices piece by piece, and eventually analyzes them into atoms. The process includes intensive discussions with Tuomas Holopainen and endless practice. - That's not how it goes into the jar at once: it's about repeating, repeating and repeating again. After six or more weeks, I can then present the song as it should. At that time, I start to know the meaning of the words and the style of singing: is it about howling, should there be softness or opera, what is the right tone ... There are other challenges involved in the process: in his previous bands, Jansen has also been involved in composing and lyrics, in the case of Nightwish the situation is different. - It is still a relatively new thing for me that I will be involved in the music-making process only at a later stage. Human. : II: Nature. making the album was a very black and white experience. On the one hand, it was a long and complex period of time, on the other hand, it was easy to dive into the process because I have the same interests as the rest of the band. Jansen has studied both musical theatre and classical singing, but she has never longed for opera stages. - I am certainly interested in opera technique, but I'm from the opera itself: I have a too personal and self-motivated person. Besides, I'm at the moment so the rock, I did not survive the opera stages. Jansen cites Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, Russell Allen of Symphony X and Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge as her current favorite singers. Korona stumbled upon making her own music The corona pandemic has plagued performing artists in particular, and Floor Jansen is no exception. - Covid wiped everything off my calendar for the whole year. Maybe there may be some kind of European tour, but right now it seems that the situation will not change, at least radically. I also had to have solo concerts that have now been cancelled. For both Jansen and her husband, Sabaton band drummer Hannes Van Dahl, the situation is completely new: both play in a successful, long-touring band. - We are not quite completely used to the situation yet. Fortunately, we live in the countryside: there is always something to do here and there is space and space around. We’re not the type of person who would just sit at home doing nothing. The spring patterns were also complicated by the fact that in March, Jansen contracted a persistent, feverish flu. There is no certainty as to whether it was a corona, but the singer isolated herself in the guest cottage of her home. - When I finally started to recover, things fell into place. I settled down to my piano and now I want to make a whole album of new, my own music. I noticed that I have certainly grown in recent years as a singer, but I'm a songwriter. Jansen doesn’t want to talk about the content or music style of the upcoming album yet. - I do not want to sound like Nightwish, because Nightwish is already there, and I do not Revamp, because the band I've already seen and experienced. I don’t have an actual schedule because finding the right kind of sound and the right songs is far more important. This takes time, and that is what I have now. In addition, Jansen has discovered the magical world of YouTube. He has made a Storytime series for his channel, in which she tells about her daily life and builds a horse hook, for example, with the help of a worker. - This has been a lot of fun: this is a completely different way of communicating, than what I'm accustomed to in the past. Studying Finnish was interrupted Through Nightwish, Floor Jansen has naturally developed strong ties to Finland as well. She lived in Joensuu during the recording of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, and according to a well-established tradition, Nightwish's latest album was also completed at the camp center in Kitee Röskö. - I visit Finland at least twice a year, whether it is a Christmas or summer visit to Röskö. At the moment, I miss Finland so much: it is somehow strange that there is no tour or anything like that going on. Jansen has a hate-love relationship to the Finnish language. She plans to study it on Nightwish’s next world tour - whenever it comes true. - I try to save my energy on tours, but on the other hand, there is usually enough extra time. Being sitting down and studying something for an hour, for example, is a nice pastime and keeps the main booth moving. Jansen had to study Finnish before, but then fate was missing. She met her Swedish husband and moved to the vicinity of Gothenburg. Three years ago, the couple had a common child, Freja. Naturally, the study of the Swedish language and Swedish culture became a priority. - Finland and Sweden have a variety of countries and backgrounds and cultures, and the more from these two countries, I have learned, the more I find the differences. Of course, the same features can be found: Midsummer is celebrated in both countries, unlike in the Netherlands. Now I'm used to this as well. Jansen also indirectly refers to the very different ways in which Finland and Sweden deal with the corona pandemic. - I am glad that the Government has kept you so well looked after. Sabbath-playing power metal Sabaton playing war metal plays songs like Panzerkampf, Fields of Verdun and White Death. The band's music is thus quite far from Nightwish's symphonic metal painting. But does Floor listen to Jansen Sabaton at home? - I do like the vibes of the band, I admire their energy and how they have built their careers. However, I would call Sabatonia at home on a Sunday morning, just when I have risen up out of bed - even though I'm married to the band's drummer, Jansen laugh.

Century Child (2002) YouTube high quality playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVzO-eQh2zU&list=PL35Pn1DA8jXVs1V8fyP4ow_MRxlPSYb4z Track list (with relevant threads when available) Bless The Child (lyrics) 🎞️ official video 🎵 YouTube HD End Of All Hope (lyrics) 🎞️ official video 🎵 YouTube HD Dead To The World (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Ever Dream (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Slaying The Dreamer (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Forever Yours (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Ocean Soul (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Feel For You (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD The Phantom Of The Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover) (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Beauty Of The Beast (lyrics) 🎵 YouTube HD Bonus tracks: Lagoon (B-side of "Bless The Child" single, 2002) (lyrics) The Wayfarer (B-side of "Ever Dream" single, 2002) (lyrics) From the band: Tuomas (from 2002 Perkele Magazine interview, http://nightwishtaikatalvi.epizy.com/article42.html) Bless The Child: This was the first song I wrote for this CD. I knew this would be the opening track and it's one of my favorites. Hans Zimmer's influence can be heard and the song follows well this soundtrack line, in the line of the movie "Gladiator". The lyrics clarify the theme of the whole album. The discursive parts are made once again by our official "Dead Boy", "Sam Hardwick". End of All Hope: Another name for this could be "Hopeless in the Dead Bed". Hope is something that should be preserved, no matter how bad things go. The working title for this song was "ReWishmastered", for understandable reasons. Dead To The World: Duo between Tarja and Marco. They both show here what they are capable of. Ever Dream: Maybe the only song that isn't connected to the central theme of the CD, in relation to the lyrics. This is another personal expression of emotions. Maybe it's also the most "Nightwish style" music. It's a small sample of the new album, so it's an easy choice as the first single. The string arrangements (classics) at the end of it give me the creeps (in a good way, of course). Slaying The Dreamer: A very, very heavy production. The lyrics were written at 5:00 a.m. after a whole night in a bar. I needed to hear how bad a person and what a shit I am etc. So I went home to write it down. The next morning, a little more sober, I read the lyrics, took some exaggerated things out of the middle and this is the result. It should be a live grandeur. Forever Yours: If "Bless The Child" is "Gladiator" style, then it follows the line of "Titanic". Anyway, the extra strings and instruments sound very good. Ocean Soul: I can barely remember when that term started, and as you know it was already present in "Wishmaster". This is just something deep and part of me. Out of curiosity, I can say that the male choir present in this song, started to "play" (appear) in my head during a trip and has been with me ever since. Mystic! Feel For You: This song is hard to comment on, but it's still very powerful and expressive, at least for me. The arrangements were modified at least 66 times during the recording process. The Phantom Of The Opera: On the same trip, I went to London (England) to watch the musical "The Phantom of Opera" and was really impressed. I've liked this song for several years and found it a wise decision for us to make our own version for it. And again, I happened to know about another band (Dreams Of Sanity) having recorded it only after we had finished our recordings. But, who cares...? Beauty of the Beast: The most ambitious song on the album. A real masterpiece (Translator's note: He uses the term "Isaac's Cathedral"* to classify the song). It was recorded on about 140 channels and ends what "Bless The Child" started. * From Wiki's Saint Isaac's Cathedral article: "The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858. The building of the cathedral took so long, that it left an idiom to Finnish language: rakentaa kuin Iisakinkirkkoa (To build like the church of Isaac) when speaking of long-term construction projects." And the bonus track, The Wayfarer: It's a good song, but it doesn't fit the song on the CD. And you'll always have to remember the Japanese audience. And we also have one more "extra" song from these recordings, which will be used in our second single from Century Child. Marko about some tracks : (from https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-10-best-nightwish-songs-marco-hietala-once-dark-passion-play-imaginaerum-endless-forms-most-beautiful) BLESS THE CHILD “Bless the Child was actually the first song that I worked on when I joined the band. Before Nightwish I was playing bass and doing some background vocals in a band called Sinergy and we were warming up for the band in 2000. They called me when they had some trouble with their former bass player around 2001. They gave me a lot of freedom with the bass lines for this album, and I put in a few fills including the nice bass effects close to the end of this song.” DEAD TO THE WORLD “I have many happy memories from making this album and I got to do a lot of the vocals on this song. I’d been playing in bands for quite a while already, and I had a studio engineering side job, but once I joined Nightwish I didn’t really go back to that because I started touring a lot. Being Finnish country boys, we’ve always gotten along really well and this band has felt like home ever since I joined.”

Nightwish – The end of an era from Rock Hard 2005-12, translated by Oceanborn, from: http://www.en.nightwish-bibliotheca.com/article.php?id=290 The cooperation of Nightwish and Tarja Turunen is history. A few hours after the last show of the ‘Once Upon A Tour 2004-2005’ in Helsinki Tuomas Holopainen sacked the image of the band. Rock Hard accompanies the band at their last common weekend and finds out the reason for the split as the first magazine in a moving interview. The calm before the storm During the approach to Helsinki Finland shows itself from its most beautiful side. It is a sunny autumn day. The woods and the meadows shine in different tones of brown and green and the white clouds are reflected in the steel-blue lakes. All the passengers at the airplane are pressing their noses against the windowpane to admire the nature. Only a young American pesters a stewardess with an unbelieving expression if she is really sure that Finnland is not a part of the Netherlands. The drive to the hotel passes by in no time because the radio of the bus driver plays songs by HIM, Children of Bodom, Green Day and Europe. But Nightwish seem to be the true heroes of the Finnish music scene at this weekend. Their show in Hartwall Arena is announced on the radio every few minutes. The Finnish quintet does have the whole town of Helsinki in its grip. Not only on the radio the reports about the last show on the next evening follow hot on each other’s heels - in the daily press, different teeny mags and for the ladies at the hotel’s reception desk Tarja and Co are topic number one as well. But then the first disillusionment comes up because of a phone call with the band's manager Ewo Rytkönen. The rehearses for the upcoming gig will last until midnight, so there will be no time for the planned interview with Tarja. “Tarja is not available for an interview anyway”, the blond giant adds. No explanation is given why Miss Turunen will not do the interview which was planned for a long time. The situation gets really strange when we find out that Tarja doesn’t stay in the same hotel as her bandmates. 11.000 fans and an unforgettable gig In the next afternoon the lobby of the Sokos-Hotel –the place where Tuomas Holopainen, Marco Hietala, Emppu Vuorinen and Jukka Nevalainen settled down- becomes the main meeting point for friends, colleagues and family-members of the band. With his Volvo manager Ewo takes along fan club-representatives from all over Europe, webmasters of the band’s websites, photographers and journalists. In the middle of all you can see John Two-Hawks who came from the USA only for the gig and who tries to find his way through the crowd together with his wife while shaking a lot of hands. Tuomas stands a bit more at the side and doesn’t seem to be in a real talkative mood. But Jukka who is there together with his pregnant wife Satu and his mother runs from small talk to small talk. Finally the whole group heads to Hardwall Areena in a line of taxis. For the band it’s not the first drive of the day to the arena because in the morning they have already been there to rehearse the whole set for the recording of the DVD. In the backstage-area of the arena where smoking is strictly forbidden the atmosphere is tense. From the dressing-room of Sonata Arctica you can hear someone singing. Tuomas runs through the hallways regularly with a petrified expression in his face. And Marcelo, Tarja’s husband and personal manager, organizes some hot tea because his wife suffers from a cold. The petite woman has a dressing-room of her own in which she vanishes right after her arrival. At 8 o’clock p.m. Sonata Arctica start their gig with the songs ‘Misplaced’, the opening track of their current record ‘Reckoning Night’, ’Full Moon’ and ‘Blinded No More’. Although a lot of Nightwish-fans are still standing at the bars and snack-points inside the hall there are several thousands of spectators on the stands already. The atmosphere is good. When front man Tony strikes up a birthday-serenade for keyboarder Henrik ‘Henkka’ Klingenberg after ‘Broken’ countless voices roar a happy Finnish ‘Happy Birthday!’ During ‘Last Drop Falls’ the first listeners take out their lighters and wave them in the air. Jukka and Tuomas watch the gig and the reactions of the fans with serious expressions from the side of the stage. After an hour the five Finns end their performance. ‘The Cage’ roars out of the speakers and to the rhythm of the audience which is clapping faster and faster Tony shouts ‘We need some vodka!’ into his microphone. A quarter of an hour later everybody has to leave the hallway which leads to the dressing-rooms because Nightwish have to prepare for their gig. Somewhere you can hear Marco doing some loud warm-up-exercises for his voice while the first La Ola-waves run through the hall. After twenty minutes Nightwish are finally ready for the last show of their Once-Tour which lasted almost one and a half years and included nearly 150 gigs all over the world. Tuomas wears a hat, takes deep drags from his cigarette and heads to the stage like a cowboy, being the first one. Behind him walk the rest of the guys and finally Tarja and Marcelo follow. When the intro begins the La Olas inside the arena get bigger and the audience on the seats stands up for standing ovations. Behind a black curtain, invisible for the audience the group awaits their performance for the last time. Tuomas crouches in a corner turned away from the others and lost in thoughts. Marco grins and rehearses some final singing parts once more and Emppu hugs Tarja who is visibly nervous for a few times encouragingly while Marcelo tugs at her dress hectically. When the intro is almost over the five Finns form a circle and stand there arm in arm with their heads together in the middle to encourage each other. John Two-Hawks is next to them; he raises his fist and shouts something to Tuomas. The light inside the hall go out, yelling can be heard and Nightwish enter the stage – in the back of it there is a huge backdrop with the logo of the current record. When the first notes of ‘Dark Chest Of Wonder’ can be heard loud cheering rises and the pyros blow up into the air. The quintet overruns its fans with bombast that has a class of its own. Blood red light illuminates the stage during ‘Planet Hell’. Fountains of fire shoot up during ‘Ever dream’ and Tuomas raises up his arms in a pose of victory. During ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ thousand of lighters illuminate the dark arena. With a similar atmosphere the show goes on with ‘The Siren’. On five video-screens that are hanging next to each other pictures of the ocean appear and white-blue spotlights create a cold light on the stage. Tarja changed from a yellow dress into a black one. The enraptured atmosphere is only interrupted from the enthusiastic stamping of the crowd and the posing of Emppu and Marco that fall on their knees in front of each other theatrically. For ‘Sleeping Sun’ Tarja sings on one of the high pedestals that are standing on the left and right side of Jukka. On her opposite side Emppu contorts to the sounds of his guitar at the altitude. When a magical snowy landscape and pictures of a starry sky appear on the screens there is a real goose bumps-atmosphere. In front of the stage you can see an ocean of lights and bright handy-displays moving from side to side into the rhythm of the song. While Marco sings the Pink Floyd-Cover ‘High Hopes’ there is some time for Tarja to get into the next black dress. Countless times the Finn with the great voice runs off the stage and changes her clothes hectically. In the meantime Tuomas has opened a bottle of red wine which lies in a self-created holder under the keyboard. During ‘Bless The Child’ and the celebrated ‘Wishmaster’ fountains of fire bang into the air again while pictures of dark woods appear on the screen in the back. The ballad ‘Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan’ is sang by Tarja alone. The rest of the band uses the time to have a breather behind the drums. Tuomas takes a few deep drags from his cigarette and exhaustedly watches the screen behind him which shows pictures of the band. At the end of the song thundering applause is heard which changes into hysterical screams when the first notes of the ‘Once’-hit ‘Nemo’ sound through the hall. Tarja smiles brightly and blows kisses to the crowd. During the bombastic ‘Ghost Love Score’ the impressions overrun the listeners as well. The stage is illuminated in blood red light, pyros are banging and out of four ‘cannons’ so much glitter is being whirled into the air that the security almost drowns into the red and white rain of scraps. The great final starts with John Two-Hawks solo-song ‘Stone People’. The American creeps on the foggy stage dressed in a native-american costume, plays his flute and strikes up a meditative singing. For ‘Creek Mary’s Blood’ the band joins him. Emppu and Marco pose on the pedestals. And Tarja who is dressed in a bright white cocktail dress now strechtes up her arms theatrically. With the Gary Moore-cover ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ and ‘Wish I Had An Angel’ the gig ends after two hours. Pyros blow up into the air in short intervals, the band bows for the crowd and the fans thank them with standing ovations. After the performance there is a celebration in the band’s dressing room together with family members, friends and colleagues. Tuomas brought along half of his relatives including their partners. His nephew proudly runs through the party-turmoil with a VIP-sticker, his sister tells about her studies in Germany and mother Holopainen chats with Wilska, the singer of Finntroll. Jukkas wife Satu and the relatives of Marco and Emppu eat snacks and drink some Finnish beer. Tarja doesn’t seem to be able to win something from the throng and leaves the arena shortly after the show. Tuomas doesn’t seem to be in a mood for partying as well and with a tired face he urges the others to leave the place already at one o‘clock. But the night is not over yet. Emppu heads to the city-center with some friends and Jukka takes his friends and colleagues to a bar until three o'clock. A huge party and a letter with consequences Saturday is the day that everybody’s looking forward to because on this day there shall be a huge ‘end of the tour’-party at a secret place. Like the day before everybody except Tarja who departed in the morning meets in the lobby of the Sokos-Hotel. The band seems to be relaxed. Marco and Emppu joke with their friends, Jukka helps Ewo to get everyone into the arriving taxis and John Two-Hawks and his wife search the newspapers for articles about the concert. The party takes place in a comfortable wooden hut about 30 minutes drive from the city centre. In front of the door there is a little tent and inside some paella is prepared. Inside by the fireside the first drinks find their way through the throats of the people. Outside the sun goes down. The atmosphere is cheerful. Everybody brought some friends along. Wilska raises is glass to Henkka, the keyboard- player of Sonata Arctica and a small group of men takes a sixpack of beer and decides to pay a visit to the sauna by the lake. And finally Tuomas has some time for the interview which was planned for days. “We have to do it right now before I’m too drunk” the creative mind of the band tells with a strangely depressed expression in his face. In the whole hut there is no really calm place so we withdraw into the small, uncomfortable kitchen. Tuomas, you seem to be really tired. - The preparations and the show itself were strenuous. I got almost no sleep during the last days. But it was worth it – we did the best gig of our career. It was a perfect ending. And in addition to that it was the biggest DVD-recording of a Finish band ever. Can you already tell when the DVD will be published? - Probably it will happen in spring 2006. Some time ago the German band J.B.O. (a German Fun-Metal band who does parodies of other bands with really strange selfmade German lyrics) was asked if they can imagine doing a parody of Nightwish. Their answer was:’That is impossible because this band already is a parody of itself’. - Well, this is how we are. We do everything with our hearts and we always like to do one more step. For me this is a lot of fun. Sometimes we really have to laugh about ourselves. Self irony is of high importance when you have a band of your own. I like the Heavy Metal-culture because you don’t have to take yourself completely serious all the time. You can see that the fun isn’t neglected for you when you look at this self-made bottle-holder under your keyboard in which you always have a bottle of wine. - This thing was created by a friend of mine. It’s really useful because I love to drink red wine during our shows. You’ve also been to the USA during the Once-Tour. How big was your success over there? - For us the venues we played were quite small (capacity of 1.000 - 2.000 people). But it was a great start and I’m sure that you can have a lot more success with this kind of music over there. Do you think that the comet-like rise of Evanescence opened the door in the USA for you? - I’m convinced that their success helped us. Evanescence and Nightwish have a lot in common and in addition to that front women in general are quite a big thing at the moment. You mustn’t forget that. But don’t you think that the competition is bigger because of that? - I don’t mind it that much because I still see us as the pioneers in this music-genre. We were the first ones who combined Symphonic-Metal with a classical singer. In this business everything is not only about talent or the matter who is the better or the worse singer. In the end the winner is the one who has the best song writing and who creates the most thrilling atmosphere. And you need a lot of luck. Tuomas shifts on his chair. He takes a deep breath and looks at me seriously. - There is one thing I need to tell you. Tarja is not a member of the band anymore. You are the first journalist who I tell this. At the moment only a few people know about the decision. The features of the keyboard player relax. He looks like a big burden falling from his shoulders. Then he takes a letter out of his pocket. - This letter includes it all. I have to put it to the internet in a moment. My biggest wish is to continue Nightwish with a new singer. At the moment I’m not sure who this is going to be. I’m still shocked and the situation has to calm down first. Then we can go on planning the future. This decision is the biggest tragedy of my life. How could it get that far? - Tarja and I didn’t talk to each other for a year. The situation got worse and worse. There were only two ways out for me: either to quit the whole band or to go on with another singer. Of course Tarja is the face of Nightwish but has only been a guest singer right from the beginning. That’s what she said herself. She didn’t write any single song, she didn’t write any vocal parts and she never took part in the arrangement process for the songs. In the recent past she hardly did any interviews or took part in meet and greets. And she didn’t come to our sound checks for a long time already. That is why I think that I have the right to make this decision. For many people Nightwish is Tarja but this is wrong! Why didn’t you talk about these obvious problems? - That’s really complicated. We have never been able to get along with Tarja’s Argentinean husband Marcelo who is her personal manager as well. He destroyed everything. She trusts him blindly but in my opinion this guy is a serpent. For him everything’s only about the money. You cannot imagine how much he changed Tarja in only one year. I had no chance to get close to her because Marcelo was always by her side and demanded for more and more money. Tarja is a really nice person but because of Marcelo she changed really drastically. When you are alone with her she is totally different. If there is a person who can claim Nightwish as a band of his own then it has to be me. I wrote all the songs and all the lyrics and I do 90 percent of the interviews. And then this Argentinean guy who doesn’t belong to the band comes along and controls everything. We cancelled our second US-tour because for Marcelo the fees were too low and the halls were too small. For official appearances he demanded for an extra fee for Tarja. I could name you countless examples. For this guy everything is only about money, money, money. That’s just like it was with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This attitude doesn’t work with the rest of the band. Marco, Emppu, Jukka and I, we love to play music and to express our feelings on stage, to travel the world and to get to know new people. Our idealism has always been the most important thing. Actually I can’t blame Tarja for everything because I believe that she is blind and doesn’t understand what is really going on around her. For her Marcelo is the king. What he says has to be done. In May 2006 we will publish a band-biography which will deal with these problems in detail. In this book you can read the true story of Nightwish – including all the ups and downs. And there was no possibility to talk to Marcelo? - That didn’t work. No member of the band was able to cope with him. We are just too different. Besides most of the time both of them arrived at the hall about five minutes before the gig and left directly after the last song. Tarja’s attitude towards Nightwish hurt me the most. She always said that she sacrifices her whole live, her voice and her career as a classical singer for us. She didn’t appreciate the possibilities that the band offered to her. Instead she complained that we play music that she doesn’t want to sing to. She saw herself as the victim. For us guys and especially me Nightwish is everything. This band is my life and that is why I was willing to agree to all their demands. Tarja never had to travel by bus. We paid the tickets for her so she could fly with Marcelo from gig to gig. She only slept in the best hotels. We accepted that she didn’t do any interviews and didn’t come to the sound checks. But although we did everything for her she hardly put any passion and energy into the band, Instead she complained about our consumption of alcohol and about our manager. Actually she was hardly involved in our daily-live but she controlled everything. Is it true that Marcelo works in the South American music-business? - He is the owner of an Argentinean record-company. When did you make the decision to sack Tarja? - This decision was already made some time ago. Even last year I told in all the interviews that Nightwish couldn’t exist without Tarja. But then something sad happened. She told me on a plane in December 2004: ‘I don’t need this band for my career anymore. Keep in mind that I can leave Nightwish anytime.’ These sentences hit me really hard. They really hurt. I couldn’t really believe it but she really meant what she said. At the beginning of the year us guys had the first serious talks about the option to fire her. We decided to await the end of the tour with the hope that the whole situation would get better. But in the end we realized that there was no other possibility. During the whole year we had to swallow down all the shit. Because all the concerts were booked we couldn’t say anything. We had no choice but to give our best on stage and await the last show. Do you think that Tarja as a solo-artist can have the same huge success that she had with Nightwish? - You never know but to be honest I don’t believe that. When did you tell Tarja that she is not a part of the band anymore? - I told her yesterday evening directly after the show. To be more precise: I went to her and handed the official letter over to her with the words: ‘Here is a letter for you. Thanks for everything. Please read it tomorrow morning.’ Since then I haven’t heard of her. How did Marcelo react to the letter? - He wasn’t there. I wanted to be alone with Tarja. Do you think that she suspected something? - She just said:’ Ok, thanks, then I will read it tomorrow’ but I’m sure that she had a suspicion. It was too obvious. We didn’t exchange any personal word for one year, nothing worked and she knew that I didn’t like her husband. It was clear that something had to happen. Who knows what she is thinking at the moment.(sighs) Were you nervous when you handed the letter over to her or did you stay calm? - I was far away from being cool. During the last two days I wasn’t able to eat anything and I got no sleep at all because I only had to think about this one moment all the time. During the gig I forgot about the letter but afterwards I was standing totally next to me. I was shivering all over when I went to Tarja’s dressing-room. It was terrible. What do you think – what will the reaction of the fans be like? - I’m not scared of the future, the choice of a new singer or my future decisions. My biggest concerns are the fans and the media because you don’t know how they will receive Tarja’s departure. I have a good conscience and I’m sure that I made no mistake but still I fear the descriptions in the media. Many people do not look behind the scenes. For them Nightwish is Tarja’s band. She is the beauty; we are the beasts, drunk punks who act rude with each other. That is the picture people have who don’t deal with it in more detail. Tarja is really popular. It will be easy for her to turn the tables and describe her firing as a lucky chance. She can claim that it’s the best for her not to be a part of Nightwish anymore because we never cared about her in any case and drank too much. I really hope that the media will not show us in a wrong light and that the fans will accept the truth. There are a few really fanatic Tarja fans out there. You never know what they are able to do. Will you provide yourself for the media in the next weeks or will you dive under until everything has calmed down? - Actually I thought about disappearing from the scene and going on holiday but that would be the easy way out. I want to defend the band and I want to tell the true story. That’s what I owe us and the fans. When you are on a stage you take responsibility. That has always been our attitude. We never disappointed the fans, not even when we were ill or tired or just in a bad mood. Unfortunately Tarja had a different attitude towards this matter. So you will have no time to recover from the stress on tour in the next weeks. - I suppose that I will sit by the phone until Christmas to explain everybody what happened between us and Tarja. I hope that I can at least have some holidays next year. In an earlier interview you told that you have difficulties to separate your job from your private life. That would mean that you have some hard months in front of you. - I already suffered the whole year. It can’t get any worse. Actually I’m really happy that I finally talked about all this. At the moment I have a real chaos of feelings inside of me – it’s a mixture of sadness, of hope and of relief. I’m sure that Tarja suffered from this situation as well. It’s not easy for both of us and it won’t be easy for a long time. But in spite of everything that happened I do not hate Tarja. I’m just completely disappointed. Nightwish will go on with a new singer and she will cause a stir with her solo-projects. Do you already know when you will start with the recording of the new album? - We’d like to go into the studio in September 2006. I hope that the record will be published at the latest in spring 2007. But I am in good spirits that there is a future for Nightwish. When you think back: what was the ultimate high and the ultimate low of the previous carreer of Nightwish? - That may sound crazy but the best experience was the show yesterday. It was great; it was the best show of our whole career. The worst moment came twenty minutes later when I had to give the letter to Tarja. You told that in your opinion Tarja is blind and doesn’t understand what is really going on around her. Do you believe that this will change one day? - I really hope for that because originally she is a really good old friend of mine.

Another one down. This is the Century Child tour, considered by many to be the finest of the Tarja period. Sadly there's only a partial official release from this period, a few songs recorded during the Oslo concert and released on the "End of Innocence" DVD. On the other hand there are a number of quality pro recordings from complete or almost complete shows available online, such as Summer Breeze Open Air, Amsterdam, Rauma and Gates Of Metal. Oh and the Montreal show recording is crazy good considering it's filmed from the crowd, sound and image are both excellent. Enjoy! Next up is Tarja's last tour with Nightwish.

2004-05 Once Upon A Tour Details on Wikipedia Setlist (from Wiki; specific setlists at setlist.fm) Shows (with links to recordings available on YouTube - 🎤🎤🎤 sound quality - 🎞️🎞️🎞️ image quality - ⭐ pro recording) Touring The World 2004 Finland-Kitee-Kitee Icehall-May 22, 2004 Estonia-Tallinn-Von Krahl Theater-May 29, 2004 Estonia-Tallinn-Von Krahl Theater-May 30, 2004 Netherlands-Nijmegen-Dynamo Open Air-June 6, 2004 She Is My Sin 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Finland-Tampere-Sauna Open Air-June 11, 2004 Partial show (missing second half) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Sweden-Sölvesborg-Sweden Rock Festival-June 12, 2004 Germany-Glauchau-Woodstage Open Air-June 19, 2004 Greece-Athens-Rockwave Festival-June 20, 2004 Partial show (missing the last 3 songs) 🎤 🎞️ Planet Hell 🎤🎤 🎞️ Phantom Of The Opera 🎤🎤 🎞️ Nemo 🎤🎤 🎞️ Finland-Turku-Ruisrock-July 10, 2004 Stargazers 🎤🎤 (audio only) Spain-Pamplona-Carpa Rojilla Festival-July 11, 2004 United Kingdom-Bradford-Bradford Rio-July 13, 2004 United Kingdom-Nottingham-Nottingham Rock City-July 14, 2004 United Kingdom-London-Astoria-July 16, 2004 Finland-Helsinki-Tuska Open Air Festival-July 17, 2004 Norway-Oslo-Rockefeller-July 21, 2004 (3 shows cancelled because of working visa delays: Toronto ON, Montreal QC and Philadelphia PA) United States-Worcester PA-Mass Palladium-August 20, 2004 United States-New York NY-B. B. King's Blues Club-August 22, 2004 United States-Cleveland OH-Phantasy Theater-August 23, 2004 United States-Cleveland OH-Phantasy Theater-August 24, 2004 United States-Chicago IL-House Of Blues-August 25, 2004 United States-Minneapolis MN-Quest Club-August 26, 2004 Full show 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ United States-Denver CO-Cervantes-August 28, 2004 United States-Scottsdale AZ-Cajun House-August 30, 2004 United States-Anaheim CA-House Of Blues-August 31, 2004 United States-Los Angeles CA-House Of Blues-September 1, 2004 United States-San Francisco CA-Slim's-September 3, 2004 United States-Seattle WA-Graceland-September 5, 2004 Finland-Tampere-Pakkahuone-September 17, 2004 Finland-Turku-Caribia-September 18, 2004 Finland-Helsinki-Nosturi-September 21, 2004 Finland-Helsinki-Nosturi-September 22, 2004 Norway-Oslo-Rockefeller-September 24, 2004 Finland-Jyväskylä-Paviljonki-September 25, 2004 Sweden-Stockholm-Stora Arenan-September 29, 2004 Sweden-Göteborg-Lisebergshallen-October 1, 2004 Sweden-Malmö-Baltiska Hallen-October 2, 2004 Germany-Hamburg-Color Line Arena-October 13, 2004 Germany-Leipzig-Arena-October 15, 2004 Germany-Erfurt-Thüringenhalle-October 16, 2004 Germany-Köln-Palladium-October 19, 2004 Germany-Berlin-Arena-October 20, 2004 Germany-Nürnberg-Arena-October 22, 2004 Germany-München-Zenith-October 23, 2004 Austria-Vienna-Gasometer-October 25, 2004 Hungary-Budapest-Petöfi Hall-October 26, 2004 Italy-Milan-Mazda Palace-October 28, 2004 Phantom Of The Opera 🎤🎤 🎞️ Switzerland-Zürich-St. Jacob Arena-October 30, 2004 France-Lyon-Transbordeur-November 1, 2004 Spain-Madrid-Aqualung-November 4, 2004 Full show 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Spain-Barcelona-Razamatazz 1-November 5, 2004 Belgium-Brussels-Ancienne Belgique-November 7, 2004 Netherlands-Amsterdam-Paradiso-November 8, 2004 Romania-Bucharest-Palace Hall-November 19, 2004 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ (Note 2) France-Paris-Le Zenith-November 21, 2004 Argentina-Buenos Aires-Obras Sanitarias-November 27, 2004 Brazil-Campinas-Usina Royal-November 28, 2004 Brazil-Rio de Janeiro-Canecao-November 30, 2004 Brazil-Porto Alegre-Opiniao-December 2, 2004 Brazil-Belo Horizonte-Marista-December 3, 2004 Brazil-Sao Paulo-Via Funchal-December 4, 2004 Colombia-Bogota-Gran Salon De Corferias-December 8, 2004 Ecuador-Quito-Plaza De Toros Quito-December 10, 2004 Mexico-Mexico City-Circo Volador-December 12, 2004 Mexico-Mexico City-Circo Volador-December 13, 2004 Canada-Montreal-Metropolis-December 15, 2004 Full show 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Canada-Montreal-Metropolis-December 16, 2004 Canada-Toronto-Opera House-December 18, 2004 (🎟️ sold out) Finland-Helsinki-Icehall-December 26, 2004 Germany-Oberhausen-Arena-December 28, 2004 Germany-Hamburg-Friedrichshafen Messehalle-December 29, 2004 Once World Tour 2005 Denmark-Copenhagen-Stora Vega-February 9, 2005 Netherlands-Amsterdam-Heineken Music Hall-February 11, 2005 United Kingdom-London-Astoria-February 12, 2005 Intro (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Come Cover Me (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ The Siren (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ United Kingdom-Birmingham-Academy 1-February 15, 2005 United Kingdom-Glasgow-Academy-February 16, 2005 United Kingdom-Manchester-Academy 1-February 18, 2005 United Kingdom-London-Astoria-February 19, 2005 Belgium-Wieze-Oktoberhallen-February 21, 2005 Germany-Trier-Arena-February 22, 2005 Wish I Had An Angel 🎤 🎞️ Germany-Braunschweig-VW-Halle-February 24, 2005 Full show 🎤🎤 🎞️ Germany-Bayreuth-Oberfrankenhalle-February 25, 2005 Switzerland-Chur-Stadthalle-February 27, 2005 Nemo (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Germany-Stuttgart-Schleyerhalle-February 28, 2005 Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Come Cover Me 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) The Siren 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Wishmaster 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Slaying The Dreamer 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Japan-Osaka-Namba Hatch-March 12, 2005 Japan-Fukuoka-Zepp-March 13, 2005 Japan-Tokyo-Shibuya AX-March 16, 2005 Japan-Tokyo-Shibuya AX-March 17, 2005 Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Planet Hell 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Japan-Nagoya-Zepp-March 18, 2005 Australia-Melbourne-Corner Hotel-March 21, 2005 (Note 4) Australia-Melbourne-Corner Hotel-March 22, 2005 (Note 4) Full show and alternate source 🎤🎤 🎞️ (Note 5) Australia-Sydney-Metro Theatre-March 23, 2005 Australia-Brisbane-Arena-March 26, 2005 Hungary-Budapest-Petöfi Open Air-May 26, 2005 Spain-Madrid-Festimad-May 27, 2005 Partial show (missing Nemo and Wish I Had An Angel) 🎤🎤 ⭐ (audio only) The Siren 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Ever Dream 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Planet Hell 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Poland-Chorzow-Mystic Festival-May 29, 2005 Deep Silent Complete 🎤🎤 🎞️ Nemo (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Wish I Had An Angel 🎤🎤 🎞️ Norway-Oslo-Spectrum-June 10, 2005 Austria-Nickelsdorf-Nova Rock Festival-June 11, 2005 United Kingdom-Donington-Download Festival-June 12, 2005 Nemo 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ United Kingdom-London-Astoria-June 13, 2005 Finland-Seinäjoki-Provinssirock Festival-June 17, 2005 Switzerland-Frauendweld-Frauendweld Open Air-June 18, 2005 Finland-Jämsä-Himos Festival-June 24, 2005 Czechia-Zlin-Masters Of Rock-July 15, 2005 Almost full show part 1, part 2 (missing Wishmaster) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Italy-Toscolano Maderno-Evolution Festival-July 16, 2005 Almost full show (missing Over The Hills And Far Away) 🎤 🎞️ Germany-Frankfurt-Earthshaker Festival-July 22, 2005 Portugal-Porto-Vilar De Mouros Fest-July 28, 2005 Germany-Wacken-Wacken Open Air-August 4, 2005 Germany-Dresden-Open Air-August 5, 2005 Finland-Helsinki-Olympic Stadium-August 6, 2005 (2005 World Championships in Athletics opening ceremony) Nemo 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ (playback; only song played, under the pouring rain) Finland-Vantaa-Ankkarock-August 7, 2005 Wishmaster (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Ghost Love Score 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Germany-Rothenburg-Taubertal Open Air-August 14, 2005 Partial show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Belgium-Hasselt-Kiewit-Pukkelpop Festival-August 19, 2005 Netherlands-Biddinghuizen-Lowlands Festival-August 20, 2005 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Norway-Hell-Hellodrome-September 3, 2005 Norway-Oslo-Rockefeller-September 5, 2005 Sweden-Stockholm-Arenan-September 8, 2005 Sweden-Göteborg-Lisebergshallen-September 9, 2005 Sweden-Umea-Skyarena-September 11, 2005 Phantom Of The Opera 🎤🎤🎤 (audio only) Slovakia-Zilina-Borak Hall-September 17, 2005 Partial show (1st half) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Ever Dream 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Slovenia-Ljubljana-Krizance-September 19, 2005 The Siren (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Sleeping Sun 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ High Hopes 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Wishmaster 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Partial show (2nd half) 🎤🎤 🎞️ Denmark-Copenhagen-KB Hallen-September 23, 2005 United Kingdom-London-Hammersmith Apollo-September 25, 2005 Full show 🎤🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ ⭐ Romania-Bucharest-Polivalenta Hall-September 30, 2005 Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎤 🎞️ Ever Dream 🎤 🎞️ Sleeping Sun 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Greece-Athens-Lycabettus Amphitheatre-October 1, 2005 Mexico-Mexico City-Live'N'Louder Festival-October 8, 2005 Partial show (1st half) 🎤 (audio only) Creek Mary's Blood 🎤 (audio only) Brazil-Sao Paulo-Live'N'Louder Festival-October 12, 2005 Dark Chest Of Wonders-Planet Hell (excerpts) 🎤 🎞️ ⭐ Bless The Child (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Brazil-Porto Alegre-Live'N'Louder Festival-October 15, 2005 Excerpts 🎤 🎞️ Finland-Helsinki-Hartwall Arena-October 21, 2005 CD/DVD release "End Of An Era" (full show) ⭐ (Note 3) Notes Latter half of "Dead Boy's Poem" not played during this tour Look out for Mr. Finlandia passing around at 1:24:30 😆 Featuring John Two-Hawks Playing with borrowed gear because of shipping delays Including "instrumental Sleeping Sun"

Floor's solo shows in Amsterdam have been postponed once again, from October to December 13-14-15. I look forward to those shows because Floor is planning to have one professionally recorded and made available for streaming. It's the next best thing to being able to attend.