The Islanders Fanzine - The Islanders

1
LIMITED FIRST PRINTING OF 100: ISSUE ONE (AUGUST 2012)
THE WAYFARER
THE ISLANDERS OFFICIAL FAN CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
ISSUE ONE CONTENTS:
PAGE ONE:
Contents, Thank You & From The Editor.
PAGE TWO:
To Hel and Back: An adventure in two
parts.
PAGE FIVE:
My Nightwish Collection
PAGE SIX:
This Is What Being An Islander Means
To Me
PAGE SEVEN:
Cuttings and Covers & Making of Imaginaerum
PAGE EIGHT:
To Hel and Back: An adventure in two
parts.
PAGE ELEVEN:
How I Discovered Nightwish
PAGE TWELVE:
Review: Amsterdam
PAGE THIRTEEN:
Review: Luxembourg
PAGE FIFTEEN:
Review: Los Angeles
PAGE SIXTEEN
Review: Download
PAGE SEVENTEEN:
My Nightwish Journey
PAGE NINETEEN:
Puzzle Page
PAGE TWENTY:
FROM THE EDITOR:
Creating a Fanzine was always
suppliers and delays in sending out
something I wanted to do with The
membership packs - hopefully all
Islanders as it is a fantastic oppor-
these issues have now been ironed
tunity for fans to come together and
out ahead of the The Islanders first
create something unique and beauti-
birthday next month. I’d like to take
ful. I didn’t think we’d publish our
this opportunity to personally thank
first Fanzine within a year of launch.
the contributors for their submis-
But then, I didn’t think we’d achieve
sions - they’ve been of such in-
as much as we have in this first year
credible quality. I’d also like to thank
of launch. We’ve had competitions
all of The Islanders for making all
and given away a whole bunch of
this possible. The Moomin Mascot,
signed goodies, we’ve had a meet
the team and I will see all of you on
up and we’ve created a really
the UK tour in November!
friendly online community. That isn’t
to say it has been entirely smooth
-Alex
sailing, we’ve had problems with
Meet The Admins
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Tom Livermore for being our Printmaster.
Marianne Farley, Petri Alanko, Quinn Lord,
Tuomas Holopainen, Marco Hietala, Ilkka
Villi, Stobe Harju and Janne Pitkänen who
contributed to the most special of special
features.
Nightwish for their continual support and the
music they make for us.
Carol Walker, Tori Gower and Chris Gower
without whom this Fanzine would never have
been made and I’d be wearing a straight
jacket.
THE EDITORIAL TEAM: Alex Deas, Carol
Walker, Tori Gower, Chris Gower.
FANZINE DESIGN: Alex Deas, Carol Walker
COVER DESIGN: Katharina Benkwitz
ARTICLES FROM: William Smith, Marie
Symeou, Trevor Warren, Ben George, Richard Smith, Roz Knox, Mia Riddle, Hannah
Thompson & Sarah Hölscher.
Additional Thanks To: Ville Juurikkala,
Christian Lessner and all those who made
this project possible.
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THE ISLANDERS FANZINE
Issue 1
If you’d like to contribute to future issues of the Fanzine, or have ideas
comments or suggestions why don’t you
hop onto the forum and discuss what
you think?
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regular forum users email us at
[email protected]
/100
Helsinki:
To Hel and Back again Part I
BY CAROL
Username: Escapist
Age: 29
Location: Durham
Role: Club Admin
Favourite Album:
Oceanborn
Favourite Song:
Gethsemane, Scaretale,
Pharaoh sails To Orion, 10th
Man Down
How many times have
you seen Nightwish
live? Newcastle (2008),
Helsinki, Tampere, Paris,
Hamburg (2012)
EVEN BEFORE IMAGINAERUM WAS
RELEASED, ALEX AND I HAD MENTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES HOW
MUCH WE WANTED TO GO SEE THE
BAND PLAY IN FINLAND. SO OF
COURSE ONCE THE TOUR DATES
WERE RELEASED, WE HUMMED AND
HARRED OVER WHICH DATES TO GO
TO AND EVEN IF WE COULD JUSTIFY
THE MONEY TO GO.
Helsinki Venue:
Helsingin Jäähalli
We arrived at Glasgow Airport at a good
time and after a quick visit to the bar for a
drink and a meal, we headed to the duty
free to get Tuomas some whiskey as a
thanks for doing The Islanders interview.
We then went to the business lounge so we
had somewhere comfortable to relax while
we waited for our flight to Amsterdam.
Moomin decided to pose for some pictures
whilst planespotting, another excuse to
In the end we said “screw the
show off the member shirt and jacket I
money, we’re going!”. Then
think?
came the long countdown until
we were due to go. Fast forward
a few months and I was packing
It is sometimes ca
my car ready for my three hour
lled “Petoluola” - the Fin
nish name
drive to Glasgow where Alex
for the Beast’s Cage
!
lives. When I arrived, I was
One of Finland’s big
gest ingreeted by the Moomin Mascot
door Ice Hockey Ar
enas
who was sporting a new leather
Home of HIFK who last
jacket
ready for his journey to the
wo n th e Fi nn ish
na tio na l cold North with us.
championships in 20
11!
Total Capacity: 8200
To get in the mood we watched
some YouTube footage of past
gigs before calling it a night.
3
Four of us squeezed into this tiny room, we were split up. Two of us were given
KLM were a great airline, and we loved
I slept on a 2 person sofa, Alex had an
tickets for seats on the left, two given
the fact there was a real time map and
air mattress as did another friend, and
seats on the right and two were stand-
speed indicator.
the apartment owner had a hammock.
ing tickets. It was a bit annoying that
We landed at Amsterdam and made
our way through to our gate to board
the flight to Helsinki. We had some fun
with security as there was another
passport control and X-Ray area before
our gate. The security guard said to us
that he doubted we would be allowed
to take the whiskey through. We
We all fell asleep and I was woke by the we wouldn’t be able to watch the show
sweet sounds of Alex snoring. I did
all together but we couldn’t really com-
what any other friend would do... I re-
plain.
corded it! The next day Alex listened
and said he sounded like a pregnant
cow. His airbed had also become flat
during the night, so of course I called
this karma.
I sat opposite Alex and we both had
same idea to try and take photo of
each other from a distance.
Poisonblack came on stage and the
The majority of our morning was spent
hunting for Alex’s wallet. Yup you
guessed it, he lost it! Out of the UK for
less than 24 hours and he’d already
cocked something up. We searched all
our suitcases about 3 times and then
went outside to backtrack our route
from the taxi, nothing. Down, pissed off
and a bit baffled, we headed into the
city and to the police station to report it
missing. Though I didn’t sit with Alex
when he was giving his report to the
police, they seemed really helpful. In
the end it was too soon to report it offi-
thought of being split up faded away.
The band played really well even
though I was not familiar with all of their
songs. The arena was still quite empty
with not a lot of reaction for Poisonblack by the audience which was a
shame. However things started filling
up as the now iconic ‘tissue paper’
curtain was hoisted into place, and all
the instruments were uncovered. We
sat and waited patiently and felt the
energy as a huge roar erupted as the
house lights went down and Taikatalvi
started playing. From the first song until
cially missing, so we would have to go
to the police station in Tampere the
next day.
thought he was joking at first and we
started to laugh, however he was not
We ventured back outside into the cold
joking. Lucky for us the X-Ray guy said
and icy city streets, I personally was
it’s sealed in Glasgow so we were fine.
not in the best of health and the cool
We didn’t have a long wait and then it
Helsinki air was bringing my tempera-
was off to Finland. Once again we flew
ture down and made me feel so much
on KLM and we had the same crew
better. We had a few people to meet up
which gave us a laugh.
with and gather as we were all going to
the venue together. After we all met we
still had time to kill so we went for food
at a most beautiful Chinese restaurant.
The waitress/owner was so hyperactive
we couldn’t help but laugh at her. Her
happy and hyper vibes rubbed off on
us, giving us all a permanent smile
while we were there.
We set off walking to the venue and
arrived about 6 o’clock. The queue was
We landed in Helsinki at around mid-
already huge, but we had to go to the
night, and were greeted by two of our
ticket booth to pick up our tickets and
friends, one of which had an apartment
passes for the evening. When we got
nearby. We then made our way back
them we realised they were distributed
there for the night.
by name and not by group, this meant
4
SETLIST
Taikatalvi
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel Amaranth
Scaretale
The Siren
Slow, Love, Slow
I Want My Tears Back
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove
The Islander
Nemo (Acoustic)
Last of the Wilds
Planet Hell
Ghost River
Dead to the World
Over the Hills and Far Away
Finlandia
Song of Myself
Last Ride of the Day
the Last Ride Of The Day, the band
had ever been let backstage and we
played amazingly. To feel the heat off
evening.
the flames throughout was really cool
All the guys had a laugh and we got
and to watch the fans getting really
some very random images of the
excited with the confetti cannons on
night. Tuomas claimed he was not
the floor was fun. Watching Emppu
drunk but the pictures prove other-
run around like someone who had
wise.
drank too many cans of Red Bull, is
enough to make anyone smile after a
We decided to leave and catch a bus
bad day. Tuomas was hypnotic with
back to the apartment. Saying our
his constant headbanging, you can’t
goodbyes we went back out into the
help but try and work out how the hell
that guy can play and concentrate
didn’t know the routine. We were led to
through it all. an area where some people were stood
Anette looked stunning in what I con-
generally mingled for the rest of the
talking and we pretty much huddled in
the corner like a collection of lost
sheep. Eventually I saw Ewo and I
wandered over to say hello, completely
expecting the others to follow me, but
they still cowered in the corner. Jukka
then appeared next to me and said
greetings and I beckoned the guys
over to mingle. We collectively went
into the dressing room which was connected to the area we were in. Again
we kind of hovered around, pretty
much petrified of disturbing anyone’s
cold and made our way to the bus
stop. Alex complained endlessly about
being hungry and made our host check
the bus time table multiple times to
assess if he had enough time to raid
McDonalds which was close by. Once
it was established there would ‘probably’ be time, Alex hurried off to satisfy
his stomach, there really is something
classy about standing at a bus station
eating a McDonalds at midnight. We
got back to the apartment and settled
down for the night. Alex and I had to
wake early for a train the next day so
more sleep the better.
sider one of her better stage outfits.
conversation. We eventually saw Tuo-
Her voice has improved tenfold since
And so concludes my section of the
mas who, when he noticed, shouted
write up. Mr Deas will take over and
the days of Dark Passion Play, she lit-
over and then pretty much pounced on
take you through the next portion of our
erally blew me away with some tracks.
me like a lioness trying to catch prey.
adventure.
Jukka had a smile on his face the
Much to the amusement of everyone
whole show with more energy than
else.
most of the audience I suspect. Marco
was amazing as ever, and to see our
After introductions, Tuomas tried to
British Brother, Troy, on stage was
force Salmiakki vodka down everyones
great. I loved the set, and I was actually throats. Alex seemed to be the only one
who enjoyed it, and I refused it as I was
surprised by the acoustic version of
Nemo. I had heard recordings from the
still not 100% healthy. Stobe and Troy
other shows and I was not convinced,
were also close by having a fun con-
but live felt so much different. But as
versation. Troy turning to us said “this
quick as it started, it was all over.
guy taught me how to act on camera,
He insisted I had to camp it up a bit”.
We all left the venue and tried to find
We all had a laugh at this and then
each other again which was a surprise
just how easy we managed it. I expected to be looking for Alex for ages,
but it seemed he had the same plan
of ‘head to the centre’.
After we all met up again, we approached a security guard to be led
backstage. This was the first show we
5
MY NIGHTWISH VINYL COLLECTION...
some weird things (such as flying half
As I said, a crazy person’s choice: Vinyl
way round the world to see some peo-
is killing the MP3 industry.
ple play a few tunes and then constantly referring to the trip as the Legendary LA Trek). When they had finally
stopped releasing new versions of Dark
Passion Play I was left with 2 versions I
couldn't even play, as I had no turntable
for my vinyl nor a DVD-Audio player!
by William Smith
Islander
•••
My DVD-A disc remains unused to this
day.
Vinyl. That lovely warm timbre ab-
For some reason I thought collecting
sent from digital music. Those audi-
Nightwish vinyl would be a "cool" thing
ble hisses and crackles that give a
to do. DPP and Made in Hong Kong
feeling of a personal performance,
were both released on black vinyl and
countering the repetitive sterility of a
as picture disks, and all versions were
CD. individually numbered thus making each
That annoying process of flipping over
unique item was quite appealing – no
to the next side, or jumping at the same
one else in the whole wide world had
point half way through your favourite
the same numbered disk as I did. This
track (darn Once picture disk). When
logically got me thinking about what
you listen to the orchestral version of
other albums they had released on vi-
Imaginaerum on downloaded MP3 it
nyl, and during my research I found at
sounds great. When you listen to it on
least two complete collections dis-
CD it sounds like you are hearing an
played on the web. How could I create
orchestra playing live. When you listen
something something truly different?
to it on vinyl it is as if they are in the
Easy. I would get two complete collec-
room with you; you can almost feel the
tions! I am quite a far way away from
air moving and see the lights shining off
that goal, requiring 24 pieces at pre-
the brass.
sent. For some reason they have de-
Collections. Those utterly bizarre compulsions to own a series of objects.
That great feeling of stumbling upon a
new artifact you never knew existed.
The thrill of the chase, the glory of
know you have something no one else
piece unique. The idea of owning a
cided to release 10 different versions of
Imaginaerum, and re-release Once on 4
collection I also have a set to play, so I
currently own 22 copies of Imaginaerum
on vinyl…
The highlights of the collection are un-
your own. A horrible sensation when a
doubtedly my copies of Imaginaerum
required item is snatched from under
on golden disks. Nuclear Blast offered
you, for a price you cannot afford to
them only to those who had previously
pay.
spent enough money in the online store,
until this project started I owned neither
a single piece of vinyl nor any group of
objects you could even loosely call a
collection. Obsessions make you do
Richard Smith
Richard Smith Probably my 2005
Once World Tour flag. I bought it at
Hammersmith when I saw them with
Tarja so it envokes good memories
and it accompanies me to every NW
gig, including Download!
Sarah Louise Wild
My signed promo pics and my
Imaginearum t-shirt as I got it at the
LA gig and reminds me of that
amazing trip.
Hannah Leigh Thompson
Mine is my Imaginaerum t-shirt because I wore it both times I saw
Nightwish this year, so now it reminds me of two of the best days of
my life :) And the front is a picture of
the album cover which I love, it's so
detailed I could look at it for hours!
Tom Livermore
Two signed and framed posters.
One is for the album Once, with
Tarja, and the other is signed by the
whole band including Anette from a
gig in Florida in 2007. They both
look great but I also love them because they represent both eras of
the band. Honourable mentions too
to their dressing room door sign
from the London Astoria and a
pretty funny email Anette sent me
after their Hartwall Arena gig on the
subject of dodging "the letter"!
more! In addition to the photographed
has. Uniqueness. Something personal,
Before I go any further, I must state that
We asked our Facebook
fans what’s your favourite
piece of Nightwish memorabillia and why?
which I didn’t qualify for. On a run limited to 100 hand numbered copies this
version is the shortest print run, and I
just happen to have stumbled upon
both numbers 001 and 100.
6
Donna Johns
My Nightwish calendar, not only was
it drawn by a great artist but it is
also signed by Tuomas.
(Editor: artist Katharina Benkwitz
also designed the cover for this issue of The Wayfarer)
Roz Knox
My 3 soon to be 4? signed pictures,
framed and very special. especially
the one still spelt Imaginarium. also
my 2008 hoodie, i live in it
THIS IS WHAT
BEING AN ISLANDER MEANS
TO ME...
ABOUT ROZZY
Rozzy became a Nightwish fan in
2005 and has since seen the band
twice. Her favourite track is Ghost Love
Score off the album Once.
by Roz Knox
Islander
•••
Standing in Brixton Academy in 2009 I
was waiting to see Nightwish for the
second time. I saw a couple next to
me wearing some sort of fan club lanyards. I thought, "Oh wow! I want to
be a fan club member! how do you
become one?" I wondered if this was
all done via the internet.I left the gig
having "caught" Tuomas' towel, so I
was quite happy.
A year or so later as I was looking at
Roz makes lots of cakes, and for the
Fan Club launch is September
baked this fantastic cake for all of
us! Thanks Rozzy!
the Nightwish official website, when I
stumbled across T.H.com and met up
with a few folks in London. Through
at Wembely Arena, and Shinedown at
flyers but felt sad my job had finished
this I learned about the Islanders. Be-
the Roundhouse, London.
(off to the bar).
As tee spotting is kind of an added
So you see, from being a green eyed
sport of concert going, imagine me in
monster 4 years ago, to now not only
my Islanders tee, strutting about as
being a member, but feeling as though
though i'm the coolest person there.
I belong in The Islanders, it is a dream
ing an Islander is fantastic! Meeting up
with everyone for the launch party was
great fun, and every party needs a
cake! I also wanted to join in as much
as I could and had seen the perfect
mascot for us. Along came Moomin
and of course he needed a t shirt too.
One of the best bits about being an
Islander is wearing my t shirt. I have
shown it off at other gigs, Alter Bridge
I asked if I could hand out some flyers
too, which I did at the Roundhouse.
This was great fun. Got chatting to a
few people about the fan club and
Nightwish in general. Soon I ran out of
come true and I couldn't be happier
about it. I can’t wait to meet up with
all you other members again
But I, Rozzy, am an Islander, and I
feel 10ft tall!
THE ISLANDERS: WHY’D YOU JOIN?
I voted for "other" but it is more "all
of the above" in my case. I like chatting and meeting people who have
similar music interests to me, which
is a lot harder in every day life. It is
also nice to be able to ask questions
for interviews and actually read responses to them, it makes the fans
feel a lot closer to the band and people supporting the Nightwish project.
And not to mention Membership
packs...everyone loves a goodie-bag
with items unique to the supporters
club, like the Islanders Tee etc.
The people I work with mostly have
appalling taste in music so it's good
to be part of a group of people with
tastes similar to mine. I also like the
interviews the fan club organises
with questions from fans, much better than the interviews in music
magazines which tend to have questions about the same old topics. I'm
not someone who posts much but it's
interesting and fun to read what
other fans think about Nightwish
and other bands.
- Trevor Warren
- Richard Smith
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Online Community
58%
Competitions
0%
Membership Pack
0%
News 0%
Exclusive Interview
s
9%
Other?
33%
CUTTINGS
AND COVERS
by Ben George
Islander
•••
I’ve been a fan of Nightwish for a long,
tion websites to grab all the pieces I
could. The fun thing about collecting
pieces from the media is that it’s that
the likelihood of finishing my collection
display them.
Just a few of the magazines in my collection include: Metal Hammer UK,
is near to zero, there will always be new Kerrang, Rock Sound, Classic Rock,
Power Play, Terrorizer, Nuclear Blast
pieces being produced and my collecCatalogue, Big Cheese, Alternative,
tion will be forever growing.
Orkus, Metal Heart, Metal Hammer DE,
long time, although it wasn’t until I first
I find it‘s not only just a great thing to
Rock Hard ,Metaliian, Heavy, Zillo Mu-
managed to see them
share with fans, but also with people
sijnagazin, Suosikki, Legacy, Hard
who are new to Nightwish and who
Heavy, EMP Magazine, Sonic Seducer
want to know more about the band and
and Rockoon!
live in 2005 that I became… obsessed.
Not just of their music, but collecting
their all of their CDs and merchandise.
Having said that, one of my most
treasured pieces isn’t some of my rare
CDs or signed items, but rather my
collection of magazine cuttings. A near300 page collection of full articles and
front covers dating from 1998 to the
present year. I’ve not only been going
out to buy the magazines in shops, but
also hunting them down through auc-
MAKING OF
IMAGINAERUM
by Sarah Hölscher
International Guest Writer
• • • Few months ago when I browsed
through Nightwish's website like everyday, I read that there will be another
edition of "Imaginaerum" - a tour edition featuring a CD including the orchestral versions of the songs + a dvd
including the video for "Storytime" and
their achievements. It’s a great accompaniment to their official biography and tells a continuing story
through their interviews, concert/
music reviews and the general impact they are making not just across
the UK, but across the entire world.
It’s value to me is more than most of
my Nightwish collection put together
as it’s taken a lot of effort to collate
the cuttings and to organise and
a Making of. I was a bit unsure whether
to buy it or just leave it be. But after a
few weeks of thinking and a certain gig,
I decided to buy it because I was very
curious about the Making of and if features more informations than the previous documentary.
The Making of covers the whole making process of the latest album and
also a glimpse at the movie shoot. It
starts with the summer camp which
took place in Kitee in summer of 2010.
It also features the orchestra recordings
in London, the listening sessions in
Nuclear Blast Headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany, the movie shoot in Canada (short interviews with the actors,
the director and a nice scene in which
Ewo is doing random stuff again), the
European promo tour and finally the
release night in Helsinki, Finland. In
between the "different steps" every
band member shares his views on the
record. Then there is a "Once upon a
Time" section in which we get to know
something about the youth of the
Nightwish members. And then there is
"The Roast of Marco Hietala" which is
quite weird but hilarious nonetheless.
My three favourite scenes of "Making
of Imaginaerum":
8
1. "The Roast of Marco Hietala". Because it is just funny although I don't
get a few jokes because I'm not a Finn.
2. Troy Donockley. He appears only
during the movie shoot and at the release night but the man is awesome. I
really would love to see the face of his
dentist if he appeared there in his costume.
3. "Once upon a Time". It is really interesting somehow because you get you
know a few more facts about the guys
and the girl. The choice of pictures is
also really nice.
All in all, I can say that "Making of
Imaginaerum" is a documentary worth
watching. I prefer it to the previous
"Made in Hong Kong" documentary
because it features a lot more interesting things and seeing the making process of an album is just cool. If you don't
have a copy of "Imaginaerum" yet, you
should get your hands on the tour edition and watch the documentary.
BY ALEX
TAMPERE:
TO HEL AND BACK PART II
Username: Alex
Age: 20
Location: Glasgow
Role: Club Admin
Favourite Album: This is
a hard one! It changes constantly. Probably Once or
Imaginaerum
Favourite Song: Ghost
Love Score, Dead Boy’s
Poem and Rest Calm
How many times have
you seen Nightwish
live? I’ve seen Nightwish
five times; Philadelphia
(2007), Glasgow (2008),
London (2009), Helsinki and
Tampere (2012)
Hoping to make it nine by
the end of the year!
Finland has been described as a land of a
and the weird collections of trees in the
thousand lakes, but as Carol and I would
middle of them were in fact islands. As we
learn on day two of our Nordic adventure
gazed upon the beautiful frozen lakes the
this wasn't exactly accurate. In the summer
ticket inspector was making his rounds.
there are 187,888 lakes in Finland, there
aren't so many in the winter - but there are
one hell of a lot of outdoor ice-rinks. And we
hadn't brought skates.
once more venture out into the freezing Helsinki air and make the mad dash to the station so that we could catch our train to destination number two: Tampere.
The inspector turned to his colleague and
spoke to him very quickly in Finnish and
pointed at her pre-printed ticket. Aware of
the confusion upon our faces he replied in
perfect English: "This ticket was for yesterday, you will need to purchase a valid
early train? Yawn!!
ticket".
Halli
Home to both the
Ilv
Tappara of the SM-li es and
iga
Tappara is Finnish
for “Battle Axe”
00
equally as dutiful, handed hers over with a
By the way: Carol, why did we book such an
N or m al ly an Ic e
H oc ke y
Venue
Venue Capacity: 78
tion he smiled and passed it back. Carol,
smile.
We woke early, to early, so that we could
Tampere
Venue: Hakametsän
I dutifully handed over my ticket for inspec-
We graciously thanked our host
Carol, surprised, as she'd talked me through
who had accompanied us to the
using the Finnish language site we'd used to
station, and boarded the train.
book the tickets asked if he was sure it was
So far, the day had been free of
wrong. It was. We purchased the replace-
disaster, however, that being said
ment ticket and returned to the winter vista
it wasn't yet breakfast in the UK.
outside the carriage.
We settled in to a pretty much
deserted carriage and managed
to get a set of four seats, so we
could keep our suitcases near (I
certainly wasn't allowing any personal possessions out of my sight)
and we could both stare out of the
window as the beautiful Finnish
tundra rolled past. I soon realised
that the fields we were choochooing past weren't fields at all
9
Shortly after we arrived in Tampere; spotting
our hotel as we pulled up into the station.
We set off on foot in the direction of the hotel whereupon we stumbled on walking's
greatest enemy: The Ice. While we salt everything, panicking that we've got an inch of
snow and stockpile bread, the Finn's take a
much more sensible approach and place
small gritty stones on the pavements and
allow them to become compacted into the
ice by footfall. Surprisingly this is a
rather exciting meeting. Exactly on the
work on getting photos and the inter-
very effective method of dealing with
hour the elevator doors went ping and
view edited. We managed to get an
the fact that in winter a vast majority
out walked Tuomas Holopainen who
8min snippet of the interview up-
of Finland's surface becomes one very
Carol was to interview. We all ex-
loaded from my iPad to whet the ap-
large ice-rink. However, this is only an
changed pleasantries and Tuomas
petite of all the users of Tuomas' web-
effective method if every pavement is
being the down to earth guy he is
site, before we wolfed down a Subway
treated as such. The road to the hotel
asked if he could get us coffee. I said
and we too set off for the venue.
wasn't. While Carol used the walls of
yes please! Black! I definitely needed it
the building's to steady herself on the
after our early start. We eased into the
ice, I contemplated using my suitcase
interview with some general chatter
as a makeshift toboggan. However the
and we gave Tuomas some gifts, a
number of unfortunate events to befall
bottle of whisky from the Islanders (to
us coupled with my ability to walk into
say thank you for the exclusive inter-
glass doors forewarned me that per-
view he did for us) and I gave him
haps this wasn't the smartest course
some books by Trudi Canavan I
of action. I copied Carol.
thought he might enjoy. As usual he
Luckily, that was the last unfortunate
event of our little adventure and from
there events took a turn for the awesome.
The Hotel wasn't ready for us to check
in, but did allowed us to store our belongings in a locked storage room.
The lady at the desk was incredibly
helpful when I apologised that I did
not have the card the room was payed
for with and explained the situation.
She produced a map, put an X on the
nearest police station and wished me
luck in finding the wallet. We ventured
onto the glacial street once more and
quickly found the poliisi. They were as
helpful as the lady in the hotel and we
were soon back in the hotel, where our
stylish twin room had become available. We both freshened up and made
our way back down to the lobby to
was his charming self during the interview making jokes about bucking
broncos and how good the hulk on the
ice hockey field. As the interview drew
to a close, Marco came over for a chat
and we ended up randomly discussing
the merits of reading on an iPad vs a
physical book.
We arrived as Poisonblack were finishing off their support set. I felt on both
evenings Poisonblack’s sets were
somewhat disappointing, I’d first seen
them in 2006 when they’re toured the
UK in support of Lacuna Coil, I’d really
enjoyed them and went out and purchased their album “Rush” - which is
still a great album. So seeing the
crowd not as responsive as I thought
they’d be took something away from
the performance.
As the last chords of “Rush” (good
song by the way!) rang out a majority
of the audience vacated the stadium
towards the bars and food stands.
You only need to spend a short while
with the band to realize just how down
to earth they are. They’re welcoming
and make every effort to put the fans
meeting them at ease. Troy was as
enthusiastic to talk with us as the others, although, it was obvious that despite being a hardy Northerner he
didn’t have the liver to keep up with
the Finns. I made sure Troy got his
Islanders tee I'd promised him so we
will have to look out for him wearing
an Islanders tee on the UK tour.
meet with T-H.com's Spanish transla-
As the band set off for the venue,
tor and her friend in anticipation of a
Carol and I retreated up to the room to
10
Carol and I noticed Troy standing off
to the side by one of those tunnels
other early start, we asked Ewo for the
always a pleasure - even if she does
you see athletes arrive in stadiums by.
number of a local taxi company. Aware
take the piss out of my stupidity. Al-
We had a nice wee chat for ten min-
we were staying in the same hotel as
ways. I’m looking forward to my next
utes or so until he had to head back-
the band and being the awesome guy
adventure with Carol - the UK tour.
stage once more to get ready for the
he is, told us to not worry about it and
Hopefully some of you will be joining
nights performance.
we could get a lift back in the minibus
us.
Talking of the nights performance:
with the band.
Wow. Nightwish were one top form.
Once in the minibus, the guys were
I’ve seen them five times, yet every
busy talking about the Finnish leg of
time they still manage to blow me
the tour, counting how many fans had
away. Forget the fact the setlist was
been played too, how many bottles of
the same as Helsinki, the bands per-
beer drank and cigarettes smoked.
formance was so well polished. It is
Soon, Marco decided to puzzle us all
refreshing to watch a band that not
with a little riddle. We were all
only look like a well-oiled machine on
stumped. Later that night I was ad-
stage, but to see them genuinely en-
vised by Carol to stop trying to work it
joying themselves while they play?
out and just go to sleep. After the
Magical.
short ride back to the hotel Carol and I
Nightwish’s stage show really added
to the theatrics of the night, the fa-
said farewell to the band and retired to
our room.
mous tissue paper curtain, the large
The next morning we were up early to
screens and I swear I’ve seen less
get our bus from Tampere to Helsinki
fireworks on bonfire night! Even Tuo-
Vantaa Airport, the bus was slow, but
mas’ keyboards, surrounded by organ
offered nice views of the Finnish coun-
like pipes, shot jets of fire during
tryside, the cold spell was beginning
Scaretale. Standing near the front, I
to end and much of the snow from the
feared for my eyebrows.
previous days had begun to melt.
As the first notes of Imaginaerum
played out over the speakers and
Nightwish gathered for the final bows,
the crowd were going wild. All, clearly
as impressed as I. It took much longer
to get out of the stadium, but once we
did we met up with the lovely
Katharina, from Nightwish Art. Together, we all headed backstage.
Katharina, I must add, is absolutely
lovely and very talented. As we arrived
backstage Anette was saying farewell
While on the bus we got a surprise
phone call from our host from Helsinki,
she’d manage to track my wallet
down. It seems I’d left it in the taxi
from the airport to her apartment. She
arranged to meet us at the airport.
After I insisted on buying her a coffee
to say thank you, we sat at one of the
cafes land-side of the airport, I finally
got the karellian pie I’d been wanting
all weekend and a nice strong black
coffee.
to the guys as she was leaving the
We got through security quickly, which
venue, obviously exhausted and look-
gave us time to have a look around
ing forward to seeing her family. Ewo
the duty free shops. Taking advantage
soon greeted us in a similar fashion as
of the fact I was now flush with Euros
Tuomas had the previous night, by
that I thought gone forever, I treated
passing us a bottle of something with
myself to some Finnish sweets and a
an alcohol content sufficient to strip
nice bottle of Salmiakki vodka. Nom
paint and demanding we drink. We got
talking to Troy again and took some
photos with him, as we hadn’t had the
opportunity earlier. Soon it was getting
late and Carol and I conscious of an-
It was a great trip, I really love Finland.
Even when I was walletless and even
the pavements seemed out to kill me. I
loved Finland. Traveling with Carol is
11
MARCO’S BRAIN TEASER
3 Men check into a hotel room. The
room cost £300. Each man paid
£100. The manager of the Hotel realised he overcharged the men for
their room. The room should have
been £250. He gave the bellboy £50
to give back to the men. The bellboy
took the money, but on the way
thought to himself, "£50 cannot be
divided evenly by 3 people." The bellboy then pocketed £20 and decided
to give the men £30 back, each man
receiving £10. At this point the room
cost each man £90.
£90 x 3 = £270
£270 + £20 (Bellboy pocketed) =
£290
What happened to the last tenner!?!
HOW I DISCOVERED NIGHTWISH...
by Marie Symeou
I read the comments under the video,
incredible "Ghost Love Score" for the
Islander
•••
and I learned a few things. First of all,
first time) Words cannot describe that
fans were arguing over the fact that
experience! Century Child was next,
Tarja had left and why oh why?, the
and by now eagerly awaiting Dark Pas-
usual stuff that still happens to this day.
sion Play, I made sure to pre-order it
Anyway, I listened/watched a few more
from Amazon. I bought Wishmaster
Nightwish tracks and I was gripped by
when I was in Sweden on holiday later
everything I heard. First of all, with a
that year. I've added a lot more to my
song like "Sleeping Sun", I was not
collection since then, of course, like the
expecting a metal band, but I wasn't
DVDs and the Once Upon A Nightwish
disappointed when I found out that
book.
I've been a Nightwish fan since early
2007, up until then I hadn't heard of
them at all.
Before you think how odd, please note,
I am one of the older fans (over 30 is all
I'm saying), and though a fan of metal
for years, I just didn't mix with metal
heads anymore. I'd been there, done
that, got the T-shirt,etc. I honestly think
if it wasn't for YouTube, I would never
have discovered this amazing band.
Perhaps also, if I wasn't a writer I would
have never have come across them at
all.
You see, at the time of the discovery, I
was researching for a historical fantasy
novel I was writing. As it's set in Regency times, I was searching for any
video related to the Romantic poets like
Byron and Shelley so as to immerse
myself in the look and feel of the pe-
Nightwish were indeed metal. Though
of course I soon realised the band just
doesn't fit into any genre really, and for
someone with eclectic music taste like
me, that was even more impressive.
the actor playing Byron, but with this
beautiful music I was hearing. Wow!
Who is this band? I thought. And what
a lovely voice the singer has!
band. I just wish I'd discovered them
earlier. Not only did this awesome band
inspire me to start singing again, but I
Certainly my kind of band!
listen to their music whilst writing my
Kicking myself for not having discov-
through very dark times (the last few
ered them earlier, I went searching for
years have been really tough) Nightwish
more Nightwish info online, and was
is the band I always listen to. Not only
pleased to see that the band was not
does their unique music help ease the
splitting up (as I had feared) but they
pain, but afterwards, upon listening, I
were currently looking for a new singer.
feel that my soul is deeply cleansed
As I waited eagerly with other fans for
riod. A video came up in the search and the announcement of the new singer, I
I watched a clip from a BBC TV drama
kept watching more YouTube videos
called Byron which someone had made
and began collecting their CDs. My
a fan video of, putting "Sleeping Sun"
memory isn't that good, but I think the
over it. I instantly fell in love. Not with
Nightwish is definitely my favourite
first I ordered was the Highest Hopes
compilation because I really wanted
"Sleeping Sun", and after that, I got
OceanBorn. Then it was Once (and I
couldn't believe it when I heard the
12
novels too. And when I'm going
and I am inspired to keep going. Listening to Nightwish is truly a cathartic experience.
I don't think any other band has this
affect on me. Not to the extent of
Nightwish anyway.
MIA
AMSTERDAM REVIEW
RIDDLE
Username: Midnightimortal
Age: 18
Location: Windsor
Favourite Album: Imaginaerum
How many times have
you seen Nightwish
live? England, Brixton Academy, 11th march, 2009 and
The Netherlands, Heineken
Music Hall, 13th april 2012
I saw Nightwish on the 13th of April, 2012 in Amsterdam. I
travelled all the way from England to see them as a special 18th birthday present, so I was obviously very excited! I was determined to get front row, so I got out there
at 11am and thankfully I was one of the first few people
there. I made some awesome friends that day; and one of
them had a dog’s toy that looked like a pig/donkey, and it
squealed! It was such a shame about the thunderstorms
and rain. By the time they opened the door we were all
soaked! I obviously got front row, and to my great pleasure I saw I was going to be right in front of Anette.
Amsterdam
Venue: Heineken M
usic Hall
Colloquially known
as “The
Black Box” becaus
e of the
venues appearance
The venue will host
th
ior Eurovision Song e JunContest
in December.
Alter Bridge record
ed their
Live from Amsterd
am DVD
at the venue.
Capacity: 5500
Eklipse I found quite dull and boring, they
were, in my opinion, nothing new. Battle Beast
was fun and energetic and I soon found myself
head banging to their music. After they left, the
excitement in the air was thick, and soon
enough the opening sounds of Taikatalvi had
started. I had never screamed so hard in my
life! And when they finally came onstage and
SETLIST
Taikatalvi
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel Amaranth
Scaretale
Slow, Love, Slow
I Want My Tears Back
Come Cover Me
The Crow, the Owl and the
Dove
The Islander
Nemo (Acoustic)
Last of the Wilds
Planet Hell
Ghost River
Dead to the World
Over the Hills and Far Away
the curtains fell, the whole arena was filled with
screams of excited fans clapping to Nightwish’s
amazing music. By the end of the gig I was exhausted, so I didn’t wait behind to meet the
band, but I do plan on doing that when they
come to England! Overall, I give the gig 9 out of
10. Anette’s voice was flawless that night, and I
am so proud of her and the guys and how far
they’ve all come as a band, and as friends.
13
Finlandia
Song of Myself
Last Ride of the Day
TREVOR
WARREN
LUXEMBOURG REVIEW
Username: Trevor
Location: Colchester
Favourite Album: Once
Favourite Song: 10th
Man Down, Ghost Love
Score, Last Ride of the Day,
The Poet And the Pendulum,
Astral Romance
How many times have
you seen Nightwish
live? I’ve seen them live 4
times (so far) in London
(Brixton), Helsinki, Amsterdam and Esch-Belval in Luxembourg.
Dear Trevor Warren,
We are honoured to let you know that your
order on (2011-10-05 13:25:05) has been
processed successfully.
And this has to be celebrated!! BIG
TIME!!
Tonight we will gather the entire A-team in
the rue de Hollerich, call for all the hobbits and trolls of our ticketing factories,
we’ll open a couple of bottles of bubbly,
chant and dance until early dawn in order
to celebrate YOUR GOOD TASTE IN
MUSIC!!! Hoorray!!
And after a wild night of partying as there
would be no tomorrow, the A-team will
dedicate their full attention, affection and
care to the preparation of your order.
We will come together one last time and,
with tears in our eyes, kiss and wave the
tickets goodbye (please allow at least a
week's time for the tickets to arrive at destination).
pointed to have two paper tickets de-
on public transport, not something I’d
livered by the postman in a normal en-
come across before.
Not the usual order confirmation I’m
velope rather than a flaming scroll delivered by a hobbit riding a dragon.
After queuing for a few hours we man-
I’d decided to go to Luxembourg as I
back, slightly away from the centre of
hadn’t been there before and I thought
the stage. I’d seen Nightwish in Am-
it would be quite easy to get to. Unfor-
sterdam the previous week but had
tunately getting there was a bit more
been a bit further back so I was looking
complicated than I’d expected but in
forward to seeing the band close up.
the end the travelling went reasonably
The first of the three bands on the bill
smoothly. London City Airport turned
were Eklipse, a string quartet playing
out to be small and reasonably civilised
covers of rock/pop/film music. They’re
(apart from security) and the airport in
a bit too much like easy listening for my
Luxembourg was more or less the
taste but their short set seemed to go
same. After the short flight we then
down well and they’re obviously ac-
took a short bus ride to Luxembourg
complished musicians. Following a very
City followed by a train ride to the new
brief interval the next band took the
town of Esch-Belval, which is being
stage – the excellent Battle Beast. A
built on the site of a disused steelworks
band playing 80s style metal, they went
and could best be described as unfin-
down very well with the audience,
ished. In Esch-Belval everything was
singer Nitte Valo doing a great job get-
sure you’ll agree but this is the email
close together, with the hotel about 100
ting the crowd warmed up. They played
I received when I booked tickets to
yards from the Rockhal which is right
for about 40 minutes and really got the
see Nightwish in Luxembourg.
next to the station. The best bit about
audience in the mood for what was to
travelling in Luxembourg was that our
come.
It did make me wonder quite what to
expect, although I was rather disap-
concert tickets entitled us to free rides
14
aged to get a place about three rows
When Battle Beast finished a large
at the back of the stage, showing film
audience’s reaction. Anette has really
curtain, black mesh covered with
clips to go with the songs. The clips
grown into the role of front woman,
white linen, lace and what looked like
included shots of fairground rides and
her facial expressions and gestures
toilet paper, was lowered. After the
landscapes, adding to the effect with-
complementing her singing and help-
interval of 30 minutes or so the house
out overshadowing the music or band.
ing convey the meaning of the songs.
lights went out and the stage was lit
The light show was very impressive,
The older songs fitted in well with the
from behind, silhouetting Marco sitting
with banks of lights above the band
songs from Imaginaerum to give a
in a rocking chair singing Taikatalvi.
and also lights at the side of the stage.
nicely paced set list with the two
The band then came on stage and
Between songs the lights weren’t
acoustic interludes, the first for Slow
started playing Storytime, with the
turned off but left on so that they
Love Slow and the second for The
curtain still in place. It didn’t drop until
looked like a starlit sky. The band used
Islander and the acoustic version of
well into the song, to reveal the band
pyro quite extensively with flares and
Nemo, slowing things down briefly
in full flow. The set that followed
flames set up at the front of the stage
and giving everyone a chance to catch
mixed 9 songs from Imaginaerum with
and also behind them. As with the big
their breath.
a number of older songs. Amongst
screen the pyro enhanced the show
these was an acoustic reworking of
without dominating it, being used at
Nemo which sounds quite different
key moments within songs to illustrate
from the original but gives it a nice
them rather than just blazing away all
new feel. The stage was set up in typi-
the time. The show was on Jukka’s
cal Nightwish fashion, with Tuomas
birthday so before Slow Love Slow
and his keyboards at the front of the
there was an impromptu rendition of
stage. The boat from the last tour has
Happy Birthday by the audience,
gone and has been replaced by some-
prompting a few comments from
thing that looks like some sort of Sta-
Marco and Anette, who revealed that
lin’s organ (look it up on Wikipedia),
Jukka was 34 before quickly changing
especially when flames shot out of
his age to 22. The show ended with
some of the tubes. There was space
Song of Myself and, appropriately,
at the back for Troy Donockley and his
Last Ride of the Day. During Song of
various instruments, with him joining
Myself lines from the poem were dis-
the band for a large part of the set.
played on the screen while the band
Having him there live really added to
played the musical parts of the song.
the show and he seemed to be having
On Last Ride of the Day they really
a great time. There was a large screen
went all out with the pyro with flares
shooting up from the front and back of
Luxembourg
Venue: Rockhal
One of the newest venues on
the tou r, hav ing ope ned in
2005.
It is Luxembourg’s largest music venue
The first band to play at the
Rockhal was The Prodigy
the stage whilst the big screen
played film of a rollercoaster ride.
The song ended with fireworks
going off before the title track of
Imaginaerum was played as the
band came back on stage to wave
to the audience and enjoy the ap-
What a band, what a night! Hopefully
to be repeated in the UK before the
end of the year.
SETLIST
Taikatalvi
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel
Amaranth
Scaretale
Slow, Love, Slow
I Want My Tears Back
Come Cover Me
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove
The Islander
Nemo (Acoustic)
Last of the Wilds
Planet Hell
Ghost River
Dead to the World
Over the Hills and Far Away
plause.
So, was it worth the trip? The answer has to be a very emphatic yes.
Capacity: 6500
The Luxembourg show, and the
Compared to it’s population,
Rockhal can fit roughly 0.1% of
the people of Luxembourg, to
achieve this in the UK a venue
would need to fit over 62,000
people. That’s more than three
times the size of the 02 Arena.
Amsterdam show a week earlier,
were two of the best live performances I’ve seen by any band. The
sound was very good and it was a
great show visually. The band all
looked to be having a great time on
stage and to be delighted by the
15
Finlandia
Song of Myself
Last Ride of the Day
LOS ANGELES REVIEW
SETLIST
(C) Christian Lessner
In January this year I went over the pond to the good ol’ US of A to catch the first
show of the Imaginaerum world tour in LA. From the moment the show was announced I knew I wanted to go despite the distance. As a fan personally there is
nothing I love more than seeing Nightwish live in concert. As it had been two
years since the last time I saw them live I felt I could not wait any longer! After 6
months of planning I finally flew over to the states on the 19th January, a couple
of days before the show, arriving in LA mid afternoon. After a couple of days getting over the jet lag it was finally time for what I had been waiting for the concert.
Finlandia
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel
Amaranth
Scaretale
The Siren
Slow, Love, Slow
I Want My Tears Back
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove
The Islander
Nemo (Acoustic)
Last of the Wilds
Planet Hell
Song of Myself
Last Ride of the Day
Poet and The Pendulum
Over the Hills and Far Away
The venue itself was located away from the main city up in north Hollywood. In
LA most of the music venues are based in and around the famous sunset strip.
However the Gibson Amphitheater is located on the famous Universal studios lot
between the Studios/theme Park and the shopping area called city walk. The
atmosphere before the concert was electric. It was clear that everyone was really
excited and buzzing about the show. The approach to the venue also added to
the atmosphere as you approached the venue on a narrow path lined with trees
before opening up into the entrance to the venue.
As we took our seats for the show the buzz in the crowd seemed to go up a
notch. The show began with two support acts that were a complete contrast to
one another. The first band were Dommin a local band from LA who play music
with a gothic rock style. The reminded me of British bands paradise lost and
white lies. The second act was Finnish band Amorphis who I had heard about
but never actually heard before. I really enjoyed their melodic metal sound.
They are definitely a band worth checking out.
Finally after the two support acts it was finally time for the main event. The
show opened with an atmospheric classical score (which I later discovered
was ‘Finlandia’ by Jean Sibelius) made even more haunting by Troy Donockley’s pipes that sent goose bumps down my spine. The band then launching
into Storytime with great enthusiasm and energy, which continued throughout
the show. They clearly looked like a band that had really looked forward to
this show and wanted to give everyone a great time. The highlights of the
show included a truly magical moment when they played The Islander and
everyone got their phone/lighter out in unison. Although I have seen this
since at other shows on the tour it has not been as effective as it was that
night as the venue was so dark and intimate. An acoustic version of Nemo
followed which was an unexpected surprise. The finale of Last Ride Of The
Day was especially thrilling with confetti and pyro. The encore provided an
amazing end to a magical evening with The Poet and The Pendulum followed by Over The Hills…(one of my favorite covers). Overall it was a thrilling show and a great beginning to the tour. I felt it totally justified my decision to come so far and provided me with memories that will last for a long
time to come.
by Sarah Wild, Islander.
16
Los Angeles
Venue: Gibson Amphitheatre
Used to be an open theatre but
converted to an indoor one in
1982
Third largest indoor theatre in
California
The venue is used for the MTV
Movie Awards
Capacity: 6000
The venue is to be demolished
to make way for “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”
theme park.
DOWNLOAD REVIEW
SETLIST
Finlandia
Storytime
Wish I Had an Angel
Amaranth
I Want My Tears Back
Last of The Wilds
Planet Hell
Nemo
Over the Hills
Song of Myself
Last Ride of The Day
I’d been thinking of going to Download this year for a while, but when I heard
Nightwish would be there on the Friday, that was it. I had to go.
Well, to say it was muddy would probably be an understatement. The conditions
were so bad that everything was delayed for two hours while they closed off
some areas that were just too muddy.
So, after a long wait and ending up queuing in the wrong place, I finally made it in
and ran for the second stage where Nightwish would be playing. A big section to
the left of the stage had been closed off and, just as I arrived it got opened up so
I made it onto the barrier at the front – extremely good timing!! I was behind two
people with a Finland flag who were also big Nightwish fans, which was great!
By the time Nightwish were about to come on, a mini tidal wave of mud was
lapping over the floor of the barrier, which was...lovely. I somehow managed to
get mud all up one side of my leg and *sniff* all over my Nightwish t-shirt, and
my wellies...well, let’s just say they were no longer their original red colour. Of
course, all that was forgotten when Nightwish started. We could tell it was
going to be good when the stage was being set up – it looked fantastic! It was
a great moment when Jukka’s drum kit was brought on, then Tuomas’s keyboard (we were a bit worried that they wouldn’t make it, another band had
already been cancelled earlier because of the weather). So it was a huge relief
seeing the drum kit and keyboard arriving!
The first song was Finlandia, which was beautiful and a lovely surprise too as I
was expecting something heavier for a festival. Then came Storytime and the
energy of the whole band was wonderful. It was great seeing Troy there, and
the whole band played/sang so well and seemed really into the music – I now
think Tuomas should be named ‘Lord of All Head-banging’! There was a huge
audience – well, I think there was, since I was too tightly packed in to turn
round, which I took to be a good sign. I was happily singing along, horrifically
out of key as always, to the delight of everyone around me. Lots of people
seemed to know Over the Hills especially and were all singing along. I don’t
think any of us actually sang the right lyrics but we all came in faithfully with
the ‘over the hills and far away’ part at least. There was a good mix of songs
from the most recent three albums, and I think I heard a bit of Stargazers and
Gethsemane during Planet Hell... I really liked the set list, even though the
hour went by so quickly!
There was a LOT of fire, which was brilliant, and the fireworks at the
end...wow! And ending on ‘Last Ride of the Day’ was perfect, of course,
since it’s one of those songs you just have to sing/go slightly crazy to and
there was a great atmosphere in the audience the whole time. So, all in all it
was a fantastic experience and I’m really really happy to have been there!
by Hannah Thompson, Islander.
17
Download
Venue: Donington Park
The Festival has run since 2003,
but the venue has been synonymous with rock since 1980
when it held the first Monsters
of Rock Festival
Nightwish has played Download
festival twice, once in 2005 with
former vocalist Tarja and again
in 2012 with Anette.
This year Metallica, The Prodigy and Black Sabbath headlined the festival.
Festival Capacity: 120,000
The festival mascot is a dog
known as “The Download Dog”
the logo changes every year
with the dog usually changing in
colour.
MY NIGHTWISH JOURNEY
by Richard Smith
caught up in the Nu Metal wave that
faithful and patient, knowing that they
Islander
•••
emerged with bands like Papa Roach
would not jeopardise their future by
and Linkin Park, so yet again the album
making the wrong decision. In May
got a bit of airtime now and again, but
2007, Eva was released which was
was often shelved. Another two years
Anette’s first outing with the band, and
later and I was on a teaching place-
at first I wasn’t convinced, but it was
ment in France for 9 months between
only one song so I remained patient
2004 and 2005, I had a lot of spare
again. In June 2007, I went travelling
time and listening to music a lot more
for 4 months round South Ameri-
often and Wishmaster inevitably was
ca…naturally Nightwish was on my
picked up again, this time more tracks
MP3 player and it was great listening to
started jumping out at me such as
such dramatic music while driving
Dead Boy’s Poem and FantasMic, and
through equally dramatic scenery. My
so I went straight on Amazon’s website
MP3 player was then stolen while I was
and ordered Century Child and Once,
in Peru, which was really sad for me,
which had not long been released. I
but I hope that whoever stole it is also
instantly fell in love with Once and it
now and avid Nightwish fan. Dark Pas-
was all I could listen to for several
sion Play was released while I was on
weeks. I had a stereo back then with a
my travels, and every time I went to an
3 CD changer and so Once, Century
internet café, I would sit listening to the
Child and Wishmaster were firm fix-
songs which had been uploaded to
tures in there for most of the time I was
Youtube, and so for me, DPP invokes
in France…anything else just got lis-
strong memories from South America,
tened to through the PC. I was back at
no song more so than The Islander
University in Swansea in September
which reminds me of the week I spent
2005 and I soon booked tickets to see
in Ushuaia, the World’s southern-most
Nightwish for the very first time on the
town.
My Nightwish journey first started in
2000 when I was 16, I cannot remember the day or month, but I remember
sitting at my family’s PC, looking for
new music. Back then, I found it hard
discovering new bands and musically, I
was only really exploring the rock and
metal scene for the first time by myself.
I had grown up listening to my mum
and dad’s collection of The Rolling
Stones, Queen and Bob Dylan, and I
had started listening to Guns N Roses,
Placebo, Iron Maiden as I moved into
6th Form at school. Like many of my
friends back then, we were using the
illegal version of Napster to find and
download songs (in no way do I approve of illegal downloading now in the
days of Spotify etc) on a 52kbps connection and waiting half an hour for one
song. I was searching for genres and
songs via keyword searches and I
eventually typed in ‘Night’…I remember
only a handful of results coming back,
one of them was a song called Wishmaster by a band called Nightwish,
who I had never heard of. I listened to it
and liked what I heard, but as I was
discovering many different bands at
this time, this song was neglected and
soon forgotten on the hard-drive of the
PC.
25th at London’s Hammersmith Apollo
on their Once tour, a show which would
blow my mind. I still remember that
show like it was yesterday and little
was I to know that it would be Tarja’s
last performance in the UK as a member of the band, so I feel very happy
having seen Nightwish with Tarja’s vo-
Two years later when I was 18, my par-
cals raising the roof. As sad as it makes
ents bought me a laptop to take to uni-
me, I love watching the End Of An Era
versity with me, and so I connected it
DVD as it reminds me of my first live
up to the family PC and transferred all
Nightwish experience. Straight after the
my songs to it. At this point, I was go-
gig, I went home and ordered Angels
ing through another wave of discovery
Fall First and Oceanborn, so that I was
and stumbled across this strange
up to date with everything…and so the
Wishmaster song again. It started get-
love affair begins.
ting more airtime on my laptop, and so
I decided to look into the band called
Nightwish, and with a new student loan
sitting in my bank account I headed
down to HMV and picked up the
Wishmaster album. I liked it but I
wasn’t instantly hooked. I was still
On Wednesday 26th March 2008,
Nightwish held a signing session at
Oxford Street’s Zavvi store before one
of their Astoria gigs. I only had a ticket
for the following night so I was gutted
that I might end up missing it, but I
booked the day off work and went
down anyway. By this time, I had converted my parents into Nightwish fans
too, and so on the day of the signing, I
told my mum that I was going out after
work, so I would be home later than
usual. I stole her copy of DPP and took
it with me to London, along with my
own of course. I was so excited that I
was actually going to see the band up-
Like most Nightwish fans, I was eager
close but the event felt rushed, the se-
to see who they would get to replace
curity and organisers all seemed rude
Tarja and the wait was agonising, espe-
and you got the impression that it was
cially with all the rumours and false
just a production line. Still, I got both
claims as to whom the next vocalist
copies signed…and returned home a
would be, but I was willing to remain
happy bunny. My mum accosted me at
18
the front door demanding to know
where her DPP album was, as she had
wanted to listen to it that day in preparation for the gig the next day. I sheepishly told her it was in my room…presented it to her, and it took her a few
minutes to realise that there were
now five signatures. She was over
the moon and more importantly, I
was in the good books! The next day,
we went to the show and as usual,
Nightwish didn’t fail to impress and I
was hungry for more.
This time I only had to wait for a
year before they would return and
on the 11th of March 2009,
Nightwish graced Brixton! In the
year between these concerts, I made
friends with quite a few people on
the then Official UK forum, and we
all agreed to meet up and queue together for the concert. People had
come from all over Europe and so it
was great to meet Nightwish fans
from other concerts and hear their
experiences. We spent all day outside Brixton Academy drinking, eating sweets and having a good time,
and yet again Nightwish were on
form, capping the end to a fantastic
day.
We then enter the doldrums for two
whole years…no live shows at all in
2010 and 2011. I must admit that
with the lack of new material and
concerts during this time, my
Nightwish collection got listened to
less and less every month, but it was
never forgotten. I kept a keen eye
UK would get a selection of dates
later in the year and so the excitement grew again. At the start of
2012, I purchased a 5-day camping
ticket for Download festival, the lineup looked awesome, I couldn’t wait…
and then Nightwish were added to
the bill, warming up for Slash. It
couldn’t get any better…having been
a fan of Guns N Roses for a long time,
and also having followed Slash’s
other projects, this was something I
couldn’t miss. So Friday 8th June
came around quickly, and after slogging through the mud and rain for
two days, I made my way up to the
second stage. The crowd looked quite
large, but somehow, I managed to
find my friend from the 2009 Brixton show, who was right in front of
the stage, two rows from the front.
Nightwish came on with Troy and we
both went wild. The band put on a
great performance complete with
pyrotechnics, playing a mixture of
songs from Imaginaerum and their
earlier albums. Although the set was
At the end of 2011, I officially benot long enough for my liking (the
came an Islander and I’m proud to be downside of festivals), it was a good
part of the UK Nightwish family, and performance to warm up for Slash
would just like to extend my thanks
and has sated my appetite for the
to The Islanders management team
time being.
for re-establishing an Official UK Fan
club and all the hard work that they As I now sit writing this, their albums are all playing on shuffle, it has
do behind the scenes.
been a 12 year odyssey with many
I am sure I am not the only
highs and lows and so the Nightwish
Nightwish fan in the UK who was
journey continues…Remember, redisappointed when the European
member the 5th of November!
Tour 2012 dates were released…no
UK dates!!! It then emerged that the
open for any interviews or news
about what was coming next, and
over that time Imaginaerum
emerged and the announcement of a
movie too. I received Imaginaerum
after pre-ordering it and on my first
listen; I was hit with a wave of disappointment…there were only two
songs which stood out for me at first,
Slow Love Slow and I Want My Tears
Back. I am a big fan of Katie Melua
and Norah Jones, and I so was very
pleasantly surprised to hear a completely different side to Anette’s vocals in Slow Love Slow. I Want My
Tears Back is one of those songs that
you just want to get up and dance to
and for me, was an instant hit. The
rest of the album seemed below par,
however this was Nightwish, a band I
love, and I was not going to dismiss it
that easily, so I persisted and it has
grown on me with every listen and I
now appreciate it in its entirety and
there is not a song on the album that
I dislike.
19
THE PUZZLING PUZZLE PAGE...
Nightwish Songs
Can you guess the Song from the Lyrics?
1
2
3
4
5
9
6
10
7
8
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
ACROSS:
DOWN:
ACROSS
3. One fleeting
moment and it is all gone
1. Before the years take me I wish to see the lost in
3 One fleeting moment and it is all gone
8. She walks8alone
notalone
without
me
Shebut
walks
buther
not name
without her name
11
Some
wounds
never
heal
11. Some wounds never heal
2. A dreamy-eyed child staring into night
12 in
Wanderers
in cosmic caravan
12. Wanderers
cosmic caravan
3. November dressed as May on your face
16 An Aphrodite for mortal souls
16. An Aphrodite
forwithout
mortal asouls
4. Entwined in finding you one day
17 Sea
shore for the banished one unheard
19 Save
yourself
a penny
for the
17. See without
a shore
for the
banished
oneferryman
unheard
5. Who’s there knocking at my window?
19. Save yourself
a penny for the ferryman
6. Lost in my own world
DOWN
1 Before the years take me I wish to see the lost
in me
7. The
wild calls no more
2 A dreamy-eyed child staring into night
9. Caress the One
3 November dressed in May on your face
4 Entwined in finding you one day
10.The Path where Beauty meets the Beast
5 Who's there knocking at my window?
6 Lost in my own world
13. I want to see where the Sirens sing.
http://en.puzzle-maker.com/crossword_FreePuzzle.cgi
14. Should I dress in white and search the sea?
Page 1 of 2
15. The second star to the right
16. Without an honest heart as compass
If you’ve managed to guess all the clues why don’t you
submit the answers to [email protected] and
we’ll pick out one winner of a signed Islanders Promo
at random. For more details on the competition details/
rules drop us an email.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Anette was once in an Abba tribute band
One track on Imaginaerum makes reference to
once of Tuomas’ favourite films “The Village”.
8. Tuomas plans to use the family island for a
“Imaginaerum” theme park if the movie is a
success.
9. Marco likes console gaming.
10. Jukka demanded an Islander tee as soon as he
saw his nose!
Nightwish once went for the Finnish nomination
for the Eurovision Competition?
Marco is the face of a Finnish brand of facial
hair styling wax.
Tuomas has started working on a solo project
about The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
Nightwish have never performed Ocean Soul
live.
Emppu dyes his hair he is actually a brunette.
20
MEET THE ADMINS
Alex
Username:
Alex
Location:
Glasgow
Main Role:
Group Admin
How’d you get involved?
I was involved with the previous Fan Club “Nightwish-UK”
before their group admin
couldn’t continue for personal
reasons and closed the club.
I didn’t want to see a UK without a Nightwish fan club as I
wanted to see somewhere
where the community could
come together online. I spent
the next few months talking to
a lot of members of the previous club, asking what they
liked and didn’t like, so that
when we launched our club it
would be even better. It was
decided that we’d move away
from the Nightwish UK brand
and use “The Islanders” as it
showed we were a different
club and also allowed members from the republic of ireland to join in the fun.
How’d you hear about
Nightwish?
I heard about Nightwish
through my father. He’d seen
them on one of the music
channels, enjoyed it so went
out and bought some of the
albums. I liked Once, pinched
it and have been hooked since.
Carol
Tori
Username:
Escapist
Location:
Durham
Main Role:
Webmisteress
How’d you get involved?
I was approached by Alex
about helping out with the
relaunch of a fan club for the
UK. I’d helped organise an interview with John Two-Hawks
for the previous fan club and
had been an active member
there. I jumped at the chance
to get involved.
At the time Chris was very
busy with work and other projects so I ended up developing
the website and the role of
Webmistress stuck.
I had a meeting with Tuomas
about my own website in February 2011, and at the time
passed a letter from Alex to
the Nightwish management.
They agreed and the fan club
was fully launched the following September.
Username:
Tori_Siren
Location:
Exeter
Main Role:
Creative Admin
How’d you get involved?
Alex had been planning to
take over the running of the
previous fan club and being
enthusiastic to see the fan club
remain open I agreed to join
the Admin team and we
started discussions for the
continuing of the club. Unfortunately we saw the club as it
was then close. Talks immediately began and Carol came on
board, with the Tuomas Holopainen official website having
taken flight with such success
we knew she’d be invaluable to
the team. And so TheIslanders was born.
I got married to Chris, moved
house and changed jobs as the
club was launching, so wasn’t
around much. But I’m here to
stay.
How’d you hear about
Nightwish?
Like Carol I was given a mixed
CD with no information on it.
The tracks I put on repeat
were Nightwish’s songs. I did
some research and found
they’d just released a new album with a new singer. I was
hooked.
How’d you hear about
Nightwish?
I discovered Nightwish in
1998 by accident when I
stumbled on a cassette which
contained lots of music, but
the one that stood out was
called Gethsemane.
21
Chris
Username:
Lateshiftnudist
Location:
Exeter
Main Role:
Tea boy?
How’d you get involved?
I was brutally kidnapped by an
elf and made to sign a declaration that I would commit my
life to the Islanders. I signed
it, but escaped for 10 months
hidden in a barrel of jelly babies. Alas I was discovered by
the elf and am now enslaved to
make tea and sprinkle things
with glitter.
How’d you hear about
Nightwish?
I hacked in to my friends computer on over our university
LAN, stole some Nightwish
music videos (Over The Hills
and Nemo), watched them to
death and then decided to buy
an album.
22
CONTENTS
Special Page 24:
Tuomas Holopainen:
Tuomas had a vision to make an
album with a music video for each
song, we discussed with him how
the project grew and grew.
Special Page 26:
Marianne Farley:
Canadian Actress playing the role
of Gem in the upcoming movie
answers your questions.
Special Page 27:
Ilkka Villi:
Finnish Actor, Radio Presenter and
Writer Ilkka Villi kindly agreed to
answer some questions for The
Wayfarer about his career, Imaginaerum and that suit.
Special Page 28:
Quinn Lord:
We’ve spoken to talented teen actor Quinn Lord about all things acting and Imaginaerum here is what
he had to say to The Islanders
Special Page 30:
Petri Alanko:
Having written video game sound
scores to games like Alan Wake, we
discuss how Imaginaerum has differed from anything he has done
before!
IMAGINAERUM SPECIAL
The gates will soon open...
On the 10th of Februrary 2011 an announcement appeared on Nightwish’s website which was greeted by a buzz of excitement and skepticism from the fans.
Imaginarium, the then name given to the forthcoming studio album was to be accompanied by a movie.
Before the pen had been put to paper and finger to keyboard, Tuomas had the idea
that the next Nightwish album would have a music video for each song. While filming the much praised video for “The Islander” the band’s fourth international single
from the album Dark Passion Play, Tuomas approached director Stobe Harju about
his idea. Stobe saw the potential in Tuomas’ idea but suggested that perhaps a full
length feature film would better get across the message that they wanted to convey.
As work on the album began and the story began to emerge, Tuomas and Stobe
approached Solar Films to pitch the idea. They were successful and Stobe soon set
to work on a screenplay to link the tracks of Imaginarium together.
The decision was taken to shoot the film in Canada as the Canadian film industry
offers attractive incentives to film makers employing Canadians in the industry. Despite lots of effort to raise funds with a tight budget filming lasted just eighteen
days in Montreal.
Prior to filming script changes and then after filming Additional Dialogue Recording
sessions and massive CGI plans threw original completion estimates out of the
window. With a limited budget Stobe is currently hard at work with his team putting
the finishing touches to effects and Petri Alanko is tinkering with the final soundtrack mix. Soon the movie will appear on Tuomas’ desk for approval.
Some fans believe it will be an extravaganza of Tuomas’ creative imagination, and
some are worried it will be another “band movie”. Whatever you think of the movie,
we can all agree that the wait will soon be over and the adventure will begin.
With this feature, we endeavour to get into the minds of many of those involved
and weasel out some more information.
...dare you enter The Imaginaerum?
Special Page 36:
Marco Hietala:
Bassist Marco Hietala took time to
speak to The Wayfarer about the
concept, the film and the costumes.
Special Page 37:
Toxic Angel:
You might recognise some of his
artwork from previous Nightwish
albums but Janne has taken the
time to answer some of our questions.
Special Page 38:
Stobe Harju:
Writer, Director and all round nice
guy Stobe talks to The Wayfarer.
23
ON SET
“A moment of
pure love and
pride”
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas had a vision to
make an album with a music video for each song, we
discussed with him how
the project grew and grew.
mares, mermaids coming to carry a dy-
Did you fight for your original idea of
the individual videos or did you immediately jump onboard with Stobe when
That was the starting point.
he suggested to do a feature length?
I had to struggle a bit since Stobe`s idea
about a full length feature never even
crossed my mind. But it sounded so insanely ambitious that I was soon with
him.
ing one into peace, flight of the snowman Raymond Briggs style, a twisted
jazz club, etc. etc. Stories of Beauty,
Imagination and Life, deeply personal.
Were all the band members excited
immediately or did anyone need convincing?
They were immediately fascinated about
the idea, yes. But we all had the money
issue - troll on our shoulders from the
start. They were more realistic than me,
about the finance being very hard to
What first inspired your original idea
gather, having proven to be right.
for the thirteen videos?
It was twelve, actually, since Song Of
How did you go about developing your
them preliminary treatments and trying to
Myself was originally supposed to in-
idea?
convince them about the magic to come.
clude the track "Imaginaerum" in it. I had
I pretty much gave free hands to Stobe
visions and stories in my head, like five
to write the script and develop the origi-
minute short films that I just knew the
nal ideas. He kept me posted regularly
concept about, not the actual plot or
and I made sure my original visions
climax. These visual ideas stuck strong
would`t be left out. (Ghost River was the
in my head and I felt there`s something
only one that had to be completely left
worth telling the world about in them.
out in the end for budget reasons). At the
There have been many great people
The dying arabesque dancer, a ghost
same time I was looking for sponsors,
working on the film, in the end how
circus reflecting our childhood night-
playing them the demo and showing
much of the final film is from your own
24
People mentioned when they first read
the script they were moved. What was
your reaction to your first reading?
“Wow, this is beautiful! How on earth can
we afford all this?"
original idea?
but finally I had to forfeit under Stobe`s
Was there a particular scene you were
At some point the film took its own
sledgehammer. It was a nice experience
looking forward to seeing being acted
course but my original ideas and the
in the end.
out while you were in Montreal?
message are still present there, strong.
What has been your favourite parts of
The Arabesque, The Orphanage and the
Circus.
Is there anyone who you would have
the overall film project?
loved to work on the film who hasn’t
Meeting the cast and the people in the
What did you think of the teaser trailer
been able to?
production / Seeing the film coming to-
when you first saw it?
No, not really. Not having a familiar face
gether piece by piece / The first time I
Shivers all over. A moment of pure love
in the movie sometimes makes a big ad-
saw the rough cut of "The Arabesque"
and pride.
vantage when it comes to the credibility
scene.
of the story.
Looking back, would you of done any-
Did you have any input on the casting?
thing differently?
There were mixed responses in the
I saw almost all the casting videos and
There are always those things, this is our
beginning to the idea of Nightwish
agreed with every single choice they
first (and maybe the only) movie. But no
making a film, as “Band movies” tend
(Stobe & the producers) were about to
sense regretting, best to enjoy what we
to have a bad stigma attached to them.
make. Well, I had my doubts about one
have in our hands now.
Did that affect your confidence in the
role but it ended up being the right
project?
choice, as well.
Does it feel surreal that this project is
Do you feel that your overall experi-
In the beginning it did a little bit. Now it is
ence in the area of film has inspired
mere practical hard work trying to get the
you to want to do more of it in the fu-
feature completed so that we could stand
ture?
behind it. Maybe in premiere then my
Not at the moment but the future is open.
head will explode.
Not at all, since this whole project is
about fulfilling one big dream, that`s all. I
have no interest about money or how
people will react, I`m proud that we`ve
been able to do this the best we can, with
the means that we`ve had. It has been a
very, very difficult path but the result
makes me smile wide, and now I can
close one book and start a new one.
When you and the band members were
on set were there any pranks or mishaps you can share?
Ewo constantly showed up in the weirdest places on the set (as seen on the
documentary). And you might wanna ask
Ilkka Villi what he thought about acting
inside the ridiculously heavy costume..
actually happening?
I`m more interested in scoring and writing
stories, not so much about being on top
What are your expectations of the film?
of the pyramid while making a film.
Do you think it could become a cult hit
How much do you feel the Imaginae-
Nightwish fans?
rum album and the Imaginearum film
It`s definitely in the cult side of filmmak-
have in common? Has the film and the
ing, The producers of The Hobbit should`t
album become something quite sepa-
worry about us entering their territory.. I
rate or is it still along the original lines
just don't know yet. The rough version I
of having the two things very inter-
saw had a lot of beauty in it, and a lot of
twined?
flaws that are being remedied as we
They are separate pieces of art which
speak. I’ll have a more subtle opinion in
share the same music, atmosphere and
two months. It'll be weird, different, ambi-
or will it just be something for
Did filming your scenes feel different to message. But the album has its own indi-
tious and naive, so it`s a fine reflection of
a music video shooting?
vidual stories. So you don't have to know
the band and the director.
Pretty much the same "again and again
the other to be able to understand the
and again" stuff the music video shoot-
other. There was a lot of emphasis put
ings are like. And even more meticulous.
into this fact since the start. And very interesting!
What has been the most enjoyable and
Stobe wrote you your own small part of most tiring thing working on this proTom 47. Did it feel a bit strange you
ject?
having this wrote for you and the other
Again, working with the people and see-
members were just in band scenes.
ing the scenes come together piece by
How much persuading did it take for
piece. The endless issues with money
you to agree?
were the most tiring part. And cutting
Quite a bit, actually. I didn't care for hav-
away the flying whales from the script.
ing a part outside the band sequences
25
More exclusive content from Tuomas:
Marianne Farley
Canadian Actress playing the role of Gem in the upcoming movie answers your questions.
What made you want to become an
He is such a sweet, funny and
actress?
generous human being. I
When I was a young girl I dreamt of be-
unfortunately did not
coming a singer or an actress. I ended
get to see him levitate
up doing both. I was always passionate
any objects but all the
about storytelling. Movies especially. I
card tricks he
discovered Charlie Chaplin, Frank Ca-
showed me were just
pra, Orson Welles and Hitchcock when I
amazing!
was very young and then Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Paul
T. Anderson, The Coen brothers and so
many more. All I knew for sure was that I
wanted to be a part of that…
“I feel blessed to
have been part of
Imaginaerum”
if you were stuck on a desert is-
this project. I feel blessed to have been
land what three items would you take
a part of Imaginaerum!
with you?
A very very big book, my iPod and a
Can you tell us a bit more about your
guitar or a piano (so that I could teach
previous acting history?
myself to play).
I started out as a singer in my early
twenties and took some acting classes
to help me become a better performer
on stage. I ended up falling in love with
acting and have been working steadily
since then. I have been in a lot of local tv
shows (Gentleman, Nos Étés, Les Invincibles, Les Rescapés) and movies (White
Skin, Lucidité Passagère). I also worked
on quite a few american productions like
Christmas Choir, Dead Zone, Lethal Obsession, etc. I am leaving for Nunavut at
the end of June to shoot a film called
Uvanga (by Marie-Helene Cousineau).
If you could have played any role, in
any movie/play, what would you have
ented and wonderful people on
The Islanders always ask;
Could you relate to the character of
Gem in any way?
In a lot of ways actually. It was very easy
for me to understand where she was
An aspiring actress asks can you give
coming from. .. emotionally. She is
out any acting tips that might be help-
strong yet extremely sensitive like me ;-)
ful in surviving such a competitive
And my father is a musician as well.
industry?
Believe in yourself and keep fighting. It is
a very hard industry. You have to keep
working on your craft, take as many acting classes as possible and trust that
things that are meant to be… will be. It’s
an everyday struggle for all actors… for
all artists!
What were the highlights of working
on this project and why?
Just seeing everything come together
was extraordinary. On paper Imaginaerum was incredible but seeing it all come
to life… wow!
Was there a particular part of the
What made you apply for the role of
Gem?
I had a gut feeling it was a part meant for
me. When I read the breakdown I had
movie you were most looking forward
to filming and did it live up to your
expectations?
I enjoy every second of shooting and
preparing for a movie… this one espe-
played?
shivers… and that doesn’t happen very
Elizabeth I, in Elizabeth.
often. I went online to see some of
Stobe Harju’s work and then I really
How would you summarise Imaginae-
What is your favourite film/book?Wow!
REALLY wanted the job!
rum in ten words or less?
That is a hard question to answer! I
would say my favourite book is Perfume
by Patrick Süskind. My favourite movie
is somewhere between Life is beautiful,
Run Lola Run, Punch drunk love and
Lars and the real girl.
We heard you enjoyed Troy’s magic!
What was your favourite trick you saw
him perform?
I just simply enjoy anything Troy does!
What were your thoughts about Imaginaerum when you first read the
cially.
It’s a story about love, life, regret, sorrow, acceptance and peace.
script?
What did you think of the Imaginae-
Beautiful, original and imaginative.
rum teaser trailer?
Has playing this character, "touched"
Breathtakingly stunning and intriguing!
you in some way? Did you expect it to
How was Stobe's direction? Did he
before you started the role?
make it easy for you to visualise the
I have made so many good friends on
story and images?
this projects. I have met so many tal-
Stobe and I got along very well. We ac-
26
tually have a lot in common so it was
Who is your favourite character in the
huge stars but yet they are so kind and
pretty easy for me to understand what he
movie?
very down to earth. Their music is pure
wanted. Even though we had very few
Can’t really choose one. I love all the
emotion and adrenaline.
shooting days (18 total) he took the time
characters… each and every one of them
to talk about the scenes and explain what
is very important to the story!
What is your favourite song from the
What are your expectations of the film?
scene and if so, how did it feel to
tional one!
Do you think it could become a cult hit
shoot?
or will it just be something for
My favourite song of the album is Taika-
What was it like having the band there
Nightwish fans?
talvi. I don’t know if I’m in any of the Tai-
for some of the filming. Did having
I have a feeling it will become a cult hit. I
katalvi scenes because I haven’t seen the
Tuomas around make it feel more
really hope it will because it’s such a
movie yet.
stressful with him having the original
beautiful story!
he wanted. He is a great director and I
have a feeling he will become an excep-
vision for the project?
It was really awesome to have the band
around. They are all so generous! It was
not stressful having Tuomas around… he
is such a sweet and kind man. I think it
was harder on them then on the actors
because it was new to them. Being on a
film set is what actors know… and love!
Imaginaerum album? Were you in this
Will you be seeing Nightwish live?
Had you heard of Nightwish before get-
I REALLY hope so! I heard they are com-
ting the part of Gem?
ing to Montreal sometime in September. I
I had not but I am now a huge fan of
have to get my hand on some tickets
theirs! … so is my 7 year old son…
What do you think of Nightwish as a
band and of their music?
They are absolutely fantastic! They are
Ilkka Villi
Finnish Actor, Radio Presenter and Writer Ilkka Villi kindly
agreed to answer some questions for The Wayfarer about his
career, Imaginaerum and that suit.
What was it like working with Stobe
again?
I love working with Stobe. I think we have
a very honest, trusting and productive
working relationship. We always challenge
each other in a good way.
Can you tell us more about your previous acting history?
I graduated from an acting school in my
hometown of Helsinki Finland in 2004.
While still in school I co-wrote and starred
in a comedy TV series and did my first
feature role. After graduating I focused on
stage acting for a few years. But lately
I’ve again mostly worked on TV and films.
Does it feel surreal having a video
game character based on your appearance?
It does feel a little surreal sometimes. But
mostly it just feels the same as having any
fictional character based on my appearance. First and foremost Alan Wake has
been an acting gig for me – just an exceptionally interesting, widespread and longstanding one.
If you could have played any role, in
any movie/play, what would you have
played?
There are a number of classic roles that
just about every actor would like to play
at some point in their career. But what I
really dream of, is to be offered a role so
fresh, good and exceptional that I never
could have even thought of such a character beforehand – and I would then be
the first one to play it.
What was your first reaction when you
read the script to Imaginaerum? Did
you have any doubts at first?
I actually read a lot of different versions of
the script, because Stobe asked me to
comment on the drafts. The script obviously developed quite a bit from those
earlier stages. But I always loved the
world Stobe had created and the triumph
27
of imagination that is – at least for me –
the heart of the story.
Tuomas suggested that we ask you
what it was like acting in that heavy
suit?.
It was really, really hard. The suit was cool
looking, but, as you pointed out, very
heavy and hot as hell to wear. It was also
hard to see, hear or breathe in that thing.
But I’ve worked in harsh conditions before. The thing I was really concerned
about though, was that I felt that I
couldn’t deliver the kind of performance I
wanted, being trapped in that suite. But
I’m confident that Stobe and the crew will
make it work, even if the character won’t
really rely that much on my performance
in the end.
You have quite a few roles in Imaginaerum, Theodore/Mr White etc. Can you
tell us a bit about your different roles
on the movie?
Yes, those are the two roles I have in
Imaginaerum. I don’t want to go too far
into this here, but I kind of tend to think
that I actually only have one character in
the movie – just different manifestations
of it.
What made you audition for the movie?
Stobe asked me to audition. I of course
did it gladly. But although I had a working
history with Stobe, it was no walk in the
park. I think I did at least three rounds of
auditions, before I got the part(s).
What were your highlights from working on Imaginaerum and why?
It was just all in all a great experience. I
really liked Montreal where we shot the
movie. And everybody involved was so
nice.
Was there any particular scene in the
script you were more looking forward
to filming/watch being filmed?
There was this fantastic circus scene
with the band involved that I really enjoyed watching being shot.
How would you pitch the movie to
someone you had never met to try and
get them to watch it?
If you have any of that little boy or girl left
in you, go see the movie. If you don’t, go
see the movie and find him or her again.
Being Finnish, most likely you had
heard of Nightwish prior to the movie.
Did you listen to their music at all?
Sure, I’ve listened to them quite a bit.
And in Finland everybody really does
know Nightwish. We’re very proud of
them.
and down-to-earth and still have that
awesome rock star charisma.
What were your thoughts when you
first saw the teaser trailer?
That I want to see more!
Who is your favourite character in the
movie?
Before seeing the actual movie I would
have to say the two characters I played
myself. I tend to develop a pretty strong
bond with my characters. For an actor it’s
really important to be wholeheartedly on
the characters side and understand their
reasons and motivations however dishonorable their actions may be.
What was it like having the band
around on set?
It was great. They are such cool people.
For me, the whole band is living proof
that you can be very kind, warm-hearted
Quinn Lord
We’ve spoken to talented teen actor Quinn Lord about all
things acting and Imaginaerum here is what he had to say to
The Islanders
D’Arcy), Call Me Mrs. Miracle (Doris Rob-
comedy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
erts)
Shaun of the Dead and The Breakfast
Some of the TV series I’ve guest starred
Club. For a book, I would most definitely
on include Smallville, Supernatural,
choose The Hunger Games I’m reading
Fringe, Masters of Horror, Stargate SG1,
the second book at the moment “Catch-
R.L. Stines The Haunting Hour and Once
ing Fire” so I can’t be 100% sure if I like
Upon a Time.
the 1st or 2nd better.
audience, they would applaud and I
Do you prefer TV roles or Movies?
The Islanders always ask; if you were
loved it!
Films, for sure! I love to play serious roles
stuck on a desert island what three
with serious emotions, and of course ac-
items would you take with you?
tion. I would love to work on a superhero
1. Water filter or tablets to make sea wa-
film or something like Mission Impossible
ter drinkable
where there is tons of action! I’m pre-
2. Box of Vegetation and dirt (to grow
pared for it, I train in stage combat with
vegetables etc.)
swords, horseback riding, diving for un-
3. A flare gun made out of mirrored glass
derwater scenes etc… I just think “Hey, I
in case the flare didn’t work so I could
might need that skill someday, I better try
reflect the sun and be rescued. The flare
it out” TV roles are great too, I love work-
gun would also have a built in iPod
ing on dramas, sci-fi and action!
loaded with the latest Nightwish CD to
What made you decide to become an
actor?
When I was about 4/5 years old I loved
standing up on chairs in malls, or anywhere there was a crowd and reenacting scenes from my favourite movies or break dancing. I would gather an
Can you tell us a bit more about your
previous acting history?
In my first feature film at 7, I played Sam
in a Warner Bros film called Trick ’r
Treat, I worked with Anna Paquin, Brian
Cox, Leslie Bibb and Dylan Baker on
that one.
Since then a few of the films I’ve been
in include Deck the Halls (Matthew
Broderick, Danny Devito), Things We
Lost in the Fire (Halle Berry, Benicio Del
What is your favourite film/book?
Toro), Replicas (Selma Blair, James
Currently, for films I would pick the British
28
listen to while waiting to be rescued.
What kind of music have you been
way in some of the situations he finds
visualise it easily. Stobe would describe
brought up on?
himself in. I don’t want to give anything
the scene in more detail and also show
When I was growing up I listened to a
away, but yes, I’d definitely take advan-
me some mock-ups of the CGI, which
lot of classical, eighties and whatever
tage of the flying! I think Tom (old and
really helped me imagine my surround-
was current so I love lots of different
young) also feels alone sometimes and
ings during the green screen shots.
types of music. Country is my least fa-
experiences some pretty scary situations;
vourite though. I’m trying to learn to
I don’t have life experience in these areas
play Canon rock on my electric guitar;
there are some crazy good people on
Youtube who play it.
What was it like having the band there
yet, so this is where the real acting comes for some of the filming?
It was awesome during lunch to watch
in!
them shoot their video right in front of me,
What were the highlights of working on
Do you want to continue acting as a
this project and why?
profession into adulthood? Or do you
The highlights were meeting the genius
see yourself as something else?
Tuomas behind the whole film and the
I most definitely want to be an actor/
rest of the band, working on the green-
director and producer for sure as an
screen and imagining all the CGI with
adult! I love writing and have a bunch of
Stobe and Ilkka, watching and listening to
it was like a VIP spot in a concert!
Who is your favourite character in of
the movie?
It’s hard to say, Ilkka plays a very interesting character, Tom is very interesting in
his different ages… I’ll have to wait and
scripts on the go, a couple are so close
Nightwish make their music video and the watch the film to decide!
to being completely finished, I’m so
cast and crew, they were all amazing and
excited! My goal is to act in and maybe
fun to work with.
direct/produce my own script, that
I had fun trying to speak a little Finnish,
would be so trippy!
one time after a scene I tried to translate
If you could work with 1 actor, who
would it be and why?
I have at least 24 amazing actors all at
par, but for a dramatic movie I would
love to work with Tom Cruise or Matt
“I killed it” (meaning, I nailed that scene)
and I guess it came across as I was saying that I actually killed something which
was pretty funny, we all had a good
laugh.
Was there a particular part of the
actors out there, Johnny Depp totally
movie you were most looking forward
gets into his characters and Robert De
to filming and did it live up to your ex-
Niro and Jack Nicholson are just amaz-
pectations?
ing!
I was looking forward to a very creepy
Imaginaerum when you first read the
script?
The awesome casting directors in
Montreal sent me the script to look at
and I fell in love with it, and said “Yes, I
definitely would love to try out for this
scene, and yes it definitely lived up to my
expectations! I don’t want to give it away
but I’ll just say one word… CLOWNS!!
There were lots of scenes I looked for-
or will it just be something for
Nightwish fans?
I think Nightwish fans and other audiences will be very entertained with the
CGI and storyline. We will have to wait
and see if it will be a cult hit, but I do
not just made for fans!
What do you think of Nightwish as a
band and of their music?
When I hear their work I get chills! The
band sounded amazing, it really sets the
mood for the film. The soundtrack is really
important in a film and this one has a
great one!
ward to in this film, there was flying,
What is your favourite song from the
screaming, falling, crying, being terrified,
Imaginaerum album? Were you in this
so much… loved it!
scene and if so, how did it feel to
film!”
What did you think of the Imaginaerum
I first thought “Hey! I wanna be in a
teaser trailer?
movie like this!” kind of like Inception in
I loved the kind of eerie feel at the begin-
the way it twists your mind a little bit,
ning with the smoke and fog. Then the
the amazing ideas that were thrown in…
action, it was awesome to see some of
In a word “Epic”.
the CGI after imagining it on the green
Could you relate to the character of
Do you think it could become a cult hit
think everyone can enjoy it, it’s definitely
Damon. There are so many talented
What were your thoughts about
What are your expectations of the film?
screen
shoot?
Storytime!!! This is my favourite, it has a
tune that is SO addictive and catchy that
you’ll be humming it without even knowing! I was in the scene it plays in, it was
perfect for that crazy scene, it was fast
paced, it captured the mood and how
chaotic it was, I was running… not sure
Tom in any way?
How was Stobe's direction? Did he
The character of Tom (old and young) is
make it easy for you to visualise the
very curious and imaginative, which I
story and images?
am. I think I may have acted the same
The script was very descriptive, so I could
29
how the scene looks but it felt amazing!! Petri Alanko
Having written video game sound scores to games
like Alan Wake, we discuss how Imaginaerum has
differed from anything he has done before!
How did you get started in the music
money at all, so I had to get
industry?
myself a part-time job. I
By accident, really. I'd spent my child-
spent a few weeks overtalk-
hood listening to a rather odd combina-
ing a local music shop
tion of records. On my vinyl shelf there
owner ("you guys don't
were Led Zeppelin, Ultravox, Deep Pur-
know shit about synths,
ple, Depeche Mode... can you imagine?
really, you need some-
Van Halen's 70's stuff and Tangerine
one here taking care of
Dream. I'm not kidding you, and some-
that"), and against all odds
how in my head I felt there's a connec-
the kind owner, Pentti Mäki-
tion between the two extremes. There
nen, finally said yes. He was the kindest
he had done his drum set from - believe
wasn't anything lighter than Depeche
man in the business, indeed.
me - oil barrels and PVC sewer piping,
“Nightwish was
the first of its kind.
Well they’re one of
a kind anyway”
My jaw dropped open. Turned out
installed some piezo triggers etc... and
Mode's Speak 'n' Spell - and nothing
much heavier than Deep Purple (consid-
I think it was more pity than reason, I'm
they were looking for a keyboard spe-
ering the keyboard sound). But the con-
sure. I was probably their worst sales-
cialist for studio job, maybe for gigging.
nection was there. Add a several dozen
person ever. I think I sold a few guitar
He showed me a photo of his set. It was
classical albums to that, Stravinsky,
string sets and several plectrums during
Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and the
the few months I was there. Spent my
collection gets even stranger. I loved the
days playing the keyboards, reading
Minutes later the ogre went away, and
feeling when you realise the music
manuals, studying the features. Then,
several hours passed by. Then a yet an-
spread the wings and you felt like you
one day, a spooky two metre tall guy
other heavily hung over long-haired dude
were flying among the notes. If music
walks into a shop. He had long hair
appeared and walked straight at me.
grabbed me, I'd buy the album. I bought
sprayed up, jeans shorts, a dirty Motör-
"You keyboard guy? Need some studio
the first Deep Purple album because the
head t-shirt and a leather vest - and
work? What gear do you have?" I'd
keyboard guy looked like he'd be a
walked straight at me. I was thinking "oh
spent all my money on gear, even then,
tough-ass. Jon Lord. Thanks to him, I
shit oh shit oh shit" and reached for a
so I had what would be considered a
also found Whitesnake... which lead me
crowbar hidden under the desk. Against
to Rainbow.
my expectations, the monster turned out
We discussed of our favourites and
to be a really fun guy, looking for a
whatnot, and after a short talk, without
A few years later, after high school, I was
"dick" for his kick drum pedal (i.e. the
any extra explanations, my answer was
studying musicology and theoretical
beater, which some Finnish drummers
"yes". After a week we started doing an
physics in Jyväskylä University, in Fin-
say "mulukku", which, coincidentally,
album, which was supposed to be a
land, but I slowly realised that path
translates as a, well, "dick"). I couldn't
remix album of their first one - yep,
might end up being paved with misery
figure out how he'd destroyed the thing,
dance stuff. And, after that, I was lured
and unemployment. I've always enjoyed
so he elaborated on the process - and
into gigging as well. They had created a
both the science and theory (being a
turns out this punk rocker look alike had
_VERY_ elaborate plan, as I wasn't too
classically trained pianist/organist), but
a drum set consisting almost 100% of
after considering my choice really care-
pads and electronic stuff. He even had a
all over the country, staying up until 4
fully, I figured out I'd have minuscule
sampler (which was really odd back
AM.
chances getting a job after what seemed
then, especially amongst the drummers)
a lengthy studying phase. House and
in his gig set, plus a Roland R8 and a -
And of course, the bastards finally fully
acid was arriving, and visiting some
yes, TR-909, The Dance Machine Ûber
succeeded in their plan, which required
warehouse parties turned my interest
Alles.
a lot of work. Turned out I enjoyed every-
huge. Unbelievably cool.
huge load of stuff. Lots of analogue stuff.
interested in spending my studying time
towards electronic music into a top gear.
thing related to playing live, and al-
I was 20 then, and broke, had really no
though I liked trashing a lot of stuff
30
(sometimes an old JX-8p didn't respond
always said my output is at its best
ful one, because without all the impor-
to MIDI, so I threw that off the stage,
when I'm a part of a team, and that's
tant pieces (and all pieces are impor-
etc., I've always had a fast-blow fuse
true. (Nowadays, since I'm working
tant), the picture wouldn't translate to
when gear stops working.), they wanted
alone, I've learnt to judge things very
others in a correct way. Sometimes the
me as their regular member.
rigorously, and sometimes I take a day
"picture" requires a lot of work, and it's
Eventually, the semi-academic family
off from a certain track, just to hear it
really consuming to keep yourself in a
guy-shop clerk turned into a longer
differently.) Slowly I figured out I'd get a
mood - maintaining the flow, that is. If
haired punkster wearing knee-high Dr.
decent living out of that, and little by
the "flow" is right, hours can disappear
Martens's, black skate shorts, leather
little I floated further away from the aca-
in a flash. I can start in the morning, and
jacket... the usual gear. Oh well. (Nowa-
demic world. I enjoyed what I did, and it
notice at around 7 PM I've spent hours
days, I'm respecting my kids so much
seemed that other people enjoyed the
in front of my screens without really no-
I'm trying to blend in a little bit, but I
output as well. It was flattering, as I was
ticing anything. After a such day I'm lit-
think wearing a shiny long black Elvine
doing it "my way" and not according to
erally ruined, but it pays off.
coat with knee-high boots and related
playlist radio pop crap. Which I've also
Still, even though it's consuming, it's not
trousers during the wintertime isn't ex-
forced to do to stay alive, but that's an-
really "tiring". The result is always beau-
actly everyone's choice for blending in...
other story and nothing worth mention-
tiful, a miracle, a birth of something new.
especially when the end result is resem-
ing, really. Just everyday work for your
If all goes well, the result resembles your
bling Lord Blackwood from Sherlock
bread 'n' butter. That's how we had to
vision.
Holmes. Amongst the pink Juicy Couture
roll in the 90's.
track suits.)
There, a short version of it all. Now you
Would you describe yourself as a
Years later I calculated the average
can wake up. :-D
closet rocker? If so, are there any
number of gigs I've played, and I came
other metal/rock bands who you ad-
up with a number "about 2400". This
What is the most enjoyable and most
mire and listen to regularly?
was several years ago. 240 gigs in 1991
tiring thing working in this industry?
Yes I would! My playlist consists of - let
alone.
The most enjoyable must be the moment
me see - here are the recent ones:
of revelation during the making of some-
Opeth, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Stam1na,
Anyway, it was a good school. Touring in
thing, the moment that brings tears to
Johnny Cash, Enslaved, Alcest, Ramm-
the early nineties with electronic gear -
your eyes. The second best is doing the
stein, Surachai, Nine Inch Nails, Kotite-
lots of it, a 21 unit rack and a six unit
same live. Most tiring things are budget
ollisuus (I enjoy them a lot, by the way),
sampler rack, four keyboards, two Atari
negotiations, mainly due to several rea-
AC/DC... and a lot of stuff from Reznor/
ST computers - wasn't exactly what
sons, one of them being the usual "be-
Ross and Cliff Martinez, but I'll leave the
anyone would be willing to describe as
cause you know, the business is going
other not-metal-or-rock stuff away from
"an easy gig". I learnt the hard way,
down and because of that, we need
the list. Last week there was a lot of Me-
sometimes I ended up fixing a synth,
to..." - what the hell? Why bother in the
shuggah and a few Marilyn Manson
sampler or a computer while a song was
first place if you're not willing to back the
tracks here and there. Oh, and Masto-
playing. Usually the temperature was
most crucial node in the chain of record
don! The week before that I had a Jon
inhuman, either due to the burning stage
making? Besides, it's never the money
Lord week, obviously, due to Deep Pur-
lighting or freezing wind thru the not-too-
(although the bills must be paid and food
ple. I enjoy stuff that paints with many
dense wooden wall behind your back, so
eaten), it's the people and the project.
colours (well, Surachai paints with million
the gear would cock up without a further
This would turn into "another day job" if
dark greys and blood red :-D, it's really
warning in a second. Add some backing
one does things solely for money. I just
odd), and I happen to enjoy stuff that
vocals and vocoder usage to my duties,
cannot function that way.
surprises me with great harmony and
and if that's not a Musician's University
melodies combined with ruthless roaring
of Muthafunkin' Hands-On, I don't know
But if we're talking about the creative
guitars. I don't enjoy pig grunts instead
what is. The amount of "OH COCK! NOT
process itself, the most tiring thing in
of vocals, but if there's a grabbing riff
AGAIN!" shouted live on stage: hun-
that must be the "reverse puzzle" - let
underneath, anything goes. I listen to a
dreds.
me go a bit further here... usually, I'll
lot of soundtracks (OST) as well, by the
Studio work lead to other things, and
"see a picture", or hear, and I need to
way.
suddenly I was doing remixes for other
translate that picture onto a timeline of
people. Back then we had a team of
my audio workstation in order to some-
Have you ever worked with a rock
two-three guys, and I enjoyed it. I've
one hear it. The process must be a care-
band as closely as you worked with
31
Nightwish before on an OST? Would
I'd really like to do that over and over
feel of participating with the stuff, even
you do it again?
again.
without the NW guys (and the lady)
With a slightly popper band, yes, but
there. I just did something according to
Nightwish was the first of its kind (well,
You said in your blog that this was
my own taste only. They had created a
they're one-of-a-kind anyway). And yes,
quite different than anything you have
sandbox, left the playfield, and allowed
I'd _ENJOY_ work with a rock band,
done before, was it a slightly daunting
me kindly go in and play with what they
because the energy you get from drums
task having to use the music already
had created. I was Alice in Wonderland,
and guitars and bass is... primordial. :-D
laid down by Nightwish instead of
but luckily there were no mad kings or
With pop stuff it's always a bit too hin-
having free reign over its creation?
queens or talking bunnies running all
dered, with all the under-four-minutes
This gig was in a class of its own, due to
over the place.
and verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle-
many, many reasons. For starters, the
The daunting bit came when I started to
repeat chorus and fade stuff. Actually, I'd
quality of the raw material was WAY bet-
judge my output after a brief pause. I'm
love to work even closer, because that
ter than anything I've ever heard before.
_VERY_ ruthless to myself. I can be a
way the synth stuff would be entwined,
Then the structure of the original mate-
medium level shithead for anyone in the
incorporated in at a genetic level. Such
rial, which was carefully thought over at
studio if I notice people let go without
as Nightwish does, they're really good
least hundreds of times, put me into
even really trying or putting their heart
with that stuff. Usually the heavy metal
thinking "how the hell should I destroy all
into it, but if I'm judging my own output
keyboardist has a huge rack and the
this?", and finally the amount of material
I'm the worst of all the dictators. I see
output sounds like "meeee beeeeeeeeep
was in a class of its own, too. There
flaws in every finger movement, every
meooooooooow", because that's the
were many aspects that someone might
automation curve... it's heavy, but I call
only sound that cuts through. It's a bit
have considered as hindering factors,
that the "purgatory stage". After a while I
funny, really. That's the sound of a typi-
but I approached this as I would do with
pay attention to the real reason of my
cal metal group with a keyboardist, and
a typical remix project - don't get me
bitching, and I start re-working on that.
it usually tells me they really don't need
wrong, this was NOT a remix project, but
When the reason of my discomfort has
keyboards if they're using them that way.
I figured out I had to treat the material
disappeared, I can concentrate on the
No names mentioned, because I don't
that way during the first phase.
next one.
remember any, because I don't listen to
As I mentioned earlier, I'm good at team
Funny: if I'm working as a part of a team,
that stuff, mainly because it's boring.
work (although I'm a bit adolfy and my
I'm much more laid-back and don't
Fitting in a 20Hz-20kHz keyboard spec-
methods might be hitleresque, pardon
spend hours on some crescendo - be-
trum requires a lot of careful work, but
me for the terms), and the way the mate-
cause I know that can be tiring for others
rial "restricted" me created an unusual
and me spending too much time on
something would be decreasing the
creative flow. Usually, with group work,
I'll grab as much stuff from everybody as
I can, and then work on it later on.
Sometimes overdubs or additional takes
are needed, and we gather to it again.
Repeat the process. Rinse.
Anyway, after I've gotten familiar with the
sandbox, I start dissecting my "tools",
i.e. stuff they'd provided, and proceed
from there. If the original was a statue of
Venus in its classical form, I'd take the
interesting bits of Venus and create a
version of my own of it. People would
still recognise the butt, the breast, the
mildly vulnerable pose, but the carving
"fingerprint" and some of the curves
were different.
Personally, I see the situation as "I'm
more creative when there are boundaries
32
beyond which I cannot go". Boundaries
Some bits and pieces were treated in my
force your imagination into a much more
Kyma (symbolicsound.com), which is a
effective use.
heavy DSP based external signal proc-
ALAN WAKE
essor - my main favourites were phase
On your website it says that you use
vocoding, which I used here and there.
“custom built tools for sculpting the
The beauty of a Kyma system is its
sound”. Did you use any for the Imag-
depth. It's a tame black hole that can eat
inaerum soundtrack? Could you take
you and your spare time. I've created a
us through some of the more special-
decent library of my own, and I always
ised elements of the production that
know instinctively which one to choose -
you employed for this project?
"hey, this would sound great thru the
Well, yes, there were many. One of them
PaskaksVaan".
was an older Native Instruments Reaktor
Usually my method was to take an or-
-based instrument, which I had created
chestra ambient track (or a channel
for Alan Wake soundtrack. It's basically a
called Decca Tree, which is a micro-
grain cloud sampler which allows the
phone setup they use for classical re-
player to "bow" the imported sample/
cordings) and find a place where the
samples with a modulation wheel or any
whole orchestra stays in one chord or
surface. "Grain cloud" here means that
note for some time, then analyse that
the playback engine takes a tiny snippet
and put it through a set of DSP stuff - or,
of a sample here and there, and plays
you could use a PaulStretch (which is a
them back according to some random-
freeware application), stretch it by 16x,
ised parameters I'd prepared. This proc-
then put it into Melodyne Editor and put
ess is repeated from dozens to hundreds
everything into "right notes" or erase
of times in a second, and the output re-
"the wrong ones" or just transpose it
sembles the original sample, but only
madly, and then put it into Kontakt and
"frozen in time". I can then move that
play with it.
"freeze point" with a controller, or key-
After a brief moment, the restricting
Award for Alan Wake
board aftertouch, or anything. Usually,
sandbox wasn't that restricting at all!
Petri’s soundtrack won Best
Score – European at the 2010
Annual Game Music Awards. The
judging panel said that the "expansive score for the critically
acclaimed Alan Wake captured
the hearts of gamers and standalone listeners alike with its intimate orchestrations and psychological explorations."
with an instrument like that, I'm using my
Haken Audio Continuum as a controller,
What is your favourite track on the
as it allows me to use X/Y/Z axis control-
album? Is it your favourite on the film
lers of a pressure sensitive surface to
score?
many parameters: volume, place of
It has to be either Storytime or The Crow,
playback, formant/pitch, spread of "ran-
The Owl And The Dove. The first one
domisation"... It sounds more compli-
because of its unsparing and unmerciful
cated than it really is.
riffing. And the chorus! The latter one
works in so many levels I cannot under-
If you search for "grain cloud sampler" in
stand. They both are also my favourites
Native Instrument's Reaktor User Library,
on the OST as well, CrowOwlDove was a
you can nowadays find dozens of differ-
surprise how it eventually opened in a
ent realisations of what I did. I never al-
new way. I didn't change much, but I
lowed anyone else use that, because it's
purposely messed up with the sections
a bit buggy and I haven't got time to
and it turned out to be one of the most
correct everything.
touching tracks on the OST, in my opinion.
Also, I created a keyboard controlled pad
maker, which turns everything into a
Who approached you to work on the
complicated pad - and creates harmonic
Imaginaerum sound track?
stuff from noise.
I think it was the director, Stobe Harju,
who asked whether I'd like to try it. I
33
Does Alan Wake look
familiar?
That might be because the appearance of Alan Wake was modelled on actor Ilkka Villi, interviewed on page five.
A number of people involved
with Alan Wake are involved
with the Imaginaerum movie,
including Director Stobe Harju
who was responsible for directing the video sequences in the
game.
Developed by Remedy Entertainment, Alan Wake is available
from most online games retailers
for Xbox 360 or Windows. The
soundtrack likewise is available
from most online retailers as well
as available for download from
the iTunes store.
Editor: Having played Alan Wake
myself I have to agree, the
soundtrack is such an important
part in creating the atmosphere
which makes Alan Wake unique.
If you haven’t played it and like
suspenseful and involving games,
then I’d seriously recommend
going out and getting it.
ON SET
don't remember the exact time, but after
Have you enjoyed the experience of
he dragged me to meet Ewo Pohjola,
working on someone else's music and
Nightwish's manager, I slowly started
putting your own interpretation/
realising his questions weren't just for
progression onto it?
goodwill. You don't want to mess with
Yes! Very much so. As I've said already
Ewo, by the way. I've sat at the table
several times before this, I love team
with all sorts of people before, but he's
work, and this is the closest way one can
definitely one of the sharpest ones
participate with other people, but also
around. He could _easily_ eat alive most
can enjoy the luxury of your own time
of the local record company people and
table whilst working on it. A sort of eve-
they wouldn't even notice. Not because
rybody wins -situation. People don't
he's scary, but because he's so damn
have to suffer for my crashes and shout-
concentrated - and at the same time just
ing and "whaaatttttheeeeeFFFFFFF-
plain crazy.
FUUUU" moments. I trashed four
I've always said to Stobe "yes", but he
mouses during Imaginaerum OST, by the
kept on asking me. I'm no Judas, so my
way. Two computer keyboards are gone,
"no" is no, and "yes" definitely stays that
too. And while I was mixing the stereo
way. Perhaps he needed to be assured?
versions, I managed to punch my fist
I think my "hell, I'd eat herrings for weeks
through a Novation SL61mk2. If the SL
if I could work with you and them" finally
locks up for any reason, it wreaks havoc
turned his head. :-D Luckily, I didn't have
in the USB buss, which caused my DAW
to do that herring bit.
software, Logic, to act up and I lost one
unsaved edit.
It’s unusual for a band like Nightwish
to decide to make a movie, what were
But other than that, I've enjoyed this
your initial thoughts about such a pro-
very, very much. I feel a bit sad, though,
ject?
as this is my last week with the stereo
The first one was "wow". The second
mixes (I hope Tuomas hates something,
one was - really - "well, at least they're
so I get an excuse to do revisions), and
not afraid". Usually the "band movies"
the longer the project's taken, the more
are shit, but this isn't Yet Another Band
depressed I feel. A clear sign of a control
Road Movie, this is a movie based on
freak and a perfectionist? Or an indica-
their songs, but the flow of the movie is
tion of lack of medication? Heh!
independent from Nightwish, it's a story
of its own. I knew most of it when I
How long did it take you to make the
started working on Imaginaerum - of
soundtrack from start to finish?
course, there were script revisions along
I started July 2011, spent the two
the way - but the scope was always to
months with testing and separating stuff
have a good story. Which this one has, it
from the multitracks, building the sound
really grabs you.
library and making HUGE amounts of
notes in my memo pad. Due to the na-
Is Imaginaerum your first film sound-
ture of this project, by the way, I started
track?
again using conventional pen and paper
It is. Before this, it was only game
for my notes and info. I felt I was more
soundtracks, which are daunting due to
secure that way. Of course, having two
the amount of music. However, the same
little kids in the house exactly doesn't
aesthetics cover both bases. Music must
help with the security, as the younger
support the screen, and preferably it
one eats everything he sees... be that
should work as a solo piece as well, if all
paper, pens or analog synths.
goes well.
34
The construction phase started in late
I'm sure everyone finds that metalan-
the project or where the project files
August, and continued until December
guage level in their native language if
handed over and it was your turn to
15th 2011, then continued from mid-
really needed, there's nothing mystical
take over?
January until early April. Then again, a
about that. When you're working with
It was almost perfectly the latter choice.
short break, and now I'm finalising the
the creative part of your brain, some-
I'm sure I was just yet another remix
stereo mixes, which actually isn't the
times it is a bit hard to find the right
dude for Mr. Karmila, and I didn't want to
easiest thing on earth. There are dozens
words and you just mumble out some-
harass him after his lengthy stint with
of versions and some of them need to
thing. Somehow I find it always very
Nightwish - I felt he'd earned his holiday
be merged together to create a track
hard to recite myself in English during a
- and he's got a quite open "I'm taking
that one can listen to without feeling
creative rush, perhaps I need the both
care of my things, you better take care
uncomfortable. Usually, the OSTs are full
brain cells for creating music and none
of yours" attitude, which I appreciate. I
of tracks where something is just meant
are left for words? I'm rather fluent in
wouldn't want anyone step onto my toes
for filling up the picture, but I'm really
English, but there are days when I just...
as well, you just don't mess with those. I
carefully trying to get things working as
can't talk. I need to take a pause and
had some questions along the way, and
independent tracks.
only after that someone understands
he was always available when needed,
me.
and was friendly, yes, but he's definitely
You've worked in many different areas
one of the toughest ones with a serious
of composing with people from
Although the basic language of this pro-
FU attitude. I don't know him personally,
around the world, such as game
ject was English, there's a strong under-
but everyone who knows him better,
soundtracks, Television and advertis-
current of certain flavours only known to
keeps on telling about him being a real
ing, was it refreshing and did you en-
Finns. They're not popping at your face,
nice guy.
joy working with fellow Finns on
instead they rather glue all things to-
Imaginaerum?
gether; that certain thoroughgoing and
Personally, I judge him by his output,
Forgive me, but I'm afraid I'm gone a bit
profound punctualism, the details of the
which has for years been top notch stuff
dreamy-eyed now. Yes, it was indeed
script, sound of snow, low melancholy
- heck, I don't even remember a bad or
very, very refreshing, and it brought back
tones in music...
mediocre album mixed/produced by
the my childhood belief: maybe there is
him. Very high quality stuff, every time.
some hope, after all. Maybe I've chosen
In some game soundtracks I had to keep
His method of working is part mix-it-in-
wisely as a youngster when I chose to
up with positive tones and action hap-
the-box combined with a lot of outboard
follow my dreams. It was a hard decision
pening on screen, but I still managed to
gear and an SSL desk, and I'd _LOVE_
to make back then, and I literally demol-
swim in something that one of my for-
to document one of his larger sessions
ished everything I'd known as something
eign friends described as "waiting for a
from the very beginning to the end. Not
I called "my life". Finland was in a deep
snowfall when the flowers of June are in
talk one word, just be there and docu-
economic crisis back then, so the move
bloom". I think it is built-in in everyone
ment the stuff, then turn that into a book
was very bold, I was told. I just didn't
living around here; the older you get, the
with audio clip cd with examples. If any-
notice it myself!
more you start living "carpe diem", be-
one's work should be documented
cause you know the darkness and the
down, it's his. I don't know if he likes the
Using Finnish language in a project is an
winter's coming back, one day. You start
idea, I haven't asked him yet. I will,
asset, because there's a certain level in
seeing beauty in most things, and it
though. Perhaps he needs a keyboard
Finnish language that would be best
probably makes us Finns the most
slave for one of his projects? (He
described as metalanguage. Thinking it
peace loving bunch of rednecks on the
doesn't, and probably hates even the
that way makes it sound a bit odd, but
face of earth. There's duality: you re-
idea, I'm sure!)
being able to use onomatopoetic or
joice, and you mourn and the same time.
made-up words instead of strict vocabu-
That emphasises the beauty of some-
I've opened a _lot_ of session files in my
lary has been a very welcome addition to
thing even more: you're able to see right
life. Personally, my way of working is a
this project. Usually the discussion be-
to the core.
mixture of nonsense, mystery, black
tween the director and myself went
holes and a good memory, because I've
along the lines that nobody else
You said in your blog that Mikko Kar-
never named any track, never ever.
would've understood. The way certain
mila was one of the people you truly
However, I _always_ remember what's
words sound told us more.
appreciate, did you get much oppor-
where and I never mix up things, I just
tunity to exchange creativity during
remember - don't know why. Some peo-
35
ple name their tracks and takes and they
had microphone remarks, all markers
examples of multichannel work. They're
still are one big mess, edited poorly and
named, song sections clearly laid out.
not exhausted, not filled with speaker-to-
recordings have a lot of bleeding from
And every damn song was that way. An
speaker panning bullshit people usually
other instruments etc., just plain unpro-
exact opposite of my own. I considered
employ, but instead they're two very
fessionalism, lack of control and over-
naming tracks and takes when one of
musically executed versions of original
lapping clips.
the reworked songs went over 370
tracks, both equipped with brilliant reso-
tracks, but decided colouring would be
lution and definition. You hear details
However, when I first opened Mr. Kar-
enough. Put an assistant into that and
you wouldn't believe they exist. A pro's
mila's NW sessions, it was clear from the
they're sure to disappear under 15 min-
output. Period.
very beginning he's a very thorough guy,
utes.
I think what I just wrote tells everything: I
you can tell that by just looking at his
could've called him "Mikko" for posing
drum edits and... well, just everything.
In the OST there are two NW album
reasons etc. bullshit, but didn't have the
It's a very neat and tidy, and everything's
tracks Mr. Karmila has mixed into 5.1
heart, and thus, out of respect, it's "Mr.
in place, named appropriately and even
format, and they are two damn good
Karmila". ;-)
“Carting Tuomas off in a straightjacket is
always a great option!!!”
I gave the script and the concept pictures a serious viewing
in 2010. Everything´s changed a lot since then, but I already
thought that we should take a chance at the whole thing.
These kind of opportunities don´t come around too often
and we´d better use the one we get. It might never come
again.
Did you have the opportunity to give your own input
whilst things were in development?
We’ve had discussions and viewings of the raw material
quite a lot. There are things where I’ve had a chance to tell
my opinion and affect things. I try not to interfere with
things where Stobe and his people already have their input
strongly in place. If I’ve seen some serious cheese, I have
told them to cut it.
Marco Hietala
Do you have a favourite scene in the script? If so, did
you get a chance to see this being filmed when you
were in Canada?
I’ve tried to watch all the material as a movie fan. I´m taking
in the whole thing and seeing if it can grip and hold me for
the whole length. And so far I´m really pleased. "Imaginaerum the movie" has a chance to be a real trip. My time in
Canada was full of interesting things and scenes and some
of them are in the movie. Luckily not everything :)
Bassist Marco Hietala took time to speak
to The Wayfarer about the concept, the
film and the costumes.
What did you think when Tuomas first mentioned the
original idea to you? Were you on board from the start
or did you think it’s time to get this guy a straightjacket
and cart him off?
Carting Tuomas off in a straightjacket is always a great option. I’ve still been thumbs up for the movie ever since the
original ideas started to emerge.
Your own composition of The Crow The Owl And The
Dove, will be making it’s way into the movie. Petri Alanko mentioned it’s one of his favourite from the album
and the soundtrack, being the most touching. What are
your feelings on this?
I wrote the music for the piece and Tuomas managed to nail
the serenity of the song perfectly with his lyrics. I think it´s a
great combination there. It´s good to hear that Petri liked to
work on it. Petri´s editing was a whole new surprise. The
What were your feelings when you read the script? Did
it put you at ease that it was not going to be the typical
‘band movie’, or did it scare you with the project’s size?
36
way he managed to edit and squeeze the essentials out
of the song so that it fits the movie timeframes is just
great. However, it´s just a small piece of a way greater
machinery. We need to see how people will take the
whole thing.
In the behind the scenes documentary, Troy said he
loved his costumes to the point he'd wear it to the
bank! What did you think of the costume you wore
and the costumes others on set were wearing? They looked the parts we were given and that’s good. I
can understand Troy. He looked suitably nutty. Otherwise
mine was heavy and sweaty! That´s the life of a performing artist. If you had to summarise the movie, for someone who
hadn’t heard of the project, how would you pitch it to
them?
Wanna see something weird?
Toxic Angel - Janne Pitkänen
How do you go about designing the
album cover or the posters? Does
Tuomas give you a very clear image or
do you pull most of the ideas together
yourself?
Well - it's a very straight forward process
usually. Tuomas usually have an idea or
concept of some sort already thought
out. Then we fool around with different
ideas related the picture - colours etc. draw up some concepts and that's about
it.
After few concepts we hopefully have
what he intended and rest is just painting! So, basically i use Tuomas' ideas a
guideline, and he's really good letting the
painter usually use his own imagination
and go wild with it.
Now - having said that it's a very straight
forward process - with Nightwish it's
hardly ever like that :) Even though we
have a clear idea of which to work with,
it's not always that straight forward.
Usually Nightwish related artworks requires quite a lot of pre-designing, possibly 3D modelling, texturing, and a lot of
over painting. There for the process of
making one image may take longer than
usually, but by the end of the day - it's
worth it. I also hope that, with all the extra effort makes the images a bit more
unique!
For instance, if you take a look at the
album arts - what you see in the album/
covers are extremely small pictures. Actually all the artwork is made into 4k or
8k pictures. So, it really takes time and
effort to create such big images with a
lots of detail! Most of the time you won't
be even able to see all the detail in
printed album covers etc, unless you see
those original images.
How much time would you say it took
you to produce both the posters for
the movie?
How much time - i've never really
counted the hours, but quite a while i
would say!
There were some nasty 16-20hour days,
trying and re-trying different things, but it
really doesn't matter, as long as we get
decent result out and the Band/Label/
Director/Publisher likes it.
The first one - i have to admit - was
much harder than the second one. We
had to find a suitable person for the old
man's hand, since at that moment we
didn't have any plate shots from the actors, that we could worked with. Also had
to go and take some reference photos for
the scenery and that took some time too.
Also, getting the feel and the basic concept of the movie into one picture - without revealing to much about the plot was kind of problematic. But, under mr.
Stobe Harju's guidance (and patience)
we got things finally in place.
Second was much much easier, just a bit
of modelling work from movies plate pictures - lots of painting, and that's it. We
had couple of alternate versions of it, but
eventually we ended up with the one that
you've all seen now.
If the first one took me about 2 weeks
the second one took me about 1 week there's the difference...
Anyway, the posters were just another
thing that i had to work with this movie....
37
From the teaser trailer, we can see
Stobe Harju
that Imaginaerum is really going to be
an orgy of special effects. However
it’s been a bit of a headache getting
everything completed and up to par.
Did you expect this amount of effects
at first, or was this something that
grew and grew?
Haha. It wouldn't be like that if I wasn't
persistent enough. Originally we were
budgeted under 200 vfx shots. I had to
ask, how in the hell can we make this
film with that?! The amount of the shots
obviously has grown and multiplied with
3 by now, and it's still growing but with
a price of the director doing some shots
himself since we cannot afford everything.
The Ghost River scene having to be
What was your inspiration for getting
Markus Selin on the project who under-
cut due to budgets. Was this origi-
into this industry?
stands what the movie should look like.
nally a big scene in the plot or was it
Movies. I could never have lived through
He is known for supporting his directors
an easy one to cut?
my childhood without getting away at
and I was glad to notice, he did the
Cutting and killing your babies is never
times. The best way to do that was to
same thing with me on the toughest
easy. It comes with the job though. The
watch a great flick every now and then.
milestones.
Ghost River scene wasn't cut but it was
changed completely. The original scene
What is the most enjoyable and most
What first inspired you to want to
would've taken half of our budget, so it
tiring thing working in this industry?
make a film when Tuomas told you
was clear we had to narrow it down. It
I'm not sure because it hasn't happened
his original idea?
would've been a fantastic technical
yet but, I'm guessing the feeling of get-
I think it was Tuomas himself. Originally,
achievement, but I think the current
ting your baby (the film) out and saying
I really wished to get inside his head
scene serves the story and the film
the words "It's a lock. Wrap it!" on the
and make a film about his imagination. It
much better.
final sound mixing day. That's going to
so happened that when I got to know
be an emotional moment. I'm also look-
him more, I realised we were on the
Were there any unexpected hurdles to
ing forwards to watch the final film with
same wavelength about everything, so
overcome during the process of mak-
Tuomas alone, have a drink with him
the final story became a mixture of the
ing this film?
and talk about what we just witnessed.
both of our minds.
Where should I start. Our leading Canadian producer said when he saw the
The most tiring thing, all the politics
You have worked on video games and
latest version of the film that it's a mira-
involved most definitely. I could've never
music videos in the past, has Imag-
cle. As a matter a fact, this movie exist-
imagined all the obstacles for creativity.
inaerum fulfilled a dream to direct a
ing is a miracle every step of the way.
Sometimes artistry is far from the film-
full length feature, or was it an idea
Each stage has been a fight and a tri-
making and you have to keep pushing
out of the blue?
umph. But each stage has also led to a
and fighting until you're happy. It tends
You might know this already, but origi-
huge blood loss. To your question, there
to happen even if it's not a matter of the
nally Imaginaerum wasn't intended to
has been unexpected obstacles every
budget. Sometimes people wish to con-
be a feature film at all. Faith has a weird
single day. Sometimes you're afraid of
tribute more to the movie than they ac-
way of bringing you things you don't
the sound of email arriving, as you al-
tually should. It's shit, but sometimes
expect at the moment. Yes, it's definitely
ways expect for the worst. Either way,
you just have to keep your head up no
a dream come true.
it's the most satisfying feeling when you
matter what happens. In those moments
find solutions to problems that others
it's a great thing to have a producer like
think are impossible to solve. We've had
38
that many times and we never stopped
How much has the end film differed
people who cherish it even after years. It
believing.
from your original idea?
is a Nightwish film, but eventually it's a
The idea to have the band make a
A lot. Originally we had visions that were
film by Tuomas and myself. It only
cameo in the film came from you. Tuo-
possible, but not with the money and the
means, that it's a movie we wanted to
mas at first was not keen on the idea,
resources. There are scenes that are
show to the audiences and a movie we
did it take a lot to talk them round to
very different to what they were origi-
wanted to make.
having these small cameos?
nally. But, it's still the ride we wanted or
Tuomas is being modest as usual. It's
more precisely, it will be the ride we
Where there any actors/crew etc you
not entirely true that his role is just a
wanted.
had in mind you would've loved to
cameo. It is and it's not. We only talked
work on the film who you could not
about it once or twice, and from the first
Are they are humorous moments from
get?
get go, we both understood it was nec-
set that come to mind?
Yes. Obviously there were a lot of Finns
essary for the movie for him and the
Yeah. There are a lot. One thing I re-
and Europeans I would've loved to be
band to perform in it as more than just
member specifically was when the hair
working with. However, you can get tax
musicians.
dressers brought Emppu to the set, try-
credits, i.e. a bigger budget, in Canada
ing to get an approval from me to his
from every single Canadian crew mem-
What made you decide to give a small
hairstyling. It was the clown scene, and
ber, but not for the Finns. Also, there is
role to Tuomas (Tom 47) and have the
obviously they had back combed his hair
no tax credit system in Finland. This is
other members just in the full band
to look like the hair of Crusty the Clown.
something we should try to fix, or the
cameo?
I didn't say a word, I just laughed my ass
Finnish movie industry will not grow and
It was necessary. If that wouldn't have
off. You see, Emppu seldom says he's
develop. I wanted to have many key
happened, the movie would not exist as
unhappy, but this time I could really see
crew members from Finland, but I un-
Imaginaerum.
on his face that he was. He looked like a
derstand why it couldn't be achieved.
soaked puppy when he was waiting for
“Stobe is a twister of raw
talent and unshackled vision, working with him is
like playing the lottery,
knowing you're going to
win”
Marko Saaresto
Poets of the Fall
my answer. There were many hilarious
Were you a part of the casting team?
moments.
If so was it harder or easier than expected to fill your roles?
What was your favourite scene to
Of course. Every casting decision had to
film?
be mine. We could've done horribly, but
The turning point of the film. Haha. No
ended up having a fantastic cast with
but really, I can't go into specifics, but
people I am now very good friends with.
I'm very proud of the fact that some-
They all did what they do best because
times you really get to blend every me-
believing into this project. I could've
dia, a feature film, a music video or art
never asked for more.
installations. With huge productions, this
is not possible unless you're Mr. Spiel-
“Band movies” tend to have a bad
berg. If you have to explain a scene too
stigma attached to them. Did this
much, it doesn't get made that easily
make you more determined to make
and it's considered as an obstacle. Our
one that will attempt to break free
editor, Mathieu Bélanger, was quite sur-
from this alias?
prised when I explained him the scene
Yes and no. This movie is different, be-
after he did a weird assembly cut of the
cause it's not about Nightwish, it's more
scene. He would go "Oh shit! Now I un-
about other values. Music is important,
derstand why this is here and why that's
but ironically, the core message of the
there!".
movie says it's not even close being the
most important thing in life. The music
How do expect the movie to be re-
itself is in centre stage, but it's there
ceived? Something just for Nightwish
because it's a soundtrack Nightwish
fans, or the possibility to become a
wanted to make. It's not there to pro-
cult film?
mote the band or the album, it's there to
I honestly don't know. There will be peo-
tell a story.
ple who hate it, but I hope there will be
39
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A LIVE NATION PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH KING FOO ENTERTAINMENT
41