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“If You Have A Gangrenous Foot, You Can Cut It Off. Or It Will Kill You!”

The titular quote is courtesy of Nightwish bassist/co-vocalist Marco Hietala (also of Tarot fame), referring to the much ballyhooed situation surrounding their former singer. Like the butterfly mentioned within the lyrics of their new album, Nightwish has remained active, although seemingly in a cocoon-like inactivity, only to re-emerge, transformed into a wondrously new creation. Throughout these conversations, references to “the former regime/personnel” are punctuated with nervous laughter. Alongside Swedish newcomer Anette Olzon, Dark Passion Play takes the Finns in a new (dare I say more conventional rock) direction, without alienating the foundation already established. Of course, like Maiden, Van Halen and Sabbath before them, trading singers can be a dichotomous event from which some fans never recover.

“No I have not,” comes Olzon’s reply to having met ousted diva Tarja Turunen, “but I’d really like to. I really think I’d talk to her about all the hassle there has been, about her and me. The comparisons and what she feels about it. Of course I’d like to hear that everything is OK with her solo album. If she’s happy. I don’t want to go into what happened between her and the boys, that’s none of my business. I like her. I like her voice. I’d like to tell her my appreciation for what she’s done (as a singer). I really hope it happens, because the feelings and what happened between them has nothing to do with me. I’m innocent and I’d like to tell her that she’s great.”

Outside of stopping in California, to film videos for ‘Amaranth’ and ‘Bye Bye Beautiful’, the current tour marks Olzon’s first time in North America. “I don’t really see much, because I always sleep. I’m really tired in the day. Doing the shows takes a lot of energy. We’ve got other songs we’ll be working into the set list, but for now, I asked the guys to keep it the same, at least until I get into a routine. There are several songs I’d like to see, like ‘Dead Boys Poem’, more material from Century Child. We’ll see. We have so many gigs, there’s not that much free time (for sightseeing). Too bad. We’ll have to see, but I guess I can always come back on vacation.”

So, as the lone woman, how is life on a bus full of smoking, porno-watching men? “I have so many rules for these guys,” she laughs. “They can only smoke in the front of the bus, so I don’t feel the smoke at all. That’s important. The first gigs we had the smoke killed my voice because the venues allowed smoking. That is horrible for my voice. We’ve had some hotel nights too, which is nice, but the bus is OK. I can take naps, alone in the bus. Of course, you do have your days where you’re on each others’ nerves, especially when you’re sick, and you want to kill each other, but if you respect people and all have different needs, you can work it out.”

In addition to smoke, at the tour’s start Olzon was also hampered by a cold, limiting her availability for interviews and contact with fans. However, a short in-store performance went ahead as scheduled, simulcasted across the Net. “I was so tired and I had to take it easy. I think we did a good job, despite everything. It was like a rehearsal. Kind of strange standing in a record store, but it was nice. You have to do some things, sometimes. I don’t think that would ever happen in Europe.”

Hietala recalls the wait, as the search for a new singer played itself out. “It felt like a long time. I was probably the first to sense it. We listened to all those CDs and tapes, which was really a waste of time, because Anette’s was one of the first ones but since we said we said we would take a year to decide… (Final decision) was pretty democratic. Tuomas (Holopainen, founder/keyboardist) listened to all 2000+ (audition) tapes and I listened to between 500 and 700. There were probably 10 potentials. In the end, it was pretty close between two of them. (While waiting) I did some shows and small tours with Tarot. Then I produced Amorphis (Silent Waters). Dark Passion Play took quite a long time to come from the demo stage to actual album. When you had the master tape, you still have to wait for the release. It’s a pain in the ass, because when feel you’ve got something that’s going to be good, you can’t wait to hear the people’s reaction and how they will take to it.”

The bassist also sang lead on some tracks, just so the band could get the songs to a semi-finished state, ready for the eventual singer’s participation. These collectibles have appeared on some bonus editions of the new album. “On some special editions and singles, they’ve been using those demo tracks (I sang on),” offers Hietala. “They might be interesting to some people, but there was never any idea that I would (end up) singing the whole thing. It was clear, from the start, we were going to look for another woman. It’s inhumanly possible for a guy to sing those old songs, so we had to get a(nother) female singer.”

He claims the band didn’t really coach Olzon, either on things they wanted to see, or antics to avoid.
“We talked about stage presence, but basically we said to be as natural as possible, because people will see it. She didn’t read the biography. She said she didn’t want to be biased and would like to get to know us individually, first.” “They have really liked almost everything I do,” contends the somewhat surprised singer, “so I’ve really had a free hand. It feels good that they trust me, my ability to sing the songs, even redo them (slightly).”

Both enjoy the current video, ‘Bye, Bye Beautiful’, a none too subtle reference to Turunen. “Initially, I was very skeptical to the whole idea,” protests Olzon. “Models, who can’t even hold a guitar or bass? It was like the first video for me and I hadn’t even played with Nightwish. I was really nervous, but the girls kicked ass, more than the boys! They had to shape up, because the girls rocked like Hell. I had a long day because I was in every cut. When the boys rested, I had the girls and vice versa. I was so tired.”

Nice eye candy for men, women, lesbians…don’t really know anyone who can’t enjoy that video. Now if only the national outlets would play it more often. In the meantime, you can catch Nightwish on the road in the US until .After the 1st of the year, there’s talk of a “tour edition” Dark Passion Play, set to contain an as yet unconfirmed content DVD, then they’ll return in May, to hit places missed by this first go-round.