Compiled by Nymphe, Kerttu
& fans
Latest update:
01.08.2004
1. When and how the band was
created?
Nightwish started as an acoustic
project by Tuomas Holopainen. 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 self-titled demo was
recorded during 96 and 97 by their friend Tero Kinnunen. The tape,
however, did not end up being disributed; 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. In April '97 the band entered the studio again with drums
and percussions performed by their friend Jukka, the latest addition
to their line-up. With this demo they accepted Spinefarm's recording
contract. Nightwish debut album Angels Fall First was released in
Finland in October 1997 and in Europe in March
1998.
2. Nightwish
Line-up:
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen -
vocals
Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards, piano, songwriter
Erno
'Emppu' Vuorinen - guitars
Jukka Nevalainen - drums,
percussion
Marco Hietala - bass
Since 1998 'till 2001 the
bass player was Sami Vänskä.
3. Where does the name 'Nightwish' come from? Whose
idea was it to call the band like
that?
Tuomas: "This is a cliché, but I
love the night and its magic and I love to wander around at
nighttime and let my thoughts fly. Often I dream and send wishes to
the stars… Originally it was the title of one song from our very
first demo, which included 3 acoustic songs ("Nightwish", "The
Forever Moments", "Etiäinen"), and because of that, the demo was
called "Nightwish-demo". I liked the name and thought that this name
really describes what our music is all about so that's why it also
became the band's name".
4. Did they play in other bands before
Nightwish?
Tuomas played in
"Nattvindens Gråt" (which exists no more), "Darkwoods My Betrothed"
and "Furthest Shore"; also he played in
jazz-band.
Marco played in "Sinergy", "Metal Gods"
(cover group), and "Conquest". He plays in "Tarot" concurrently with
Nightwish.
Nightwish is real first band for Tarja. She
used to sing in many kinds of groups and do various kind of music.
Most likely in funky and soul music orientated groups. This happened
when she was around 14-18 years old.
5. Who is the author of Nightwish
songs?
Tuomas Holopainen is the main author
and composer of all songs, except:
Angels Fall
First:
"Once Upon A Troubadour" & "A Return To The Sea" -
music by Nightwish.
Oceanborn:
"Sacrament Of
Wilderness" - music by Tuomas & Emppu.
Wishmaster:
"Come Cover Me", "Crownless", "Bare
Grace Misery" - music by Tuomas & Emppu.
Century
Child:
"Long Lost Love" - music by Marco Hietala.
"Slaying
The Dreamer" & "One More Night To Love" - music by Tuomas &
Emppu.
Once:
"Higher Than Hope" - music by Marco
Hietala / Tuomas.
"Romanticide" - music by Tuomas &
Marco.
"The Siren" - music by Tuomas & Emppu.
6. What are the
meanings of some words and lines in the
songs?
Angles Fall
First Oceanborn
Wishmaster
Century
Child Once
Angels Fall First
"Elvenpath":
Bilbo - a hero
of Tolkien's "Hobbit".
Snowman - a hero of the
eponymous movie (The Snowman).
Tapio - the main
master, ruler of the forest, the one who's responsible for hunter's
luck. The hunter made sacrifices - rye, grains, some beer or wine -
to cajole Tapio. /Info by
Kerttu/
Mielikki - the mistress of the forest,
the spouse of Tapio. She was said to possess "the keys" from all
pantries and copse warehouses. Her name is comprised of the words:
thought, wish, mood (fin. "mieli"). The entire word can be
translated as "desired", "delightful". /Info by
Kerttu/
Madrigals from
the woods…
Madrigal:
1) In the 14-16th
centuries it was a small musical-poetic composition with the
romantic-lyric content;
2) From 17th century it's become a
complementary rhyme.
"The
Carpenter":
Lay the tools
of the one who for us had died
Tools of the
carpenter
The Jesus' life in Nazareth is still
full of questions. Since the righteous Joseph (His father after
flesh) was a carpenter by trade, consequently Jesus helped him in
his labour, and became a carpenter himself.
Why? Was the wine of the Grail
Too sour for
man to drink
The (Holy) Grail:
The one
who has drunk from the Grail, will get absolution and eternal
life.
Thousands of crusaders went off in search of mysterious
Grail, which was filled with blood of Christ.
According to the
legend, Knights of the Round Table owned The Grail and handed it
down from generation to generation.
The last owners of the Holy
Grail were Knights Templars at the head of Grandmaster Jacques de
Moles, who took away it with him, burnt to death by French King
Phillip the Beautiful.
Dream of their
precious saviour
In the Book people usually turned
to Jesus Christ with the words: "O our Lord, our God and Saviour" or
(personally) "Jesus, my Saviour!" /Info by
Kerttu/
"Angels Fall
First":
Not relieved by
thoughts of Shangri-La…
In 1935 English
writer James Hilton wrote a novel "Lost Horizon". The main hero of
this novel went through a plane wreck during his flight over
mountainous Tibet, where he and his fellow-travellers discovered a
lovely valley named Shangri-La.
Ever since the story surroundings
have exceeded the bounds of literary world of "Lost Horizon":
Shangri-La, lost in The Himalayas country invented by Hilton, has
become a common name of a dream, utopia, eternal bliss.
"Tutankhamen":
Take me with you
Through the Stargate
To the
Valley of the Kings...
The Valley of the
Kings - a desolate plain, located on the riverside of Nile, opposite
the city of Thebes. The tombs of pharaohs since 1850 BC. In 1922 the
archeologist H. Carter found here the unrobbed grave of Tutankhamen.
/Info by Kerttu/
... For Carter has come to free my
beloved
Carter Howard - the English archaeologist.
In 1922 he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in
Egypt.
"Lappi
(Lapland)":
Lapland (abbrev. Lappi) - an
epic place-name correlated with 'Lapland' concept, an area inhabited
by saami (lopari). It's also should be borne in mind that Karelia
dwellers frequently use this word to denote nearby region (and its
natives), esp. more up north to the present place, as well as their
tongue (dialect, patois - to be precise). In the "Kalevala" addenda,
E.Lönnrot himself clarified the word 'Lappi' proceeding from the
meaning 'neighbouring, aside'. /Info by
Kerttu/
Etiäinen - a wandering ghost in Lapland
(Finnish mythology).
"A Return To The
Sea":
In the meadow play
merrily the fox and the hound
"The Fox and the
Hound" - one of the numerous Disney cartoons. The story followed a
fox pup, Tod, and a hunting dog pup, Copper, who become friends when
young and then become enemies when old. /Info by
Kerttu/
Trilobite &
Anomalocaris
Trilobite - a class of extinct sea
arthropoda.
Anomalocaris - an awful squid-like predator.
They
both lived in Cambrian.
Oceanborn
"Stargazers":
A grand oasis in the vastness of gloom
Child of
dew-spangled cobweb, Mother to the Moon
Constellations beholders
of the 3rd vagrant
Theater for the play of life
A grand oasis - our planet
Earth
Vastness of gloom - the whole
Universe
Child - the Earth
Dew-spangled cobweb -
our galaxy (its structure really looks like 'dew-spangled
cobweb')
3rd vagrant - the Earth (it's 3rd planet from the
Sun)
Theater for the play of life - the Earth (life exists
only on this planet of Solar Sistem)
Tragedienne of heavens
Watching the eyes of the
night
Eyes of the night - the
stars
In this ambrosial merry-go-round
they will gaze
Ambrosial merry-go-round -
galaxy (it revolves); 'ambrosial' means 'celestial'
Wanderers in cosmic caravan - the
planets
Following the pages of
Almagest…
Almagest - astronomical and
mathematical encyclopedia, which was created by Ptolemy in about 140
BC. It was the main guide through the Arabic and European cultures
until the 17th century. The title of the book has been descended
from the Arabic word 'great'. The embodied subjects in the thirteen
books are: geocentric (Ptolemaic) system of universe, Solar System
plan, positions and sizes of the fixed stars, eclipses, Sun- and
Moon-point distance. /Info by
Kerttu/
Oracle of the Delphian
Domine...
Domine - the Latin equivalent for
"Lord".
On the slope down to the river Parnassus (Central
Asia) was one of the Apollo centers - the Delphian fane. Here a
special priestess-pythoness was making predictions both for
particular persons and town communities. The answers were made by
priests of the Delphian fane who had made appropriate inquiries; it
helped to give equivocal aphorisms, which will be understood as
prophets in any case. "Know thyself" is believed to be written over
the portal of the fane. /Info by
Kerttu/
"Gethsemane":
Gethsemane - a village
nearby Jerusalem. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus enjoyed walking
with his disciples. There He was praying before Judas came with
warriors to betray Christ.
The name 'Gethsemane', comes from
the Hebrew 'Gat Shmanim', meaning "oil-press" (Kollek). Since "oil"
is used in the Bible to symbolize the Holy Spirit, it may be said
that the garden is where "the Spirit of God was crushed". /Info by Kerttu/
Toll no bell for me, Father
Any
man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for
thee… - taken from John Donne's sermon, lately was used by E. Hemingway as an
eponymous title for his novel. /Info by
Kerttu/
But let this cup of
suffering pass from me…
...not my own will but Yours be
done...
It's Christ's prayer in
Gethsemane.
"The Pharaoh Sails To
Orion":
A constellation of
divine architecture built on Earth
A holy harbour -
Orion
Perhaps the Egyptian pyramids in Giza are meant to be, in so far as their order is
similar to positions of three bright stars in constellation of
Orion.
The constellation of Orion is one of the
most recognizable patterns of stars in the northern sky.
- Abbreviation: Ori
- Genitive: Orionis
- Translation: The Great Hunter (recall the last line of the
song: Join my soul The Hunter in the
sky)
- Best seen in January (at 9:00 PM)
- Visible between latitudes 85 and -75 degrees
Orion,
the hunter, stands by the river Eridanus and is accompanied by his
faithful dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Together they hunt
various celestial animals, including Lepus, the rabbit, and Taurus,
the bull. According to Greek mythology, Orion was in love with
Merope, one of the Seven Sisters who form the Pleiades, but Merope
would have nothing to do with him. Orion's tragic life ended when he
stepped on Scorpius, the scorpion. The gods felt sorry for him, so
they put him and his dogs in the sky as constellations. They also
put all of the animals he hunted up there near him. Scorpius,
however, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so Orion would
never be hurt by it again. /Info by
Kerttu/
The Unicorn
arrives with the westwind to dream His
funeral
Unicorn (Monoceros) - a constellation
without bright stars; located among Canis Major, Canis Minor and
Orion. /Info by Kerttu/
"Thou art born for Horus dwells in
thee"
Horus - a god of Light, who's struggling
with the forces of evil. His eyes are represented as a Sun and a
Moon. His flight symbolizes the alternation of day and night. Horus
gave protection to pharaoh's power. /Info by
Kerttu/
"Thou art born for
Seteh dwells in thee"
Seteh - a god of
Desert from Egyptian mythology, the embodiment of evil. Seteh was
fabled to capture the earthly throne of Osiris after murdering him.
Horus, the son of Osiris, got into a fight with Seteh and overcame
his enemy by means of the Eye of Ra. Afterwards Seteh was deprived
of the Egyptian throne and taken to the Heaven by Ra to frighten
others. /Info by Kerttu/
Reveal Your Face to me and guide me through the
Stygian fields
Stygian - referred to river Styx
(in a figurative sense - gloom, diabolical). Styx - a sacred river
that even gods swore on it; flowed along the Nether realm of Hades.
/Info by Kerttu/
Tales like the ocean written to the Draco's
glance
Draco - constellation. The Greek legend
says that this dragon (Ladon) had kept a guard over the tree with
apples of eternal youth until Hercules killed him. /Info by Kerttu/
Enthral my soul to Sepedet's beams to serve
Your will…
Sepedet - a goddess of Sirius
(her second name). Sepedet is also a celestial manifestation of Isis
(Horus' mother).
 "Nightquest":
Born to the false world, the wanderer,
Storyteller,
The Pied Piper
On a quest for immortality
Gathering a
troop to find the fantasy
The Pied Piper -
The Ratcatcher, a hero of German lore. According to the legend, in
1284, the town of Hamelin (German version - Hameln) was suffering
from a terrible plague of rats. The town council tried everything to
get rid of them - without success. At last, the Mayor promises 1000
florins to the one who could put an end to the plague. A stranger
dressed in bright red and yellow clothes showed up and said he could
rid Hamelin of the rats. At night, the stranger started to play a
soft tune on a flute, luring all the rats out of the houses and
barns towards the river Weser, where they drown. None the less, the
Mayor refused to pay the piper: "Playing a tune on a flute is not
worth 1000 florins. Get out of Hamelin!" But the piper returned on a
Sunday morning, when all the grown-ups were at church. Again he
started to play a tune on his flute. This time, all the children
follow him, as he walked out of the gate to the mountains. Suddenly,
a cave opened in the mountain. The piper walked into the mountain,
still followed by the children, and the cave closeed again. The
children were never seen again in Hamelin. The children are thought
to be taken away to Moravia (the Eastern part of the modern Czech
republic). By any means, this legend is of a durable historical
origin. At present there's a street in Hamelin that was named after
the event - the Bungelose Gasse, in so far as it is forbidden to
sing or play an instrument in it.
Basing upon different elements
this legend was written down in 1816 by the brothers Jacob and
Wilhelm Grimm: "Die Kinder zu Hameln". Lately the story was made
world-renowned by an English writer Robert Browning, who has
composed a book "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1849). You can also
find an eight minute coloured cartoon short from the Walt Disney
SILLY SYMPHONY series (1933/1934?). By now this fairy tale was
translated in many different languages: L'homme `a la flute (fr), El
flautista de Hamel'in (sp), O flautista de Hamelin (porte), Il
pifferaio magico (it), Krysolov (rus), Krysar (cz), Raatfaangaren
fraan Hameln (sw), The Pied Piper of Hamelin (sw), Der Rattenfanger
von Hameln (germ). /Info by Kerttu/
Wishmaster
"She Is My Sin":
Take heed, dear heart ...
Shakespeare, sonnet XCV:
How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame
Which, like a canker in the fragrant rose,
Doth spot the beauty of thy budding name!
O, in what sweets dost thou thy sins enclose!
That tongue that tells the story of thy days,
Making lascivious comments on thy sport,
Cannot dispraise but in a kind of praise;
Naming thy name blesses an ill report.
O, what a mansion have those vices got
Which for their habitation chose out thee,
Where beauty's veil doth cover every blot,
And all things turn to fair that eyes can see!
Take heed, dear heart, of this large privilege;
The hardest knife ill-used doth lose his edge.
A wolf will betray a lamb...
Lead astray the gazers...
In Shakespeare's sonnet XCVI there are the lines:
Some say thy fault is youth, some wantonness;
Some say thy grace is youth and gentle sport;
Both grace and faults are loved of more and less;
Thou makest faults graces that to thee resort.
As on the finger of a throned queen
The basest jewel will be well esteem'd,
So are those errors that in thee are seen
To truths translated and for true things deem'd.
How many lambs might the stem wolf betray,
If like a lamb he could his looks translate!
How many gazers mightst thou lead away,
If thou wouldst use the strength of all thy state!
But do not so; I love thee in such sort
As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
"The
Kinslayer":
 This song is about massacre in Columbine High
School in Colorado. Twelve students and one teacher were killed when
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting
rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on 20
April, before taking their own lives. Harris and Klebold made at
least five tapes of the events leading up to the school massacre.
The last was recorded less than an hour before the shootings. They
said that their hatred was directed against "niggers, spics, Jews,
gays", but also whites who did not side with them. Throughout the
tapes the killers show hardly any remorse, although they are clearly
aware that what they are about to do will ruin their parents' lives.
"Good wombs hath borne bad sons,"
Eric Harris quotes from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". They recall how
they were picked on and bullied at school, how they felt excluded by
their own families. Except for his parents, Dylan Klebold says, his
family treated him like an outcast. "You made
me what I am. You added to the rage. "Being shy didn't
help. I'm going to kill you all."
For
whom the gun tolls…
This line reminds the title of
E. Hemingway book "For Whom The Bell Tolls". /Info
by Kerttu/
"Come Cover
Me":
Come wet a widow's
eye…
In Shakespeare's sonnet IX there is a
line:
Is it for fear to wet a widow's
eye
That thou consumest thyself in single life?
Ah! if
thou issueless shalt hap to die.
The world will wail thee, like a
makeless wife;
The world will be thy widow and still weep
That
thou no form of thee hast left behind,
When every private widow
well may keep
By children's eyes her husband's shape in
mind.
Look, what an unthrift in the world doth spend
Shifts
but his place, for still the world enjoys it;
But beauty's waste
hath in the world an end,
And kept unused, the user so destroys
it.
No love toward others in that bosom sits
That on himself
such murderous shame commits.
Dry the rain from my beaten
face
From Shakespeare's sonnet XXXIV:
Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day,
And make
me travel forth without my cloak,
To let base clouds o'ertake me
in my way,
Hiding thy bravery in their rotten smoke?
'Tis not
enough that through the cloud thou break,
To dry the rain on
my storm-beaten face,
For no man well of such a salve can
speak
That heals the wound and cures not the disgrace:
Nor can
thy shame give physic to my grief;
Though thou repent, yet I have
still the loss:
The offender's sorrow lends but weak relief
To
him that bears the strong offence's cross.
Ah! but those tears
are pearl which thy love sheds,
And they are rich and ransom all
ill deeds. /Info by
Aviss/
 "Wanderlust":
I want to love by the Blue
Lagoon…
The Blue Lagoon, a unique natural
wonder, is a pool of mineral rich geothermal seawater, situated in
the 40 minutes from Reykjavik (Iceland). /Info by
Kerttu/
"Wishmaster":
Elbereth (the
normal Sindarin name of Varda) - A character from J.J.R.Tolkien's
fantasy universe, Middle-Earth, she is also known as Elbereth,
Gilthoniel, The Kindler, Lady of the Stars, Queen of the Stars and
Tintalle. The element el- means "star", while bereth
means "spouse", used of the spouse of a king, hence coming to mean
"queen". According to the Letter: 282 Elbereth is translated
"Star-lady". /Info by
Kerttu/
Lorien - the elf kingdom to the west of
Anduin, ruled by Celeborn and Galadriel. In the Second Age was found
by Galadriel, thus the woods of Lorien were guarded from Sauron
power. But with the advent of Balrog near Khazad-dum majority of
elves moved to the south. At the end of Third Age this territory was
terrifically destroyed. The capital of Lorien was Caras Galadon, and
the elf residents were called Galadrim. The original name of Lorien
was Laurelindorinan (Land of the Valley of Singing Gold), lately was
changed into Lothlorien (Dreamflower). /Info by
Kerttu/
A dreamy-eyed child
staring into night
On a journey to storyteller's
mind...
In the Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
book "Dragons of Autumn Twilight" there is a phrase: "...an old
man who was telling stories to a dreamy-eyed child staring into the
flames." /Info by Aviss &
LovelyLady/
"I`ll be with you
soon, my Shalafi"…
Shalafi - means
'Master' in Elven Language of Krynn ("Dragonlance
Saga")
Silvara - means 'silver-haired' (Kagonesti
Elven).
Alhana Starbreeze, daughter of the Speaker of
the Stars, princess of Silvanesti. (Dragons of Winter night) /Info by Aviss & LovelyLady/
Sla-Mori the one known only by
Him…
Sla-Mori - means 'Secret Way' or
'Secret passage'.
"Bare Grace
Misery":
A figurante
This dance will hurt like hell...
Allusion to
the episode from a tale "Mermaid" by Danish writer H.-H. Andersen:
"… and the mermaid kept dancing and dancing, though every time
her feet touched the ground, it hurt so deep, as if she was walking
on the sharp blazers". /Info by Kerttu/
A wild thing
Never felt sorry for
anything
In the D.H. Lawrence poem there are
lines:
"I never saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself.
A
small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough never having felt
sorry for itself". /Info by
Tongor/
"Crownless":
Crownless again shall be the
king...
It's the last line of a poem about
Aragorn:
All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those
who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost
From the ashes a
fire shall be woken
A light from the shadows shall spring
Renewed shall be blade that was broken
The crownless again
shall be king
/Info by
Tille/
Mine is the Earth and
the sword in the stone...
That seems to be
a story about Excalibur sword (Cleburne, Excalibur). The legend said
that a king to come pulled that sword out of the stone, where it was
stuck into. It was prophesied that he who took the sword out of the
stone, would become a king of England. The strongest men of country
were all trying to get the sword up till Arthur. He had coped with
the task and became the King Arthur.
"Deep Silent Complete":
In your creation heaven did decree
That in your arms sweet death should dwell
Shakespeare, sonnet XCIII.
So shall I live, supposing thou art true,
Like a deceived husband; so love's face
May still seem love to me, though alter'd new;
Thy looks with me, thy heart in other place:
For there can live no hatred in thine eye,
Therefore in that I cannot know thy change.
In many's looks the false heart's history
Is writ in moods and frowns and wrinkles strange,
But heaven in thy creation did decree
That in thy face sweet love should ever dwell;
Whate'er thy thoughts or thy heart's workings be,
Thy looks should nothing thence but sweetness tell.
How like Eve's apple doth thy beauty grow,
if thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!
The age will say "This poet lies"
Heaven never
touched earthly face...
There are similar lines in
Shakespeare's sonnet XVII:
Who will believe
my verse in time to come,
If it were filled with your most high
deserts?
Though yet, heaven knows, it is but as a tomb
Which
hides your life and shows not half your parts.
If I could write
the beauty of your eyes
And in fresh numbers number all your
graces,
The age to come would say 'This poet lies:
Such
heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly faces.'
So should my
papers yellow'd with their age
Be scorn'd like old men of less
truth than tongue,
And your true rights be term'd a poet's
rage
And stretched metre of an antique song:
But were some
child of yours alive that time,
You should live twice; in it and
in my rhyme.
"Dead Boy's
Poem":
I live no more to
shame nor me nor you
Shakespeare, Sonnet
LXXII.
O, lest the world should task you to
recite
What merit lived in me, that you should love
After my
death, dear love, forget me quite,
For you in me can nothing
worthy prove;
Unless you would devise some virtuous lie,
To do
more for me than mine own desert,
And hang more praise upon
deceased I
Than niggard truth would willingly impart:
O, lest
your true love may seem false in this,
That you for love speak
well of me untrue,
My name be buried where my body is,
And
live no more to shame nor me nor you.
For I am shamed by that
which I bring forth,
And so should you, to love things nothing
worth.
"Sleepwalker":
Silently the senses
Abandon all
defences
From "The Phantom of The Opera: Music of
the Night":
Night time sharpens, heightens each
sensation,
Darkness wakes and stirs imagination.
Silently the
senses abandon their defences. /Info by Kerttu/
"FantasMic" pt 1:
Wish upon a star
In Disney cartoon
"Pinocchio" you can hear a song, "When
you wish upon A Star" written by Ned Washington. /Info by Kerttu/
The
second star to the right
"The Second Star to The Right" - a song from
Disney cartoon "Peter Pan". The words were written by Sammy Cahn.
/Info by Kerttu/
"FantasMic" pt 3:
Bald Mountain Night...
Every year on
the night of May first evil spirits make a witches' sabbath on Bald
Mountain called "Great Black Synod". In Europe this night is known
as 'Walpurgis-Night'. The pagan Slavs called it 'Drevorog's
Night'.
Chernabog`s
succubi...
 Chernabog, a villain from W. Disney
cartoons. His origin has a mythological background. Being the evil
god in accordance to the Slavonic Chronicle by Germogold, Chernabog
is usually related to Chernagolov from Knitlingsagi, who carried the
military duties. In Serbian Pantheon A. Frenzel has it as Czernabog.
While serving round the cup in celebration of the evil god on a
feast, every person made not the words of blessing, but curses.
Chernabog`s place (temple) is supposed to be on the top of the
mythological mountain. Among his numerous servants was a witch
called Putana (name of the Russian whore). /Info by
Katerina/
Succubi - women-spirits, who seduce
the men and disturb their dreams.
Black Cauldron born
Gurgi's heart
forlorn
Pig-Keeper or hero
On a quest of
augury
Legend has it, in the mystic land of
Prydain. There was once a king so cruel and so evil, that even the
gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he was thrown alive
into a crucible of moltin iron. There his demonic spirit was
captured in the form of a great black cauldron. For uncounted
centuries The Black Cauldron lay hidden, while evil men searched for
it. Knowing whoever possessed it, would have the power to resurrect
an army of deathless warriors. And with them, rule the
world.
Gurgi, pig-keeper are the heroes of "The
Black Cauldron".
The spindle so
luring…
The wicked sorceress in the tale "Sleeping
Beauty" foretold the princess to prick her finger with spindle and
fall dead asleep, but she would awake only after a handsome prince
gave her a kiss. The prophecy was fulfilled.
Apprentice of Yen
Sid…
Yen Sid - a Disney personage. He is also
known as Mr. Sorcerer, Dalt Wisney, Yensid Retlaw; his apprentice is
Mickey Mouse.
Century
Child
"Bless The
Child":
To drink it is to
follow the left hand path…
"Satanism is not
a white light religion; it is a religion of the flesh, the mundane,
the carnal - all of which are ruled by Satan, the personification of
the Left Hand Path" [The Satanic Bible, Book Of Lucifer 3:paragraph
30]
The Left Hand Path is solitary, individualistic, personal,
based on self development, self analysis, self empowerment.
The
notion of the Left-Hand Path is derived from the Tantric term
vama-marga ('left-path').
Click here to learn more. /Info by
Aviss/
Time pays us but with
earth & dust, and a dark, silent grave …
There
are lines in a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh:
"The Conclusion"
Even such is Time, that takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, our all we have,
And pays us but with
earth and dust;
Who in the dark and silent grave,
When
we have wander'd all our ways,
Shuts up the story of our
days;
But from this earth, this grave, this dust,
My God
shall raise me up, I trust. /Info by Aviss/
"End Of All Hope":
Wounded is the deer that leaps
highest…
The excerpt is similar to a line from
Emily Dickson rhyme:
A wounded deer leaps
highest,
I've heard the hunter tell;
'Tis but the ecstasy
of death,
And then the brake is still.
The smitten rock
that gushes,
The trampled steel that springs;
A cheek is
always redder
Just where the hectic stings!
Mirth is the
mail of anguish,
In which it cautions arm,
Lest anybody spy
the blood
And "You're hurt"
exclaim! /info by
Kerttu/
Mandylion without a
face…
Mandylion - (from Arabian "shawl"), "not
made by hands the Saviour", Turin shroud of Christ - a cloth where
the body of Christ was wrapped up during the interment. Since XVII
century the shroud of Christ has been guarded in Italian city Turin
[Torino] (belongs to Catholics). So far modern scientists are
unaware of the way the cloth was imprinted with the picture of
wrapped around body. For further details of this relic check here
(available in Russian).
"Dead To The
World":
In the Edgar Allan Poe novel "William
Wilson" (1839) there is a phase: "Yet, henceforward art thou also
dead - dead to the World, to Heaven and to Hope!" /Info by Kerttu/
"Forever Yours":
Fare thee well, little broken
heart…
"Fare Thee Well" - a poem by Lord Byron; it
can be found here.
"The
Wayfarer":
I went into the
wilderness with Uncle Walt…
Walt Disney
liked himself to be called like that. /Info by
Kerttu/
"Beauty Of The
Beast" (Christabel):
Oh,
sweet Christabel. Share with me your
poem...
Christabel LaMott - a Victorian poetress -
a heroine of A. S. Byatt's "Possession".
Once
"Dark Chest of Wonders":
On the 1st page of Stephen King's novel "The Stand" there is a dedication, "For my wife Tabitha: This dark chest of wonders."
"Wish I Had an Angel":
13th disciple who betrayed me for nothing!
Judas Iscariot – the 13th disciple at the Last Supper – who later betrayed Jesus Christ to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver and then hanged himself. There are such words in The Bible:
21 "... Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; 24 so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." 25 So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." (Gospel of John, 13:21-27). /Info by Katerina/
"Nemo":
Nemo - the Latin equivalent
for "nobody", "no one".
"Planet
Hell":
Mother Gaia in
slaughter
Gaia - Mother Earth, goddess of the
Earth and Nature in Greek Mythology.
Save yourself, a penny for the ferryman
Charon, in Greek mythology, is the ferryman
of the dead. The souls of the deceased are brought to him by Hermes,
and Charon ferries them across the river Acheron (or Styx) to Hades.
He only accepts the dead which are buried or burned with the proper
rites, and if they pay him an obolus (coin) for their passage. For
that reason a corpse had always an obolus placed under the tongue.
Those who cannot afford the passage, or are not admitted by
Charon, are doomed to wander on the banks of the Styx for a hundred
years. Living persons who wish to go to the underworld need a golden
bough obtained from the Cumaean Sibyl. Charon is the son of Erebus
and Nyx. He is depicted as an sulky old man, or as a winged demon
carrying a double hammer.
"Creek
Mary's Blood":
Creek Mary's Blood - a book by Dee
Brown. The magnificent story of an Indian squaw and four generations
of her descendents. A saga spanning four generations from that of
Creek Mary to her descendants, who mingled the blood of the
Cherokee, the Cheyenne, the Dakota and the Sioux, and who lived,
fought and suffered through the bitter century that formed
America.
"Dead Gardens":
All the orchids gone
In the language of flowers Orchid means Love, Beauty, Refinement. Ecclesiastical meaning of the Orshid is "devotion to the Deity".
/Info by NeoPsycho/
Or is it time to challenge the
Ancient of Days…
Ancient of Days - one of
the biblical names for God. This term appears three times in the
book of Daniel (7:9, 13, 22), and is used in the sense of God being
eternal. In contrast with all earthly kings, God's days are past
reckoning.
"Romanticide":
I am the decadence of your world
DECADENCE, DECADENT ART (Fr. decadence from the Latin "decadentia") - general name of the crisis, decadent, pessimistic sentiments in the art. Decadence appears in the transitional ages, when one large historical style is already exhausted itself, and another one is not born yet. Thus decadence is not an artistic fact (stylistic features integrality is absent
here), it's a moral condition, certain attitude. It's a lifestyle, but not the style of art. Decadent sentiments - aestheticism of decrease, decline, faint dreams, insipid emotions, and dark disquiet fantasies - in different time have found reflection in the various streams of the art.
/Info by NeoPsycho/
"Higher Than
Hope":
A story behind the song you can read here.
7. What cover versions did Nightwish
make?
"Walking In The Air" - by Howard
Blake (album "Oceanborn"; single "Walking In The Air"; single
"Sleeping Sun")
"Over The Hills And Far Away" - by
Gary Moore (MCD "Over The Hills And Far Away")
"The
Phantom Of The Opera" - by A. L. Webber (single "Ever Dream";
album "Century Child")
"Crimson Tide"
(instrumental) - by Dykes & Zimmer; (Live CD, DVD, VHS
"From Wishes To Eternity")
"Deep Blue Sea"
(instrumental) - by Trevor Rabin (Live CD, DVD, VHS "From
Wishes To Eternity")
"Crazy Train" - by Ozzy Osbourne
(performed by Marco Hietala during "Century Child World Tour
2002")
"Wild Child" - by W.A.S.P. (performed by Marco
Hietala during the concerts in 2003)
"Symphony of
Destruction" - Megadeth (performed by Marco Hietala during the
concerts in 2004)
"Where Were You Last Night" - Ankie
Bagger (single "Wish I Had An Angel") >>> Lyrics
The songs "Red Light In My Eyes part II" (by Children
of Bodom), "Only Dust Moves..." ( by Thy Serpent) from single
"The Carpenter" & "The Crow And The Warrior" (by
Darkwoods My Betrothed) "Burning Flames' Embrace" (by Eternal
Tears of Sorrow) from single "Sacrament Of Wilderness" are not
played by Nightwish. These songs are just taken from the albums of
other bands of the same record company (Spinefarm).
8. Whom do the male
vocals on every album belong to?
On "Angels
Fall First" male vocals belong to Tuomas.
On
"Oceanborn" male vocals in "Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean"
and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion" belong to Tapio Wilska.
On
"Wishmaster" male vocals in "The Kinslayer" belong to Ike
Vil; Dead Boy's voice in "Dead Boy's Poem" belongs to Sam
Hardwick.
On "Over The Hills And Far Away" male voice
in "10th Man Down" by Wilska; male voice in "Astral Romance" by Tony
Kakko (from Sonata Arctica); male voices in "Over The Hills And Far
Away " by Tony Kakko and Tuomas Holopainen.
On "Century
Child" male vocals belong to Marco Hietala. In "Bless The Child"
and "Christabel" male voice by Sam Hardwick.
On
"Once" male vocals belong to Marco Hietala; voice on "Creek
mary's Blood" by John 'Two-Hawks'; voice on "Higher Than Hope" by
Marc Brueland.
9.
Are there any non-album Nightwish songs
(bonustracks)?
"Nightwish"
(demo)
"The Forever Moments"
(demo)
"Etiäinen" (demo)
"Once Upon A
Troubadour" (Limited Edition of "Angels Fall First";
"Wishmastour"; 8 track version of "Bless The Child")
"A
Return To The Sea" (Limited Edition of "Angels Fall First";
"Wishmastour"; 8 track version of "Bless The
Child")
"Nightquest" (Japanese Edition of "Oceanborn";
single "Walking In The Air"; "Wishmastour"; The Golden Wishes; 8
track version of "Bless The Child")
"Sleepwalker"
(Japanese Edition of "Wishmaster"; special edition of Wishmaster
(spi87sp) published in Finland)
"Sleepwalker" Heavy
Version (single "Deep Silent Complete"; "Wishmastour"; The
Golden Wishes)
"Passion And The Opera" Edit
Version ("Wishmastour")
"Walking In The Air"
Single Version (single "Walking In The
Air")
"Sacrament Of Wilderness" Single Version
(single "Sacrament Of Wilderness"; The Golden
Wishes)
"Bless The Child" Edit Version (single
"Bless The Child", video "Bless The Child")
"The
Wayfarer" (Japanese Edition of "Century Child"; single "Ever
dream"; Drakkar Version of "Bless The Child"; 8 track version of
"Bless The Child")
"Lagoon" (single "Bless The
Child")
"Nemo" Orchestral version (single
"Nemo")
"Live To Tell The Tale " (single
"Nemo")
"White Night Fantasy" (single
"Nemo")
There is also an album "Angels Fall First" - New
Version (UNI-066878-2). It includes remastered versions of the songs
of the original album, and "A Return To The Sea" as a bonus
track.
10. Do
Nightwish members take part in another music projects besides
Nightwish?
Tarja made a guest
appearance in recording the "Infinity" album as a project of BETO VAZQUEZ
INFINITY. She performed leading vocals in "Until Dawn
(Angels Of Light)" and "Sadness In The Night", and backing vocals in
"Wizard", "The Laws Of The Future" and "Promises Under The Rain".
There is also a version of "Promises Under The Rain" released in
Argentina exclusively in a "Battle of Valmourt" single with only
Tarja doing her operatic harmonies.
Emppu also took part
in this project: he wrote music for "Until Dawn (Angels Of
Light)".
NOCHE ESCANDINAVA - an opera where
sang Tarja, it has taken place in Argentina and Chile since
1st June'02.
Erno Vourinen, Jukka
Nevalainen & ex-Nightwish Sami Vänskä took part in
recording a solo album of the Argentine band Rata Blanka's vocalist
Adrian Barilari, called BARILARI.
Tuomas
and Jukka together with Tero 'TeeCee' Kinnunen play in
band called BITCH DRIVEN:
Tero - bass
Jukka -
drums
Tuomas - (!) guitar >>> pic 1 pic 2
During their break Nightwish
musicians participated in following
projects:
Tuomas plays keyboards in FOR MY
PAIN....
For My Pain... is:
Altti
Vetelainen (Eternal Tears of Sorrow): bass
Tuomas Holopainen
(Nightwish): keyboards
Lauri Tuohimaa (Embraze):
guitars
Olli-Pekka Torro (ex-Eternal Tears of Sorrow from the
first two albums): guitars
Juha Kylmanen (RefleXion):
vocals
Petri Sankala (Eternal Tears of Sorrow): drums
Tuomas also played keyboards in Timo
Rautiainen ja Trio Niskalaukaus Finland -tour in
November-December 2002.
Jukka and Tuomas
recorded their parts of drums and keyboards for the SETHIAN
debut album.
Emppu joined on guitar Finnish melodic
metal band ALTARIA; Marco also took part in this
band on baking vocals.
Marco Hietala recorded a new
album with his band TAROT.
11. What music videos have Nightwish
made?
Promo-videos:
- The Carpenter (director Sami Kayhko, filmed in
Helsinki, Finland and in Hennigsvaer, Norway during spring 1998)
>>> Screenshots
- Sleeping Sun (director Sami Kayhko, shot on location at Ivaro and lake Inary,
1999 july (Lapland)) >>> Screenshots
- Over The Hills And Far Away (director Pasi Takula;
filmed in Tallinn, Estonia) >>> Screenshots
- Bless The Child (director Pasi Takula; filmed in 2002)
>>> Screenshots
- End Of All Hope (director Pasi Takula; filmed in 2003;
excerps taken from the movie "Kohtalon Kirja" [The Booke Of Fate])
>>> Screenshots
- Nemo (director Antti Jokkinen; filmed in 2004)
>>> Screenshots
There are live-videos, such as:
- Sacrament of Wilderness (Filmed in Kitee on 13.11.1998)
>>> Screenshots
- Sleepwalker >>> Screenshots
- The Kinslayer (Recorded at ACATRAZ club, Buenos Aires,
Argentina, 21.7.2000)
- Walking In The Air (Recorded at Le Medley in Montreal,
Canada, in November 2000)
12. Have Nightwish ever made any soundtrack
songs?
The songs "End of All Hope" and
"Slaying the Dreamer" could be heard in a Finnish movie "Kohtalon
Kirja" (The Booke of Fate).
13. What's the band members marital
status? 
Tarja got married to Marcelo
Cabuli, an Argentian entrepreneur and label chief of "Infinity"
album, in recording of which Tarja took part in.
Jukka and
his girlfriend Satu had a she-baby Luna (moon) on 11th March 2003.
>>> Picture
Marco has two twin-sons Antto and
Miro. >>> Picture
There's no information about other
members.
14. There's a
hidden bonustrack on EOI DVD, isn't it? How can one listen to
it?
Get to the Photo Gallery (Root Menu →
Extras → Photo Gallery), then use the arrows to navigate: go
rightward 4 times, downward×2, leftward×1, downward×5, rightward×2,
upward×2, rightward×1, downward×3, rightward×1, downward×1 and then
onward till you see a message: Hey! You made it this far. - Now
start over or wait for a while.
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