Metal Hammer

czarnycharakter

Disposable Heroes
They fired their singer in the most public way imaginable, then called on the world to produce a replacement. Can Nightwish rekindle their fire?

Dateline - 25th September 2005
Nightwish are encoring at a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo in London. After almost an hour and a half of symphonic, gothic excellence, enhanced by lasers and various pyrotechnic displays, a night of triumph is sealed as two cannons billow confetti around the auditorium during 'Wish I Had An Angel'. Four longhaired male metalheads and a woman wearing a pure white dress smile and bow deeply, soaking up the applause; then depart.

Given that 'Once', the Finnish band's latest album, has already sold more than a million copies worldwide, and that the tour is in its closing stages, one might assume that a communal post-gig celebration will follow. But nothing of the sort is planned. For all the apparent solidarity of the stage, keyboard player, songwriter and bandleader Tuomas Holopainen hasn't spoken a word to lead vocalist Tarja Turunen in almost a year. Equally disturbing, relations between Turunen's manager and husband Marcelo Cabuli, and representatives of the four instrumentalists - Holopainen, guitarist Erno 'Emppu' Vuorinen, bassist Marco Hietala and drummer Jukka Nevalainen - have long since broken down irretrivably. With Cabuli accused of poisoning Turunen against her bandmates, overriding the group's interests for those of his client and demanding prohibitively exorbitant concert fees, plus Turunen's refusal to go there, impeding Nightwish's American progress, business is now being conducted by email wherever possible. None outside their inner circle knows it but Nightwish and Turunen are at war.

Of course, the band tries to keep a lid on things. When Hammer's sister title Classic Rock quizzes Holopainen about his relationship with Turunen, and whether Nightwish could continue without her, Tuomas blusters: "I get the impression Tarja's still as happy being in Nightwish as I am. At the moment I feel like we'll continue for another two decades."

But just six weeks later, following the 'Once' tour's finale at Helsinki's Hartwall Arena, Nightwish abrubtly terminate their frontwoman's nine-year tenure. An open letter ignites a media firestorm by accusing Turunen and Argentinean-born Cabuli of "greed, underestimating the fans and breaking promises".

Dateline - 23rd August 2007
Seated in the kitchen of Emppu Vuorinen's studio, 20 minutes drive from Helsinki's city centre, Tuomas Holopainen recalls how fragile the working relationship with Turunen had finally become. Icy discomfort had long since eroded even the most fundamental of courtesies.

"If we met during breakfast at the hotel we wouldn't even say 'hi' anymore," he sighs. "Tarja and Marcello sat at another table. That was quite nasty. We wouldn't see her until 15 minutes before the show - no soundchecks or anything - and afterwards she left right away."

The new-look Nightwish have already filmed two videos in Los Angeles, their instrumental players rehearsing for a world tour that recently began in Israel and runs until 2008's end. Later on today 36-year-old Anette Olzon will sing in a room with her new colleagues for only the third time ever, with Hammer looking on. But if Holopainen is nervous, he doesn't show it. The past two years have taught Nightwish plenty, including how to become masters of subterfuge, whether disguising the growing rift with Tarja, or covering their tracks in the recruitment of her successor.

"We had to tell a few white lies," rues Tuomas. "When Tarja said, 'Remember, I can leave this band with a day's notice', we took that threat very seriously. We had to get through the tour."

Nightwish attempted to hold crisis talks, but "each time we had to go through him [Marcelo Cabuli]; he even replied to her texts. Looking back, it's amazing that we managed to pull off the year of 2005," marvels Tuomas.

In her most recent interview with Hammer, before reports of alleged prima donna behaviour surfaced, Turunen had insisted: "I am not a diva!" And yet, that's exactly how the band's official book Once Upon A Nightwish paints her, right down to demanding to be presented with a lavish bouquet of flowers by the Mayor of Bucharest before a show in that same city.

"Tarja was very good at being a diva on the stage, that was her role," acknowledges Tuomas carefully. "But in your free time that's a very bad thing."

In the aftermath, Tarja even claimed that the band purposely tried to destroy her voice. "Yes," he nods slowly. "That and many other things as well." Equally ludicrous, comments made by Turunen in the book suggest ingratitude for what membership had brought her, almost as though staying with them had been some kind of personal favour.

"Tarja thought she was sacrificing herself for us, as if we'd be nothing without her," agrees Tuomas. "She forgot that she'd be nothing without us, too."

Despite all of the above, the keyboard player is keen to stress that the balme lies on both sides. "Nobody was innocent, it's a very Finnish thing to be unable to discuss your feelings," he notes sadly. Tuomas has tried to reach out to Tarja since the sacking, mailing her a Christmas card amd, more recently, sending a couple of texts - all ignored. Given the manner of her dismissal, plus the fact that Nightwish would make money from a live CD and DVD of what they knew to be her final show, it's perhaps not the greatest of surprises.

"I understand why people thought we were cruel," muses Tuomas of Tarja's now infamous 'open letter' dismissal. "But there were many, many reasons that I cannot go into here. We had six months to think of a plan; you'll just have to trust it was the right thing."

A relatively unknown Swede beat 2,000 applicants from 55 different countries to join Nightwish. 10 had made their shortlist, which Holopainen confirms featured names that Hammer readers will be aware of. Regrettably, he won't divulge them. Offering a resolute 'no comment' to each new bout of speculation, even as they were secretly recording with Olzon, the band had drived great amusement from the rumour mill.

"Every fortnight the media put forth a new candidate - Amy Lee [of Evanescence], Liv Kristine [Leave's Eyes], pretty much everyone - they ate their own credibility," laughs Tuomas. "It was like a public soap opera."

Annett Olzon brings Nightwish a whole range of new melodic possibilities. Reaction to their sixth album, 'Dark Passion Play' has been mostly complimenatary, Hammer awarding it 9 out of 10 last month, though some have mourned the loss of Turunen's more operatic approach. Tuomas points out that the addition of Olzon enables the band to extend their live set well past the 80-odd minutes that Turunen could manage.

"Tarja was the finest operatically trained singer on the planet, so to have picked someone else in that style would always have been second best," he reasons. "Anette and Tarja are different, but both have immense vocal power and an ability to share emotion. What we're doing's still metal, but the voice is a bit more approachable."

'Dark Passion Play' reflects its gestation period. Inspired by the combined pressure of Nightwish's uncertain future and splitting with his girlfriend, Holopainen writes of 'self-hatred and depression' in 13-minute opening track 'The Poet And The Pendulum', whilst both Tarja and Marcelo Cabulli inspire the songs 'Bye Bye Beautiful' and 'Master Passion Greed' respectively.

"A few people get whipped, but none more than me because I'm actually killed," he laughs. "The song 'Bye Bye Beautiful' is more about frustration than hate. 'You chose the long road but we'll be waiting' isn't saying that we'd like her to come back to the band, but it does mean that someday I'd like to sit down and buy her a cup of coffee, discuss what went wrong. Forgiveness is one of mankind's greates virtues."

Approximately 500,000 Euros [£338,500] were spent on the album, promotional videos for 'Amaranth' and 'Bye Bye Beautiful' costing 270,000 [almost £200,000] more - all from Nightwish's own pockets. Quite a few CDs must be moved before the band enters profit. But despite selling a million copieslast time around, consolidation rather than exceeding that total is their goal.

"I'm just hoping to get our money back and make anothr album," admits Holopainen. "But there was no point in compromises. We wanted Abbey Road Studios, the best musicians, a choir, gospel singers, Celtic instuments - everything. Almost anything can happen now - it could all come crashing down, we might remain on the same level, or take the next step upwards. I've no idea."

If 'Dark Passion Play's quality makes the notion of failure hard to credit, the rehersal that follows renders such thoughts impossible. Hearing Olzon's live interpretation of the last album's 'Nemo' back-to-back with newie 'Eva', the reasons for her recruitment are obvious. Replacing a singer is always dangerous, but Nightwish had no choice if they wanted a long-term future. the sensible money suggestt that two steps backwards must inevitably result in several giant leaps ahead. Watch this space."

Man, my fingers hurt now! But - shock horror - not a half-bad effort from Metal Hammer. Makes a change from their past interviews...so now the Anette bit...

Anette: A Beginners Guide
1 - Until just before applying to join Nightwish, Anette had never heard their music. "They're just not played on the radio in Sweden," she explains. (Nocturna side-note - rectify this situation at once!!)
2 - For a laugh, Nightwish booked her flight to the audition in the name of Tristania's female singer ( lol.gif )
3 - She feared she'd blown her chances after admitting being married and having a small son. "I changed their mind by sending them a live DVD of my last band, Alyson Avenue," she reveals. "Tuomas later admitted he'd been hasty."
4- Not taking no for an answer is part of Olzon's personality. "I'm driven in everything I do," says Anette. "I pursue things and never give up." (Nocturna side-note - Thank goodness for that, I say!!)
5 - Olzon found out the job was hers in early 2007, but was sworn to secrecy until late May, telling only her husband, close family and best friend.
6 - She took classical vocal tuition between the ages of 17 and 21, and recently resumed it.
7 - Olzon feels that too much has been written of her being in an Abba tribute band. "It was just something I did to earn some money," she insists.
8 - Asked how difficult it is to sing Nightwish's songs, on a scale of 1 to 10, she responds: "It's hard, but not that hard. Maybe an eight."
9 - There have been death threats from diehard Tarja fans. "Those were at the Nightwish web forum, but most of the fans so far have been prepared to give me a chance." (Nocturna side-note - if any of you idiots are reading this now, I sincerely hope that you're proud of yourselves. Grow up, children.)
10 - As a straight-speaking Swede, Anette refuses to let Nightwish's internal communication issues threaten their future again. "I won't sit quietly and let problems get worse," she promises. "The guys must learn to discuss their feelings more."

czarnycharakter

Metal Hammer exclusive: Nightwish
added: 30/10/2007

Tuomas Holopainen tells us about new singer and Israel shows

You recently played a secret live show in Hamburg as Sushi Patrol. How did it go?

“Actually we did three secret shows with different names, first was in Estonia, second was in Helsinki Finland and the third in Hamburg. They went incredibly well but I have to be honest I don’t think I’ve been so incredibly scared in my life! The audience were so respectful to Anette, I think they really liked what they heard. It was an incredibly encouraging experience. During these three shows I think I only saw one middle finger. We’re about to have our first show under the name Nightwish in Tel Aviv.”

Why Israel?

“The original idea was to start in the US but we wanted to go to Israel as well – these people have wanted to see Nightwish for many many years. This is the first weekend we have free for the next year so we had to start off there.”

What were you so scared about doing the first shows?

“The previous singer was such a strong icon for the band so we were worried how the fans might respond to Anette. We were worried something bad might happen onstage. Plus we hadn’t played together for two years so whether the routine (??) is still there or not remains to be seen and how Anette would cope with the audience how she would be able to do the old songs in particular.”

This is Anette’s first time playing bigger shows. Have you had any advice for her?

“We’ve been having a lot of group therapy! [laughs] We need to be more open about everything talk about everything that annoys us and all the needs that we have no matter how vain they seem. We need to plan everything ahead more carefully. There are four in the band who have families with kids and these things matter the most. So we have to schedule the tour so we have some spare time and time with our families.”

Do you have any specific plans for the live shows?

“My philosophy is it’s all about the music and the show should be equal experience whether you have any extra lights or pyros. When we have the chance and the venue is big enough we love to emphasise the visual side of the show as well by using pyrotechnics and all kinds of confetti and stuff. None of that’s going to be used in the US because the venues are so small but we’ll definitely do something in Europe. I’m not quite sure what yet.”

Are you confident you can break the US?

“I have my hopes but it’s still the hardest market in the world for this kind of music for a band who isn’t from the US. It’s seems like we’re bubbling under over there at the moment so I really think anything can happen. We’re going to put a little more effort into America this time. I’m always up for a challenge. If we can sell more albums and play bigger venues it’s a pat on the head. It’s not like we’re going to go there and try to ‘conquer’ America.”

Do you have a message for British Nightwish fans?

“We all have very good memories from the last time we played the UK – all the shows were sold out and I always say when people ask where the wildest audiences in the world are, I always say that outside of Finland it’s the UK and Canada. So thank you for being so welcoming.”