Moondance

Back in mid to late 2019, I got to meet the lovely Anneke van Giersbergen who had sang "Valley of the Queens" on the Ayreon album Into the Electric Castle. Not only did I give her a hug, but I got to get my copy of Devin Townsend's Epicloud signed by her.

I might get some signed stuff or my name in the credits. Hopefully I am not too late for that.

Just gave the new song a listen. All I say is "wow, that was amazing". It almost had those Evanescence vibes out from the Synthesis era during the choruses and the verse definitely had that powerful side with outstanding lyrics and a unique structure.

https://www.facebook.com/nightwishpl/posts/pfbid0pGxwAbJgbVjnoViZFy8WASH7eCCfnFNwW9CCzTisHZbuG4ERGqaKi6eQitRDHfM5l?__cft__[0]=AZXCcc3vR6Rj3G6gftosStGY7nZsXwRajcuL_C2ioZGjrJDYqLeGf-VJ_CfPBd4n6idw7Z0lSrYplDtS5Joo8eYqv4Z82F99nnZ6VzorGDi-nu3kFYB3UFp6OKGQHHI-2d0xi2C_inR6KCvMZjKLRVx9vNhW1FEJGCxg8xYPfH2_hTNIL52mtJzi92X36A3QAW8&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R The demo for the tenth album looks to be completed according to Nightwish PL.

To be honest, I think the chance of a reunion tour with Tarja is very low. I think it is mostly due to the fact that she and Tuomas are not on speaking terms and haven't been for a very long time. From what I know, she has spoken to the other members in the band except Tuomas as mentioned. To add, she did say at one point in 2015 or 2016 that she doesn't pay attention to the band anymore - but has heard them on Finnish radio at a few points of time. Probably was "Elan" that was on the radio at that point, I could be incorrect though.

I think the band might be used to smaller theatres to perform shows in North America unfortunately. In Europe, they are performing in arenas. There comes the concerns of costs for flying the techies and crew behind the scenes as well - so they usually have to strip down and cut on costs. It probably explains why it isn't a full tour as well. Though it would be interesting to see them perform in large venue like Place Bell. I mean, they are playing in an arena in Lowell for that leg of the tour.

I'm surprised that Sabaton and Epica aren't performing in Toronto this fall, as Sabaton has performed there on every North American tour leg. Though from what I heard, there is news of the possibility of the shows getting delayed cause of possible COVID cases in the fall.

Looks like the show in Montreal is sold out with only a few tickets left for the show in New York City.

@Ocean Soul You're right there. It does remind me a lot of Tuomas' 2014 solo album. It shares a lot of orchestral influence, being that both Johanna and Troy are present on both.

The tour dates for both the Russian and Ukraine shows are still up on the band's website regarding tour dates. I think the band should be giving an update soon on the situation.

Charlotte Wessels also sang on Kamelot's song "Under Grey Skies". She would also appear to perform it live with the band in the Netherlands, but it was unfortunately only performed once. It surprised me because I thought they would play that song when I saw Kamelot perform in Toronto back in 2018, as Delain was one of their two opening acts.

Found myself in footage from the Toronto show at Massey Hall during "Gethsemane". I'm the one on the far left in front of the stage. You can see Tuomas give me a thumbs up at the end, being that I was doing an imitation of him playing keyboards, even though I know nothing about keyboards and piano lol.

I wish the band could release music tablature books for the other albums. It'd be cool to see a transcription for "FantasMic!" and "Ocean Soul" as well as the ten minute epic "Ghost Love Score".

I was able to go to the Within Temptation concert in March 2019 when they came to the Rebel. In Flames was the co-headliner while Smash into Pieces was the opening act. I was right at the front of the stage for the show and it was amazing overall. What really made my night was the VIP session that I was luckily able to grab a ticket for as it was limited to 10 people only, though they did allow a family to attend the VIP Meet and Greet. I got to say hello to Sharon den Adel, had a picture with her - and even got to give her a hug. 😄 I got my stuff signed and had a picture with the band before they left to get ready for the show. I did get to see a soundcheck where they performed "Mercy Mirror", though it wouldn't get played during the show. It was a great week considering that I saw Disturbed a second time two days before.

It looks like the first album Legends of Light will be released on June 21, 2022. Also, crowdfunding for the album begins this Friday.

Now I'm really excited for the next album already! From what I know, Tuomas started working on the drafts in April 2021 and the band is set to go to a studio and record the album in 2023, so I believe it will be a Spring 2024 release.

I heard about that! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out, as I loved April Rain. I have Rob's signature on my copy of that album. I'm eager to see who the main singer is going to be. Judging by the moment the announcement is made, I am certain there are going to be some upset people because they were so used to having Charlotte Wessels in the band. When the drama ensued from the lineup changes in the beginning of 2021, I was trying to keep everyone calm by saying that lineup changes can happen all the time which drove out the purists to tell me that I was wrong and that it wasn't the same anymore. (Though to be honest, I used to be completely purist when it came to the band Rhapsody of Fire.)