Released an improbable seventeen years ago, Once (Nuclear Blast), the fifth album from symphonic metal pioneers Nightwish saw the band catapulted from relative obscurity and into the eyes and ears of a much wider audience. With lead single ‘Nemo’ being given regular airplay on radio and music television channels, everything seemed to be falling into place for the Finnish act.
Nightwish has announced the replacement for Marco Hietala, who has retired from the band. Jukka Koskinen (Wintersun) will be the bassist for the band as their support their “Human. :II: Nature” album World Tour. Continue reading
With gaps of up to five years between studio albums, it takes some serious dedication to be a Nightwish fan these days. Since 2007, the band has only released four albums, but in that time, their fanbase has grown so large that the symphonic Finns (well, mostly Finnish) have been able to make that often treacherous leap from mid-sized venues to selling out full arenas.Continue reading
The final part of a trilogy which began with the Lunar Prelude EP and continued with the Moonbathers full length, Hunter’s Moon (all Napalm Records) is the latest EP by Dutch Symphonic Metal act Delain. Comprising four new tracks and a selection of live cuts recorded on the 2017 ‘Danse Macabre’ tour in Utrecht, the live show is also included as a Blu-Ray disc.Continue reading
Swapping medium sized venues for full sized arenas can be a big gamble for a band, but after a highly successful show at Wembley Arena in 2015, Finnish Symphonic Metal act Nightwish decided to take the plunge and returned to UK shores for a lengthier three date arena visit in support of their recently released compilation album Decades (Nuclear Blast).Continue reading
SATURDAY
With everyone firmly into the swing of things by now, Saturday’s main stage openers Nailed to Obscurity opened proceedings strongly enough but were promptly blown out of the water by one of the major surprises of the festival – Power Trip. A combination of thrash and early death metal, the Texan act were a blur of riffs and speed, whipping up the early afternoon crowd into an explosive cyclone of energy. Continue reading
Nightwish has released their second single for the title track of their album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, out now via Nuclear Blast Records. Stream the lyric video below.
Endless Forms Most Beautiful Single tracklist:
1. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (album version)
2. Sagan (instrumental) previously unreleased
3. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (alternative version)
4. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (radio edit) previously unreleased
Buy ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’ digital copy here:
AMZ MP3: http://geni.us/NightwishEndlessEPAMZ
iTunes: http://geni.us/NightwishEndlessEPiT
Google: http://smarturl.it/NIGHTWISH-FormsEP-GP
NIGHTWISH members include:
• Floor Jansen – Vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – Keyboards
• Marco Hietala – Bass & Vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – Guitar
• Troy Donockley – Pipes, Flutes, Whistles
• Kai Hahto – Drums
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Finnish symphonic metallers Nightwish have confirmed their 26 dates headlining North American tour with Delain as support in early 2016.
Feb 19: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Feb 20: Webster Theater – Hartford, CT
Feb 21: Metropolis – Montreal, QC
Feb 22: Music Hall – London, ON
Feb 24: Carnegie Music Hall – Pittsburgh, PA
Feb 25: LC Pavilion – Columbus, OH
Feb 26: Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI
Feb 27: Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Feb 29: First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Mar 01: Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Mar 02: O’Briens Events Center – Saskatoon, SK
Mar 03: Winspear Center – Edmonton AB
Mar 05: MacEwan Hall Ballroom – Calgary, AB
Mar 06: Wilma Theatre –Missoula, MT
Mar 07: Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
Mar 08: Knitting Factory – Boise, ID
Mar 10: Knitting Factory – Reno, NV
Mar 11: City National Civic of San Jose – San Jose, CA
Mar 12: The Grove – Anaheim, CA
Mar 14: Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ
Mar 15: City Auditorium – Colorado Springs, CO
Mar 16: Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
Mar 18: Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
Mar 19: Aztec Music Hall – San Antonio, TX
Mar 20: New Orleans Civic Theatre – New Orleans, LA
Mar 21: Iron City Live – Birmingham, AL
Mar 23: The Ritz – Tampa, FL
NIGHTWISH members include:
• Floor Jansen – Vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – Keyboards
• Marco Hietala – Bass & Vocals
• Kai Hahto – Drums
• Emppu Vuorinen – Guitar
• Troy Donockley – Pipes, Flutes, Whistles
Nightwish on Facebook
Nightwish on Twitter
Nightwish on YouTube
Finnish symphonic metallers Nightwish have sold 18, 342 copies of their new album Endless Forms Most Beautiful in its first week of sales in the United States and hit #34 on Billboard US Top 200. The album was produced by Tero “TeeCee” Kinnunen and the album features the participation of London’s The Metro Voices choir group, London’s Young Musicians Children‘s Choir, and the Orchestre De Grandeur led by the esteemed orchestral arranger Pip Williams, who teaches Music and Music Technology at the London College of Music. Professor Richard Dawkins not only narrates the introduction to the album’s opener, “Shudder Before The Beautiful,” but also the album’s closer, “The Greatest Show On Earth,” which takes its name from his 2009 book on evolution.
They will be out on tour with Sabaton and Delain across North America and dates are posted here.
NIGHTWISH members include:
Floor Jansen – Vocals
Tuomas Holopainen – Keyboards
Marco Hietala – Bass & Vocals
Emppu Vuorinen – Guitar
Troy Donockley – Pipes, Flutes, Whistles
Kai Hahto – Drums
Nightwish on Facebook
Nightwish on Twitter
Nightwish on YouTube
Dutch symphonic metal five piece Delain have just released their highly anticipated fourth full-length output, which lyrically continues the well-received We Are The Others (2012). The more generic gothic metal of the early days has been replaced by a distinctive sound, which inclines more towards symphonic metal and is heavier, more melodic and more original than ever before in the career of the formation.
The quintet displays great attention to detail, the rhythm section of Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (bass) and Sander Zoer (drums) lays a firm foundation for Timo Somers passionate fretwork, which lends Delain’s sound a very energetic vibe. Moreover, the band has paid particular attention to the vocals, which are a lot more varied then on previous releases.
On the one hand that is surely due to Charlotte Wessels diverse vocals, which are as sweet as they are powerful and manage to draw you in completely. Over the last years, the chanteuse’s voice has become considerably more distinct and expressive, making her much more mature as a vocalist and resulting in her best performance as yet.
On the other hand it’s down to the versatile input of the assembled guest musicians. Most prominent amongst them, certainly Nightwish’s Marco Hietala, whose intense voice forms a stark contrast to Charlotte’s more endearing tones and who provides the two songs he sings in (‘My Body Is A Battleground’, ‘Sing To Me’),with a rougher edge. A further highlight on the record are George Oosthoek’s powerful grunts in the philosophical ‘Tell Me, Mechanist’ and last but not least the impressive growls of Alyssia White-Gluz (Arch Enemy, ex-The Agonist), in the highly symphonic but at the same time rather heavy, ‘The Tragedy Of The Commons’, which are a true delight for every metal head.
The Human Contradiction (released on their new label home, Napalm Records) contains nine carefully crafted and evocative compositions, which strikingly display all of Delain’s trademarks, energetic riffing, catchy melodies and arresting female vocals, but also present some fresh elements. With keyboarder and mastermind Martijn Westerholt (ex-Within Temptation) back in the producer’s chair, the band has managed to fashion their best release to date, making you want to hit the repeat button over and over again.
9.5/10
Isabell Köster