Tuomas Holopainen: It was surprisingly smooth. It has to do with the fact that they’ve already played on previous albums. They had a clue of what was to come. These people are among the best musicians in the entire world. Their musicianship is indescribable. We didn’t have a single practice with the songs. It was just one take, and play.
Do you write 100 percent of Nightwish’s music and lyrics, or is there some collaboration with other band members?
I write about 95 percent of the music and I always do all the lyrics. The rule in this band is that I want to keep the lyrics for myself. But everybody is free to do the music. We spend a lot of time arranging the songs with the entire band and there is a lot of collaboration.
The opening song on Dark Passion Play is 13 minutes long. Were you concerned about starting the album with such a long track?
No. I really trusted the power of the song. What really surprised me was when I introduced the idea to the other members of the band and the managers of the record label I never heard a negative comment. I really thought the record labels would say it is commercial suicide, but they said it was exactly what we needed to do. It’s a sledgehammer to the face at the beginning of the album. That’s the effect we wanted to give.
How did the response to Dark Passion Play in the U.S. compare to your expectations?
It was much, much bigger. It went to number 84 on the charts, which I think is incredible. Our previous album didn’t even make the top 200. Shows have been selling very well, and the albums are also going fantastic.
The metal scene is really strong in Finland these days.
It’s a phenomenon, and a huge one. I don’t think that there is any other country in the whole world where metal is so big, and dare I say mainstream. Bands like Children Of Bodom and Dimmu Borgir always top the charts. I remember Children Of Bodom being number one on the official singles chart for 9 weeks in a row. I think that could only happen in Finland. Metal is the national music of Finland. I just had a text message from our record label that the album went triple platinum in Finland today. It’s incredible, triple platinum in three weeks.
As you travel the world, do you see metal being on an upward track now?
Yes. The music trends are always ebbs and flows, but the metal fans are the most loyal in the whole world and they never leave. But there is definitely a high peak for metal going on now.
