Uncut interview with former NIGHTWISH bassist MARKO HIETALA

Interview conducted on February 21, 2024.

Those present at the Z7 Konzertfabrik in Pratteln, Switzerland, on July 8, 2023, witnessed the unlikely reunion of Tarja Turunen and Marko Hietala on stage. The ex-Nightwish partners hadn't performed together since 2005 and, that night, at the Summer Nights Festival, they sang “Phantom of the Opera”, one of their former band's greatest classics, in what was, without a doubt, the highlight of the show. The “feat” planted a seed, with a tour featuring Tarja and Marko performing separate shows and then sharing the stage in an atmosphere of nostalgia, but also of a new beginning; after all, the two hadn't spoken since the singer left Nightwish in 2005. In other words, a celebration of what they lived and built together, but with signs that much more is to come. In order to promote then upcoming commitments in Brazil, Hietala, now based in Spain “to escape the Finnish winter where the sun sets in the middle of the afternoon”, gave an interview in which he spoke a lot frankly about the reasons that led him to say goodbye to Nightwish and came close to retiring from music early, in addition to anticipating new developments.

Link to the written version (in Portuguese): https://igormiranda.com.br/2024/02/ma...

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