INTERVIEW WITH JOUNI “HALLGRIM” MIKKONEN OF DARKWOODS OF MY BETROTHED Darkwoods My Betrothed has returned after a 23-year hiatus. The Finnish epic black metallers went on the long hiatus after the WITCH-HUNTS album in 1998, but carried out a few gigs in 2004 before calling it quits. The Darkwoods squad…
Nightwish
NIGHTWISH Announce North American Leg Of HVMAN. :||: NATURE. World Tour With Special Guests Beast In Black
Finnish sextet NIGHTWISH are proud to announce their North American leg of their “HVMAN. :||: NATURE.” world tour 2022. The 10-date trek will kick off on May 6th in Montreal with stops in New York, Chicago, and Denver before concluding in Los Angeles for two back-to-back shows at The Wiltem on May 20th and…
Anette Olzon-Strong
Reviewed: October 2021 Released: September 2021, Frontiers Music Srl Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Buddy H The acrimonious 2012 split between Anette Olzon and Nightwish has been well documented. The short time she spent with the band has proven to be very polarizing among longtime fans. Regardless of which side of the…
TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN of NIGHTWISH – the name of Hietala’s replacement will not be revealed until “a few hours” before the first of the band’s two interactive performances
NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen says that Marco Hietala’s decision to leave the band “came as a bit of a surprise.” The bassist/vocalist announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January, explaining in a statement that he hadn’t “been able to feel validated by this life for a quite…
Isoaho, Timo-Nightwish:We Were Here (Book Review)
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2018, Deggael Communications Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: JP I’m on a bit of a Nightwish kick lately and have bought and read two books on the band; Marco Hietala’s autobiography, STAINLESS? and this one. Please feel free to enjoy both. There are many, many ways to structure…
Hietala, Marco (w. Kangasluoma, Timo)-Stainless? (Book review)
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2017, Docendo Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: JP The Metal world was stunned in early 2021 when Marco Hietala, the bassist and co-lead singer of Nightwish, announced that he was leaving the band. Nightwish is arguably one of the biggest Metal bands on the planet and scenario this…
Aversed – Impermanent
Reviewed: April 2021 Released: 2021, Self-Released Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kat Knite Progressive melodic death metal band Aversed have broken through the mould with their first full-length album Impermanent. Following up to their two previous EP’s, they are back with a bang after taking time apart so members could focus on other…
Marco Hietala announces his departure from Nightwish
Resignation announcement from Marco: Dear people. I am leaving Nightwish and my public life. For quite a few years now I haven’t been able to feel validated by this life. We have streaming company big guns demanding 9/5 work from artists of inspiration while unfairly sharing the profits. Even among…
Harwood, Mark (Dir.) Soaring Highs And Brutal Lows (documentary)
Reviewed: January, 2021 Released: 2015, Streaming Amazon Prime Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: JP SOARING HIGHS AND BRUTAL LOWS the documentary about female singers in Metal has been out for five years now and is STILL not available on DVD. When it came out I thought to myself, “I can’t stream it…
Best of 2020: Marko Syrjälä
1. AC/DC: Power Up Who could have believed that after all the changes and difficulties the band went through in recent years, we would still see a new AC / DC record? And what kind of record? POWER UP is simply the band’s best release since 1990’s RAZOR’S EDGE. The…
Protokult – Transcending The Ruins
Reviewed: November 2020 Released: 2020 Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter It’s not often that you come across a band that neatly encapsulates the more po-faced nature of supposedly “traditional” or straight-forward metal with the boozy fun times of a party band, but here we are with PROTOKULT. It’s a bit…
Anthea – Illusion
Reviewed: October 2020 Released: 2020, Rockshots Records Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter If you have even a passing interest in rock or metal, it’s quite likely you will have heard some form of either that weaves in symphonic/orchestral elements. Done well, the grand aural spectacle that unfolds can pack the…
NIGHTWISH – postpone their European tour
During these most peculiar and challenging times we’ve been forced to reschedule our shows, and that’s now also the case with the European leg of the Human. :II: Nature. World Tour. Please check the new dates below. 01.05.21 – 🇬🇧 UK – Birmingham 02.05.21 – 🇬🇧 UK – London 03.05.21…
Moonlight Haze – Lunaris
Reviewed: July 2020 Released: 12th June 2020, Scarlet Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Andrew Shirley Moonlight Haze have released their sophomore record through fellow Italian label Scarlet Records and they are every part of their opening description details. Symphonic power metal is the name of their game and it’s something they…
NIGHTWISH-Vehicle Of Spirit The Covideo Chronicles-Day 21 (April 21st, 2020)
Reviewed: June, 2020 Released: 2017 Rating: 4/5 (Just the DVD) Reviewer: JP Over the years I’ve done a number of more ambitious series of reviews instead of simple stand-alone reviews. This is perhaps my most ambitious project yet. This series of reviews was born out of three seemingly dissimilar and…