Recently LOUD TV conducted an interview with Tuomas Holopainen from NIGHTWISH, talking about their upcoming album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” – out on March 27th (EU), 30th (UK) and 31st (US) via Nuclear Blast. Check out the interview below:
Tuomas Holopainen
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Kari Rueslåtten is celebrating 20 years in music in 2014! She sums up her solo carrier so far by releasing a Collection of songs from all her solo albums, including her 2014 version of The 3rd and the Mortal’s “Why so lonely” featuring Nightwish’s Tuomas Holopainen on piano and keys, check out below. “Collection” also includes two live songs from her Time to Tell tour.
Tracks
· 1. Other People’s Stories
· 2. Why So Lonely
· 3. Wintersong
· 4. Hör min sång
· 5. Spindelsinn
· 6. Make me a stone
· 7. River
· 8. Exile
· 9. Fishing
· 10. My lover
· 11. Trollferd – Live
· 12. Nordnatt – Live
20 Years In Music
Kari Rueslåtten began her musical career as one of the founder members of the progressive doom metal band The 3rd and the Mortal. In 1994 she released two CD’s with them, Sorrow and Tears laid in Earth. The band was a source of inspiration for many other bands worldwide, among them Nightwish and The Gathering. After leaving The 3rd and the Mortal in 1995 she has released five solo-albums; Spindelsinn (1997), Mesmerized (1998), Pilot (2001), Other people’s stories (2004) and Time to Tell (2014). Kari Rueslåtten was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy awards for her first solo-album, Spindelsinn, in 1997.
-“I find it hard to believe that it has actually been 20 years since I first released music, but since it is, it is the right time to look back and sum up my musical career so far”, Kari says. –“My five solo albums have all their special meaning to me and I have chosen two songs from each album for the Collection. We also did live recordings of the concerts on the Time to tell tour so there will be two live songs on the Collection as well”, she continues.
Time to tell – comeback album and new listeners
With her album Time to Tell (2014) Kari Rueslåtten returned to the music scene after an eight year long break. -“The respons from people after my comeback has been overwhelming! I truly am happy and grateful for this warm welcome of my new music”, Kari says. Time to Tell has reached out to many new listeners, and as the cover version of the old The 3rd and the Mortal song Why so Lonely on Time to Tell was a tribute to old fans, this Collection is a tribute to all her new fans wanting to get to know Kari Rueslåtten´s back catalogue better.
Kari’s extraordinary voice
Kari’s natural talent combined with classical training and roots in the Norwegian folk music tradition has resulted in a voice that is difficult to describe. Her music has been compared with artists like Tori Amos and Kate Bush, maybe not necessarily because the music sounds very similar, but because these are artists who sing with their own distinct voices. Just like Kari Rueslåtten – through 20 years.
Photo by Stefan Heilemann
ON TOUR with THE SIRENS in concert 2014
feat. Anneke van Giersbergen & Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull & Kari Rueslåtten
06.12.2014 CH Pratteln, Z7
Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/pml63zb
17.12.2014 NL Zoetermeer, Boerderij
Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/pa88rjh
18.12.2014 DE Jena, F-Haus
Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/q9jbvzw
19.12.2014 DE Nagold, Alte Seminarturnhalle
Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/me4dakv
20.12.2014 FR Paris, Divan Du Monde
Tickets:http://tinyurl.com/kdw43uc
More dates to be announced soon!
http://www.karirueslatten.com – http://www.facebook.com/kari.rueslatten.official
According to Nuclear Blast, TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN’s solo album “Music Inspired By The Life And Times Of Scrooge” went GOLD in Finland. Previously album debuted as # 1 in Finland on the release week and stayed in TOP 5 for several weeks after the release.
TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN comments: “This is really unbelievable and a great day for Scrooge. I want to thank everybody for their great support for my “little solo project”.”
Nuclear Blast announces that The Life And Times Of Scrooge, the first solo record by NIGHTWISH composer Tuomas Holopainen and soundtrack to Don Rosa’s graphic novel The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck, has debuted today at #29 on the Billboard Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new & developing artists who have never appeared in the Top 100 of the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.
Fourteen years in the making from concept to reality, the album includes elements of the classical & folk genres in the vein of Vaughan Williams, Michael Nyman, James Newton Howard, and Enya. Recorded at Angel Studios in London and at various locations around Scotland & Finland, guest vocalists include: Finland’s Johanna Kurkela, Tony Kakko of SONATA ARCTICA, Johanna Iivanainen, and Alan Reid. Musical guests include: The London Orchestra, the Metro Voices choir from London, NIGHTWISH’s Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, bodhran), Mikko Iivanainen (guitars & banjo), Teho Majamäki (didgeridoo), Jon Burr (harmonica), and Dermot Crehan (solo violin). The album artwork was created by Don Rosa.
Don Rosa & Tuomas Holopainen by Mika Jussila
Watch the following videos on the Nuclear Blast Records YouTube channel:
• “A Lifetime Of Adventure” official video:
• “The Last Sled” lyric video:
The Life And Times Of Scrooge can be ordered in CD & import vinyl versions from the Nuclear Blast USA Webshop: http://smarturl.it/HOLOPAINEN-Shop
The album track listing is:
01. Glasgow 1877
02. Into The West
03. Duel & Cloudscapes
04. Dreamtime
05. Cold Heart Of The Klondike (featuring Tony Kakko of SONATA ARCTICA)
06. The Last Sled
07. Goodbye, Papa
08. To Be Rich
09. A Lifetime Of Adventure (featuring Finnish vocalist Johanna Kurkela)
10. Go Slowly Now, Sands Of Time
Bonus Track:
11. A Lifetime Of Adventure (Alternate Version)
Visit Tuomas Holopainen online at http://www.TUOMAS-HOLOPAINEN.com.
Review by Mohsen Fayyazi
Artist: Tuomas Holopainen
Album: The Life And Times Of Scrooge
Release Date: 11.04.2014
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Tracklist:
1. Glasgow 1877 6:27
2. Into The West 5:01
3. Duel & Cloudscapes 4:49
4. Dreamtime 4:47
5. Cold Heart Of The Klondike 6:52
6. The Last Sled 5:40
7. Goodbye, Papa 6:26
8. To Be Rich 3:22
9. A Lifetime Of Adventure 6:15
10. Go Slowly Now, Sands Of Time 4:35
According to scientists, The Big Bang was the biggest explosion in the whole of the Universe and its history. But (luckily) we had no chance to experience it (or maybe we did?! I don’t know), and as we live on the mighty and beloved earth, we know very well that nothing stronger and bigger than a nuclear blast can happen here. This is a reminder of the meaning of the name of one the biggest record companies in the metal music industry, Nuclear Blast. So obviously we expect heavy, powerful and fast music from this company.
Nuclear Blast Records has recently released a surprise! An album which is not heavy, powerful, thrashy, nor fast, in fact there is no sign of heavy metal music on it. “The Life And Times Of Scrooge” by NIGHTWISH keyboardist, Tuomas Holopainen is a unique album in the Nuclear Blast release list, which is based on a graphic novel entitled “The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck“, written and illustrated by Don Rosa.
As I said, it is not a heavy metal album, nor any metal sub-genre. “The Life And Times Of Scrooge” is a kind of progressive [classic] album, mixed with some folk elements, jazz and even country music, which make it more of a fantasy album. When listening, you will embark on a journey to your childhood daydreams – upon the high snowy mountains, pine trees, cursed and dried deserts and you will even find yourself deep inside an ancient forest with elves. The voice of Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela may remind you of a female elf singing, very soft and light, just like the whispering of the wind on the leaves of flowers. This music has lots of fantasy elements and Tuomas used different instruments which he does not use in NIGHTWISH; a harp, harmonica, mandolin, church organ, violin, contra bass, flute and even an African woodwind instrument (or could be a Scandinavian horn), make you feel soft, relaxed, sad, epic and even a little anxious in places.
In my opinion, Tuomas Holopainen, on releasing this album, did exactly what the legendary Ritchie Blackmore did – going from a noisy place (and of course awesome) to a quieter one. This is not a heavy metal album, but don’t get me wrong, this is really good music, as I said before “the art is the art and true art comes from heart.” If you love fantasy stories such as Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones, this album is perfect for you.
Rating: 9/10
TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN, the keyboardist and main songwriter of NIGHTWISH, spent most of 2013 writing and producing his album, “The Life And Times Of Scrooge”, which will be released on April, 11th. The whole album is based on a graphic novel called “The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck”, written and illustrated by Don Rosa. TUOMAS has recently revealed a special Track-By-Track trailer, talking about his inspiration on each song, which can be seen below:
The tracklist of the album will be as follows:
01. Glasgow 1877
02. Into The West
03. Duel & Cloudscapes
04. Dreamtime
05. Cold Heart Of The Klondike
06. The Last Sled
07. Goodbye, Papa
08. To Be Rich
09. A Lifetime Of Adventure
10. Go Slowly Now, Sands Of Time
Bonus:
11. A Lifetime Of Adventure (alternative version)
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 