Here’s one for the symphonic metalheads out there. Finland’s legendary metal act Nightwish have had trouble holding down a singer over the past several years. First, the operatically trained fan favorite Tarja Turunen was booted from the band in 2005. Then loss struck again as Anette Olzon parted ways with Nightwish mid tour last year.
Now the band is back with not one, but two new members. First off, they’ve brought on Floor Jansen (ReVamp) as the official lead singer of Nightwish. She has proven herself through playing several shows with the band including a top notch performance at Wacken. Next up is the man Troy Donockley. If you’ve caught any Nightwish performances in the past year or so, chances are you saw a a guy playing the uilleann pipes quite proficiently. This is that guy. It should be interesting to see how both members affect the Nightwish sound moving into the future.
On top of this, the band will be releasing a live DVD / Blu Ray (including all the new members) from their performance at this year’s Wacken Festival. It’s been titled “Showtime, Storytime” and will be available November 29th through Nuclear Blast.
You can read statements from the band, Floor, and Troy down below. We’ve also included the trailer for “Showtime, Storytime” along with songs from the band’s past two singers for your listening pleasure.
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“Ms. Floor Jansen is a keeper. Also, we will be a six-piece band from now on, as Mr. Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, vocals) will become a full-time member of NIGHTWISH.
Originally we were going to wait until 2014 to make a decision about the future line-up of the band, but the past year has clearly shown us that Floor and Troy are perfect matching pieces to our puzzle, and we are really grateful of the bond that has grown between all of us. We love you guys.”
-Tuomas, Marco, Jukka, Emppu
“Words cannot describe what I feel! This union is beyond everything and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to continue this amazing journey with my new brothers! Once I had a dream…and this is it!!!”
– Floor Jansen
“Imaginaerum World Tour´was a revelation to me and in that time, I became aware of a growing unity and then, finally, a transcendence of all the usual nonsense that affects bands. A beautiful process. And since the idea, the musical dream that is Nightwish has been a part of me since before I was born, I am delighted to officially sail into uncharted waters with my brothers and sister. Wondrous scenes Ahoy!”
– Troy Donockley
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