According to Bravewords.com, AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen recently revealed that the title of the eagerly anticipated forthcoming new album will be The Theory Of Everything, and that it will be a double album. He recently checked in with the following update:
“Finally. I’m basically ready with the new Ayreon album! Just in time for a release this year, I’m happy to say. So, expect the ‘guess this musician on the new Ayreon’ contest to start any time now…”
In the meantime, Lucassen has revealed one singer via the Making Of clip below: NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala:
Lucassen also commented further on the new album: “It’s going to be a double album, so there is a lot to write! It’s extra challenging as well, because lyrically I’ve left the old Ayreon universe behind and have to create a new one from scratch. I’m really excited about the line-up and how everything is PROGressing so far. There is physics involved, but mainly it’s about human relationships and the emotional costs that come with treading the fine line between genius and madness.”
NIGHTWISH‘s August 3 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany will be professionally filmed for a concert DVD and Blu-ray, tentateively due next year.
Says NIGHTWISH mastermind and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen: “The time has come soon to wrap up the magical & memorable one-and-a-half-year ‘Imaginaerum World Tour’ 2012-2013! We still have three shows left, one of them being at the legendary Wacken Open Air metal festival on the 3rd of August. This show will be something extra special, since it will be released later this year on DVD/Blu-ray, together with a massive ‘Imaginaerum World Tour’ 2012-2013 documentary. Our darling flying Dutchwoman, Floor Jansen, has been nothing but incredible during her time in NIGHTWISH on this tour, so this is a perfect opportunity to immortalize the current vibe of the band on film!”
In a recent interview with Ghost Cult Magazine, former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman and current REVAMP vocalist Floor Jansen — who has been performing with NIGHTWISH since last October as the band’s touring singer — was asked if she would be willing to front NIGHTWISH permanently if she were asked to fill the slot.
“I’ve been asked to fill in for the current world tour and for a couple of festival dates, but what will happen after that is still unclear,” she replied. “NIGHTWISH will take a break after the current touring cycle and they’ll make a decision next year. Until then, everything is still up in the air.”
She continued: “If they would ask me, I would be very flattered and I would love to do it. It will be a major overhaul in my life and my career as a singer, but then again, we’re not rushing things.
“Both the guys in NIGHTWISH and I have experiences with previous band breakups and all emotions that come with it. It’s almost like dating. Things feel good and it’s going well, but we’re not in a rush to tie the knot, so to speak.”
Regarding how she looks back on her experiences as a stand-in singer for NIGHTWISH so far, Jansen said: “It’s still too early for me to really reflect on the whole NIGHTWISH adventure, because there are still a couple of tour dates pending, including some summer festivals.
“What can I say? It’s an incredible ride and it feels really good. Things went really well from day one. The timing was really awkward, because Annette Olzon just left the band and there wasn’t really time to rehearse with the other NIGHTWISH members. Anxiety levels were running high, because replacing a female singer mid-tour is a hazardous experience, to say the least. They were running the gauntlet to make sure that none of the remaining tour dates had to be canceled. They were scared and so was I.
“Things went surprisingly well.
“It doesn’t matter where you perform, YouTube will be plastered with movies of the gig the next day, so I really gave it my all. Everyone in the band and crew were really supportive and all the positive reactions and the warm acceptance by the NIGHTWISH fanbase was beyond my wildest dreams.
“Some people would rather see someone else fronting the band, but you can’t please everyone.”
Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band’s lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.
Holopainen has known Jansen for more than 10 years already, having previously toured with her former band, AFTER FOREVER.
Asked about the reasons for Olzon‘s sudden exit from the group, Tuomas told U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine: “I’m sure it came as a shock to everybody. We came out with a statement [regarding the split], which pretty much says it all. It still is a private matter, and that’s all we wanna say about it, like, ever. It was an amicable divorce, so to say, and made in good spirit, and we are just looking to the future. There really is no reason to go back into all the details and all that. I mean, this is not politics, this is a rock band.”
Regarding whether there is a chance that Floor will become the official new NIGHTWISH lead singer, Tuomas said: “The way that we have decided is that we’re gonna continue with her until the end of the festival season in 2013 — just have fun, just do the shows the best we can. I mean, the atmosphere in the band is so good at the moment, [we want to] just enjoy this what we have right now. They try not to think about NIGHTWISH at all for a few months. Everybody take a little vacation. And we already have the rehearsal place for the next album booked in 2014 — from July to September. So that’s how far we have planned. But when we do the last festival show next August, after that, it’s gonna be total nothing for a few months. So I would say everything is possible, but that’s really not the thing that we want to be thinking about right now, because there’s absolutely no reason to.”
Finish metallers NIGHTWISH have launched a new fan magazine for tablet computers. A message from the band follows:
“We have always been enthusiastic about new things, both in music and technology. We have tablet computers for fun, and noticed that they could also be useful for the band and fans. That’s why we started our own “fan magazine” for tablet computers, and the Vol. 1 is now available! More updates are coming in autumn 2013, and you’ll see more previously unpublished pictures, videos, and other interesting stuff and benefits.”
Nightwish Vol 1. FanPOD is the first application for tablet computers about the band. The application icludes band’s history, Imaginaerum movie trailer, all Nightwish online-services, upcoming shows, Nightwish Shop and plenty of unpublished pictures. Vol 1. is now available in English, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese.
TJ Fowler of Skullbanger.net conducted an interview with vocalist/bassist Marco Hietala of Finnish/Dutch symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH at the Tuska open-air festival, which was held June 28-30 in Helsinki, Finland. You can now watch the chat below.
NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen has known the band’s current touring vocalist, Dutch singer Floor Jansen, for more than 10 years already, having previously toured with her former group, AFTER FOREVER.
Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band’s lead singer of the previous five years, Anette Olzon.
Asked about the reasons for Olzon‘s sudden exit from the group, Tuomas told U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine: “I’m sure it came as a shock to everybody. We came out with a statement [regarding the split], which pretty much says it all. It still is a private matter, and that’s all we wanna say about it, like, ever. It was an amicable divorce, so to say, and made in good spirit, and we are just looking to the future. There really is no reason to go back into all the details and all that. I mean, this is not politics, this is a rock band.”
Regarding whether there is a chance that Floor will become the official new NIGHTWISH lead singer, Tuomas said: “The way that we have decided is that we’re gonna continue with her until the end of the festival season in 2013 — just have fun, just do the shows the best we can. I mean, the atmosphere in the band is so good at the moment, [we want to] just enjoy this what we have right now. They try not to think about NIGHTWISH at all for a few months. Everybody take a little vacation. And we already have the rehearsal place for the next album booked in 2014 — from July to September. So that’s how far we have planned. But when we do the last festival show next August, after that, it’s gonna be total nothing for a few months. So I would say everything is possible, but that’s really not the thing that we want to be thinking about right now, because there’s absolutely no reason to.”
NIGHTWISH will release their feature film, Imaginaerum, in Russia on June 6th. Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and bassist Marco Hietala took part in a Q&A session at the Russian premeire on May 28th at Cinema Center at Krasnaya Presnya, Moscow.
Fans can check out some impressions the Russian premeier last week here and here.
On November 10th, 2012 Nightwish held the premiere of Imaginaerum at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The event saw the band perform with new singer Floor Jansen. Check out professionally-filmed footage by director Ville Lipiäinen of the track ‘I Want My Tears Back’ below:
The premiere of the Imaginaerum movie was after their live appearance. A film trailer can be seen below:
Finland’s NIGHTWISH will release their feature film, Imaginaerum, in Russia on June 6th. Fans can check out some impressions the Russian premeier last week here and here.
On November 10th, 2012 Nightwish held the premiere of Imaginaerum at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The event saw the band perform with new singer Floor Jansen. Check out professionally-filmed footage by director Ville Lipiäinen of the track ‘I Want My Tears Back’ below:
Nightwish’s setlist:
‘Taikatalvi’
‘Storytime’
‘Dark Chest of Wonders’
‘Amaranth’
‘Scaretale’
‘Ever Dream’
‘Slow, Love, Slow’
‘I Want My Tears Back’ (with Troy Donockley and Pekka Kuusisto)
‘Last of the Wilds’ (with Troy Donockley and Pekka Kuusisto)
‘Arabesque’
‘Planet Hell’
‘Ghost River’
‘Song of Myself’
‘Ghost Love Score’
‘Last Ride of the Day’
The premiere of the Imaginaerum movie was after their live appearance. A film trailer can be seen below:
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