Interviews

Nightwish are hugely successful in Europe, and are making inroads in North America as well. The band’s latest CD is Dark Passion Play, which features new vocalist Anette Olzon. After the public exit of former singer Tarja Turunen, the band embarked on a worldwide search for her replacement. Nightwish is currently on tour in the U.S., and I spoke to founding member, main songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen about their singer search, how Anette is fitting in, the new album, and their goal of conquering North America.

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How has your North American tour been going so far?

We’ve been here for about a week and a half, and it’s a amazing, especially the reaction from the fans. It’s something we never expected. At the same time people have much more faith towards the whole thing. The shows have been really nice.

You’ve already booked another U.S. tour for next spring.
We want to focus a little more on the North American market for this album. Actually there is going to be a third U.S. tour coming later next year.

Did you sign with Roadrunner in the U.S. to try to break through this market and get more exposure?
We hooked up with them for the previous album and they did a really good job. They seem to have what it takes on this continent. It’s looking good. We are not here because we want to become big stars. I take it more as a challenge, because everybody in Europe says the American market is the hardest one in the world, especially for European bands. So if you can actually accomplish something on this continent, you can give yourself a good pat on the back.

Your touring schedule is pretty booked for the foreseeable future.
Yes, until the fall of 2009, so the tour will last about two years altogether. Next year will be incredibly busy, but we’re going to take it a little easier in 2009. It all goes in cycles so we are on tour for 4 or 5 weeks, then we go home for 10 days, et cetera. You have to remember this band has three members with kids, and families always matter more than the band. We make that a priority.

This is Anette’s first U.S. tour with the band. How is she fitting in so far?
Really well. We always told her that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She told us she had a good idea, but she confessed to me a couple days ago that I was right, she had no idea it would be so much pressure all the time. But she is definitely enjoying it and getting into the whole thing. It takes some time, which is only natural.

Has her voice provided a different spin on your older material?
Yes, it does. She interprets the old stuff in a unique way. I understand it has been a shock for the die hard fans to hear her sing the old songs, but I think she’s pulling them off incredibly well.

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Chad Bowar: Is working with a full orchestra and choir the most difficult part of recording an album?

Tuomas Holopainen: It was surprisingly smooth. It has to do with the fact that they’ve already played on previous albums. They had a clue of what was to come. These people are among the best musicians in the entire world. Their musicianship is indescribable. We didn’t have a single practice with the songs. It was just one take, and play.

Do you write 100 percent of Nightwish’s music and lyrics, or is there some collaboration with other band members?
I write about 95 percent of the music and I always do all the lyrics. The rule in this band is that I want to keep the lyrics for myself. But everybody is free to do the music. We spend a lot of time arranging the songs with the entire band and there is a lot of collaboration.

The opening song on Dark Passion Play is 13 minutes long.

Were you concerned about starting the album with such a long track?
No. I really trusted the power of the song. What really surprised me was when I introduced the idea to the other members of the band and the managers of the record label I never heard a negative comment. I really thought the record labels would say it is commercial suicide, but they said it was exactly what we needed to do. It’s a sledgehammer to the face at the beginning of the album. That’s the effect we wanted to give.

How did the response to Dark Passion Play in the U.S. compare to your expectations?
It was much, much bigger. It went to number 84 on the charts, which I think is incredible. Our previous album didn’t even make the top 200. Shows have been selling very well, and the albums are also going fantastic.

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-by Chad Bowar