When I was in a Finnish airplane I saw a journal there with Tarja's shining face on the cover...there was an english-language thorough interview with her there and I was very glad when I read it. Tarja was speaking about her plans, about her work on her future album and how she will now try to write more music herself and improve the music in order to make the new record better than her Winter Storm....
She also expressed great happiness that both she and Nightwish have managed to take huge steps into the future and that they've moved on...she said that she's now a lot happier and more satisfied with life when she was as the singer of Nightwish when she was fighting all the time with the bandmembers. She stated that one will appreciate the good times when one has gone through hard times...

It was positive to read that Tarja is not having any hard feelings any more towards Nightwish any more...I hope that her new album will be an improvement compared to the Winter Storm. The fact that she'd be composing music herself and for herself now is a lot more promising than a bunch of managers and a crew stitching music for her to sing.

Sounds really interesting!

Written by Ernis on 01.09.2008 at 18:26

It was positive to read that Tarja is not having any hard feelings any more towards Nightwish any more...I hope that her new album will be an improvement compared to the Winter Storm. The fact that she'd be composing music herself and for herself now is a lot more promising than a bunch of managers and a crew stitching music for her to sing.

i wouldn't be hard on the band members(or the 'crew stitching music for her to sing' was how she herself put it?), remember the gap between tarja and the rest was caused by her husband, it's pretty hard to imagine someone who isn't an ego-maniac(like Ritchie Blackmore) suddenly deteriorate their relationships with band members, they've been pretty much the same band for about 9 years when they parted.

Written by Valentin B on 01.09.2008 at 21:29

Written by Ernis on 01.09.2008 at 18:26

It was positive to read that Tarja is not having any hard feelings any more towards Nightwish any more...I hope that her new album will be an improvement compared to the Winter Storm. The fact that she'd be composing music herself and for herself now is a lot more promising than a bunch of managers and a crew stitching music for her to sing.

i wouldn't be hard on the band members(or the 'crew stitching music for her to sing' was how she herself put it?), remember the gap between tarja and the rest was caused by her husband, it's pretty hard to imagine someone who isn't an ego-maniac(like Ritchie Blackmore) suddenly deteriorate their relationships with band members, they've been pretty much the same band for about 9 years when they parted.

No Tarja didn't say that the crew stitches music for her...It's just my opinion that sometimes when a performer writes himself then the result may be better than letting others do most of the job....The thing is that Tarja herself is raising her head and has bigger plans now than before....I'm sure she'll do everything perfectly....

@Hobbit Viggo: that sounds really interesting and great. It's always nice when people move on and I'm pretty confident that she is capable of making a great album

Pardon my ignorance, but, does Tarja have some kind of musical knowledge?

Written by Fhuesc on 02.09.2008 at 02:25

Pardon my ignorance, but, does Tarja have some kind of musical knowledge?

I don't know for sure, but she is a trained operasinger and my guess is that it would include some music theory and thereby knowledge of some sort, and she has been doing music for a lot of years and that must have given her some knowledge too.

Written by Fhuesc on 02.09.2008 at 02:25

Pardon my ignorance, but, does Tarja have some kind of musical knowledge?

I studied in a music school once...(keyboards...I'm awful in it...) and even in a small music school such as this one we had compulsory courses and exams in music theory, mathematical approach to music (solfeggio in Italian) plus we studied thorough history of world music and art and even architecture....this was a kid's music school...Tarja, pardon me, has been trained in Sibelius Academy, which is the best musical university in Scandinavia....I am sure that education received in such a high level musical education institute has provided her with a very strong musical basis...the ten years spent with Nightwish have also given her a lot....

Next question, did she ever wrote a song for nightwish? (i don't mean the lyrics)

Of course she has musical knowledge...pretty sure she wrote all the music on My Winter Storm...she didn't compose any songs for Nightwish...it was mostly Holopainen and Vuorinen...

Written by Guest on 04.09.2008 at 05:35

...pretty sure she wrote all the music on My Winter Storm...

She didn't....the only song from MWS written by Tarja only is "Oasis"...all the other songs were written and composed by different songwriters and covers....Out of 18 songs Tarja was listed as one of the authors on 11 tracks...the rest 7 were not written by her at all....and the 11 songs where she was among the authors she was most probably the main lyricist and also might have had given the composers' crew some suggestions....
That is what I even stated in the review I wrote bout the album...if there's a bunch of managers and different composers and different writers behind the album then the stitches will begin to unravel...that is the problem that Tarja didn't write the album except for only the song Oasis (very nice...one of the most beautiful ballads of this album although clearly not "metal")...And that is what Tarja probably knows herself as well which is why she has expressed the wish of writing more music herself on future albums because she knows well that the loss of her own originality is inevitable when the music is produced by a larger group....
In Nightwish you see the music is more compact and secure because the core group is Tuomas and Emppu who have been working together from the beginning....for sure Marco has also added his part during last years...
The people who wrote My Winter Storm are Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl, Kiko Masbaum, Michelle Leonard, Adrian Dimitri Andrew Zagoritis, Thorsten Stenzel, Angela Heldmann, Houweling, Van Zundert, Hanne Sorvaag, Jessika Lundstrom, Anine Stang, Alexander Jonsson, Kid Crazy, Christel Sundberg, Tracy Lipp, Alex Scholpp, Doug Wimbish. As you see the crew is immense and it's clear that the concept ideas will collide and the overall structure will fall apart even if Tarja herself would like to see it in a better way...it's very important that she become independent soon....Sarah Brightman also has a whole army behind her but in her case it's different because Sarah mostly sings already written classical songs which her crew has modified and redone for her to perform...Tarja isn't a singer of that calibre as Sarah which means that she should place more stress on creating a strong album herself than performing already known classics...

Well i that case, i think her next album will suck, but don't get me wrong, it's a natural step if you want to improve. It's like riding a bicycle.

I've seen Nightwish live twice, and I actually got to hang out with Toumas. He's a really rad guy,. Some of the other fan girls that were with me were a little creepy, but we were talking about Canada and Finland and stuff. And i got to have a swig of his onstage wine. I'm still waiting for it's super powers to kick in. Nothing yet.

Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to see them with Tarja fronting the band, but Annette is seriously growing on me. At first I was pretty shocked, (being as the first song off of Dark Passion play I heard was Amaranth, and the chorus has that vocal riff that is kinda main-streamy) But I loved Wish I had an angel with Annette, even MORE then with Tarja.

I'm excited to hear what they have for their next album so they can write FOR Annette's voice.

i too never had the opportunity to see Nightwish live with Tarja, but i was in their gig in Porto (Portugal).
i liked Annette but i think they lost what made them unique: the union of the amazing heavy metal music with the operatic tarja's voice.

i will continue to listen their music and i think their next album could be even better, because it will be written for annette's voice.

I saw a footage of Nightwish's performance at Lowlands 2008....they played "Angel" (as a good-bye song as they always do...also did that when Tarja was still singer), then I watched the footage of "Angel" at Lowlands 2005....I've got to admit, Wish I Had An Angel at Lowlands 2008 was a lot better than the same performance three years earlier....

Written by Ernis on 06.10.2008 at 07:25

I saw a footage of Nightwish's performance at Lowlands 2008....they played "Angel" (as a good-bye song as they always do...also did that when Tarja was still singer), then I watched the footage of "Angel" at Lowlands 2005....I've got to admit, Wish I Had An Angel at Lowlands 2008 was a lot better than the same performance three years earlier....

Somehow, I have never been able to get into it as a live song, niether with Tarja nor Anette as the singer. I think the choir at the refraing always get messed up IMO.

Written by Torelli on 06.10.2008 at 15:20

Written by Ernis on 06.10.2008 at 07:25

I saw a footage of Nightwish's performance at Lowlands 2008....they played "Angel" (as a good-bye song as they always do...also did that when Tarja was still singer), then I watched the footage of "Angel" at Lowlands 2005....I've got to admit, Wish I Had An Angel at Lowlands 2008 was a lot better than the same performance three years earlier....

Somehow, I have never been able to get into it as a live song, niether with Tarja nor Anette as the singer. I think the choir at the refraing always get messed up IMO.

Maybe you are right...this seems to be one of those songs which are better on album than on stage...however, seems that lately the band has been working on the song and added a lot to it....

It is indeed great to hear that both NW and Tarja have moved on. It's also nice to know that Tarja isn't a bad person but a good and creative one. I don't mind if others write her music but it would be much nicer and more interesting if she wrote music herself.

I find "Wish I Had An Angel" (the old version with Tarja) quite okay live. However, even though I really like Anette's voice, the second version featuring her vocals doesn't sound well to me...

Written by Elodie Artour on 07.10.2008 at 00:19

It is indeed great to hear that both NW and Tarja have moved on. It's also nice to know that Tarja isn't a bad person but a good and creative one. I don't mind if others write her music but it would be much nicer and more interesting if she wrote music herself.

I find "Wish I Had An Angel" (the old version with Tarja) quite okay live. However, even though I really like Anette's voice, the second version featuring her vocals doesn't sound well to me...

I agree with this completely. I find it way more interesting too listen to music when it's been written by the artists themselves..more feeling/emotion goes into it.

Written by mortjoyeux on 21.10.2008 at 02:20

Written by Elodie Artour on 07.10.2008 at 00:19

It is indeed great to hear that both NW and Tarja have moved on. It's also nice to know that Tarja isn't a bad person but a good and creative one. I don't mind if others write her music but it would be much nicer and more interesting if she wrote music herself.

I find "Wish I Had An Angel" (the old version with Tarja) quite okay live. However, even though I really like Anette's voice, the second version featuring her vocals doesn't sound well to me...

I agree with this completely. I find it way more interesting too listen to music when it's been written by the artists themselves..more feeling/emotion goes into it.

I'll second this. I don't want to hear a spokesman. I want to hear the song writer.

I really tried to like My Winter's Storm, but I just couldn't. It's so boring.

I finally got around to getting a copy of Dark Passion Play, and I have to say that I actually really like it. A couple of the songs are forgettable, but there are a few I just love. As much as I love Tarja, I like the combo of Anette and Marco better than Tarja and Marco. They just seem to complement each other better, and the integration of the two vocalists is much better. On earlier albums it always felt like Marco was just a guest vocalist, while now it feels like the band actually has 2 lead vocalists. I really have grown to like Marco's singing, especially after I checked out his work with Tarot, and I'm glad he has more to do.

If nightwish had just cut out a couple of tracks and did some tweaking on the structure, this might have been my favorite nightwish album. I got good hopes for the next album

Tarja Is Better Than Anette She Have A Good Sound
When Tarja Were In the band the band were Better Than Now

Without Tarja I cannot listen, no, no!
Only instrumental Shara. Although, the goddes voice is missing!
I'm not saying that Anette has a shity voice, but when you get used to the best, even good is bad.

Frankly, I think people overrate Tarja immensely. Yes she is a good vocalist and yes she has been influential, but I don't think she is "OMG THE MOST AMAZING VOCALIST EVER OMGOMGOGM." Nightwish is more than just Tarja. Can we please move beyond "OMG Anette isn't Tarja!!" and discuss the BAND as it is now?

Written by Hrothdane on 26.10.2008 at 01:17

Frankly, I think people overrate Tarja immensely. Yes she is a good vocalist and yes she has been influential, but I don't think she is "OMG THE MOST AMAZING VOCALIST EVER OMGOMGOGM." Nightwish is more than just Tarja. Can we please move beyond "OMG Anette isn't Tarja!!" and discuss the BAND as it is now?

I SO second this

Written by GT on 26.10.2008 at 12:58

Written by Hrothdane on 26.10.2008 at 01:17

Frankly, I think people overrate Tarja immensely. Yes she is a good vocalist and yes she has been influential, but I don't think she is "OMG THE MOST AMAZING VOCALIST EVER OMGOMGOGM." Nightwish is more than just Tarja. Can we please move beyond "OMG Anette isn't Tarja!!" and discuss the BAND as it is now?

I SO second this

Let's make it thirds now Or whatever you do when it's beyond seconds. This topic is one of the most tiring topics on any metal forum site in my opinion.

@dismal: yeah I'm getting a bit bored of it as well, especially after I saw and heard her perform this summer. I was impressed

Nightwish is actually more listenable now that Tarja is no longer in the band...I've seen Nightwish live with Anette and Tarja like I've said before and they kicked ass harder with Anette...she's just more engaging...I think Tarja was holding Nightwish back personally...

@Kap'N Korrupt... You're right...However, if I listen to the live release "From Wishes To Eternity", Tarja was a lot more engaging than she was during the later years....the issue was indeed that she didn't really have the desire of performing with Nightwish any more and the rest of the group were also already tired....it's also true that there was minimum chemistry between Tarja and Marco...watching their live videos, I never saw Tarja and Marco speaking to each other, not for once...also no eye contacts...nothing...
It's somewhat true that with "Once" Nightwish entered a stagnation period....they're now out of this, thank God....so is Tarja...'twas a long and fertile period of one band working with a great vocalist....ignoring it and crying about "Without Tarja, NW is nothing because teh GODDESS is gone..." is silly because in that way ignorant fans lower the true authors and performers of the music and also take away the independence and personality of the singer who also has the right to lead one's one career with personal musical taste.... I hope Tarja's future works will be of good quality and so I hope Nightwish will do....may be we'll hear the co-work of Tarja, Anette and NW in future...

Hey, guys! I'm back from the gig in Sofia and I must admit, it was awesome! Tarja is absolutely amazing live both as appearance and a voice! Besides that, all the tour musicians have got very serious music skills. The show was long and very powerful. I'm amazed how many NW songs she performed! (Even "Dead Gardens"! ) And, in addition - a totally new track! Gosh, this concert was a unbelievable experience of mine!