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Video: TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX, NIGHTWISH, Ex-HELLOWEEN, ACCEPT Singers Perform At ‘Christmas Metal Symphony’

Manos Spanos
Fan-filmed video footage of the first two shows of this year's Christmas Metal Symphony European tour — which kicked off this past Friday night (December 13) in Trollhättan, Sweden and played again last night (Saturday, December 14) in Kristianstad, Sweden — can be seen below. Magnum Opum Rockestra (under conductor Marcel Heijnen), a 32-strong orchestra accompanied by the METALFORCE 1 rock band and led by singers/vocalists which influenced the metal scene in recent years and decades, are taking part in the Christmas Metal Symphony European tour. Musical director of the production is Joost van den Broek. Singers taking part in the trek include Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT), Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN, UNISONIC) and Floor Jansen (REVAMP, NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER). It is a well-known fact in the world of international metal fans that Tilburg in The Netherlands was host of this impressive metal show for two years. As a direct result of the succes of these shows, the requests for bringing it to the rest of Europe kept growing. Nowthe time is right to fulfill these wishes and bring this monster on the road. Christmas Metal Symphony comes with six fantastic international metal vocalists, a six-piece metal band with musicians from bands like EPICA, AFTER FOREVER and STREAM OF PASSION and an impressive 32-piece symphonic orchestra. The heavy backbone of the show is METALFORCE 1. These musicians were handpicked by Joost van den Broek and these Santa's Little Helpers contain some of the finest metal artists: * Marcel Coenen (SUN CAGED) - Guitar * Johan Van Stratum (STREAM OF PASSION) - Bass * Abel Carnizales (LABIRINTHO) - Guitar * Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION) - Keyboards * Koen Herfst (EPICA) - Drums * Joost Van Den Broek (AFTER FOREVER) - Keyboards Over the last 35 years of metalmusic, bands have written many concept albums and concept shows; great stories and fantastic songs. The team of Christmas Metal Symphony therefore decided that with the impressive heritage of all these great metal songs ever written, it would be a shame not to use them. So for this reason you can expect performances of your all time favorite metal songs, by some of the best international artists who are part of that great metal history themselves. All of this in a great Christmas and metal setting and brought to you as a full metal show; loud and extremely powerful… just like the doctor ordered! Kristianstad fan-filmed video footage:
04 min read

Former NIGHTWISH Singer ANETTE OLZON To Release Debut Solo Album ‘Shine’

Manos Spanos
Former NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon will release her debut solo album, "Shine", on February 28, 2014 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group. The CD, which was co-produced by Anette Olzon and Johan Kronlund, is a collaboration with some of the most successful teams in rock and pop in Scandinavia: Stefan Örn (songwriter and producer of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest-winning track "Running Scared") and Johan Glössner. The album was mixed by Kronlund, Nicklas Flykt and Ronny Lahti (known for his work with Loreen and Roxette). "I am so thrilled to finally release my first solo album," says Olzon. "I've been working on it for a long time by now... "The album is very personal with songs I have started writing already in 2009 but also very recent songs. "The overall message of the album is that life can be really dark and filled with hardship and sadness, but you can always choose to see some light coming through, to make you stronger and full of life — making you SHINE… no matter what." Regarding the CD's musical direction, Anette said: "In the end, it is a rock album. Well, a pop rock album, maybe, or would you call it pop metal?" Olzon in 2011 released two demo tracks that she recorded in 2009 for what was supposed to become her debut solo album. She said at the time, "The songs are not mixed or produced, just recorded in the moment, and therefore are very rough songs. But I still want you to hear them since I am proud of them and I think they show another part of me than you hear in NIGHTWISH." She added, "The first song is called 'Floating' and I call it the 'circus' song. It gives me a happy feeling and the vibe in it is happy and joyful. The second song ['Invincible'] is a song I wrote for my son and therefore it's very special to me." Olzon announced in April 2011 that she decided to push back the tentative release date of her debut solo album to after NIGHTWISH had completed touring in support of its then-yet-to-be-released new studio album, "Imaginarium". Olzon worked on material for her solo CD in 2009 with Swedish producers Stefan Örn and Johan Glössner. The album was slated to be co-produced by Swedish producer/songwriter Anders Bagge, who has previously worked with MADONNA, CELINE DION, JANET JACKSON and JESSICA SIMPSON, among others. He was also one of judges on the Swedish TV talent competition "Idol" and a producer of the TV series "Made in Sweden". Olzon in 2009 hired a personal manager — the Swedish management company Hagenburg Management, which also represents EUROPE and THE CARDIGANS.
04 min read

NIGHTWISH: Fourth ‘Showtime, Storytime’ Trailer Available

Manos Spanos
Finnish / Dutch / British symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH will release their new DVD, "Showtime, Storytime", on November 29 as a limited 2Blu-ray + 2CD digipack, limited 2DVD + 2CD digipack, limited 2CD digipack, 2LP (colored) in gatefold and an exclusive Nuclear Blast mailorder edition. "Showtime, Storytime" contains NIGHTWISH's entire August 3 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. The show, which was played in the front of 85,000 screaming metalheads, was directed by Ville Lipiäinen, filmed with seventeen cameras and has a total running time of 85 minutes. The second disc consists of a 120-minute tour documentary, "Please Learn The Setlist In 48 Hours", also directed by Ville Lipiäinen, with no shortage of drama or overall madness. Also, there is a 16-minute NIGHTWISH Table Hockey Tournament, filmed on tour. In addition, there are two music clips: "I Want My Tears Back" (live at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland) and "Ghost Love Score" (live in Buenos Aires). The Wacken Open Air appearance was the first of the three final shows of NIGHTWISH's "Imaginaerum World Tour", which saw the band and their Dutch singer Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) playing 104 concerts in 34 different countries, with a total audience of over 1.5 million fans around the globe. Commented NIGHTWISH mastermind and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen: "Our darling flying Dutchwoman, Floor Jansen, has been nothing but incredible during her time in NIGHTWISH on this tour, so this is a perfect opportunity to immortalize the current vibe of the band on film!" NIGHTWISH's setlist for the Wacken Open Air performance was as follows: 01. Dark Chest Of Wonders 02. Wish I Had An Angel 03. She Is My Sin 04. Ghost River 05. Ever Dream 06. Storytime 07. I Want My Tears Back 08. Nemo 09. Last Of The Wilds 10. Bless The Child 11. Romanticide 12. Amaranth 13. Ghost Love Score 14. Song Of Myself 15. Last Ride Of The Day 16. Outro (Imaginaerum) The fourth trailer for"Showtime, Storytime" can be seen below.
02 min read

Video: NIGHTWISH Singer FLOOR JANSEN Performs With KAMELOT In Oslo

Manos Spanos
Dutch singer Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH, REVAMP) joined KAMELOT on stage on November 9 in Oslo, Norway to perform the song "The Haunting". Fan-filmed video footage of her appearance can be seen below. REVAMP is currently touring Europe as the support act for KAMELOT. KAMELOT's latest album, "Silverthorn", sold 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 79 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Poetry For The Poisoned", opened with around 6,100 units in September 2010 to enter the chart at No. 74. "Silverthorn" was released on October 30, 2012 in North America, October 26, 2012 in Germany and October 29, 2012 in the rest of Europe via Steamhammer/SPV. The CD marks the band's first release with Tommy Karevik, the Swedish vocalist who previously fronted SEVENTH WONDER (a group that he is still a member of). REVAMP's second album, "Wild Card", was released in Europe on August 23 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at SandLane Studio in Rijen, The Netherlands with Joost van den Broek (ex-AFTER FOREVER) and features guest choir parts by Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION) and Daniël de Jongh (TEXTURES). The effort features additional guest appearances by Mark Jansen (EPICA), Johan van Stratum (STREAM OF PASSION) and Devin Townsend.
01 min read

NIGHTWISH’s HOLOPAINEN Is ‘Super-Super Thrilled’ About FLOOR JANSEN’s Addition To Lineup

Manos Spanos
Dutch web site Lords Of Metal recently conducted an interview with NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Lords Of Metal: First of all, congrats on the new lineup! I think I speak for the entirety of the Netherlands when I say that we are thrilled to see Floor [Jansen, vocals] stay. Tuomas: Not as thrilled as we are! I'm super-super thrilled. We've been together for little bit over a year now, and it's going better and better. We all really like her personality, and her versatility when it comes to performance. Whenever I look at her on stage; it puts a big smile on my face when I see how much she enjoys what she's doing. So she's definitely born to do what she does. Lords Of Metal: Originally you wanted to wait until 2014 to make a decision for the new singer. What changed your mind? Tuomas: One very practical thing. It happened about a month ago, when I was writing down the credits for the DVD booklet, together with the thanks list. Then I came to the part where it said "NIGHTWISH is" and I just started to think about how to present Floor and Troy[Donockley]. "Guest singer on this DVD" sounded so silly. That's when I realized it would be better to give the news now; it would make everyone's life so much easier. We could then do the interviews and talk about this out loud. It's nice to have the worries off my back. The fans' reaction to all of this could not have been better. I did not hear one negative comment. There was one person though, crying over how she could do this to her mates in REVAMP. That's just a matter of scheduling, I think. Everyone has their side projects. Anyway, it's not the death of any band. Lords Of Metal: I'm sure she will figure that out, she's a smart cookie. Tuomas: [laughs] She will. And it's not like we forced her, she wants this. We already decided in June, after a festival in Finland. We went to her and carefully asked her how she would like to continue with us after the tour. She didn't have to decide right away, but she gave us a big smile, a big hug and a big yes! So that was already decided back then. Lords Of Metal: You've done a hell of a job of keeping us in the dark then! Tuomas: I hope we did! We just wanted to tour, have a good time, not make any drastic decisions. During the spring time, it was already clear to us we wanted her to stay, we just didn't know how she felt. But since I am hyping so much about her, and about our feelings for her staying, I don't want to diminish our previous times. We all had our big glorious moments with the other singers as well. This doesn't take anything away from them. In Finland, I recently read something about why it took us seventeen years to find the right singer, blah blah blah. I can't stand this kind of writing because Tarja [Turunen] and Anette [Olzon] were both excellent in their own ways, and it's just the most naive thing to say. I'm really relieved and happy to have Floor now, but this shouldn't have happened earlier. Things happen for a reason.
03 min read

NIGHTWISH: Third ‘Showtime, Storytime’ Trailer Available

Manos Spanos
Finnish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH will release their new DVD, "Showtime, Storytime", on November 29 as a limited 2Blu-ray + 2CD digipack, limited 2DVD + 2CD digipack, limited 2CD digipack, 2LP (colored) in gatefold and an exclusive Nuclear Blast mailorder edition. "Showtime, Storytime" contains NIGHTWISH's entire August 3 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. The show, which was played in the front of 85,000 screaming metalheads, was directed by Ville Lipiäinen, filmed with seventeen cameras and has a total running time of 85 minutes. The second disc consists of a 120-minute tour documentary, "Please Learn The Setlist In 48 Hours", also directed by Ville Lipiäinen, with no shortage of drama or overall madness. Also, there is a 16-minute NIGHTWISH Table Hockey Tournament, filmed on tour. In addition, there are two music clips: "I Want My Tears Back"(live at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland) and "Ghost Love Score" (live in Buenos Aires). The Wacken Open Air appearance was the first of the three final shows of NIGHTWISH's"Imaginaerum World Tour", which saw the band and their Dutch singer Floor Jansen(REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) playing 104 concerts in 34 different countries, with a total audience of over 1.5 million fans around the globe. Commented NIGHTWISH mastermind and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen: "Our darling flying Dutchwoman, Floor Jansen, has been nothing but incredible during her time in NIGHTWISH on this tour, so this is a perfect opportunity to immortalize the current vibe of the band on film!" NIGHTWISH's setlist for the Wacken Open Air performance was as follows: 01. Dark Chest Of Wonders 02. Wish I Had An Angel 03. She Is My Sin 04. Ghost River 05. Ever Dream 06. Storytime 07. I Want My Tears Back 08. Nemo 09. Last Of The Wilds 10. Bless The Child 11. Romanticide 12. Amaranth 13. Ghost Love Score 14. Song Of Myself 15. Last Ride Of The Day 16. Outro (Imaginaerum) A third trailer for"Showtime, Storytime", featuring footage from the "Please Learn The Setlist In 48 Hours" documentary, can be seen below.
02 min read

Video: Former And Current NIGHTWISH Singers Perform Duet At Belgium’s METAL FEMALE VOICES FEST

Manos Spanos
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen performed a duet with the band's current vocalist Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) Sunday night (October 20) at this year's edition of the Metal Female Voices Fest at Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. The women joined forces on a cover version of "Over The Hills And Far Away", originally written and recorded by the Northern Irish singer and guitarist Gary Moore and previously covered byNIGHTWISH on the 2001 EP of the same name. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below. Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important." On October 9, Jansen and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley(uilleann pipes, low whistles, vocals) were officially added to NIGHTWISH's permanent lineup. The band explained in a statement: "Originally we were going to wait until 2014 to make a decision about the future lineup of the band, but the past year has clearly shown us thatFloor and Troy are perfect matching pieces to our puzzle, and we are really grateful of the bond that has grown between all of us." Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon. Asked about the reasons for Olzon's sudden exit from the group, NIGHTWISHkeyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "I'm sure it came as a shock to everybody. We came out with a statement [regarding the split], which pretty much says it all. It still is a private matter, and that's all we wanna say about it, like, ever. It was an amicable divorce, so to say, and made in good spirit, and we are just looking to the future. There really is no reason to go back into all the details and all that. I mean, this is not politics, this is a rock band."
02 min read

NIGHTWISH Announces New Lineup

Manos Spanos
Finnish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have announced the addition of Dutch singer Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, vocals) to the group's permanent lineup. Says the band in a statement: "Originally we were going to wait until 2014 to make a decision about the future lineup of the band, but the past year has clearly shown us that Floor andTroy are perfect matching pieces to our puzzle, and we are really grateful of the bond that has grown between all of us. "We love you, guys." Adds Jansen: "Words cannot describe what I feel! This union is beyond everything, and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to continue this amazing journey with my new brothers! "Once I had a dream… and this is it!!!" Says Donockley: "'Imaginaerum World Tour' was a revelation to me and in that time, I became aware of a growing unity and then, finally, a transcendence of all the usual nonsense that affects bands. A beautiful process. And since the idea, the musical dream that isNIGHTWISH has been a part of me since before I was born, I am delighted to officially sail into uncharted waters with my brothers and sister. Wondrous scenes Ahoy!" NIGHTWISH will release a new DVD, "Showtime, Storytime", on November 29 as a limited 2Blu-ray + 2CD digipack, limited 2DVD + 2CD digipack, limited 2CD digipack, 2LP (colored) in gatefold and an exclusive Nuclear Blast mailorder edition. "Showtime, Storytime" contains NIGHTWISH's entire August 3 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. The show, which was played in the front of 85,000 screaming metalheads, was directed by Ville Lipiäinen, filmed with seventeen cameras and has a total running time of 85 minutes. The second disc consists of a 120-minute tour documentary, "Please Learn The Setlist In 48 Hours", also directed by Ville Lipiäinen, with no shortage of drama or overall madness. Also, there is a 16-minute NIGHTWISH Table Hockey Tournament, filmed on tour. In addition, there are two music clips: "I Want My Tears Back"(live at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland) and "Ghost Love Score" (live in Buenos Aires). Check out a trailer for "Showtime, Storytime" below. The Wacken Open Air appearance was the first of the three final shows of NIGHTWISH's"Imaginaerum World Tour", which saw the band and their Jansen playing 104 concerts in 34 different countries, with a total audience of over 1.5 million fans around the globe. Commented NIGHTWISH mastermind and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen: "Our darling flying Dutchwoman, Floor Jansen, has been nothing but incredible during her time in NIGHTWISH on this tour, so this is a perfect opportunity to immortalize the current vibe of the band on film!" Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon. Holopainen has known Jansen for more than 10 years already, having previously toured with her former band, AFTER FOREVER.
04 min read

AMARANTHE Singer’s NIGHTWISH Audition Tape Posted Online

Manos Spanos
Elize Ryd of Swedish metallers AMARANTHE has uploaded an audio recording of her singing the NIGHTWISH song "Nemo". Ryd laid down the vocals for the track in 2006 when the Finnish symphonic metal band was seeking a replacement for Tarja Turunen. Check it out below. Says Ryd: "I've been saving this for a special moment. And now when I became a singer as I was dreaming of… and been travelling all over the world and met fantastic people and alsoNIGHTWISH on stage. And have such wonderful fans. "It is a amazing memory from the day when NIGHTWISH sent me a demo with music and ask me to put my voice on it!! So here it is. 'Nemo' from the NIGHTWISH audition 2006!!" Ryd, who has been touring the world as a backing singer vocalist for KAMELOT, filled in for then-NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon for a show in Denver, Colorado in September 2012 because Olzon was suffering from fever and vomiting and was forced to spend the night at a local hospital. In a recent interview, Ryd stated about the Denver gig: "It was a very special thing. "I love NIGHTWISH and I've sung their songs many times for myself. [laughs] "They asked me if I would be willing to sing for them that night, and we decided that if the audience agreed it was okay for them that I sing, of course I was going to help NIGHTWISHout so they could do the show. At least with some singing so they wouldn't have to do it all instrumental."
02 min read

FLOOR JANSEN On Singing For NIGHTWISH: ‘It Has Been Magical And Really Amazing’

Manos Spanos
Metal Blast recently conducted an interview with former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman and current NIGHTWISH touring singer Floor Jansen about her REVAMP project as well as her time with NIGHTWISH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal Blast: Is singing for NIGHTWISH any different than what you used to do with your other bands or it was more like a familiar ground? Floor: It was more of the familiar. Even though I was asked and directed a little bit, I do have the freedom to give my own ideas. When you start doing it, you have to give a part of yourself, so I couldn't done it differently. I can't just imitate the previous singers. It was wonderful to see that the songs really grew on me. I don't feel like I'm singing someone else's music anymore. It really feels natural for me. Metal Blast: By the way, how was the show and filming you did withNIGHTWISH at Germany'sWacken Open Airfestival at the beginning of the month?
03 min read