Fugazi Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 Two weeks left before the first single is released, and the single cover has now officially been revealed to those who pre-save the single. Here's the teaser for that: Any expectations about the single? At 8:30 it could be either a slow building piece like 'Music' or 'The Greatest Show On Earth', or just an eclectic song like 'The Poet And The Pendulum' or GLS... The cover evokes a slow, mellow song like 'Our Decades In The Sun' or 'Procession', but somehow I don't think that a slow introspective song would serve the promotion of the new album that well. For instance, I don't think that 'Eva' went down so well as the first taste of Dark Passion Play and the introduction to Anette, from what I could read online! 😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 1 hour ago, Fugazi said: Any expectations about the single? At 8:30 it could be either a slow building piece like 'Music' or 'The Greatest Show On Earth', or just an eclectic song like 'The Poet And The Pendulum' or GLS... The cover evokes a slow, mellow song like 'Our Decades In The Sun' or 'Procession', but somehow I don't think that a slow introspective song would serve the promotion of the new album that well. For instance, I don't think that 'Eva' went down so well as the first taste of Dark Passion Play and the introduction to Anette, from what I could read online! 😜 To be honest, I'm just going to let myself be surprised. Initially, I didn't plan to listen to the singles and was originally going to wait until the album's release, but the temptation to hear the singles is always too much. 😁 I do hope that the album will become ready for pre-order on Backstage Rock Shop soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 53 minutes ago, Moondance said: To be honest, I'm just going to let myself be surprised. Initially, I didn't plan to listen to the singles and was originally going to wait until the album's release, but the temptation to hear the singles is always too much. 😁 I do hope that the album will become ready for pre-order on Backstage Rock Shop soon. I might have considered waiting for a week or two, but 4 months until the album release is way too long! Not to mention that YouTube would be teasing me with the single(s) each and every day until September! 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 The background music to this short message from Tuomas sounds like it might be a snippet of new music? A looping track of tribal drums and a few string notes... intriguing. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/neXExs8sEpc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 15 Author Share Posted May 15 A first few lyrics from Perfume Of The Timeless, to be released in 1 week! 👀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 16 Author Share Posted May 16 Some teasers for the single! 👀 Tune in on May 21th at 10am BST / 11pm CEST for the premiere of the "Perfume Of The Timeless" music video. CREDITS: Freedivers: Guillaume Néry (Footage from “One Breath Around The World” filmed by Franck Seguin ) Tommi Pasanen Pavlos Kourtellas Filmed by: Eki Halkka Ville Lipiäinen Masa Mason Drone Kitee: Hannu Putkuri Visual effects: Eki Halkka Floor Jansen costume by: Outsa Höylä Make up by: Alex Laulajainen Production assist: Piritta Lipiäinen Natural History Museum at Tring team: Joanne Cooper Ian Watson Catherine O’Carroll Hailey Bickham Claire Walsh Edited & Directed by: Ville Lipiäinen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 Perfume Of The Timeless is being gradually released depending on your time zone. The audio is already available in some parts of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAN9F3YkpI I will refrain from commenting until tomorrow, not to spoil anything for anyone. However, here are the complete lyrics in case you would like a peek. Spoiler Something from the earth came Something for the world Mosaic of broken fragile pieces Tesserae of the deceased Born to a novel world Endless chain unbroken Silent clocks rewinding My song it is for mankind Embers to the stars We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a dеath bed Time set for a curious ghost Livеs lived plain and epic Of eudaemonia 12 score and 1 chain of lives unending Welcoming as my offspring Walks me to the weave My song it is for mankind Embers to the stars We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed Time set for a curious ghost We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed Time set for a curious ghost We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs of a million loves Also, pre-orders are now possible from the band shop and possibly other outlets as well. https://www.backstagerockshop.com/collections/nightwish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 There's also a possibly official (Amazon Japan) track length list available for the whole album, which adds up to about 71 minutes which is the confirmed official figure. Spoiler 1. Yesterwynde 02:43 2. An Ocean Of Strange Islands 09:26 3. The Antikythera Mechanism 05:55 4. The Day Of... 04:35 5. Perfume Of The Timeless 08:12 6. Sway 04:24 7. The Children Of 'Ata 05:38 8. Something Whispered Follow Me 06:40 9. Spider Silk 06:26 10. Hiraeth 06:15 11. The Weave 04:54 12. Lanternlight 06:07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 11 hours ago, Fugazi said: Perfume Of The Timeless is being gradually released depending on your time zone. The audio is already available in some parts of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAN9F3YkpI I will refrain from commenting until tomorrow, not to spoil anything for anyone. However, here are the complete lyrics in case you would like a peek. Reveal hidden contents Something from the earth came Something for the world Mosaic of broken fragile pieces Tesserae of the deceased Born to a novel world Endless chain unbroken Silent clocks rewinding My song it is for mankind Embers to the stars We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a dеath bed Time set for a curious ghost Livеs lived plain and epic Of eudaemonia 12 score and 1 chain of lives unending Welcoming as my offspring Walks me to the weave My song it is for mankind Embers to the stars We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed Time set for a curious ghost We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed Time set for a curious ghost We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs on a death bed We are their heir, dust on their palm We are because of a million loves We're the perfume of the timeless Last sighs of a million loves Also, pre-orders are now possible from the band shop and possibly other outlets as well. https://www.backstagerockshop.com/collections/nightwish Already heard the song early. 😁 Definitely gives off "Poet and the Pendulum", "Music" and "Shudder Before the Beautiful" vibes, with some "Harvest" sounding drums in the beginning. Excellent to hear it is already available for pre-order. I'll definitely be doing that soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabla Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Had just my first listen to POTT. Think I need another listening .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 On 5/20/2024 at 10:53 PM, Moondance said: Excellent to hear it is already available for pre-order. I'll definitely be doing that soon. I'm not a big fan of earbooks because they're often just bulkier, blown-up versions of the regular CD case and booklet, and fetch much higher prices. However if this the only way to obtain the instrumental and orchestral versions I'll have to think about it. On the other hand there's the Dolby Atmos version -- and why is that not included in the earbook? -- but I'm not sure I have the hardware required to actually enjoy the difference. At least this time there shouldn't be a 'Tour Edition' of the album released in a year or two. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 Quote For those of you following my acting career, unfortunately I didn’t get the lead role in the next James Bond film (it went to Beyoncé) but, GOOD NEWS: I got the lead role in the upcoming remake of the 1932 classic ‘The Mummy’ and It’s especially exciting as my dear friend Kai Hahto is directing! (see early production photos). Kai knows quite a bit about mummification so I’m in safe hands. By the way everyone, It’s important this news is kept secret so keep it to yourself… https://www.facebook.com/troydonockleyofficial/posts/pfbid02ikYsGkEpvitufKKyL7YatcVag2Xf1PZrMEkfG6fgVoPRecqY9uUVjjcZ1BjWNGH3l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted May 26 Author Share Posted May 26 Quote What are the orchestral and choir elements on ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’? For the Nightwish fans interested, I’ll be talking about these elements on ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’ via my Facebook page next week. https://www.facebook.com/JamesShearmanConductor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Any guesses on what the second single will be? These so far are my two guesses: "The Day of..." "Spider Silk" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 On 5/29/2024 at 7:26 PM, Moondance said: Any guesses on what the second single will be? These so far are my two guesses: "The Day of..." "Spider Silk" These are good picks. We know that Yesterwynde (the song) is short at 2:43 minutes, so it's probably more like an introduction to the album. Hiraeth has no orchestra, so perhaps not single material. An Ocean Of Strange Islands is 9:26 so possibly too long for a single, but then we just had 8-minute Perfume Of The Timeless. So my guesses would be between 'The Day Of...' and 'The Antikythera Mechanism'... but yeah, just going on a hunch! As for when the next single(s) will be released, I would guess one in July and the other in September just as the album is released. I think there are 3 videos, so I can see them releasing 3 singles and possibly lyrical videos for the rest of the songs as they did for Human Nature. Quote 1. Yesterwynde 02:43 2. An Ocean Of Strange Islands 09:26 3. The Antikythera Mechanism 05:55 4. The Day Of... 04:35 5. Perfume Of The Timeless 08:12 6. Sway 04:24 7. The Children Of 'Ata 05:38 8. Something Whispered Follow Me 06:40 9. Spider Silk 06:26 10. Hiraeth 06:15 11. The Weave 04:54 12. Lanternlight 06:07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 Super interesting post by James Shearman about arranging orchestra and choirs for Nightwish. https://www.facebook.com/JamesShearmanConductor/posts/pfbid024gmCqxuyQVKwGYFiXZSA4NecNdQ69TyAfjrBx5x4jdRM7mjaHscxbpHq9ajJHyLal The original idea of this post was to give the listener a talk through the orchestral and choral elements that Tuomas and I created for ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’. However, as I sat down to write the post I realised that it needed an introduction; ‘How are the orchestral and choral arrangements created for a Nightwish song? ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’ was actually the final orchestra/choir arrangement I wrote for ‘Yesterwynde'. My process is usually the same before I start on a single note of any arrangement and ‘POTT' was no exception. Firstly I Listen to the demo recording of the song, not over and over at this stage, just a few times to note my reaction to it on an emotional level. So just as a general example; on the first listen I might think; “I love that 2nd half of the chorus, that’s the sweet spot of the song, that’s the peak musical moment for me”, or “that second verse needs more going on in the orchestra, a bigger build“, etc etc. I’m not thinking about the orchestration specifically at this stage, I’m just thinking about the song, how it feels, where the musical sweet spots are for me. It’s really important to remember these initial reactions to the song. I would then just live with the song in my subconscious for a couple of days before speaking with Tuomas. Tuomas makes his own demo recordings for all his new songs. He uses (from memory)a Korg keyboard with a build-in sequencer and he records all the parts himself, one by one until he has all the parts that will eventually be fine-tuned and replaced by the Nightwish band, and his orchestra and choir parts are ready for me to ‘do my thing’ with. All his different parts of the composition are then recorded into a digital recording system called protools, these are then delivered to my assistant Martin Higgins. Martin then has the extremely labour intensive job of transcribing Tuomas’s parts, note by note into a computer music notation system called Sibelius. Martin then sends these Sibelius files to me. So at this stage I have a very basic musical score with all of Tuomas’s parts of the song notated in front of me. The Nightwish band parts are there just for my reference, so I can understand harmonically what’s going on in the song, and more importantly so I can see exactly what the bass guitar is doing, where the lead guitar riff sits in the track etc etc, I’m able to see quickly where I need to stay out of the way of the Band parts. Tuomas is super efficient. He was always very prepared and organised for our orchestration meetings. He knows his own music inside out (not all composers do strangely enough). For each meeting we would discuss just one song and these meetings would always follow the same pattern. 1. Tuomas would talk me through what the song was about, its meaning, its story (he’s always telling a story with music and lyrics). 2. He would then talk through each section of the song in detail, discussing his demo recording of the orchestral and choral parts, what he liked about them, what he didn’t like and what he would like me to add to, improve on, or merely polish. He would ask for my thoughts and opinions on all these points and I would offer my ideas. 3. Finally he would talk through the dynamic shape of the song, eg, how big or small the orchestra and choir should be at certain points in the song. He would ask me to make a certain section of the orchestral arrangement bigger; “could you add some brass and woodwinds to this here please James” or “this should be full-on orchestra here“, “no woodwinds here please, I really like it with just the strings I have”, etc etc. My favourite comment was something along the lines of “this should be the most massiveness of all massiveness James!” Tuomas likes intimate orchestration, you’ll have already heard many Nightwish songs accompanied with just a small chamber string orchestra, but he loves ‘EPIC!’ So do I, but actually there is a lot of skill in creating a good, polished ‘epic’ sound where each section of the orchestra can be heard clearly and with purpose. I am balancing the sound of big forces, a full symphony orchestra of 80 people of more and a choir of 50 singers all playing together, but doing different things. I’m having to get the right weight on the different parts, eg; enough String players on a melody that has to soar over a big French Horn line whilst the Trumpets and low Brass are doing something else and whilst the Woodwinds and Percussion are also doing completely independent things against all this. Of course the epic orchestral and choral sound is historically an important element of the Nightwish sound that began with Tuomas and the amazing Pip Williams. Pip created brilliant orchestral and choral epic sounds on all past albums, it was skilful, original and each element of the orchestra had space to breathe, his orchestration had a sheen and brilliance to it. I conducted the orchestra and choir for all those past albums and it sounded magnificent live in the studio. That sound had to be continued for ‘Yesterwynde’ of course, but after discussing this with Tuomas we decided to try and do it in a slightly more contemporary way. I had lots of new ideas for this approach and I’ll talk specifically about this on ‘POTT’ in a part two post. A major consideration when adding a full symphony orchestra and choir to a rock track is ‘where is all this sound going to fit within the Nightwish band parts?’ If you imagine three different sound frequencies to work in; low, mid and high, the low and mid frequencies are already full with the bass guitar, kick drum, snare and toms, guitars, keyboards and then vocal in the mid to high. So I have to place the orchestra and choir parts in the right frequency ranges so that you the listener can actually hear what they are playing. I achieve this mainly by keeping the low end of the orchestra away from the bass guitar and often having the strings play just above the guitars. There are always exceptions to this such as when the bass guitar is just pulsing (not moving around too much) and we want a heavy and dramatic low sustained brass gesture down there, but generally when both the orchestra and choir are in, they’re up quite high which gives a nice brilliance to the overall sound of the track and the guitars, bass and drums are not muddied with orchestral contrabasses, low brass etc. My job is to solely focus on the orchestral and choir elements, to take what Tuomas has created for the orchestra to the next level, to maximise its effect, make it as exciting, moving, impactful and beautiful as I can, and to make it technically ‘playable’ for real musicians and singers. Within each song I’m sometimes required to create new ideas for the orchestra, not riffs, but bigger symphonic textures. As an example; Tuomas’s might have string parts that I would eventually turn into a full orchestra moment, adding brass, woodwinds and percussion. Other-times I might be required to do very little, maybe just re- voice some strings and polish what Tuomas has already created in his demo. How I decide to do what and when is largely down to experience, my instinct and of course after discussion with Tuomas. The great thing about working with Tuomas is that he is a both a perfect collaborator and gentleman. There is no ego, he is only interested in creating the best possible music that he can. He is an artist. He would always ask for my ideas and listen to my opinions. He is straight forward and he knows what he wants but at the same time is always happy to try new things. Equally, as an arranger I cannot allow any of my ego to seep into things. I have my own ‘sound’ and personality as an arranger, but I’m always aware that I’m there to serve the composition. I am also a composer of my own music and so I have an understanding and appreciation of both roles. Most importantly, when arranging a song; the vocal is king! (Nightwish have a powerhouse of a ‘Queen’ vocal in Floor, her vocals are superb. She has an incredible range that she knows technically how to use). As an arranger I’m there to support the vocal, to weave the orchestra and choir around the vocal, never disturbing the listener with too much going on. I’m there to highlight and punctuate musical phases for added impact, to add a little more interest or colour here and there and to be sympathetic to the song’s story. After I’d completed an arrangement I was able to give Tuomas a decent demo recording of the orchestra and choir parts using all the technology we have at our disposal today. That way he was able to hear a demo of just the orchestra and choir parts for each song and asses things. I would only ever send him my demo if I was really happy with it, he constantly refines his compositions and I also do the same in my work. I would then wait for Tuomas’s reaction to what I’d sent him. Most of the time Tuomas was very happy with what I’d done, sometimes he would ask for some tweaks to things. So after his feedback I would make any tweaks and re-send him my demo, and we would then move on to the next song. We worked like this for around four months. During this period Tuomas was also rehearsing his new songs with the band, Emppu, Floor, Troy, Kai and Jukka all bringing their own brilliant musicianship to the parts Tuomas had originally written for them (these guy’s can really play!). Once the orchestra and choir arrangements were all signed-off by Tuomas and I, my notated scores would then be sent to the music copyist and music Librarian for the project; Tom Kilworth - who’s job it was to print and tape together multiple copies of the scores and parts for over 100 musicians and singers for each arrangement (needless to say he gets through A LOT of paper and ink carriages!). That time scale for ‘Yesterwynde’ was a luxury for me, I’m use to having a month (max) to complete orchestrations for a 80 minute movie score. Eventually I finished the final arrangement for ‘Yesterwynde’ (Perfume Of The Timeless) a week or so before the recording sessions. So I then had a week to get organised for the recording sessions at Abbey Road Studio Two. So that’s the process of ‘how the orchestra and choir arrangements were created for ‘Yesterwynde’. Hope this post was interesting to some of you Nightwish fans. On to a ‘listener's guide to the orchestra and choir on ‘POTT’ in part two next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Hmm this seems like a new strategy, exclusive NW vinyls at Walmart and Best Buy?! What's the world coming to? 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 I'm late with the updates, here's one from James Shearman. It's worth reading while listening to the song. https://www.facebook.com/JamesShearmanConductor/posts/pfbid034pRQQAEZLwYwG4ZRE6QENsCZTVMAWS7qdSX2oRH7wuza1a6377VvhJRw2saYughrl 'Perfume Of The Timeless' Orchestral Arrangement Breakdown. Some of you may recall in part one of this post that I talked about how my initial reactions to a demo of the song are important, it’s on the first few listening’s of the song that my instincts come into play and I spot where I think the important musical highlights are. For me, out of all the Yesterwynde tracks, Perfume Of The Timeless was the song that was more traditionally ‘Nightwish’. Musically speaking (and from a personal view point), the chorus is the highlight and it’s where the orchestra really start to 'take off’, but let’s start with the the song’s epic introduction. After the first few bars of drums, the strings enter straight away with a very ‘Holopaininen string riff’. All the violins and violas play in unison and the cellos play the same part an octave lower. We then have a low brass swell (cimbasso, contrabass trombone and bass trombone plus two tenor trombones an octave higher) added to the 4th bar of the string riff 0.33 which leads into the first choir entry. We’re then off again with the string riff but this time Troy’s pipes join the strings, the low brass play the long low bass notes but this time the french horns enter with a chord swell at 0.47, leading up to the second choir entry. Then we’re off again with the string and Pipes riff, but on this occasion we add a second set of string parts on top of the string and pipe riff. Basically, we record the strings playing one set of parts in the arrangement (the original string riff) and then record the strings again playing something different over the top of the string riff. Tuomas often has two distinct sets of string parts in his demos, but more often than not I make the two different string parts work with just one string ensemble, I edit and re-voice everything so that everything is playable with just one string ensemble, but on POTT we really needed both the string riff plus the slow moving ascending string parts which build in intensity to the breathy choir ‘ahhs’ at 1.30. So in addition to the two sets of strings playing the riff with Troy, this section also builds with our low brass, followed by horns at 1.06, followed by woodwind, percussion and finally trumpets at 1.30. I use a simple but effective gesture for the brass throughout POTT, where they make extreme dynamic swells over a bar or two. They start very, very softly and quickly become very loud. This is quite straight forward for the low brass over a couple of bars of music at a time, but for the trumpets it’s more difficult as I have them play in the highest register of the instrument, and so supporting the very high notes from the very, very soft volume means they can often ‘split/crack’ the note. I won’t go into the technique of brass playing to explain why this is so treacherous for the trumpets, but fortunately, for all the Yesterwynde tracks we had great players in Mike Lovett and Jason Evans who make it sound so easy! This type of brass orchestration with dramatic swells up and down is quite ‘filmic’ (think Inception by Hans Zimmer), and helps give the orchestra a more contemporary sound because we associate the sound with contemporary movie scores. At 1.32 the breathy choir ‘Ahhs’ enter and they are accompanied with a simple four note string phrase played by the cellos and contrabasses that starts at 1.38. Moving onto the next significant part of the song’s introduction at 2.09, we had to create another orchestral build leading up to the first verse. This starts with just the contrabasses and cellos, then adding the violas followed by the second violins.This leads up to 2.24 where the strings do the classic Nightwish thing of doubling the electric guitar riff, all the strings play this, initially in octaves then in three octaves, this gives a nice build. The woodwinds here play a similar figure to the choir, but they are playing up in a higher octave. The low brass continue with low swells, then after a couple of bars; at 2.32 the horns join, playing sustained harmony, finally the trumpets are added at 2.37. So you can see already that things are always building slowly, If the whole orchestra came in at the start together, there would be nowhere left for me to go, nothing to help build over these intro sections which are effective but relatively simple sections of music, so creating textures that increase in size and volume around the string riffs, helps create excitement. We use these simple but effective ideas throughout POTT. For the first verse at 2.39 we have just the strings playing four part string chords, quite gently, leaving plenty of space for Floor’s vocals to shine. At 3.09 we get to the 'pre-chorus’. This is the section of a song that functions as a ‘build’ to the chorus. Musically, it’s usually stronger than a verse but not quite as strong as the chorus, it’s there to help shift the momentum of a song and lead us to the main event. Here we have the two sets of strings again, we first recorded the strings playing high string chords, we then had all the violins record the moving part that is more prevalent (some refer to this as the ‘Phantom Of The Opera part!). So just the strings have been playing through the verse and pre-chours, which means that when we reach the first chorus at 3.38 the brass finally enter and we have instant impact! The Chorus for POTT has a catchy rhythm. Tuomas original had two distinct sets of string parts on his demo, a full string orchestra was playing the melody with short ‘chugging’ chords and then another full string orchestra was playing sustained chords. But in this instance the two playing together would have canceled out each other. So I decided to take his original idea (the chugging/moving strings and the sustain), but write for one set of string parts and then use the brass. Basically when the strings play the rhythmic melody part at 3.40, the brass play sustained parts behind the strings, and then at 3.47 when the strings play the sustained parts, the trombones and french horns play rhythmic parts. So there is always a section of the orchestra that's moving whilst another section of the orchestra sustain behind it, this idea alternates between the two throughout the chorus. By doing this, not only is there greater clarity in the ideas, but the colour changes of the orchestra add interest. At 3.56 we’re back to Tuomas’s string riff, this is the same orchestration as at 2.24. At 4.11 we hit the second verse, and again we just have fairly gentle four part string chords, but this time there is a bit more movement within these parts, they are never just ‘padding’, they do contain lines that double Floor’s vocal such as at 4.26. Also, the band 'up the energy’ on this verse, bass guitar, lead guitars and drums are playing with more momentum, I have to take this into account. All the idea’s in the verse’s were in Tuomas’s original demo, everything worked well so my job on the verse’s was just to refine. When I look at an arrangement on paper, there should be an arch, sections of very little orchestra followed by fuller sections, and both these lighter followed by fuller sections should also increase in size throughout the arrangement leading to 'full on' orchestra and choir towards the end of the song. As we get to the second pre-chorus, we have the two string ideas again, very high sustained strings which help the orchestra to ‘open up’ and the more prevalent moving part on the violins with our ‘Phantom’ part again. We reach the second chorus at 4.56. Here I use the same ideas as the first chorus, but I add to this chorus, change the register that the strings play in and generally ‘up the energy’. The strings play rhythmic parts that double the melody, whilst the brass sustain and then again they switch; with the strings sustaining whilst the brass play a rhythmic part 5.06. But, this time I place the strings higher in register to add energy and excitement. Also I add the trumpets to this chorus, they are up high, adding a brilliance to the overall sound of the orchestra, the trombones and trumpets play high chord’s that swell 4.58. We are very lucky in London to have world class orchestral players that can switch from different playing styles with ease, here the brass are creating a tight, bright ‘pop/rock’ sound. Also in part one of this post I talked about putting the orchestra in the right space sonically within the song, on these chorus’s there is a lot going on in the band parts, so I keep the orchestra up very high in register, above the guitars, drums, and vocals, which is how pretty much everything I give to orchestra is heard above the guitars, drums, bass and vocals. On to the the Guitar riff at 5.43. This is pure Tuomas, the Nightwish sound where the bass and lead guitar riff is doubled with the strings. All the strings play this riff except the contrabasses. At 5.50 the french horns play a dissonant chord with a rhythm. At 5.59 the contrabasses join the string riff, but we move the violins to playing a high string ‘stabbing’ rhythmic part, which the woodwinds (Piccolo, flute, oboe, 2 clarinets and bassoon join at 6.06, (this idea and colour is very 'Stravinsky - Rite Of Spring’). At 6.14 I add muted trumpets to the woodwind rhythmic ’stab’s’ part and the violins return to the rest of the strings playing the guitar riff. I also add low brass swells here so the entire orchestra is playing but there are only three ideas going at once, and one of those ideas is doubling the guitar riff, so there’s still clarity even with an entire symphony orchestra, choir and rock band playing together. As we reach the final chorus I employ everything from the previous chorus, but everyone is marked up dynamically (they are playing ff - fortissimo (very loud) this adds extra energy as much as volume. I also change the voicing in the brass so that they are playing even higher in register, I also add some flutes to the trumpet parts, but playing very high, just adding a little higher frequency to the trumpets. Finally we reach the ending of the song and at 7.03 we start with a solo harp accompanying Troy’s beautiful, plaintive vocal. Then at 7.34 we have a simple part for the cellos and contrabasses followed by the rest of the strings at 8.03. The strings here are ‘muted’, this is a lovely, gentle sound that feels right for the ending of this song, the strings are able to leave with just a whisper of a sound. So there we are, I hope you’ll enjoy reading this post on your next listen to Perfume of The Timeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Part 9 for the Documentary behind Yesterwynde is up! Looking in the comments, I can see people asking if Emppu will do any interviews for the documentary. Well, I do know he is shy, so... I'm not sure, but I hope so. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin the Toffee Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Always look forward to a new Nightwish album. I have every album and apart from one (which I think you can guess) I have not been disappointed. This time I am going for the plain CD version. one thing that does annoy me about their releases is that, like the new one, their have triple CD versions which comprise of CD1 the full album. CD2 The Instrumental Versions. CD3 The Orchestral Versions. Maybe it is just me but I listened to a few of the instrumental versions and orchestral versions of a few albums and find them pointless, I am sure some will love them but not me. As the plain CD is £9.99 in the Uk and the 3CD version is £79.99 it's a no brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 16 hours ago, Colin the Toffee said: This time I am going for the plain CD version. one thing that does annoy me about their releases is that, like the new one, their have triple CD versions which comprise of CD1 the full album. CD2 The Instrumental Versions. CD3 The Orchestral Versions. Maybe it is just me but I listened to a few of the instrumental versions and orchestral versions of a few albums and find them pointless, I am sure some will love them but not me. I hear you there. If there was a bonus track like there had been in the earlier Nightwish releases, then I would have gone for it too. I'm going for the plain CD version, but in jewelcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondance Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 On August 8, which is set to be in a couple of days, Nightwish will be releasing the second single off of the upcoming album! The title of this second single is called "The Day of..."! Really looking forward to hearing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Did you try the Yesterwynde game yet? It's a bit clunky but there are worse ways of spending 10 minutes on the internet! https://yesterwyndegame.nightwish.com/ If you need any clues to where to find items, here's what I have: Present The house: Flashlight + Sheet music The forest: Sheet music; UPDATE: bottle lyrics 1 The cave: Sheet music + Mechanism part The lighthouse: Photograph 1; UPDATE: Photograph 4 Recent Past The house: Sheet music + Mechanism part The forest: Photograph 9; UPDATE: Photograph 6 The cave: nothing but a quote (see Quote 1); UPDATE: Photograph 5, bottle lyrics 2 The lighthouse: nothing at all; UPDATE: Photographs 2 and 3 Distant Past The house: Photograph 10; UPDATE: Photograph 7 The forest: Mechanism part The cave: Photograph 8 The lighthouse: Mechanism part and a quote (see Quote 2); UPDATE: bottle lyrics 3 After collecting the 4 pieces of Sheet music you are granted access to the orchestral version of 'Perfume Of The Timeless'. 05-perfume-of-the-timeless_orchestral-version.mp3 The 4 Mechanism parts unlock a photo album with larger versions of the previously collected photos, three of which are stills from the 'The Day Of...' video, the others are presumably from the album booklet. I assume the quotes below are lyrics from yet unreleased songs. Quote 1: Out of the darkness - and into the bright light - we carry the ties - that we blind to you Quote 2: A mariner under a sky moonlit - on an island of a crewless ship - a few decades of immortality ahead - a one-man crew for a one-way trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted August 14 Author Share Posted August 14 The first early reviews are coming, as there was a pre-release listening session in Finland on August 9th. This one is from Chaoszine, it's a bit spoilery because they are describing every track so be warned! https://chaoszine.net/nightwishs-september-release-yesterwynde-is-not-just-an-album-but-an-experience-that-challenges-and-captivates-read-our-early-review-of-the-album/ Nightwish’s September release “Yesterwynde” is not just an album but an experience that challenges and captivates: Read our early review of the album. Author Staff - 14.8.2024 Spoiler There always seems to be a special kind of anticipation surrounding Nightwish‘s album releases. It’s been over four years since their last studio album, “Human :II: Nature”, but now the wait is coming to an end; “Yesterwynde”, the band’s tenth studio album, will be released on September 21st. Before this highly anticipated moment, Nightwish held a pre-listening session deep within the legendary Finnvox Studios on August 9th, where a select group of guests got to experience the album from start to finish. As expected, “Yesterwynde” is not an easy album to digest. The band’s frontman, Tuomas Holopainen, acknowledged this during the pre-listening session but expressed his hope that the album’s central message – gratitude for the uniqueness of our existence – wouldn’t be buried too deep. “Yesterwynde” has been described as the heaviest Nightwish album yet, and while surprises were expected, I still found myself picking my jaw up off the floor time and time again. The album’s opening track, title track “Yesterwynde” strikes my ear as a rather atypical start for a Nightwish album – lacking the explosiveness or catchiness of previous album openers. “Yesterwynde” begins with a choir, acoustic guitar, and uilleann pipes, gradually transitioning into Floor Jansen’s ethereal vocals. Don’t let the first track fool you, though, as the album’s second track, “An Ocean Of Strange Islands“, quickly clarifies why this album has been described as the heaviest in the band’s discography. There is a lot happening dynamically in this song, and I constantly found myself wishing the show would keep going just a tad further. The nearly 10-minute track is the album’s longest, featuring all the “textbook Nightwish” elements – massive guitar riffs, roaring orchestra, and powerful vocals. This track is definitely one of the heaviest on the album, with a theatrical soundscape that inevitably brings to mind the atmosphere of the “Imaginaerum” album. The third track, “The Antikythera Mechanism“, picks up where its predecessor left off. What stands out most is a rather astonishing interlude that I never expected to hear from this band. Otherwise, it’s a fairly straightforward track, featuring vocal contributions from multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley. I recommend Googling the Antikythera mechanism, as it’s quite an unusual concept for a song lyric – though clearly a great one. The pre-released singles “The Day Of…” and “Perfume Of the Timeless” are placed back-to-back on the album. Based on the two singles, the album has already been deemed as too soft, too experimental, and poorly mixed. After listening to the entire album, my perspective is that the singles successfully represent the album’s central theme, but it’s impossible to form a complete picture of the album’s musical contents based on the singles alone. “Perfume Of the Timeless” might have been an unusual choice for the first single due to its over 8-minute length, but on the album, the track surprisingly stands out as one of the more straightforward songs. “Sway” is one of the album’s lighter tracks and allows Troy Donockley to shine with his pipes and vocals. Nightwish has a tradition of including slow, atmospheric tracks on their albums, but “Sway” brings a fresh breeze of something new to this category. “The Children Of ‘Ata” tells the story of the Tongan castaways. The song has sort of an 80s vibe, and after the listening session, many wondered what that “disco song” was. The track came as a surprise even to a long-time Nightwish fan like myself, though the unfamiliar elements are balanced by a strong Nightwish trademark through powerful guitar riffs and impressive orchestration. The song also features a group of native singers from Tonga. Despite its strong orchestral parts, “Yesterwynde” is a very band-driven album. In previous albums, I’ve found myself wishing guitarist Emppu Vuorinen would play a larger role, and this wish was finally fulfilled with the track “Something Whispered Follow Me“. The song isn’t the heaviest on the album, but it carries a uniquely threatening atmosphere and a notably guitar-driven sound. One of the album’s highlights for me is the track “Spider Silk“. It showcases a wide range, from a jazzy atmosphere to an explosive chorus, from familiar Nightwish trademarks to entirely new elements. Floor Jansen’s vocal performance is astonishingly strong throughout the album, but during this song, the chills just wouldn’t stop. I generally find myself enjoying Troy Donockley’s vocals, but in “Spider Silk” he undeniably seems to be overshadowed. However, the very next track reminds us why Donockley is an essential element in the band’s music. “Hiraeth” – a Welsh word referring to feelings of longing and nostalgia with no direct English translation – allows Donockley’s soft vocals and hauntingly beautiful whistles to shine in their full glory. The penultimate track, “The Weave” has a very strong essence of a Nightwish song. Perhaps it’s the diverse use of the orchestra or the use of a familiar riff pattern, but in my opinion, it’s definitely one of the highlights of the album’s second half. Bassist Jukka Koskinen, who officially joined the band in 2022, is particularly prominent in this track. And damn, his contributions sound fantastic throughout the album – especially considering this is Koskinen’s first studio effort with the band. Unlike recent Nightwish albums, “Yesterwynde” doesn’t close with a 20-minute epic, but with the soft and beautiful “Lanternlight“, which ties the 12-track journey back to the same tranquility from which the opening track began. At the end of the event, I had the honor of experiencing the Dolby Atmos version of the album, guided by Mika and Niklas Jussila. It was amazing to hear the incredible worlds that can be created with modern technology! The album’s mixing and mastering sound precisely considered in every detail, and the Dolby Atmos is tastefully implemented, adding the final touch to the listening experience. “Yesterwynde” is a surprising album that challenges the listener both thematically and compositionally. It’s a testament that, after nearly 30 years, Nightwish can still reinvent itself without losing its recognizable sound. After the listening session, someone asked me about my thoughts on the album, and here’s what I would have said if I hadn’t been absolutely speechless: “The album is an astonishing entity that keeps the listener on their toes. It’s not only a demonstration of Tuomas Holopainen’s indescribable talent as a songwriter but also proof of the incredible group of musicians he is surrounded by. “Yesterwynde” requires multiple listens to fully unravel, but its core message is clear even after just one spin”. You can also check out our video interview with Tuomas Holopainen about the upcoming album below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhYFFzG9hn0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted August 15 Author Share Posted August 15 Another detailed early review of the album: https://metalliluola.fi/perfect-harmony-nightwish-yesterwynde-pre-listening-at-finnvox-studios-august-9-2024/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.