1 Nightwish
Nightwish started as an acoustic project by Tuomas Holopainen of Nattvindens Grat, who wanted to do something different from what he had been playing before. So he came up with three songs just for keyboards, acoustic guitar and female vocals. Acoustic guitars were performed by his friend Emppu, who came up with the idea of using their friend Tarja, a student from Sibelius Academy, on vocals. The result was something they all had hoped for: Tarja's voice fit the music perfectly.
The self-titled demo was recorded during Dec.96 and Jan.97 at Kitee Huvikeskus Studio by their friend Tero Kinnunen. The tape, however, did not end up being distributed; it was only sent to some labels and magazines, which all gave the tape relatively good credit but the labels thought music was too narrow, and did not have enough variety. However, this first tape never reached the ears of Spinefarm.
In Apr.97 the band entered the same studio again to record seven new songs they had written, now including also electric guitars and drums. The line-up was still the same: Tarja handling the vocals, Emppu acoustic and electric guitars and bass, Tuomas the synths and some vocals. Drums and percussions were performed by their friend Jukka, the latest addition to their line-up.
After the recording they received offers from two labels and Spinefarm's proposal was accepted. Nightwish debut album Angels Fall First (SPI 47 CD) was released in Finland in October 1997 and for the rest of Europe in March 1998.
Angels Fall First featured 12 songs of atmospheric metalrock with incredible female vocals, a good load of gothic influences and with a great sound, with total running time of nearly 52 minutes.
The second album Oceanborn was released in December 7th. It went up to fifth place on the Finnish official album chart (and stayed on charts over 30 weeks!). Singles from Oceanborn, Sacrament of Wilderness and Walking in the air also ruled the charts. Actually Nightwish had three (3) singles at the top 10 at the time - also their first single The Carpenter returned to the single chart. Beat that!
After Oceanborn Nightwish started to do some serious touring around Finland. Even though they had done just couple of gigs before it was clear from the very beginning of tour that Night wish would take their audience just like that. Almost every venue and festival was packed with opera metal maniacs. Now it was time to go abroad. Autumn 1999 Nightwish toured European venues with German progressive metal gods Rage. Again, the feedback just excellent. No wonder since the German release Sleeping Sun EP had sold over 15000 copies in one month.
In early 2000 the band entered studio again for the recordings of our third album. A welcome interruption to the repetitive studio work became when we took part in the Finnish qualification of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Sleepwalker. Nightwish cleared the first round of the qualification but the final position was second despite an overwhelming win in the public televoting.
The newest album, Wishmaster, was released in May and it immediately was number one on the Finnish charts, kept the position for three weeks, and finally went gold just like its predecessor Oceanborn and all the singles released so far!
The idea of making a live Nightwish-recording took shape during the autumn of 2000, and that idea was made into reality on New Years Eve 2000-2001, when Nightwish played a gig at club Pakkahuone in Tampere, Finland. The gig was filmed and recorded, and that material was then made into a DVD and VHS. The Finnish fans also got an extra treat: a limited edition full-length Live CD for Finland only. All of these formats were released under the name "From Wishes to Eternity - Live", and every format proved to be a huge seller.
To relieve the pain the fans were feeling while waiting for Nightwish's next full-length CD, the band decided to release a Mini-CD called "Over the Hills And Far Away". The CD included a cover version of the title song, originally performed by Gary Moore, a re-make of "Angels Fall First"'s "Astral Romance" and two new songs. On the other hand to relieve the misery of the European fans who didn't get a live CD, Drakkar's version of "Over the Hills And Far Away" included a few of the Finnish Live CD's songs as a bonus.
After "Over the Hills and Far Away", some changes had to be made in the band line-up because there had been tensions. Holopainen even quitted the band for 2 weeks, but then realised it was a mistake and rejoined. Sami Vänskä was excluded from the band, and Marco Hietala was included.
Their 4th full-length CD came out in May 2002. It sold platinum in Finland and reached high chart positions in many countries. This album was followed by "Century Child World Tour 2002". Nightwish toured South America for the first time, and almost every concert there was sold out. After the tour they took a break.
In 2003, Nightwish received a double-platinum award for Century Child and gave around 20 concerts, only 1 of them to the Finnish audience. In 2003, the material for the End of Innocence DVD was put together and released in October.
The year 2004 was eagerly expected by both the fans and the band. The band released their first single "Nemo", which rapidly became a hit. This song earned Nightwish many new fans. Also a video was made for Nemo.
The 5th full-length studio album "Once" was released in May 2004. The album sold gold in Finland on the day of its release, as did the single "Nemo". Nightwish started a world tour of 130 concerts, which lasted until the end of 2005. This tour was the biggest in the history of Nightwish so far.
The second single from Once, "Wish I had an Angel", was released in Autumn 2004. The single gained great success and boosted the sales of the Once album. In august 2004, Nightwish finally made it to the USA.
In the beginning of 2005 Nightwish received many major Finnish awards.
In July, the 3rd single, a new version of "Sleeping Sun" was released to promote the forthcoming best-of album "Highest Hopes". The "Highest Hopes" collection has sold double platinum in Finland and gold in Norway by the end of the year 2005. Also a new video for Sleeping Sun was made, in which the band acts! During all this, the band was still touring. . During the Autumn 2005, Nightwish played several shows and performed in the legendary Hammersmith Apollo Venue for sold out seats. After a short festival tour in South America (in October), the Once World Tour was coming to an end. The final concert was played on 21 October for 11,500 people in Hartwall-Arena in Helsinki. The concert was also recorded to be released as an End of an Era live DVD.
By the end of 2005, "Once" has sold approx. 1,000 000 copies worldwide as well, it has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, and gold in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, and Austria.
After the last concert, Nightwish fired their frontwoman Tarja Turunen and her manager-husband Marcelo Cabuli. The reason for this was because during the Once Tour their attitude and actions had turned out to be against almost all that Nightwish represents. As one may guess, the news of the firing was followed by an incredible sensation and hullabaloo which didn't really stop until late summer in 2006 (more and more scandals within the bands relationships with Tarja Turunen were revealed, which caused the fuss to last that long).
In 2006-2007, the band recorded their sixth full-length studio album, Dark Passion Play.
On Thursday 24 May 2006, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue lead singer Anette Olzon from Katrineholm, Sweden was announced to replace Turunen.
Dark Passion Play was released around Europe in the last week of September, 2007, in the UK on October 1st, and the United States on October 2nd.
Several magazines, including Kerrang! have noted how the departure of Tarja Turunen seems to have released the band from their shell and how restraint has been left to other bands. The use of some 175 additional musicians for the orchestral and solo parts of the album has resulted in the band now being described as "epic metal" by many people - especially in 14 minute album opener "The Poet and The Pendulum". The album was awarded 5/5 (classic) by Kerrang! magazine.
2 Katatonia
Katatonia have been together for an incredible 13 years. In that time they have recorded six full-length studio albums plus a vast array of mini- CD's & singles. Using the metal genre as an early template Katatonia have never been a band to stand still or stagnate in any way. As Jim Martin - esteemed scribe with Brit music mag Terrorizer so eloquently asserted: "Katatonia, as with so many truly special bands are all contradictions, still ostensibly a metal band, but purveyors of an understated kind of grandeur that has long outgrown all or any generic restrictions". This short succinct statement says more about the enigmatic Swedes than a 1000 word effort ever could.
The music of Katatonia is never easy to rationalize. How does one describe something so equivocal? Well they are undoubtedly heavy. This heaviness does not come from an obvious place. Their heaviness is more from the structure of the songs & the arduous but reassuring vocal. Think of the darkness generated by the likes of Nick Drake, Will Oldham or PJ Harvey. Katatonia sound nothing like these artists but they do share a similar vision, an effortless flow & simple but personal lyrics.
Very much a live band Katatonia have played Europe many times, hitting the road most recently in 2002, with long time friends Opeth. Their festival appearances range from Sweden's 2000 Decibel Fest to The Milwaukee Metal Fest in the USA.
Viva Emptiness is Katatonia's sixth full-length album & was produced by Nyström & Renkse. The album was recorded @ Soundtrade Studios (part of the 301 group) in their hometown of Stockholm in October/November 2002. Mixed by Jens Bogren with Nyström & Renkse at Studio Kuling A, Örebro, December 2002, with additional editing by Dan Swanö at The Room, Örebro.
To support the album the band will embark on an extensive tour of Europe that kicks off in Finland on 2nd April & takes in Denmark, Germany, Poland (show to be recorded), Hungary, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, UK, Norway & Sweden.
The support for the Finnish dates will be Lullacry + Pornorphans. To Die For & Daylight Dies will join Katatonia for the rest of the tour.
The artwork for the album was designed by Travis Smith, (famed for his work with Opeth, Devin Townsend, Death, King Diamond & Bloodbath among others), with direction from Katatonia.
5 Moonspell
Throughout all the years of Moonspell existence I've been responsible by issuing and composing up to date Moonspell biographies maybe because I was the most familiar with writing or because I have been in ALL the moments of Moonspell story, whatever... and throughout the years I've done several biographies according to the ideological and musical oscillations and evolution's we have experienced as a band and as individuals. So I started off with very "eloquent", "poetic" biographies, totally non informative but that value for the over the top language and epicism of a really simple story. Naturally these "novels" were totally useless for labels and promoters and I had to step to more formal biographies. I have even done a middle term one between information and delirium to magazines and fanzines that could use both sides of Moonspell biographies. So I ended up with dozens of different biographies each for its use but I was only being bureaucratic about it so I dropped the case and let Century Media do the dirty doings. But I offered my services to our Internet page so, after the biography of my biographies, I should just put into life Moonspell's current biography that I really do not know how it will turn out. So I hope you get informed about the band since this all virtual hype is information anyway but let me warn you I am not capable of doing a formal biography. But let us cut this talk before gets as boring as it got paternal so ... The band real beginning was back in mid-1989 when myself, Ares and two other guys ,whose names are irrelevant for our history, formed a band called MORBID GOD. This was already a culmination of a long process of talking about doing a band, drawing logos, writing lyrics, designing and conceiving layouts and above all dreaming about the privilege of doing music. The closest thing to a band we had besides Morbid God was a project called ARCHANGEL (which I still think is a very good name for a band, so if you are looking for one...) where I was supposed to play drums and Ares was supposed to sing. Anyway as we realised it would be difficult and dull to have two bands with the same guys on different functions, we decide to concentrate on Morbid God as something more serious and left behind prolific names and ideas that bring a red colour to our faces when we mention them occasionally.
Well after a lot of hardwork to get instruments, essential gear and a rehearsal place that would replace the purely theoretical meetings on weekends in our former guitarist place we found a place owned by the City hall of our little urban village (Brandoa-where we still live by the way) and started working. I don't want to remember the very first rehearsals when nothing palpable or not was ever composed and jump to the very first track we have ever done called "The Fever". We rehearsed it a lot of times in candlelight, had it recorded on a 12 track mixer by Mantus who would join a little after in late 1990 I suppose, listened to it and finally decided it was not good enough to go in a professional studio. We started to be auto-critical since the beginning and until now we only profited from that and also of the fact we always knew how to wait, never rush anything but work hard to establish our projects on a real basis.
Army came for both our drummer and guitarist and the result was a small catastrophe since we were frozen in our very start. We haven't done anything for almost a year, our guitarist was kicked out in the meanwhile, and Mantus came and we could compose something worthy of a studiowork and that would came in the shape of "Serpent Angel" our very first release ever. We were also invited to be featured on a double compilation LP with the best Portuguese metal bands by an independent label MTM so we felt it was righ time to risk and to go and record our music. Careful as we were we rehearsed like lunatics, pre produced it on a small studio (where we played 13 times the track and where I had the reverb on full for my vocals) and finally went to a 24 track studio and issued it as a promo track, featured it on the record and spread it ourselves throughout all the underground scene we knew for more than 5 years now. It was August 1992, and the track was recorded on the 22nd.
We collected great reviews, small labels were offering deals for EP's and occasionally full lengths but we decided to wait, record a demo, do some necessary changes on the concept of the band and go for serious with it . So we started off by kicking our original drummer, got ourselves a new guitarist, Mike known as Nisroth joined the band right in October 1992, and we changed our name to MOONSPELL which we felt was like a true beginning for us. We continued on rehearsing, with better spirit and better people now and composed some tracks, three of each we recorded again on the same studio and that were featured in the one and only Moonspell demo "Anno Satanae" recorded in January 1993 and issued one month after. The tracks were "Goat on Fire", "Ancient Winter Goddess" and "Wolves from the Fog". This demo was regarded as a classic by the underground scene and brought us two self financed editions, one polish edition (still available) and one single with two tracks (still available). The reaction was so good that Adipocere from France offered us the best deal for a mini CD that we would record one year after on January 1994 and that was our true debut on a record sphere.
Naturally we lost a guitarist on the process, welcomed Tanngrisnir ex-Decayed (which coasted us the friendship with that band, which we cared for a start but could not care less nowadays) and got ourselves a keyboard player of our own Pedro Paixão alias Passionis or Neophytus. Both brought new things to the band and we composed one of the most ambitious and surprising records of 1994 on the underground scene: "Under the Moonspell" which combined our interests in southern culture, occultism and eroticism with a spawn of wide music influenced by our everlasting sources Bathory and Celtic Frost and by bands such as Dead can Dance and Arabian and Portuguese traditional music. This mini album that contained both Tenebrarums and Opus Diabolicum brought us the very first real fan and press attention and it had the undeniable value of getting us a deal with our current label Century media.
In the meanwhile we started playing live. Before 1994 we had played once with Decayed supporting on November 1993. We did few shows in the South of Portugal, in Lisbon and Oporto and had our live breakthrough supporting Cradle of Filth in Lisbon and Cannibal Corpse/Samael and Anathema in Lisbon as well.
Signing to Century Media was a dream come true. We rehearsed a lot in order to do the best we could and tried to experiment a lot of different stuff in our mosaic of influences going on for a darker sound, stronger songs and erotic, deadly lyrics. "Wolfheart" came into life so we travelled to Germany to work with Waldemar Sorychta whose productions we loved and became in a short period of time the second dream coming true. When "Wolfheart" came out nobody believed so much on it except for ourselves and the following months besides some successful gigs in Portugal were pretty low to get the album going. We needed an European tour and it made its appearance on the form of supporting Morbid Angel on the Domination 1995 tour. Before that we played a small headline tour in England with only 3 dates and had the chance to know better the foreign audience.
The Morbid Angel tour was simultaneously one of the best things that happened to Moonspell but one of the hardest experiences on our lives. First in the gap between the release of Wolf and the start of the tour we lost both guitarists each one for different reasons and we recruited Ricardo from a Portuguese band P.Waltz (that was not happy with the idea at all and had no prejudice of showing it through childish interviews that only amused us on boring tourdays) and went for seven weeks on a van, playing, driving, cooking, selling merchandise, whatever we had to. We played for the first time in Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Spain, etc. and had a fantastic reaction in spite of the poor conditions we had sometimes as a support act but we got on until the end and Wolfheart sales triplified with the release of the digipack and we overcomed Morbid Angel on selling's for instance. People discovered "Alma Mater", "Vampiria" and other titles and we sold around 50.000 copies of an album nobody believed in.
With an eye put on the European scene we were welcomed very well on the two gigs we did in Portugal before going again on tour in November with Tiamat in Germany which helped us to build our following there. Shortly afterwards we travelled to Poland and Czech Rep. to play the biggest festivals in our career back then with bands like Kreator and Testament and attendance's in the order of the 7000 people. We had enthusiastic reactions and became between 1995 and 1996 one of the most popular heavy metal bands in Poland with continuos tv broadcast.etc.
We started then preparing our second album and went back to Germany to participate on the Out of the Dark festivals I with Crematory, The Gathering and Secret Discovery. This tour was an overwhelming success and allowed us to present some new tracks to the audience and to break some t-shirts sales records! It was a very positive experience that ended on a Monday seven a.m. in Dortmund (Germany) the date we entered directly on studio two hours after to start working on our new album. Waldemar was behind the desk again but he had now a more mature band on his hands that knew exactly what they wanted. The result was our best so far in the shape of Irreligious a different album from Wolfheart of course and that turned into something we always wanted to do, regardless of the many critics we had because we changed. We accept them gladly, we wanted to change! On with the biography, I am sorry, we stopped a little bit the recordings to come to Portugal and play a gig with Mão Morta, and then finish the recordings of the album on mid May.
In the meanwhile we played on the Super Bock, Super Rock for the disgust of the promoter, and after recording our first video clip "opium" locate in the old and narrow streets of Lisbon we released the album first in Portugal on the best gig of our lives (and hopefully many of you out there) that took place on an old convenant (Convento do Beato) on the 12 of July 1996. We had promised something memorable to our fans and I hope that the almost 3000 people that came to see us have found a place for this memory in the deep of their wolfhearts. It was the first time we worked with our full tour production in Portugal and the result was beyond imagination. VIVA from Germany did a great special about Moonspell and everyone was astonished with the crowd reaction and the chemistry between Moonspell and them. So thank you all!
The album sold around 10000 units now in Portugal which is making history for this kind of outcast music and culture in our territory. Later followed the European release in Dortmund in the font of 1000 people in a fairly warm gig but an efficient one since the album broke into the German Top 50 and stayed there for eight entire weeks! This gig was followed by an one off gig at the PopKomm in Koln (Germany) and we returned Portugal to prepare ourselves for a 2 months European tour with Samael that occurred from September to early November resulting in a well succeeded tour that in Germany had a medium average of a thousand. The album broke into the Italian, Austrian, Finnish and Dutch charts in the meanwhile.
Lastly we got confirmed as the support band for Type O Negative European tour which was another dream come true for us. But before we headlined between two of the most famous Portuguese bands at the Lisbon Coliseum playing to an unforgettable 3000 audience that took over the show from us and to whom we thank so much and defy to do it once again. Back to Type O this was our real BIG tour playing to sold out arenas most of the times, conquering over a new audience, leaving other indifferent but all in all a highly profile tour with Dark Rock sex symbol himself : Mr Steele, thy good giant! ( I hope he does not have Internet) that together with a fantastic band and a fantastic crew made of this tour one unforgettable experience and one of the most vital steps on our history as a band.
In the meanwhile Irreligious sold more already (since August) than 50000 copies and Moonspell was voted by VIVA as the revelation band for 1996 leaving the strong Marilyn Manson and Korn behind. It was a good year definitely! Now we are trying to prepare our third album (SIN/PECADO), relaxing from all the intensive touring we did so far and going on and being stubborn enough to impose ourselves and our undeniable Portuguese flavour to all of you who are thirsty of honest and hopefully fresh Art! I hope it was not a so bad biography, I still count on my memory to do a lot of things but I am not a computer... Maybe I should erase this last comment?... December 1996.
After a really short break, we got together again in our old rehearsal place to find out and finally realize that Moonspell was well career wise but that there was something rotting in the core of the band, that are always the personal relationships and liberties, regardless of what you say to the exterior world. Between discussions and profound disagreements, things were getting personal and we were loosing the elegance that characterized our chemistry and hate was setting in. Fortunately now, we had no tours planned, and for the first time since late 1994 we had the time to think and analyze ourselves and our status. Of course, do not expect we gathered around a table and discussed it as civilized beings. We had music to do and music solved things at the end, bruising and healing the band. A lot was said about Ares getting out, especially by himself, and I must openly detach our elegance dealing with the subject, not answering to cheap provocations that came from a lot of sources and never giving importance to the stories created. The truth was what matter to us and its crude and complete version will always stay between these walls, really. Once I wrote for the page an emotional explanation of everything, that was abstract and poetic enough not to calm down the questions. Putting the finger on the wound for a few lines we parted way with Ares (nobody expelled anyone, no one is a victim of anyone) because we came to an unbearable situation when he wanted to put us at an inferior level, criticized rudely our work and most importantly not presenting anything in trade or as an alternative to his harsh and mindless criticism. He had forgot how to work either alone or with us since ages, you could recognize this on his playing and his terrible need of self promotion leaving the rest of us behind. He came to the point of believing Moonspell has his and him alone and we took this situation to the point of reflecting on it and creating a rupture. This happened in early February, and apparently in an amicable way, with Ares shaking our hands and wishing us luck, after we all reflected and decided Moonspell would go on without him. The definitive stage of the situation came later when he learnt that Ares registered Moonspell's name on his behalf, registered songs from Sin, deviating a rehearse tape through still unknown means to us, filling lawsuits against us and legal threats, not only breaking the professional deal that bounded us together to Century, but totally making the handshaking ritual ridiculously cynical and unbearable. We defended ourselves the ways we had to and even if the novel goes on for has the importance we give it, ranging from total despise to sleepless nights of revolt against the fact that we believed and supported a person that betrayed us and endanger the Moonspell future as much as he did. If everything he said about himself, if he had really been the composer and the leader he said he was, he?d compete with us, healthy, through his talent or his new project. Almost three years are gone and besides discovering uglier aspects of our pre and post relationship, I heard just insipid news and vain projects. I would rest my case here, if I could.
After the schock, we answered with music and work. We found out a new bass player Sergio C., that adapted to us in a perfect manner and still remains with us as you know, contributing now to the composition part of the band, as well. He came from an odd background of casinos and clubs, being an eclectic, practiced musician, that left Brazil to dedicate himself into playing music. His first experience was playing a track on an award party at the Lisbon Coliseum and he liked it, shame he didn't had the time to even warm up. He would warm up with MetalMania festival in Poland with 7000 people assisting and then on Dynamo Festival, on the main stage Saturday afternoon, one of the highlights of our live career as the very first and very only Portuguese Metal band to desecrate the mythical Eindovhen stage. The end of the year was completed by a small headliner tour with not much to tell.
The summer of 97 was divided between playing all the possible summer festivals in Europe and recording Sin, an album whose values and mistakes you have debated abundantly and that I probably will fail to add something else. Factually, the release of Sin brought us besides all the already debated, the golden chance of visiting the Lisbon Coliseum as headliners, playing to a sold out audience of 4000 brothers and countrymates, that like in 1996 stole the flame from us and gave it back in a way that words can not truly describe, truly! We got the silver records from both Irreligious and Sin on that night and marked some more territory, forgetting the problems, embracing the energy. We had also the chance always to expand and do a quick but memorable South American tour covering Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Columbia and Mexico. To cut it short we nicknamed it the Ego Tour. Enough said then. Apart from the usual Summer engagements that included festivals like Roskilde, Bizarre, Artifacts this time, we had the privilege of playing Paredes de Coura, in one of the most beautiful stage we ever played in to an excellent Portuguese crowd. The experience was in fact so good that not even the always so right and critical could say bad things about it. We had also then the chance of a headliner experience throughout whole Europe, to scare away the ghosts. In a 50 dates trek, we sold out 10 venues, were met with enthusiasm and finally could exercise a full show of our own, something only possible and well done after 3 intense years of proudly supporting and learning. When we finished up this trek in Lisbon, almost 8 weeks after its start, we were not even tired, so glad were the memories of this experience we shared with Therion, Darkside and occasionally with Anathema.
December 1998, one year ago, come as a mostly resting period where we, nevertheless, started laying the foundations for our upcoming work that was already named and concepted at the time. Facing changes, originated by the different motivations and guidelines that were in our spirit at the time of its composition, we recruited a new producer Andy Reilly, to help us out to break some routines in Moonspell and to achieve our great goal with the butterfly album which was to come closer to an unique style, conciliating the soul of Moonspell with his contemporary presence and artistic context. At Trident Studios we think we achieved it, creating a powerful and different album, that is being welcomed with respect above all. Shortly before and after we had always live experiences from which I?d detach the travel to Istanbul and its peculiarities and the headlining at Printemps de Bourges festival in France, country that delivered us an unexpected but very welcome attention since the release of Sin, that accounted 12000 copies sold only on that territory ! Also relevant were the several headlining experiences on Portuguese festivals, with the bad note of a cancellation already explained to the ones who care.
