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Posts tagged Marco Hietala
Sapattivuosi – Ihmisen Merkki (2009) (@320)
25 Apr 2010
(Review from sapattivuosi.net, metal-temple.com)
Sapattivuosi (Sabbatical Year) started out as a spare time activity between a few old-time mates, playing Black Sabbath songs. At some point, an idea to translate the original lyrics into Finnish; the band’s signature came into existence with excitement, noise and very little thought.
After two full albums of Ozzy-era Finnish Black Sabbath covers, the singer Hannu Paloniemi moved to another town. Halmkrona, Aunesluoma and Vehmas started to cherish the idea of making an album of Dio-era Sabbath songs. Marco Hietala (of Nightwish and Tarot) joined in as the new singer. After endless timetable hassle, and a long waiting period, the album “Ihmisen Merkki” was finally finished in the early 2009.
The band respectfully follow the original arrangement with minor adjustments to fit the music to Finnish sounding lyrics. The lyrics don’t sound out of place at all which is a pretty amazing accomplishment. This enciting work gains one level-up by Marco Hietala’s passionate performance approaching the originals as a genuine die-hard fan.
Line-up:
- Marco Hietala / vocals
- Janne Halmkrona / guitars
- Antero Aunesluoma / bass
- Simo Vehmas / drums
Track List:
01. Pelon Lait (Neon Knights) – 3:52
02. Maalaistytto (Country Girl) – 3:58
03. Uneen Hukkuneet (Children of the Sea) – 5:39
04. Tuli Ja Maa (Heaven and Hell) – 6:19
05. Laki 666 (Mob Rules) – 3:23
06. Valtaa (Voodoo) – 4:46
07. Yo Saa (Die Young) – 4:34
08. Ihmisen Merkki (Sign of the Southern Cross) – 8:31
Link in comments.
Northern Kings – Rethroned (2008) (@256)
24 Apr 2010
(Review from revelationz.net, wikipedia)
On their debut, the Northern Kings all came together for one song on that debut release, the masterful Tina Turner cover of “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and then split the rest of the covers between individual singers. In “Rethroned” vocal duties are shared more often, with 5 songs sung by all four singers and 2 of them are duetted.
The songs are even more far fetched than their debut, spanning niche pieces such as Depeche Mode’s “Strangelove” to 80s classics like “Wanted Dead or Alive”. Even songs you would not imagine would ever fall to the sword of this genre, like Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, are thrown to the howling wolves and given the metal makeover. There’s even an instrumental thrown in as an opener from the Rocky IV motion picture.
Line-up:
- Marco Hietala / vocals (2-4, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Tony Kakko / vocals (3-5, 7, 8, 10)
- Jarkko Ahola / vocals (3, 4, 6-11)
- Juha/Pekka Leppaluoto / vocals (3, 4, 7-10)
Track List:
01. Training Montage (Instrumental Vince DiCola) – 3:32
02. Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi) – 3:49
03. Kiss From A Rose (Seal) – 6:02
04. A View To A Kill (Duran Duran) – 5:18
05. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince/Sinead O’Connor) – 6:39
06. My Way (Frank Sinatra) – 4:21
07. Strangelove (Depeche Mode) – 4:33
08. Take On Me (A-ha) – 3:56
09. I Should Be So Lucky (Kylie Minogue) – 4:42
10. Killer (Adamski/Seal) – 4:31
11. A Rock Legend (Thin Lizzy) – 7:29
Link in comments.
Northern Kings – Reborn (2007) (@256)
22 Apr 2010
(Review from amazon, revelationz.net)
Northern Kings is a Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup. The Kings are comprised of four vocalists, who are all frontmen of successful Finnish heavy metal bands — Marco Hietala from ‘Nightwish’ and ‘Tarot’, Tony Kakko from ‘Sonata Arctica’, JP Leppaluoto from ‘Charon’ and Jarkko Ahola from ‘Terasbetoni’. Each vocalist has his own trademark sound, including deep, satanic, operatic metal rock vocals. It’s all-consuming and larger than life.
The band masterminded the idea of recording their own metal versions of an electic selection of pop staples. Unlike most bands who try to reproduce the sound and arrangements of the original songs, the Northern Kings have deconstructed the arrangements, by coming up with their own renditions, most of which is backed with metal guitars, a full symphonic orchestral backing, and electronic enhancements.
The general vibe on the album is to give the metal makeover a fully orchestrated backing (string section, the works), with some electronic noodling thrown in . The metal guitars are prevalent, but there is the northern vibe of the band’s renditions. It’s not a gimmick, but it is very dramatic, very lush and grandoise sounding.
The sonic attack of the bands’ take on each song just blows you away. Unlike most artists or bands who record a cover, the version is traditionally inferior and not a patch on the original. It’s quite an accomplishment to take a song like Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ or Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’ and give it a new lease of life.
Hearing songs from a variety of genres and decades turned completely on their heads is an awesome way to spend the afternoon, especially when the tracks are tackled with such passion and no thought to consequence in forcing the listener to think outside the box.
You’ve heard these songs before… just never like this.
Line-up:
- Marco Hietala / vocals (1, 2, 6, 10)
- Tony Kakko / vocals (2, 3, 5, 8)
- Jarkko Ahola / vocals (2, 9, 12)
- Juha/Pekka Leppäluoto / vocals (2, 4, 11, 13)
Track List:
01. Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey) – 5:29
02. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Tina Turner) – 4:48
03. Broken Wings (Mr. Mister) – 5:32
04. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) – 7:29
05. Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie) – 4:39
06. Fallen On Hard Times (Jethro Tull) – 3:54
07. I Just Died In Your Arms (Cutting Crew) – 5:49
08. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) – 5:08
09. Don’t Bring Me Down (Electric Light Orchestra) – 4:06
10. In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins) – 4:35
11. Creep (Radiohead) – 5:38
12. Hello (Lionel Richie) – 4:31
13. Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits) – 6:59
Link in comments.
Nightwish – Back in the Day… is Now (2008) (@Video)
19 Apr 2010
(Info from wikipedia)
This is a 37-minute-long mini-documentary (companion to Made in Hong Kong EP) chronicling the adventures of Nightwish during their Dark Passion Play tour from 2007 to 2008.
The majority of the film is narrated by Holopainen, with chapters of the film divided by scenes of the band in their tour bus playing “Drunken Uno” – a game of Uno where the loser (who, more often than not, is bassist Marco Hietala) must consume a cup of Jagermeister.
Quite a few interviews, both serious and funny.
Links in comments.
Nightwish – Made in Hong Kong (Live 2008) (@256)
18 Apr 2010
(Info from wikipedia)
This live EP consists of eight songs recorded live during their Dark Passion Play tour in 2008, all of them from their latest album.
There are also two tracks previously released as b-sides, and a previously unreleased demo version of “Cadence of Her Last Breath”, predating Anette Olzon’s joining the band and thus sung by bassist Marco Hietala.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / keyboards
- Marco Hietala / bass, classic guitar, vocals
- Anette Olzon / vocals
- Emppu Vuorinen / guitar
- Jukka Nevalainen / drums
with
- Troy Donockley / Uilleann pipes (6, 7)
Track List:
01. Bye Bye Beautiful – 4:33
02. Whoever Brings The Night – 4:23
03. Amaranth – 4:16
04. The Poet And The Pendulum – 13:58
05. Sahara – 6:09
06. The Islander – 5:25
07. Last Of The Wilds – 6:30
08. 7 Days To The Wolves – 7:16
09. Escapist (Bonus) – 5:01
10. While Your Lips Are Still Red (Bonus) – 4:23
11. Cadence Of Her Last Breath (Bonus Demo) – 4:13
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Nightwish – Dark Passion Play (2007) (@256)
17 Apr 2010
(Review from wikipedia, amazon, metalstorm.net, amazon, progarchives.com)
In order to find a replacement for Turunen as the female vocalist, the band allowed vocalists interested for the position to send in demo tapes as an audition for the spot, receiving over 2000 demo tapes in the process.
Nightwish’s new vocalist, Annette Olzon is an alto rather than a soprano, uses very little vibrato, and sounds like a rock singer rather than an operatic vocalist. She is a change from the vocals that are very often found in this genre. Her vocals are more a part of the band’s overall sound.
“Dark Passion Play”, the band’s first studio album with her sees them progressing steadily as usual.
As bombastic and grand as Nightwish have ever sounded, the fourteen minute monster of an opening track, “The Poet And The Pendulum” is not just a statement to anyone who may have questioned the future of the band, but is also if you will, the title track with the pendulum on the front cover of the album and is also the epitome of the whole album to come. The band sound as heavy as they have ever been before – full of sound, many layers.
Continued use of harmonized vocals make for a very full and stage-like feel when combined with the instruments and orchestration behind it and some of the songs just get so loud that’s it’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the grandeur.
75 minute long, the album is diverse and adventurous. “Amaranth” sounds very commercial and appealing to the wider audience; “Master Passion Greed” is one of the heaviest and angriest songs this band have ever put on with furious guitaring, double bass drumming and Marco taking to the lead vocal position, and to another far out tangent of the musical spectrum of the album we even have strong folk elements with “The Islander” and “Last Of The Wilds” that seem to work surprisingly well. Elsewhere, “Eva” focuses primarily on the vocal talents of their new frontwoman.
The album includes an unusual amount of personal songs, including “The Poet and the Pendulum” which has been described as Holopainen’s life story, and about being a composer and musician. Another song, “Meadows of Heaven” is a depiction of Holopainen’s childhood and the feeling that it’ll never return. Two songs, “Bye Bye Beautiful” and “Master Passion Greed” are about ex-member Tarja Turunen and her husband Marcelo Cabuli.
Nightwish have taken the symphonic elements of their prior works and infused them with a new voice to create a sound representative of the album title: dark, playful and, most of all, passionate.
This edition of the album has two bonus CDs. The first is a complete instrumental version of the album, which contain instruments that are hard to hear, or are omitted, from the original version of the album. The second contains two alternate, a b-side bonus track.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / Keyboards, Piano
- Anette Olzon / Vocals
- Marco Hietala / Acoustic Guitar (10), Bass, Vocals
- Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen / Guitar
- Jukka Nevalainen / Drums, percussions
with
- London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Guy Elliott / Lead Boy Soprano (1)
- Tom Williams / Second Boy Soprano, Voice (1)
- Metro Voices / Choir
- Troy Donockley / Bodhran, Uilleann Pipes, Low and Tin Whistle (10, 11, 13)
- Nollaig Casey / Fiddle (11)
- Senni Eskelinen / Electric Kantele (11)
- Greg Knowles / Cymbalom
- Johanna “Jonsu” Salomaa / Vocals (11)
Track List:
CD1
01. The Poet And The Pendulum – 13:54
02. Bye Bye Beautiful – 4:14
03. Amaranth – 3:51
04. Cadence Of Her Last Breath – 4:14
05. Master Passion Greed – 6:02
06. Eva – 4:25
07. Sahara – 5:47
08. Whoever Brings The Night – 4:17
09. For The Heart I Once Had – 3:55
10. The Islander – 5:05
11. Last Of the Wilds – 5:40
12. 7 Days To The Wolves – 7:03
13. Meadows Of Heaven – 7:12
CD2 (Bonus Instrumental)
01. The Poet And The Pendulum – 13:54
02. Bye Bye Beautiful – 4:14
03. Amaranth – 3:51
04. Cadence Of Her Last Breath – 4:14
05. Master Passion Greed – 6:02
06. Eva – 4:25
07. Sahara – 5:47
08. Whoever Brings The Night – 4:17
09. For The Heart I Once Had – 3:56
10. The Islander – 5:05
11. Last Of the Wilds – 5:40
12. 7 Days To The Wolves – 7:04
13. Meadows Of Heaven – 7:09
CD3 (Bonus)
01. Escapist – 5:00
02. Meadows Of Heaven (Orchestral Version) – 7:13
03. The Poet And The Pendulum (Demo Version) – 13:40
Links in comments.
Nightwish – End of an Era (Live 2005) (@256 + Video)
15 Apr 2010
(Review from amazon, allmusic)
This is the live performance at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on October 21, 2005, the final concert of a long worldwide tour for their album “Once”.
With high energy all around, the intensity level stays up throughout the entire show, everyone in the arena seems to be fully engaged in the event, the band’s performance is great, the audio is the best yet, and the video work is generally solid too. Realistically, its just about as much as one could hope for as far as capping things off in a positive and energetic way.
There are 18 songs with a concert length of 103 minutes. Despite reputedly having the flu that day, both Marco Hietala and Tarja Turunen sound fantastic – at the top of their form. Hietala adds a lot of onstage chemistry compared to Sami Vanska, as expected.
The biggest strength of “End of an Era” is its ability to re-create the concert experience; the band is at the forefront, but the cheering, clapping, and chanting of the crowd are included as an integral element of the music, not a separate entity. There’s nothing more authentic on a live recording than capturing the requisite concertgoer whose duty it is to break the mood by shouting at inappropriate times.
The opening number, “Dark Chest of Wonders” brings it all together — the song itself, dark, theatrical and operatic, with Turunen’s rich voice floating over power chords, a charging rhythm section, an orchestral backing track, and the enthusiastic crowd at her feet. The vibe continues on “Planet Hell”, the first of several songs to showcase a Turunen/Hietala duet and solos by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen.
Powerful performances and dark, romantic themes continue to dominate throughout the album. Each song plays to the band’s strength and uses the crowd’s energy and enthusiasm to drive forward and craft memorable moments. A notable cover of Pink Floyd’s High Hopes features Marco Hietala’s vocals as Tarja Turunen takes a break.
As in the beginning of the concert, the final songs are rousing, passionate, and dramatic. “Creek Mary’s Blood”, a lament inspired by Dee Brown’s novel of the same name, benefits from the talent of Native American musician John Two Hawks, who also appeared on the studio version of the song. After an extended flute solo named “Stone People”, Two Hawks sings and plays in a striking duet with Turunen, whose operatic tremolo stands in contrast to her partner’s straighter tone.
The sound takes an abrupt turn immediately afterward as Nightwish launch into a rollicking cover of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” transformed into a power metal epic as Holopainen and Vuorinen trade riffs between verses and choruses. The album comes to a close with the sprawling, gothic “Wish I Had an Angel”, a looser and more straightforward rock song that sees Turunen and Hietala alternating their vocal duties for what would be the last time.
The aptly titled “End of an Era” is the final Nightwish production to feature Tarja Turunen on vocals. She and the rest of the band parted mere hours after this concert.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / Keyboards and Piano
- Tarja Turunen / Vocals
- Marco Hietala / Bass guitar, male vocals
- Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen / Lead guitars
- Jukka Nevalainen / Drums
with
- John Two-Hawks / Vocals, Native American flute
Track List:
CD1
01. Dark Chest Of Wonders – 5:08
02. Planet Hell – 4:44
03. Ever Dream – 5:27
04. The Kinslayer – 4:08
05. Phantom Of The Opera – 5:11
06. The Siren – 4:52
07. Sleeping Sun – 4:55
08. High Hopes – 6:54
09. Bless The Child – 6:24
10. Wishmaster – 4:43
CD2
01. Slaying The Dreamer – 5:04
02. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan – 4:13
03. Nemo – 4:46
04. Ghost Love Score – 10:29
05. Stone People – 4:08
06. Creek Mary’s Blood – 8:39
07. Over The Hills And Far Away – 5:26
08. Wish I Had An Angel – 7:52
Links in comments.
Nightwish – Once (2004) (@256)
14 Apr 2010
(Review from amazon, wikipedia, seaoftranquality.org)
It was bound to happen – Nightwish’s recording budget increased, and the Finnish quintet added an entire orchestra to their new album, thus forging their second breakthrough album. Like giving a child everything he has ever wanted, the band have let loose their boundless creativity. The album is very similar to their previous release, “Century Child”, but with strings, horns and woodwinds in absolutely every nook. It is absolutely over-the-top, but in a band such as this, it is fitting and magnificent.
The opening song, “Dark Chest of Wonders” begins with a pounding metal riff unlike anything else on the album – very reminiscent of “Slaying the Dreamer”. However, it doesn’t last. Soon afterwards, trademark Nightwish power-riffs kick in, infectious and energizing, bringing along with them a parading symphony that does not go unheard. The last chorus is absolutely beyond belief, with the band almost *dueling* with the symphony in a musical power struggle.
The chart-topping single “Nemo” is a monster, building slowly from a simple piano line and molten guitar riff into an over-the-top, orchestral breakdown. Thanks to Turunen’s vocals, the song also possesses a haunted quality.
“Wish I Had an Angel” features bassist Marco Hietala’s gruff vocals on the chorus and believe it or not the song manages to marry dance music with heavy metal! “Planet Hell” is accessible and tremendously melodic; showcasing the symphonic textures in a very isolated, gothic atmosphere.
Both “Dead Gardens” and “Romanticide” are rough-and-tumble, even too much for some ears, a violent kiss-off that ends with bassist / back-up singer Hietala scowling “Spit on me, let go, get rid of me / And try to survive your stupidity” over one of the most headbanging riffs of recent years.
The eight minute “Creek Mary’s Blood” depicts the plight of Native American Indians, the song features John Two-Hawks, a Lakota musician on flute, chants and vocals. It is a brooding and evil sounding song with a folk feel behind it’s malevolence. Woeful, slow and touching, building up to becoming a horn-driven hard rocker.
“Ghost Love Score” is a near 10-minute concoction of tremendous melodic fireworks. Everything from the chorus to the symphonic bombast to the choirs is absolutely hypnotic and energetic. The song makes any other song seem pale, ordinary and thoughtless. The choirs that aid in the choral delivery are mostly female, and absolutely majestic. The song is theatrical and truly unrivaled.
The album was a huge success, it allowed them to perform the “Once World Tour”, taking Nightwish to play in many countries they had never visited before.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / Keyboards and Piano
- Tarja Turunen / Vocals
- Marco Hietala / Bass guitar, male vocals
- Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen / Lead guitars
- Jukka Nevalainen / Drums
with
- Marc Brueland / Spoken part (11)
- Jouni Hynynen / Growling (7)
- John Two-Hawks / Vocals, Native American flute
- London Philharmonic Orchestra – Orchestra
- The Metro Voices – Choir
Track List:
01. Dark Chest of Wonders – 4:28
02. Wish I Had An Angel – 4:06
03. Nemo – 4:36
04. Planet Hell – 4:38
05. Creek Mary’s Blood – 8:29
06. The Siren – 4:45
07. Dead Gardens – 4:28
08. Romanticide – 4:58
09. Ghost Love Score – 10:02
10. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan – 3:58
11. Higher Than Hope – 5:38
12. White Night Fantasy (Bonus) – 4:04
13. Live To Tell The Tale (Bonus) – 4:58
Link in comments.
Nightwish – Live at Summer Breeze 2002 (@256)
11 Apr 2010
(Info from wikipedia)
Included as a bonus to the documentary “End of Innocence”, this live album shows Nightwish performing eight songs in the Summer Breeze Festival in Germany, 2002.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / keyboards
- Tarja Turunen / lead vocals
- Marco Hietala / bass, vocals
- Jukka Nevalainen / drums
- Emppu Vuorinen / guitars
Track List:
01. End of All Hope – 4:15
02. Dead to the World – 4:42
03. 10th Man Down – 5:29
04. Slaying the Dreamer – 4:53
05. Over the Hills And Far Away – 6:02
06. Sleeping Sun – 4:29
07. The Kinslayer – 4:10
08. Come Cover Me – 5:08
Link in comments.
Nightwish – Century Child (2002) (@256)
10 Apr 2010
(Review from wikipedia, seaoftranquility.org, progarchives.com)
After a week of hiking in Lappland, Holopainen got the band back to its feet. The band switched managers and Marco Hietala replaced bassist Sami Vanska. Hietala also started to perform male vocals; allowing Holopainen to take advantage of Hietala’s distinctive raucous voice to add a new dimension to the band.
The fourth full studio album of Nightwish, 2002′s “Century Child” is a notable departure from previous Nightwish releases, musically and lyrics-wise. It contains real orchestral backing, an ethereal production, a much more streamlined vocal work from Tarja Turunen and the lyrics depict a strong concept album undercurrent. Hietala’s male vocals make the band’s sound heavier and angrier.
Beginning with “Bless The Child” you are quickly drawn into the sound of the band by Tarja’s warm vocals and a very eerie haunting melody. When the “End Of All Hope” kicks in you find that the group can be heavy as they find the need. This number is full of incredible double drumming by Jukka and great guitar wizardry of Emmpu. For those who enjoy a hearty chorus the track “Dead To The World” might be most impressive.
“Ever Dream”, the album’s first single, is one of Nightwish’s heavier ballads, with a piano and strings complementing the guitars very well and producing a gorgeous melody. Tarja sounds heavenly, and the last minute or so of the song is chilling in how gorgeous it sounds.
In many ways, the album is constantly building towards its wonderful climactic conclusion. That conclusion starts with the penultimate track, a magical reworking of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera”. Those who know the music of Nightwish will appreciate just how appropriate this track is for the band, and will be able to create a mental vision of the track even before hearing it. It is slightly speeded up from the stage show version, but otherwise faithful, including a fine male/female vocal duet.
The final track, “Beauty of the Beast” is where it all comes together. The song is a 10 minute masterpiece in three parts. Those three parts fit together seamlessly to form a complete piece. The extra space offered by the track allows Emppu Vuorinen to slip in some fine guitar work. There still plenty of orchestration, and dramatic vocalisations, which cumulate in the fading refrain.
Nightwish seems to be unafraid to experiment and evolve.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / piano, keyboards
- Tarja Turunen / lead vocals
- Marco Hietala / bass, vocals
- Jukka Nevalainen / drums
- Emppu Vuorinen / guitars
Track List:
01. Bless The Child – 6:12
02. End Of All Hope – 3:55
03. Dead To The World – 4:19
04. Ever Dream – 4:43
05. Slaying The Dreamer – 4:31
06. Forever Yours – 3:50
07. Ocean Soul – 4:14
08. Feel For You – 3:55
09. The Phantom Of The Opera – 4:10
10. The Beauty Of The Beast10:23
11. Lagoon (Bonus) – 3:47
12. Wayfarer (Bonus) – 3:24
13. Bless The Child (Bonus Edit) – 4:09
14. End Of All Hope (Bonus Live) – 4:12
15. Dead To The World (Bonus Live) – 4:45
Link in comments.
