#jukka nevalainen

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

The Nightwish Experience

[astralbondpro]

Nightwish // Bye Bye Beautiful

[thecomposertuomasholopainen]

We need to talk about Marko Hietala

It’s quite disappointing to read that he really had problems with the administration of the band, and not with the promoters, all this things about his mental health wasn’t the real reason to quit nightwish, the real problem was the money and the validation he needed to feel happy and full; everything is ok with this, but why he said this things know? In my personal opinion everything was ok until the announcement of the virtual show, because the band had to pay for this show and was quite expensive ( btw, this show was the most viewed around the world ) he didn’t accept this then he quit, this decision was taken in a very hard time for nightwish ( COVID-No live shows, crew without job, new album done) in the middle of the only one unique show. Tuomas: Marco informed us by mail in December last year [that he was leaving the Band] it was a really tough pill to swallow. And for a few days, I was actually quite confident that there's no coming back, that this is it. I remember talking to Emppu [Vuorinen], the guitar player, and we were, like, 'You think this is it?' 'Yeah, I think this is it.' I mean, enough is enough.

This break was a real punch in the face and a huge bite to the nightwish heart, because the money and the “ I don't need Nightwish anymore.” and ”Remember, Tuomas, that I could leave this band at any time, giving you only one day's warning in advance”. From Tarja. Comes true once again and was made by Marko, a real dear friend for Tuomas (I know many people blame Tuomas for everything but he is not the administrator of the band, as far as we know, the administrators are Jukka Nevelainen and Ewo (manager) ) said that, this was a real betrayal and just to fu<k even more this sh:t Marko Hietala is on tour with Tarja, giving interviews talking sh:t about this.

I had noticed that nightwish was very supportive with him, even they dedicated him the echo award, they mentioned in several post saying they missed him, but after this interviews in the Tarjas tour, until that moment NW unfollowed him on social media, That reaffirms my theory. This was a huge betrayal and I just feel very disappointed about Marko, I understand his reasons but all this statements and this Tarja Marko union it felts like a knife in the back!

This is not a post to start a drama, it is just a personal opinion, I like the way that nightwish is taking all this, we just can hope and wait for great music to come 🤘🏻 but again the "The blow was almost fatal” and this let us without a tour 😪

[myvinylplaylist]

Nightwish: Once (2004)

Roadrunner Records

[clouds-of-wings]

mole4967992's Nightwish tribute dragons

from Flight Rising // #s in alt text

TARJA

ANETTE

FLOOR

TROY

EMPPU

SAMI

MARKO

TUOMAS

JUKKA N.

NIGHTWISH

...and...

LittleTuomas

You can find dragons based on Kai Hahto and Jukka Koskinen here if you want a full set!

[a-silent-symphony]

⫷ NIGHTWISH FLASHBACK FRIDAY ⫸ Nightwish performs ‘Nemo’ at the IAAF World Championships 2005

[vi-sigoth]

Trees have dropped their leaves

Clouds, their waters

All this beauty is killing me

[couragehopelovefaith]

I think seeing one more concert with the original Nightwish would fix me (know that it's probably not going to happen, though).

[pepsimaxxing]

when Nightwish said “all within me gone but pain and hope, hoping that the pain would fade away” I felt that

[the-poet-and-the-pendulum]

[the-save-place-art]

Spectacular...

[vanalex]

Day 5 of 25

Nightwish - Once

I’ve been given a task to choose 25 albums that greatly influenced my taste in music. One per day for 25 consecutive days. Random order. No explanation, no reviews, just album covers.

Normally I should nominate someone every day to do the same. I decided not to  nominate anyone in particular and everyone who wants to play along is free to join. If you aren’t interested, no problem.

[thecomposertuomasholopainen]

“This loneliness I need to be who I am” Tuomas Holopainen - Astral Romance

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Nightwish - The Phantom of the Opera 2002

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a song from the 1986 stage musical of the same name, based on the 1910 French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, which tells the tragic story of a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, masked musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opéra House. The song was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and additional lyrics by Mike Batt. The song was originally recorded by Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley, which became a UK hit single in 1986, prior to the musical. Listen to it here! In its theatrical debut, it was sung by Brightman and Michael Crawford in their roles as Christine Daaé and the Phantom. Listen to it here! The Phantom of the Opera was the longest running show in Broadway history, and celebrated its 10,000th performance on February 11, 2012, becoming the first Broadway production in history to do so. It is the second longest-running West End musical, after Les Misérables, and the third longest-running West End show overall, after The Mousetrap. The original West End production at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, ended its run in 2020, its run cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.

In 2002, Nightwish released Century Child, along with the singles "Ever Dream" and "Bless the Child". Century Child was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts of most distance between a first place album and the second place. An enduring favorite of fans is the band's version of "The Phantom of the Opera". The song was routinely played in concerts until October 21, 2005, when vocalist Tarja Turunen was fired from the band and later replaced with Anette Olzon, whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again. This would hold true for 17 years until November 27 and 28, 2022, when Nightwish was joined by Dutch singer Henk Poort on stage at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam to perform the song. Marko Hietala joined Tarja Turunen at a couple of her solo shows in 2023 to sing "The Phantom of the Opera" with her. They are set to tour together in Spring 2024 in Latin America on Tarja's "Living The Dream – The Hits Tour".

"The Phantom of the Opera" recieved a total of 82,7% yes votes!

[a-silent-symphony]

We got Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen to rank every single album by the band from worst to best

We asked Nightwish founder Tuomas Holopainen to rank the band's albums from worst to best - and some of his choices surprised us

From fantastical realms to elaborate filmic sagas and love-letters to Darwinism, the Nightwish discography is rich in intrigue – and low on dullmoments. As its central creator, Tuomas Holopainen is inextricably bound to the sounds, feelings and memories that saturate each of these nine albums.

His life is in this music. But if it came to it, in a castaway situation, which albums would he most (and least) want to be stuck with? It’s a tough call. “They are my children,” he pleads, “how would they feel if they saw the ranking? Wishmaster would be so sad!” Still, he did manage to settle on an order, and here it is...

9. Wishmaster (Spinefarm, 2000)

“It went to No.1 in Finland, but to me Wishmaster is one of those albums that was kind of ‘in-between’. It doesn’t stand out to me on a personal level. There was nothing revolutionary about it after [1998’s] Oceanborn.

It was made in a really good spirit – everybody in the band was happy after the success of Oceanborn – so this was just a natural continuation of that. But it didn’t really introduce anything spectacularly new for me personally. I think that’s my problem with it. If Ihad to pick a favourite song, I think I’d pick Dead Boy’s Poem; lyrically, it’s very much in the essence of Nightwish.”

8. Angels Fall First (Spinefarm, 1997)

“Our debut sounds so innocent because it was done as a demo. It was never supposed to be released, but we sent it to the record label and they said, ‘Let’s put this out!’ It still has my parents’ home address on the booklet.

“When I founded Nightwish in July 1996, I just wanted to do moody acoustic music. Since me and Emppu [Vuorinen, guitars] had a strong metal background, it was a natural transition to do something heavier, but that original acoustic band idea can be heard strongly. We couldn’t find anybody to sing, so I kind of dug a hole and fell into it myself.

"We played Elvenpath years later on the Decades tour, and I can’t understand how Floor was able to keep a straight face singing those lyrics – to her credit, she did! I just remember the kid that I was back then, writing those songs, and I kind of miss that kid, because it was all about Donald Duck and fantasy books and snowmen and things fantastical.

"Nymphomaniac Fantasia? Not my proudest moment. But it was done because there was a young kid who had some, I don’t know… issues, ha ha ha! Love-life gone wrong or something. It was a different time.”

7. Century Child (Spinefarm, 2002)

“After Wishmaster, I seriously considered quitting the band, especially thanks to the departure of the [original] bass player [Sami Vänskä] and my slight burnout. Then I went on a hiking trip in Lapland with Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica, and he talked me over that.

"We needed a new bass player, and we needed management because until then it was me and Jukka [Nevalainen] the drummer taking care of the business side. So we got management, and we got Marko [Hietala, bassist/ singer until 2021], who was already a big name in Finnish metal – we were all big fans.

"There was a lot of bad stuff happening in the band as well – that’s reflected on the album. Slaying The Dreamer was a way to get rid of all that frustration. Artistically I found film music, Hans Zimmer above all, and that really can be heard on Century Child. But the album didn’t take us much on the next level. Artistically it did, but not commercially.”

6. Dark Passion Play (Nuclear Blast, 2007)

“It was a really easy album to write because all the emotions were there so strongly, after what happened with Tarja [Turunen, original vocalist who was dismissed from the band in 2005], and everything in my personal life. I was about to lose my mental health, and then doing the songs for this album saved it.

"I’m a very private person, but I write about some really personal things, and these people – Anette [Olzon], for this record – are singing it out for the whole world to hear. Ineeded to do a song like The Poet And The Pendulum, where I killed myself in the lyrics; I had to do it for my mental health, and it ended up being a wonderful piece of music.”

5. Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast, 2011)

“Again, this was a pretty easy album to write – we all had a good time with it. When it comes to songwriting, I’m a morning person. I’ll wake up about six when I’m at home, then a litre of coffee and I’m off. Usually I’m done by two or three o’clock. I write songs upstairs in my little home studio – just a keyboard and a lakeside view. In the studio with the band, the other members and the engineers are more night owls. Also in the tour bus it’s always me up first, making coffee downstairs.

“It was clear from the start that this would end up being a film. We thought, ‘What haven’t we done yet? Let’s do a music video for every song on the album, and then somehow combine them to become this really weird film.’ It’s a very optimistic album. It just puts a big smile on your face.”

4. Once (Nuclear Blast, 2004)

“One of the best times that this band has ever had was 2003- 2004, making the Once album, and the first part of the tour after that. In late 2003 we flew to London to record the orchestras. I rang the studio doorbell and Rick Wakeman opened the door. I think I said, ‘Errr… [makes incoherent starstruck noise] Thanks!’

"We went to the studio, started playing Ghost Love Score and my face melted. Like, ‘I’m next to Wembley, listening to the orchestra playing a song that I wrote, this is really life at its best.’

"Something happened with that album – all the stars were aligned. I remember looking at the album charts and seeing ‘Nightwish, Michael Jackson, Anastasia’ and going ‘Really?!’ I don’t think any of us were quite prepared. You get sucked into this massive world of big tours and worship from the fans, then the money starts to flow in, and it’s easy to lose your perspective. Impulse purchases? I did a round the-world trip on my own, it was wonderful. But money has very little meaning to me."

3. Oceanborn (Spinefarm, 1998)

“Our ambition went through the roof after Angels Fall First, because we all realised that this is actually really fun. I was studying biology, Tarja was studying singing, I think in Germany, Jukka was studying to be a computer engineer, Emppu was working in a carpet factory.

"Music was just a hobby. And then we realised, ‘There’s something going on here, so let’s put all the focus in Nightwish for maybe a few years, and see what happens.’ It was eight hours every day in the rehearsal room, playing the songs and just really feeling it. It was the watershed album for us, it took us to the next level.

"All the guys, we had just gotten out of the army so we all had short hair, we had no idea about the metal scene at all. We were complete countryside hickeys who just happened to like metal music, and we were given this chance to show what we could do with a three-album deal. It shouldn’t have worked on paper, but somehow it did.”

2. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast, 2015)

“If Floor hadn’t come along, I think that would have been the end of the band. We got over an ugly divorce once [with Tarja], then again with Anette, then Floor comes along and everything shines bright again. She learned the setlist in 48 hours – when I called her, she was at her sister’s wedding. Even from the first show the fans embraced her. So we took a lot of that good feeling for Endless Forms Most Beautiful [named after a line from Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species].

"We went to Röskö campsite in Finland to record. It’s a four-hectare area by a lake in the middle of nowhere, belonging to the Boy Scouts. We stayed for three months. Every morning we’d rehearse for a few hours, have lunch, go back, rehearse and then spend the evening with each other by a campfire, barbecuing, playing acoustic guitar, singing, going to the sauna and talking about the songs all the time. The Greatest Show On Earth, that’s the Nightwish desert island song. I’m sure we’ll play that at the end of the setlist until forever.

"We recorded Richard Dawkins’ part in Oxford. He’s quite the character. I’m a huge fan, so I was really starstruck. He did his parts beautifully, it was over in about 30 minutes and then he gave us a ride back to central Oxford in his Tesla. And halfway back he asks us, ‘So are you musicians or something?’ Ha ha! So his head’s somewhere… all the time! But he’s a wonderful guy.”

1. Human. :II: Nature. (Nuclear Blast, 2020)

“I immediately knew after Endless Forms Most Beautiful that ‘OK, we have to do more songs about this.’ And so the idea of Human. :II: Nature. was first to have songs about humankind, and then you play the other CD and relax and go into nature. My memories of making the album are of happy times, no conflicts. We returned to Röskö to make it.

"When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Should we postpone the release?’ But it was all printed and the advertisements had gone out to the papers. So the record label said, ‘Let’s go with it. Maybe people will have more time to concentrate on it…’

"Noise was a big single, but there’s also something about Shoemaker [named after famed geologist/astronomer Eugene Shoemaker]. It’s on the artsy side, but not in a pretentious way.

"Realising what evolution is… it’s about realising our mortality, at least for me. And it’s made all the difference. When I kind of realised that this is very likely the only life we’re gonna have – it’s only after that that I started hugging my dad. I never hugged my dad before that. I’ve just felt much more liberated and in the light ever since.”

[cinemaglow]

Thoughts on Nightwish’s new album Yesterwynde, after listening to it about three times.  I like this album a lot more than their last album Human::Nature.  One of the chief problems I had with H::N was that they underutilized Emppu Vuorinen, one of the best metal guitarists in the scene, both by hiding him in the mix and just not giving him any opportunities to shine.  Yesterwynde fixes that problem for the most part, although there are some points where the mix is…bad.  I didn’t have super high hopes for this album since I wasn’t too impressed by the singles, but it turns out the singles were just the weakest songs on the album.  When it’s meh it’s just meh and when it’s good it’s REALLY GOOD.  This is the first album without Marko Hietala, and while his absence is inevitably conspicuous there are times when they successfully play to the strengths of the remaining band members to compensate.  Jukka Koskinen from Wintersun does a great job on bass with some unique little flourishes.  The subject matter is much the same as the last two albums but there are some musical elements that are reminiscent of much earlier albums, which should be a pleasant surprise for fans of older Nightwish.  There are also some very new sounds; in particular some very electronic-sounding synths woven through the album.  These might be controversial but personally I think they work really well. 

I think I will probably buy this album on CD.  Even the songs I didn’t like as much may grow on me with repeated listening.  High points: Something Whispered Follow Me, Spider Silk.  Low Points: The Day Of, Perfume of the Timeless.

Track by Track

Yesterwynde

A very promising start.  I really like the choir sound at the beginning here.  Unfortunately most of the rest of the album will feature a more Imaginaerum-esque choir sound, which, while I think it was perfect for that album, can get a bit stale on this one.

An Ocean Of Strange Islands

The beginning especially is trying SO hard to be Storytime but it comes out muddled, with just too much going on.  There are no sounds that ever soar above the rest.  There’s a gorgeous guitar solo that you can barely hear over everything else (war flashbacks to Human::Nature).  I think the lyrics would be painting a compelling picture if I could follow them better.  I think I would really like this one if it just had better mixing.  I wonder if the fact that they don’t have Pip Williams doing their orchestral arrangement has anything to do with it.

The Antikythera Mechanism

I don’t have a lot to say about this one.  Still suffering from some muddy mixing at some points.  I think fans of Endless Forms Most Beautiful will really like this one.  I dig the little industrial section in the middle a lot.  This might be a song that sounds better live than on the album.

The Day Of...

I’m not a fan of the “Tuomas gives Floor a whole bunch of words to sing to a repetitive melody” approach, personally.  I will say something nice: I am pleasantly surprised by the electronic background on the verses. 

Perfume Of The Timeless

Needs Jukka Nevalainen.  Maybe I’m the only one that can hear a difference, but Kai Hahto, while technically proficient, lacks a tonal je ne sais quoi that Jukka had.  Again, I’m not a fan of the repetitive, staccato melody.  The constant “hah hah hah” choir sounds like one of the sounds my old 90s Yamaha keyboard could make, and it gets a little old.  Overall sounds like something off of EFMB.

Sway

Emppu Vuorinen gets to show off his gorgeous, extremely underrated acoustic guitar work here.  Acoustic Nightwish album/tour when?  Reminds me of the original demos for Angels Fall First.  Floor and Troy sound great together.  This is the point in the album where the orchestration and choir start actually sounding good; they come in gradually and the way they build is stunning.  At the end we have several melodic lines going but you can easily pick each of them out of the mix.  They should have edited Islands and Perfume down a bit and made this one a bit longer.

The Children Of 'Ata

If Tuomas doesn’t get to do an orientalism at least once per album he will die apparently.  The drum machine reminds me of Erasure and I’m not mad about it.  Floor’s performance is great.  The choral arrangements remind me of Once.  There are also bits that make me think of Oceanborn.  There’s a great little harp section. 

Something Whispered Follow Me

This is the Nightwish I love.  They bring Emppu out right from the beginning, unlike in H::N where he was hopelessly buried in the mix for the whole album.  Arrangement/mixing is lush but still clean, with the orchestration enhancing rather than distracting from the sound of the band.   Structurally it balances tension and quieter moments beautifully.   I love the swoopy little synth lick in the middle.  The only thing that makes me sad is that the backing vocals have a gaping Marko Hietala-shaped hole in them. 

Spider Silk

Again, a high point for me.  It starts with Tuomas’ signature piano at the beginning, but with some dark, modal touches.  Emppu gets to do some bluesy, almost Floydian guitar licks.  I love it.  The mixing allows the orchestra to work together with the heavy guitar and rhythm section rather than drowning them out.  Floor is a powerhouse.  I feel like it’s a little mean that every time Troy Donockley starts singing I’m like “we have Marko Hietala at home” but this song would be so good with Marko.

Hiraeth

Finally a song where the male vocal parts actually sound like they were written for Troy and not Marko.  I love how it goes back and forth between major and minor.  The buildup is gorgeous.  I do wish we could hear it with Jukka Nevalainen on drums.  I love the little touches of synth. 

The Weave

More synth—a newish sound for the band, but one that works really well.  Besides that this is a very classic Nightwish sound.  The Imaginaerum-style choral sound actually works really well here.  Musical callbacks to Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King, which is a lot of fun.  Relentless guitar and drums, some good horn parts in the orchestra.  Floor showcases the full range of her abilities and literally ends the song on a very strong note.

Lanternlight

I have literally nothing bad to say about this one.  I was surprised by how much Tuomas’ piano playing has improved technically.  Not that there was anything wrong with it before but his touch and phrasing are on another level here.  Troy’s vocals are utilized very well rather than sounding like discount Marko.  Goosebumps all the way.   This is a great closer that immediately makes me want to start the album over again.