Dark Passion Play

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Dark Passion Play
Studio album by Nightwish
Released	September 26, 2007 (Spinefarm) September 28, 2007 (Nuclear Blast)[1] October 1, 2007 (UK) October 2, 2007 (Roadrunner Records)
Recorded	September 15, 2006 - spring 2007 in London,[2] Hollola, Kerava and Helsinki
Genre	Symphonic power metal
Length	75:43
Label	Spinefarm Nuclear Blast Roadrunner Records
Producer	Tuomas Holopainen, Co-Produced by Tero Kinnunen, Mikko Karmila
Professional reviews
AbsolutePunk.net (92%) link All Music Guidelink Metal Hammer PopMatters link Kerrang
Nightwish chronology
Once (2004) Dark Passion Play (2007) Seventh studio album (2010/2011)
Singles from Dark Passion Play
"Eva" Released: May 25, 2007 "Amaranth" Released: August 22, 2007 "Erämaan Viimeinen" Released: December 5, 2007 "Bye Bye Beautiful" Released: February 15, 2008 "The Islander" Released: May 21, 2008

Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by the symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish. It was released on September 26, 2007 in Finland, September 28 in Europe and October 2, 2007 in the United States. It is the first Nightwish album with the band's new lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album not featuring former vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was dismissed in October 2005.

Lead songwriter Tuomas Holopainen has referred to it as the 'album that saved his life'.^[3]

Running at 75:43 minutes, it is their longest album to date, 15 minutes longer than the previously longest record (Once).

The album has spawned five singles: "Eva", the album's lead single, was released on May 25, 2007^[4] as a download-only single for charity; "Amaranth", released on August 22; Erämaan Viimeinen, which was released on December 5 in Finland only; "Bye Bye Beautiful", released on February 15, 2008 and "The Islander" was released on May 21.

So far, three music videos have been filmed to accompany the album's singles. The first two, "Amaranth" and "Bye Bye Beautiful" were both shot in Los Angeles, USA in spring 2007 and cost 270,000€.^[5] The "Amaranth" video was released together with the single on August 22, 2007, and "Bye Bye Beautiful" on February 15. The third music video, "The Islander", was finished in October, 2007, in Rovaniemi, Finland,^[6] and released in April, 2008. Holopainen has stated that at first they were planning not to shoot another video for Dark Passion Play, but when they were offered to make the video in a town with traditional Finnish nature, they couldn't refuse.

Contents 1 Title Origin 2 Recording 3 Success 4 New vocalist 5 Leaks 6 Live performances 7 Music style 8 Track listing 8.1 Bonus tracks 9 Lyrical themes 9.1 1. The Poet and the Pendulum 9.2 2. Bye Bye Beautiful 9.3 3. Amaranth 9.4 4. Cadence of Her Last Breath 9.5 5. Master Passion Greed 9.6 6. Eva 9.7 7. Sahara 9.8 10. The Islander 9.9 11. Last of the Wilds 9.10 12. 7 Days to the Wolves 9.11 13. Meadows of Heaven 10 Charts 10.1 Album 10.2 Singles 11 Credits 11.1 Band members 11.2 Guest musicians 12 Notes 13 References 14 External links

[edit] Title Origin

According to Holopainen, the band's keyboardist and main composer, the album's title was originally intended to be "The Poet and the Pendulum", named after the album's first track. However, it was changed to "Dark Passion Play" for several reasons, taking into account that "The Poet and the Pendulum" was too long for an album title, and that he didn't want to name an entire album after himself (as he is the Poet in the song). The new name, though, has to do with the album's opening track:

“

The morning dawned, upon his altar Remains of the dark passion play Performed by his friends without shame Spitting on his grave as they came

”

Faster Harder Nightwish was announced as the title of the upcoming record on April 1, 2007 on the official website. The title is possibly a pun on the Scooter single, Faster Harder Scooter. They also released a photo of the new cover's artwork, which led viewers to believe the band were completely changing their style from symphonic power metal to something more like thrash metal. Just hours later, a "promo sample" of the album could be found on several peer-to-peer networks. It was later stated on their official website that this was an April Fools' joke.^[7][8]

[edit] Recording

Nightwish began recording the instrumental parts of Dark Passion Play in the autumn of 2006, and were finished by spring 2007. A total of 15 songs were recorded.^[9] Following this, the orchestral recordings took place in Abbey Road Studios, London in two sessions: one in mid-December 2006 and the other in February 2007. As with their previous studio album, Once, the band collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Metro Voices Choir.^[10] Vocal recordings began in February 2007, after Anette Olzon had been chosen as the band's new lead singer. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki in April - May 2007.

The album's production cost 500,000€, making it the most expensive album ever recorded in Finland. An extra 270,000€ was spent on filming the two music videos of the album^[11].

[edit] Success

As of February 22 the album has sold 120,000 copies in Finland alone, granting it a four times platinum certification. As of January 2008, the album has topped the album charts in six countries. The singles, "Amaranth" and "Erämaan Viimeinen" have both reached number one on Finnish charts. According to Last.fm, it is their most played album, and its successful single "Amaranth" is their most played song for the last six months, as of June 2008.

[edit] New vocalist

In October 2005, after a world tour in support of Once, the band's lead singer Tarja Turunen was dismissed via an open letter. In search of a replacement, the band conducted auditions from March 17, 2006 to January 15, 2007, receiving over 2000 demo tapes in the process.^[12]

Amidst much speculation it was officially announced on May 24, 2007 that Anette Olzon, who previously was the singer for the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue, is the new vocalist of Nightwish. In an interview, Holopainen said they had made the decision in January 2007 based on the impression she made while performing the song "Ever Dream" from the album Century Child.^[13]

“

Of course it's gonna be a huge task for the singer - she will be always compared to Tarja but I'm pretty confident that she'll do well. -Tuomas Holopainen regarding Anette Olzon's ability[14]

”

[edit] Leaks

The first single, "Eva", was leaked on the Internet six days before its official release, prompting the band to release the single earlier to boost downloads. Several other versions of the song were posted on YouTube and torrent sites a month later. The entire album with record label voiceovers had been leaked on the Internet by August 2, . The full album (without voiceovers) was leaked on September 21, 2007, as a result of several stores in Mexico selling the retail album much prior to the worldwide release date.

The video for the album's fourth single "Bye Bye Beautiful" was leaked early on YouTube and similar sites.

[edit] Live performances

A world tour in support of Dark Passion Play kicked off in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 6, 2007 followed by a North American tour throughout October and November, with support from Paradise Lost.^[15] The tour includes a Scandinavian and a European leg, at least three American tours (the third one being in May, 2008) and visits in Australia and Asia.

According to Holopainen, this will be the longest tour the band has ever attempted, and will probably last for about two and a half years.^[16]

For their Once album, Nightwish had planned to have a grand concert in London with live orchestra, as progressive metal band Dream Theater had on what later would be their "Score" album, and this is still in the works. In an interview in December, 2007, Holopainen said that they're planning the concert and that this is something he really wants, but that the locale they want is booked for two years in advance.^[17] The concert is expected to be filmed for a DVD release.

Dispelling the rumours that Olzon will never be capable of performing old Nightwish hit songs, Holopainen said that the tours' setlists will be divided equally to songs of the new album and older material.^[18] He is not afraid that Olzon won't be able to perform the songs that Turunen usually sang, as she even on her demo showed of her ability performing for example "Ever Dream" and "Higher Than Hope".^[19] He has also stated that they will play the band's biggest hits, such as "Nemo", "Sleeping Sun" and "Wishmaster", as earlier in their live performances. However he has confirmed that they will not play songs "The Phantom of the Opera", "Passion and the Opera", "Stargazers" and "Walking in The Air" again, as these go beyond Olzon's non-operatic mezzo-soprano vocal range. At first they didn't play the song "The Siren" either, but it was introduced in February, 2008 as an edited version.

[edit] Music style

Before the album's release, band leader Tuomas Holopainen said in an interview that the album will have a lot in common with the last album "Once". For example, the band have kept the new kind of heavier songs (such as "Master Passion Greed", "7 Days to the Wolves" and "Bye Bye Beautiful"), but that additionally there will be softer ballads (such as "Meadows of Heaven, "Eva" and "The Islander"). Also that there will be a very long symphonic track ("Ghost Love Score" on "Once"), ("The Poet and the Pendulum" on "Dark Passion Play). The new album includes lots of guest musicians and orchestral parts - in the same interview, Holopainen said that as they recorded Once they had 18 people in the choir, and still this wasn't enough.

He also claimed there was going to be "shockers" that he didn't want to reveal. The longest track, "The Poet and the Pendulum", is a song that according to him is a very personal, epic piece that is a lot like film music, and lasts for almost 14 minutes. Music engineer Mikko Karmila has also stated that the style is much more progressive than earlier.

“

The extremes are there more than ever before. So it's not going to be like Century Child 2. There is more hope in some of the new songs. -Tuomas Holopainen, band leader, keyboardist and main composer[20]

”

Holopainen also said that there are darker pieces reminiscent of Century Child, such as "The Poet and the Pendulum", and some others. It will be a dark album, both musically and lyrically. Even though the album is much more upbeat than "Century Child".^[21] Songs that reflect this mood are for example the second single "Amaranth" and "Bye Bye Beautiful"'s B-side "Escapist".

Just like the album "Once", Nightwish included many new influences and experimentations in several tracks. On "Once", much inspiration came from Native American music, especially "Creek Mary's Blood", that featured Native American musician John Two-Hawks. However, on Dark Passion Play, much inspiration comes from Finnish and Irish culture and music as this can be clearly heard on "Last of the Wilds".

For the second time, growling has being featured on the track Master Passion Greed by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and an unknown Metal Hammer reporter^[22] . First time was by Marco Hietala on Once, Planet Hell.

"While Your Lips Are Still Red", a bonus track on the Amaranth single, is the first song featuring Marco Hietala's softer vocals. Hietala is generally known for his screamings and sometimes growlings in the songs. "While Your Lips Are Still Red" is written by Tuomas as the theme song for the upcoming Finnish feature film "Lieksa!", technically it's not a Nightwish track as it only features Marco on vocals, Tuomas on keyboards and Jukka on drums.

The album's average track length (Spinefarm Records' version with 13 songs) is 5.8 minutes, with most of the songs lasting for about four minutes. Three tracks are over seven minutes long, which is long for a Nightwish record, a band that mostly had songs about 4-5 minutes and one or two longer per album. The track "The Poet and the Pendulum" is the longest song in the band's history, 13:55, 3:33 minutes longer than the song that used to occupy that position, "Beauty of the Beast".

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Tuomas Holopainen, unless otherwise stated. All lyrics by Holopainen. Arrangements by Hietala, Holopainen, Nevalainen, Vuorinen and Kinnunen.

	Title	Writers	Notes	Length
1.	"The Poet and the Pendulum"	Holopainen	Feat. Tom Williams on treble vocals	13:54
2.	"Bye Bye Beautiful"	Holopainen	The fourth single	04:14
3.	"Amaranth"	Holopainen	The second single	03:51
4.	"Cadence of Her Last Breath"	Holopainen		04:14
5.	"Master Passion Greed"	Holopainen		06:02
6.	"Eva"	Holopainen	The first single	04:24
7.	"Sahara"	Holopainen		05:47
8.	"Whoever Brings the Night"	Vuorinen		04:17
9.	"For the Heart I Once Had"	Holopainen		03:55
10.	"The Islander"	Hietala	The fifth single	05:05
11.	"Last of the Wilds"	Holopainen	Instrumental. Its vocal version, "Erämaan Viimeinen", is the third single	05:40
12.	"7 Days to the Wolves"	Holopainen, Hietala		07:03
13.	"Meadows of Heaven"	Holopainen		07:10
14.	"Escapist"	Holopainen	Bonus track on Japanese version	04:57

Nuclear Blast, Spinefarm Records and Roadrunner Records each released special editions that included an instrumental version of the album, which contain instruments that are hard to hear, or are omitted, from the original version of the album.

[edit] Bonus tracks

Amaranth single

• "Reach (Amaranth Demo Version)" – 3:57
• "Eva (demo version)"
• "While Your Lips Are Still Red"

Erämaan Viimeinen single

• "Erämaan Viimeinen" - 5:10

Bye Bye Beautiful single

• "The Poet and the Pendulum (Demo Version)" - 13:41
• "Bye Bye Beautiful (DJ Orkidea Remix)" - 12:14
• "Escapist"- 4:57

The Islander single

• "The Islander (Radio edit)" - 3:57
• "Meadows of Heaven (Orchestral Version)" - 7:14
• "Escapist (Instrumental Version)" - 4:57

[edit] Lyrical themes

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[edit] 1. The Poet and the Pendulum

"The Poet and the Pendulum" is the opening track on the album. It is the longest track on both the album and in the band's history, nearly fourteen minutes long. The composer, band leader and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen has expressed that he is very happy with this song, and before its release he officially hailed it as his favorite Nightwish song ever.^[23]

The song is divided into five sections, titled 'White Lands Of Empathica', 'Home', 'The Pacific', 'Dark Passion Play' and 'Mother & Father'.

"The Poet and the Pendulum" is clearly the lead song of Dark Passion Play; Aside from being the longest song and the album opener, the album was also initially supposed to be named The Poet and the Pendulum. It was changed into Dark Passion Play for several reasons, including that it at first was too long to be an album title, and that Tuomas didn't want an entire album entitled after him (as he is the poet in the song). "Dark Passion Play", however, also comes from the lyrics of the song ("The morning dawned, upon his altar / Remains of the dark passion play / Performed by his friends without shame / Spitting on his grave as they came"^[24]) and the fourth part of the song is also called "Dark Passion Play". The story behind the track also is a passion play (see Story).

The song is partly based on a 1842 short story by Edgar Allan Poe called "The Pit and the Pendulum". In this story the main character is captured and sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition. He awakes to find himself on a board and a scythe-like blade swinging from the ceiling coming closer and closer to him. In The Poet and the Pendulum, composer / keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen dies by that method. He is later reborn in the story and bids farewell to his mother and father.

In the first part of the song ("White Lands of Empathica"), a choir boy tells the story about how Tuomas Holopainen has died under the blade ("The songwriter's dead / The blade fell upon him / Taking him to the white lands / Of Empathica").^[25]

In the second part ("Home"), the narrator goes back in time, before his death. He tells about the grief and sorrow, how he knows that he is about to die ("One last perfect verse"), and the feelings of being misplaced in this world ("Take me home"). There's also a reference to their song "Meadows of Heaven"; this song is about memories from the innocent childhood, and that is what this verse of "The Poet and the Pendulum" also is about ("My home was there 'n then / Those meadows of heaven / Adventure-filled days / One with every smiling face").

In the first half of part three, "The Pacific", he reminisces how his life used to be, and here he now lies on the board waiting for his death ("Swaying blade my lullaby"). Later in that part, he speaks of the sorrow in knowing his time is to come, that he "only have three minutes and counting".

The fourth part, entitled "Dark Passion Play", is the angriest part, in which Holopainen blames and accuses his friends for his death ("2nd robber to the right of Christ"). The second half is spoken, explaining how Holopainen died, happy.

In the finale, "Mother & Father" is dedicated to his parents and it's from his mother's perspective.

In addition to the vocals provided by Olzon and Hietala, several parts of the song are supplemented by the voice of a young boy soprano, Guy Elliot. The second boy soprano and voice is Tom Williams.

[edit] 2. Bye Bye Beautiful

Main article: Bye Bye Beautiful

"Bye Bye Beautiful" is written by Holopainen about the band's former vocalist, Tarja Turunen, who was fired from the band by an open letter in 2005, and his feelings before and after she changed her attitude towards the band and its music. This was at first rumored among fans and later revealed by Holopainen in an interview.^[26]

[edit] 3. Amaranth

Main article: Amaranth (song)

"Amaranth" is, according to the composer, a song about the divine, perfect beauty that always will last and the hope that always is there.^[27]

[edit] 4. Cadence of Her Last Breath

A song very personal to Holopainen, a story about falling in love, running away, falling in love and then running away again.^[28]

[edit] 5. Master Passion Greed

"Master Passion Greed" is what many people call Nightwish's most aggressive song ever.^[29] It is about former vocalist Tarja Turunen's husband Marcelo Cabuli, and how he changed her, and his attempts at destroying the band due to his greed.^{[citation needed]}

This is the only track on Dark Passion Play where Anette Olzon does not perform any vocals; on other songs she at least has performed backing vocals. This is because the composer, Holopainen, did not feel it was right to let her sing about something she has nothing to do with. Therefore, Marco Hietala, who's been the band's bassist and vocalist since 2001, performs the vocals together with a choir, and Holopainen's growling.

The band has confirmed that they will never play the song live, and so far they haven't.

[edit] 6. Eva

Main article: Eva (song)

The song is about a young girl of pure innocence (Eva) that has been treated wrongly in her life, being bullied at school, and her mental escape from her home as she alone runs away for a better future, dreaming of what will come.^[30]

[edit] 7. Sahara

This song is about the Sahara Desert and life there. The song makes references to pharaohs and queens and evokes an Egyptian mood through its use of the harmonic minor scale.^{[citation needed]} The song also weaves in allusions to Greek mythology, mentioning "aegis of mirage" and the "Elysian Fields" in the lyrics. It is basically a simple story of Ancient Egypt.^[31]

[edit] 10. The Islander

This song is about a former experienced sailor, who then becomes a man still dreaming for the sea, so he works in a lighthouse. He remembers his childhood, and at the end of song the lyrics change slightly, essentially saying that he has committed suicide. This song is closer to folk-style, and uses only acoustic guitars rather than electric. It also uses some keyboard effects and drums. Marco Hietala sings the whole song with only backing vocals from Anette. He wrote most of the music for the song, unlike most others which were written by Tuomas Holopainen.

[edit] 11. Last of the Wilds

An instrumental song, an international match between Finland, Ireland and the shores of Scotland.^{[citation needed]} A song for partying and dancing around the bonfire by midsummer.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 12. 7 Days to the Wolves

A story with a simple meaning: Carpe diem, make the best out of your life. Life is short, and the wolves are breathing behind you all the time. It features several references to poet Walt Whitman in its lyrics ("Take the road less travelled by, leave the city of fools"), and the music is based on Stephen King's fantasy series The Dark Tower.^[32]

[edit] 13. Meadows of Heaven

This song is believed to be about a Childhood Utopia.^[who?] There are references to child memories, such as the lyrics ("Sandbox without toy soldiers.") Also the album illustration is a farm house in a grassy meadow. It is the childhood memories of someone who lived as a farmer and remembers the fields as "Meadows of Heaven", but has left the fields after his childhood. This is arguably the most passionate and emotional song on Dark Passion Play.^[who?] It is also referred to in "The Poet and the Pendulum", ("My home was there 'n then / Those meadows of heaven / Adventure-filled days / One with every smiling face"), perhaps the Poet (Tuomas Holopainen) is the one remembering his Childhood. This would be right since Tuomas, along with the original Nightwish-lineup came from the rural village of Kitee, Finland.^[33]

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Chart	Peak Position	Certification	Sales
Australia	42
Austria[34]	5	Gold	+10,000
Belgium[35]	36
Canada[36]	24
Croatia[37]	1
Czech Republic[38]	1
Denmark[39]	18
European Albums Chart	4
Finland[40]	1	Platinum (x4)	+120,000
France[41]	6
Germany[42]	1	Gold	+100,000
Greece[43]	3
Hungary	1
Ireland[44]	62
Italy[45]	14
Japan[46]	54
Japan[47] Foreign albums chart	12
Netherlands[48]	5
Norway[49]	7
Poland[50]	6	Gold	+10,000
Spain	33
Sweden[51]	4	Gold	+30,000
Switzerland[52]	1	Platinum	+30,000
UK Album Charts[53]	19
UK Top 40 Rock Album Charts[54]	3
United States[55] The Billboard 200	84		+65,000
United States[47] Top Hard Rock Albums	7
United World Chart[56]	9		+710,000

[edit] Singles

Release date	Title	Notes	Chart positions
			AUS	AUT[57]	DEN[58]	FIN[59]	FRA[60]	GER[61]	HUN	ITA[62]	NET[63]	SPA	SWE[64]	SWI[65]
2007-05-25	"Eva"	Radio/Internet only	-	-	-	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2007-08-22	"Amaranth"		38	30	4	1	62	16	1	10	47	1	13	14
2007-12-04	"Erämaan Viimeinen"	Finland only	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2008-02-15	"Bye Bye Beautiful"		-	-	-	5	54	35	-	-	-	4	-	-
2008-05-30	"The Islander"		-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
			AUS	AUT	DEN	FIN	FRA	GER	HUN	ITA	NET	SPA	SWE	SWI
		Number one hits	-	-	-	3	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-
		Top ten hits	-	-	1	4	-	-	1	1	-	2	-	-

[edit] Credits

[edit] Band members

• Anette Olzon - Vocals
• Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen - Electric guitar, acoustic guitar on "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds"/"Erämaan viimeinen"
• Marco Hietala - Bass, vocals, acoustic guitar on "The Islander"
• Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards, Piano
• Jukka Nevalainen - Drums, percussions

[edit] Guest musicians

• London Philharmonic Orchestra - Orchestra
• Guy Elliott - Lead Boy Soprano
• Tom Williams - Second Boy Soprano and Voice on The Poet and the Pendulum
• Metro Voices - Choir
• Troy Donockley - Bodhran, Uilleann Pipes, Low and Tin Whistle on " The Islander, "Last of the Wilds" and "Meadows of Heaven"
• Nollaig Casey - Fiddle on "Last of the Wilds"
• Senni Eskelinen - Electric Kantele on "Last of the Wilds"
• Greg Knowles - Cymbalom
• Johanna "Jonsu" Salomaa - Vocals on "Erämaan Viimeinen" ("Last Of The Wilds")

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nightwish Official Site

v • d • e Nightwish Tuomas Holopainen | Marco Hietala | Emppu Vuorinen | Jukka Nevalainen | Anette Olzon Tarja Turunen | Sami Vänskä Studio albums & EPs Angels Fall First | Oceanborn | Wishmaster | Over the Hills and Far Away | Century Child | Once | Dark Passion Play Live albums From Wishes to Eternity | End of an Era Demos “Nightwish” | “Angels Fall First (demo)” Compilations Wishmastour 2000 | Tales from the Elvenpath | Bestwishes | Highest Hopes Videos and DVDs From Wishes to Eternity | End of Innocence | End of an Era Documentaries From Wishes to Eternity | End of Innocence | The Making of Nemo | The Making of "Wish I Had an Angel" | A Day Before Tomorrow  | Shooting Some Amaranths  | In Between the Eyes  | The Making of the Islander Singles “The Carpenter” | “Sacrament of Wilderness” | “Passion and the Opera” | “Walking in the Air” | “Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)” · “The Kinslayer” | “Deep Silent Complete” | “Ever Dream” | “Bless the Child” | “Nemo” | “Wish I Had an Angel” | “Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan” | “The Siren” | “Sleeping Sun” | “Eva” | “Amaranth” | “Erämaan Viimeinen” | “Bye Bye Beautiful” | "The Islander" Related acts Tarot | Tarja Turunen | Brother Firetribe | Sethian | For My Pain... | Northern Kings | Kotiteollisuus | Timo Rautiainen | Alyson Avenue | Altaria | Barilari | Sinergy Related articles Members | Discography