Beards React To - Nightwish - The Poet and the Pendulum - Live - THEY MAKE YOU FEEL THEIR PAIN
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- Hi everyone! Welcome to our channel, Beards React!
We're here to provide you with our reactions to videos from across the internet.
If you like what you see, let us know. If you have something you'd like to see us react to, let us know as well, and we just might do it :)
Please take a quick second to hit that Subscribe button, like the video, and drop us a comment telling us what you think. This will REALLY help our channel begin to grow.
Intro Music credit to Onlap - Forever : www.youtube.co....
Outro Music credit to Sumokem - Ogama : www.youtube.co....
Appreciate the support and looking forward to growing the family!
The song being about Tarja leaving is very simplistic. It’s more than that. Tuomas was upset about having to fire his old friend. Then many fans turned on him, blaming him. He went into a deep depression and this song is basically him committing suicide in a song, as he said in an interview, so he wouldn’t have to do it in real life. The last section, Mother and Father, are the words his parents said to him that helped him to come out of his depression. Also, the documentary has nothing to do with this…that concern Floor stepping in after the second singer, Anette, was let go from the band. This song is about the aftermath of Tarja, the original singer, being dismissed.
this song was written about Tuomas' depression that resulted from the backlash of the fans and losing his creative muse in Tarja. His five stages of grief if you will! He, Tarja and Emppu grew up in the same town in Finland. He later said he killed himself in the song so he did not have to do it in real life. Read the letter the band gave to Tarja that explains their side in removing her from the band.
There are 2 other versions of this - the first is a demo with Marko doing all the vocals and the second with Anette. Both are good but this - Floor elevates it to such an epic height. The song is more about the pain Tuomas suffered from the backlash of Tarja's firing. The line you referred to is how Tuomas felt because of the hate that was thrown at him by fans of Tarja and the band in general. Although the whole band agreed and signed off on the letter, the negativity was directed at Tuomas. Don't know if you noticed but the first words of the song are "The End" and the last words are "The Beginning".
Tarja did not leave the band but was fired by the band right after a concert in 2005. They gave her a letter after the concert and she red it on her flight to her husband in Argentina. Why did they fire her?: read the letter! The band released the letter on their website. You can find it on the Nightwish- pedia. And Tarja`s answer too.
Tarja had already quit the band with a long notice period, then she didn't live up to the agreement, so the band cut her loose.
@@billattercliffe8655 In a way you're right... But there was no resignation from her, just threats about leaving the band if she didn't get her demands. She also had at occasions talked about going solo.
This was about the future of the band, and to get ahead of things... I've heard a few have said that Marko did get the last word.
@@andreaspedersen3952 No, there was an actual agreement between the band and Tarja / Cabuli. They were supposed to complete the tour and one album, then Tarja would leave.
The best way to describe the situation is this: you quit your job and give your employer two weeks notice. During your first week of the notice period, you are disruptive and you're becoming highly unpopular with your coworkers. So your boss tells you not come back for week two.
@@billattercliffe8655 Sorry but NO.
@@AndyMagnusson70 Read "Once Upon a Nightwish" It's all detailed there and the author was very fair toward Tarja.
34:17 Remember Anette was in between Tarja and Floor. Floor was not anywhere around when the events of the song went down. But anyways, is no that weird coming from Floor because she's not a complete stranger to the situation. She's friends with Tarja and she even toured with Nighwish when Tarja was the lead, many years ago when she was in the band After Forever. So she has the insight to empathize with both perspectives of those involved, both Tarja and the band.
This is one of my favourite NW songs, Floor pulls every emotion out of you watching it, Tuomas was left in turmoil emotionally after they had felt forced into letting Tarja go, I still think in many ways this is Tuomas's finest song and we are blessed to have Floor perform it for us. Tuomas had the vocals removed from his monitors though you can see he lives every second of the song when the boy says you only have 3 minutes left to live watch Tuomas at the point 3 minutes later, it is quite startling, Emppu and Marco both check on Tuomas during this performance as well, at the end Floor looks over to Tuomas before saying thankyou very softly to the audience.
If you want to hear how Angry they were initially after Tarja was fired seek out the Demo with Marko sining the whole song before Annette joined Nightwish
My favorite Nightwish song of all time. Just an amazing song.
Just think about the bravery that it takes for someone to bare his soul like this, to assume his pain, grief and vulnerability. The world can be cruel and cynical and when you take the chance to stand naked like this in front of everyone, you risk being ridiculed, mocked, called a whiny, infantile, crybaby. Yet you also "risk" creating an absolute masterpiece. What makes the difference? - being a genius. As someone once put it: you cannot light anyone on fire unless you yourself are burning.
When Greates Show on Earth take *TAMPERE* 2015 version (Finland) !!!!
do Tampere
Greetings from Nightwish's homeland, Finland 🤘🇫🇮
Based upon your comments during the song, you guys need some time frame perspective...Tarja WAS the first singer of the band, and lifelong friend of Tuomas and Emppu. Floor didn't follow Tarja, she followed Annette, so Annette was the one that had to bear that load of replacing Tarja.
Tarja did not leave the band by herself. But she was fired. Al the membersn of the band did agree. But Tuomas did get the blame. And he does kill himself in the song . Luckely not in real life. And the shoulders that also did cry was about Marco Empu end jukka. But its best to read the open letter to Tarja . It explanes a lot. Btw Floor sings it with a lot if emotion. Thats why Toamas does not want to hear her sing it. So his headphone is of. Only at the end he hears her again
A masterpiece! Tuomas’ magnum opus in my opinion. Genius lyrically and musically. Floor took it to another level. They only performed it 20 times with Floor, and haven’t played it since 2016. I think you may still have some confusion. Tarja WAS THE ORIGINAL lead singer, and a co-creator of the band with Tuomas and Emppu. She was also his muse that he had written everything for to this point. He felt part of himself had died with that split. This song being Tuomas’ own inner feelings. Definitely check out the other two songs related to the breakup with Tarja, Bye Bye Beautiful (do the video), which is pointed at Tarja and sung by Anette and Marko, and Master Passion Greed, pointed at her husband, and probably their heaviest song, sung by Marko, never having been performed live.
Any ideas why never sang live?
@@ToTheWolves They feel its abit inmature I guess. And all the hate is gone. Floor doesent want so sing bye bye beautiful either because she and Tarja are friends.
I agree with doing this. Just as to have the whole experience.
@@ToTheWolves Maybe bcause doing something live, you get to see them which differs a lot from studio, and perhaps Live is too personal for them. Also, perhaps they think it's not a good idea to share with fans in a Live format, as it strikes a sensitve place for many people for different reasons.
Tarja didn’t just leave the band, she was fired immediately after their last concert together (called “End of an Era”.)
She had already quit to go solo.
@@billattercliffe8655 Nope. She was going to quit after the next album that they were going to make.
@@AndyMagnusson70 That's what I said. She was going to stay until the album was produced, but her and hubby didn't live up to their commitments to the band during the interim.
Marko was so fed up with her failure to show up, he forced the issue with the ultimatum, "her or me".
The smart play by the band should have been to write a letter to the media saying she was leaving to go solo of her own accord and they were looking for another lead female singer. The "You're fired!" letter shouldn't even have been written. She was going anyway.
@@jamesanderson5268 Exactly. I've written the PR Nightwish letter 'virtually' more than once. This is a time when they needed some expert PR advice.
Basically the letter should have sounded like this:
After nine wonderful years an era of Nightwish has come to an end. For sometime now Tarja has been expressing a desire to leave the band and go solo. We did not want to stand in her way, but we also felt an obligation to our fans to finish our current projects and tours with Tarja, so we agreed on a compromise.
Unfortunately we could not make it work. The solo career priorities of Tarja and her husband conflicted with the band to the point that we felt it was better for us, Tarja and the fans to end the relationship now, rather than later.
We wish Tarja all the best in her solo career and we are looking forward to embarking on a new Nightwish journey.
You guys are incredible. True Nightwish fans. You truly get it. Respect.
Thank you, a very respectful reaction to a difficult and beautiful song! This is a suicide song, the End. Tuomas went into deep depression after the firing of Tarja. (There were other contributing factors as well but he has never disclosed them.) There was a shit storm from the press and fans targeting Tuomas. Tarja was the founding member of NW and the creator of NW sound with Tuomas. Tuomas cannot cry, because Tarja is crying even more."The same old song" refers to a poet that has lost his creative force. He is now a widowed writer without a muse. "Betraying friends" are the fans and media that viciously turned against Tuomas, they are feasting on the rotten poet. He had become a whore to the whole world with no sympathy towards him. "Infanticide" refers to the feeling of somebody trying to destroy the band, which is Tuomas' child. At home Tuomas was restored by the love of his mother and father and hence "The Beginning". These interpretations are mine and no way canon.
However The Fan Dom Wiki is not the best place for information. If you needed links, those could have been provided to you before hand to give context, although you are still free to make your own interpretations. Well said, that Floor is the vessels to the words.
This is Tuomas explaining the song ruclips.net/video/wa9WiNJzHIs/видео.html (the last minutes)
The letter to Tarja nightwish.fandom.com/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Tarja_Turunen
Tarja's press conference ruclips.net/video/OYko9mxUJeY/видео.html. (part of)
The song deals with Tuomas' stages of full blown depression. Grief is only one aspect of it. Anger, resignation, making one's peace and dying are others. This is not only the case in the lyrics but also the whole composition seems like depression. A constant up and down until the suicide of Tuomas. He killed himself in the song so he doesn't have to do it in life.
"3 min counting" says the boy in the first text. Exactly 3 minutes pass until the end of his second text and the guillotine falls through Tuomas' hand movement. This is compositionally masterful.
Btw. Tarja is just the reason for this song, but the song is not about her. It's about Tuomas, the band and the fans. Tuomas has been put down by the Tarja fans due to the kick out of Tarja. Even the Prime Minister has interfered. He is the one who wants to cry, but finds no comfort in the band because they cry even more. The shoulders.
TY! ❤️
My favourite sentence is when Marko starts. "Second robber to the right of Christ
Cut in half - infanticide
The world will rejoice today
As the crows feast on the rotting poet"
Second robber to the right of Christ is Judas on last Supper
Cut ( the band) in half, infanticide ( killing their baby, the band)
The world will rejoice today
As the crows feast on the rotting poet is about media taking headlines of both sides misery.
Btw on the last part "mother and father" are some sentences that Tuomas`s parents actually said to him after the firing of Tarja. If you want to check other songs of that era, I recommend Bye Bye Beautyful which is for Tarja and Master Passion Greed what is for Tarja`s husband/manager Marcelo who had a big role on why they fired her.
i hate what i have become is showing the grief he feels about firing a long time friend
Nightwish Army UK Popping in for this great reaction, i will not go in to the meaning as many below have explained better than i can but you said grief and this was Toumas's grief you hear at having to sack Tarja and the abuse he took for it.. The alter is his keyboards and he was waiting to give her the letter at the end of the show. At the end Floor says the beginning as it is a beginning of a new chapter.
The first part was a boy choir part...all the parts do have different point and atmosphere combined so well together. Tuomas avoided to kill himself by making this song...fortunately. I think Tuomas notices what kind of hate he was focused and targeted by the external world which blamed him for the leaving of Tarja (being the quilty one). Tarja was his childhood friend not only their singer...and also founding member of NW. And they sat under the pale moon together and happy. Yes...Tarja was also inspiration to Tuomas...he thought that he ends NW after 2005 occasions. Remember Anette did this so great in the album.
You pronounced TURUNEN perfectly! Greetings from Finland! 😊
Btw, could you analyse Unleash the Archers: Apex.
She didn't leave the band, she had threatened to leave saying she could do just as well or better without the band, refusing to rehearse, not traveling with the rest of the band etc. So the rest of the band including Toumas decided to fire her with an open letter to the fans and her after their last gig on the 2005 tour. The backlash from not only the fans but media and even the president of Finland was fierce and the most was directed against Toumas despite it being a joint band decision. He fell into a deep depression and contemplated suicide and this was his way of catharsis. Killing himself in a song and writing down all the emotions he went through.
As others have already said, this song is about Tuomas depression that he went through after he had given Tarja the letter to her that she was fired. He literally killed himself in this song. Here are some facts. First of all, they did 5 albums with Tarja as the lead vocalist, 2 with Anette and 2 with Floor. So they produced more albums with Tarja than with Anette and Floor together. The connection between Tuomas and Tarja was very deep in my opinion. So it definitely was a hard thing to do to fire her - and then get all the blame for it. Second one: Tarja and Floor are friends today. You can see this in a video chat Tarja and Floor did together - this video chat can be seen on Tarja‘s page on RUclips. So for me you cannot really tell what has been going on during the years and how it got to the split with Tarja - there are always two sides of the coin. What‘s important to me: to really appreciate the band completely, you have to listen to the records they made with Tarja and with Floor - and even with Anette, although Anette has not such a trained voice as Tarja or Floor. But every one of these singers brought their own creativity, their own uniqueness to the band. All three have a right to be seen as complete and equal members during the band’s history. This should be respected - those who don‘t do this are no real fans for me. Their are part time fans, that‘s all.
Correct 'Thanks dude ❤
I Will argue that Dark Passion Play might be NW's best album overall. And that's with Anette as the lead vocal. Altough Floor is the best suited vocal for NW, I think Anette doesn't get the respect she actually deserve. She had to go through the s***storm from die hard Tarja fans.
I think that Floor fits best to the music that Nightwish makes today. Floor can sing the songs of each of the eras of NW the way they were meant to be sung. But I agree with you, Anette didn‘t get the respect that she deserved. She‘s much better than many people think. Those who complain about her do so because she couldn‘t sing the songs of the first era the way Tarja did - to argue that way is stupid, she‘s not that kind of singer. But Anette has an extremely good voice. Just listen to her singing Slow Love Slow, she puts so much soul in it. Back to Floor and Tarja: I said that Floor fits best to the music that NW makes nowadays, but the songs of the first era of NW are usually sung best by Tarja. Tarja‘s operatic voice is deeper than Floor‘s - Floor‘s voice is much lighter. I like all three of them, Tarja, Anette and Floor. They are just differen‘t, which also reflects the evolution NW has gone through.
Well, seems explained below...I'll just toss some trivia... the soprano at the opening and the spoken word parts were performed by a young boy named Guy Elliott.
This song was only performed live a dozen or so times live. Tuomas has the vocal feed turned off to his in-ear monitors during this song, and you see both Emppu and Marko come stand near him, making sure he's OK during the performance.
The reference to having "the tide take me first" is an ever present theme for Tuomas...he has a special connection to the ocean, and almost became a marine biologist. Thank Poseidon that he took a hard turn to music!
28:15 well fought folks... not everyone can keep up
the North German Division of the Nightwish Army reports !! We are there. greetings to the rest of the Nightwish army and the sabaton family.
My radar went down but 🇬🇧 Norfolk is here to be with you on this journey
Terrific reaction. I liked how you paused after each section to give your thoughts. Nice job.
To imagine what they went through(but mostly Tuomas, as the fans vented their anger at him alone) - Tuomas, Yukka(original drummer) Emppu and Tarja all grew up in a small town in Finland with one school, they knew each other for many years growing before forming a band and inviting Tarja to sing for them, they didn't know what her vocal style was they asked her! So imagine growing up together with your wife then falling love, then working living and having fun together! The band felt betrayed by Tarjas' actions and attitude after she met her husband, Tuomas loved his friend and fell into a near suicidal depression after they were forced to fire her, she didn't just leave. Tuomas has said he committed suicide in the song, so he didn't have to in real life! The altar he is strapped to is the music industry..... They all hate it, but live the music! The I have 3minutes to live.... It is very xactly 3minutes from that point to the point where Tuomas hand slashes across his own throat! Genius!!!
For me, TPATP is the big one. My number 1, followed by Song of Myself and then 7 Days to the Wolves.
A journey through the stages of depression, The End of a band era and The Beginning of a new era.
It's very clear that Nightwish have not become less creative, if anything they are more creative. This song demonstrates that.
More rmotion: Dead Boy's Poem.
Thanks for giving this work the respect it deserves. Great analysis. 🙏🤩👌
Tarja threatened to leave, but Tuomas and the boys made the decision to dismiss her from the band. Probably the hardest decision of his life. Nightwish was his personal dream. Was he destroying his own dream?
The white lands of empathic is Tuomas' home in rural Finland. A place of safety and comfort. To understand the metaphors being used in this song you need to listen to "The Open Letter" which was written by Tuomas and handed to Tarja right after the finish of "The End of an Era" show. It will explaining what happened from the bands perspective.
Oh Christ how I hate what I have become", is referring to the lines "Whore for the cold world". After several years of composing emotional and powerful music< Tuomas felt Tarja had lost the passion for his music. This is a very important aspect of Nightwish music. A sing can not just sing the words. They must be felt and brought to life in a deep and personal way, such as Floor is able to do currently.
Tuomas felt he had gotten to the point where he was whoring himself to keep giving and giving just for the $$$$$$$$$. Music is a much more personal passion for him. The money is secondary. He claims that Tarja did not even show up to rehearsals. It seems she was not very involved in the writing and creation of this music.
See the link below and you will understand much more about this tragic episode in the band history and the pressures that led to the final decision. Tarja claims she was blindsided. You be the judge. It is in the past and Nightwish may never perform this song live again?
Also, remember this is inspire by the Edgar Allen Poe story "The Pit and the Pendulum". If you are familiar with this classic horror story you will understand the emotional mental journey which a human is put into a situation of impending death (The pendulum) the mind does go through stages of grief, angst, anger, and then peaceful acceptance of your impending death.
ruclips.net/video/rbkpMgqq8pU/видео.html - The Open Letter
Great commentary my friends. Floor was not part of Nightwish when this went sown. However, the original singer Annette, was also coming into this band replacing Tarja. Tuomas would have to sing this for the true emotional connection. You would not want to here that?
You guys are brilliant! Thankyou for paying much respect to this masterful composition and arrangement. I fetl that Floor expressed the band's feelings extremely well, and while she wasn't there back then, she is very close to Tuomas, Marko, Emppu & Jukka, and still feels for them. She is so respectful, and while she probably would not comment on any specific event, she would do her best to express their pain through this song, for them. Hopefully that makes some sense! :) Greetings from New Zealand :)
I just hope you did Tampere version of Greatest Show On Earth and not Wembley version that is on official channel 😁 When it comes to Tarja's departure it was deeply saddening but I completely understood bands position and their reasoning why they had to do it. Cause Tarja's fiance Marcelo became unbearable with his interference into bands business and he made her detached from the band, so I didn't feel any anger towards Tuomas, it was just sad she had to go. In the early 2000's when I first heard Nightwish that combo of metal, symphony and Tarja's operatic voice just blew me away. In tarja era I drove 1000km's 3 times to their concerts from Croatia, even managed to meet them, took photographs with them in their tour bus, including with Tarja, who was our original Nightwish goddess, we the fans loved her so much. So It was really painful finding out that this magic of Nightwish was broken. There were questions if band will even survive and who can even replace Tarja's unique voice. And when Tuomas hired Anette it was another blow and disappointment cause she absolutely couldn't perform songs from Tarja's era. Thankfully Tuomas realized his mistake and then brought Floor, which completely resurrected and saved Nightwish
Troy said in an interview that Nightwish has never been so balanced and Nightwish is no longer a band but a family. You could talk to anyone about anything.
I agree 80% with this comment, especially about the Tarja era. Having been a fan since the spring of 1999 when Oceanborn was released in my country, I can absolutely relate! Obviously given your travel history you are a true fan. As an old guy I was able to see them live over a dozen times in six countries over three continents. I have flown tens of thousands of kilometers to see them myself, so I am a true fan too.
I disagree with two things.
The first: the Tampere version of TGSOE. It may have better fireworks because it was outside, and the sound and video may be better, but Wembley has a live Richard Dawkins, who is the prime inspiration for the album. There are direct quotes from his books peppered through the album. I saw this live at Wembley, and I still remember the enormous roar after his final line "...endless forms most beautiful, have been, and are being ... evolved". This tragically ended up low in the mix. Also, Finnish tv was doing a special with Nightwish fans all over the world, plus a major part of a live concert in Mexico. A perk for the participants was getting flown to London for the Wembley show, and seeing at least one of these lucky persons in the front row tearing up on the DVD was touching.
The second thing I disagree with is Tuomas realising his mistake about Annette. During the 2012/2013 world tour, Annette became pregnant earlier than planned, which made it impossible for her to finish the tour. The band asked Floor to replace Annette for the last part of the tour. Annette was not pleased, and things came to a head when she was rushed to hospital before their Denver show with pregnancy complications. After consulting the audience, Nightwish decided to do the show with guest singers Elyze and Alyssa from the support act. Annette then melted down on social media, asking how a Rihanna concert could be held without Rihanna. This got her ass fired on the spot, and led to the famous text to Floor, "Can you come now", which lead to the DVD "Please learn the setlist in 48 hours".
@@franshinlopen2166 hello fellow army member :) Nice Nightwish portfolio! I wasn't that lucky, but beside mentioned concerts, I've been to two more closer concerts in Slovenia and here in Croatia, so 5 in total. But in 2004 I caught Jukka's drum stick so that must count for something as well, still have it here beside me :) Well, I won't debate Wembley vs Tampere version argument cause that is subjective, but for me Tampere is better and what is really important Floor sounds better in Tampere, she was in top form there. What I like in Wembley version, that Tampere misses, is the guitar part that Troy plays during the intro. When it comes to kicking Anette from the band, that sequence of events just shows you he didn't won't her anymore or she wouldn't be fired that easily. That was perfect excuse, something that was needed to justify it. After Tarja, Tuomas wanted to try something different but with time he realized Nightwish simply can't reach its full potential with a singer like that. Floor is what was needed to resurrect Nightwish and take it to new level. Although I'm huge fan of Tarja and Tarja era I'll easily admit Floor is a better option, not only because of her voice versatility but also because she is much much better as a front woman. She has connection with fans that Tarja could never establish.
@@AleksandarGospic 100% agree that Annette was not particularily popular within the band, especially after the Rihanna incident.
At times on the DVD, Floor did sound kind of tired at Wembley, which makes sense as it was the end of a grueling European tour. But the mix of the DVD is pretty poor as I previously mentioned, and she never sounded tired to me when I was at Wembley...
So glad you have precious memories of Nightwish!
The name comes from a short story by Edgar Allan Poe "The Pit and the Pendulum". The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner.
Thanks , this is THE SONG!!!
This song is one of the big three ("Ghost Love Score" given us by Tarja, "The Poet And The Pendulum" given us by Anette and "The Greatest Show On Earth" given us by Floor), and for Nightwish fans , this song is the most meaningful... I have seen plenty reactors fail to do this song justice, but you (first time reaction wise) did Okay, Solid B+ . This songs backstory is deep and dark , especially for Tuomas (suicide by song). So dig deep (both letters and some interviews) ! And yet, Floor took this song to a new astral level (originally sung by Anette). Also I recommend to read "The Pit and The Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe for extra flavor, if you are this kind of person ...
Now the hard part:
First of all - just go for the facts: Tarja had publicly announced that Nightwish couldn't fulfill her ambitions, and therefore would leave the band. She did this about 1 year before she got fired. She skipped rehearsals because she prepared herself for her own career instead .
She wanted more money for her partisanship, and she wanted to skip the US leg on tours because of the income from these were to poor compared to the other gigs. And she wanted to be on the new album - again because of the income from it - and then leave...
All this is stone cold facts - and came from Tarja herself.
No sense company or band in the world would be able to accept this behavior - but they did handle the matter immature - and was far to slow in their reaction. Furthermore Marko had ultimated that he would leave if Tarja continued... (sadly now it is true , Marko Left...for different reasons , but still...)
I don't believe situations like these would ever occur with Floor because of her mindset - she has been running her own bands and projects, and knows about responsibilities, corporations, priorities etc etc.
The real drama here is the fan backlash against Tuomas and his resulting depression. Even the prime minister of Finland got in on the act. It was headline news. He didn't know if he could continue.
NWSU 🤘😎🤘.
The last part of the song was said to Tuomas by his mother, very emotional 😢
All the events are in reverse. The end is played in the beginning and the song's end is what happened first. After all that transpired, Tuomas went to the white lands of Empathica -- back home in white Finland, I'm guessing. The end -- Mother and Father -- I think is him talking to his folks about letting Tarja go, and maybe ending the band. They tell him they'll love him, no matter what.
I don't think the song's events are in reverse. Starting with "The end..." means literally the end of an era, like the name of the concert. Last words "The beginning" means the beginning of the next steps of Tuomas and Nightwish.
@@nickwiederhold That sounds like it could be too. Maybe Gabriel knows.
Hello Beards.
The song "The Poet and the Pendulum" is a 13 Minute journey through the mind and turmoil of Tuomas Holopainen after the year 2005. It was in that year the band parted with their long-time singer Tarja Turunen and had a personal falling out with her. The pain of the separation was big on both sides, and shown in this song. There is guilt for what happened, there is the responsibility that the band and Holopainen had to show towards the fans,. It was the End of an Era for them, and reason for Holopainen being lost as described in these lyrics. We can only of course to a certain degree suppose how much of these are truly Holopainen's feelings, wishes and pains - but we do know that the lyrics of Nightwish have been up to then very personal. Other songs on the album also digest this separation and falling out of the members with Turunen.
However personal and "real" these thoughts are, I feel like this song definitely takes us not only on a journey with Holopainen but also into ourselves. The music underlines the emotional gravity of the song extremely well. And I believe a lot of people can actually relate to a sense of guilt and being overwhelmed that all they desired for is the safety of home and innocence. While being personal, the song can still ring true to it's listener. That's a quality Nighwish possesses in many, many more songs. The emotional journey is one we can all share and very few bands know how to put that journey into song and especially into sound as well as Nightwish does.
The band remains through all it's shores and Oceans, one of my main favourites and I hold special place for the band in my musical heart. I hope you have enjoyed reading my analysis and share some of my thoughts. If you do have any comments, please feel free to let me know. And remember the beauty of interpretation is that it is subjective; we can see all and feel different things in the same song and continue to love it endlessly.
Lyric analysis by Annika Hausen
Greetings from the Netherlands
Beautifully said. Greetings from New Zealand :)
Just a tip, there were subtitles/closed captions for this video that you could have enabled.
As you may have noticed, textually the story can be read the other way around. In reverse order. The song is intentionally constructed in the wrong direction. There is an end at the beginning and a beginning at the end.
Who else but Tuomas can write a song that says I only have three minutes and counting and then exactly three minutes later the blade falls ! 🇬🇧 Norfolk
Guys you missed the element the research was supposed to bring you. The song isn’t about Tarja leaving per se’, but what happened after he, & the other band members decided to fire her, after her changing due to marriage to a man that for all intensive person had become a phantom member, effecting everything they tried to do. There is an open letter written to her that explains all this, where they ended the relationship. They fired her. You didn’t get that from what toy read, just says she left. Apparently she (her husband) didn’t want to tour, wanted more money, told them she could leave anytime, etc. That is what the song Master Passion Greed is all about, her husband. Tarja wrote an open letter back. The fans & the media turned on the band in a serious way. We know Tuomas is the backbone of the band. The fans for years that sang his praises, the genius, etc., now we’re eating him alive, hence the song. The “shoulder “ are the other band members, he couldn’t turn to as they were in the same situation. It definitely isn’t about a broken hearted personal relationship, as too many try to make it. They were childhood friends, certainly a disappointing end. This song represents the metaphorical death of himself, to the crows. That is the reference to “I’m a whore for the Cold world”. Loving what he had the day before this with his band mates, vs the world when things go bad. Anyway, look for the letters, they are out there. It will be clearer.
Well done. Good sound besides…greetings
There is a Annette Olzon was in between for Dark Chest of Wonders and Imagenerium.
Can't wait to see your reaction to the greatest show on earth ( live in Tampere Finland is by far the best version) imho greatest is Nightwish's magnum opus. And also their longest song to date. Calling it a song doesn't really do it justice in the same way the poet and the pendulum and ghost love score aren't just song's. Can't wait for it and keep up with the great content beard's and greetings from England 🏴 UK 🇬🇧🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘👍
Asked to do some research was because the Army wanted you to know that Tuomas fell into deep depression after "firing" Tarja, fans turned against the band, and media pointing fingers to blame him for her being terminated.
After some time, Tuomas began entertaining thoughts of suicide because he thought he was going to lose the band.
"Christ, how I hate what I have become"
You see...
Tarja wasn't just the face of Nightwish to the fans, but her and Tuomas had been friends since childhood, even went to the same schools.
As much as Tuomas wanted the fans to hear his reasons for what he did, the fanbase didn't want to hear it.... they wanted Tarja. And the media? Well, the media always looking for someone to blame and will point fingers no matter what.
"I cannot cry coz' the shoulder cries more, I cannot die, I, a whole for the cold world"
After a talk with his mother, Tuomas decided that he would pick up his pieces, lift his head, keep the band, and kill himself in this song instead of real life.
A small note of appreciation to this extremely deep, and flawless performance goes to the fact that this was the very last time Nightwish would play this song live.
Well, I'm at 10:21...
Moving on. 👍
Fun fact: Floor & Tarja were friends for a few years already before the events in 2005 and also afterwards. Love your heartfelt reaction. Keep it up guys, cheers from Amsterdam
I still love Original singer so much almost as much as Floor Jansen, Simone Simons and Tarja on Same levelabove Amy Lee who I freaking love so much as well.
You guys still have Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean , Shutter before the Beautiful , 7 Days to the Wolves and the Acoustic Version of How’s The Heart and Many More
Hi guys, great reaction! This song to me is a real masterpiece (it's my favourite NW song) and as you also understood, it's definitely a metaphor of Tuomas (and Nightwish) transition from the era of Tarja to a new one. A process that starts with the end of a friendship, a tormented decision and action, its tragic consquences, the depression and the final decision to search for a "new shore" and start over again. The movements are scenes of the same story, but like in many movies, the story actually starts just before the final act.
To fully understand this song you need to know the circumstances that led to Tarja dismissal from the band and the way Tuomas and the guys decided to deal with it: they actually fired her at the end of "The end of an Era" concert by giving her a letter, which was published online for the fans to understand the motivation behind this decision. The backlash from the fans was super heavy, and the fanbase (and almost the entire Finnish nation, where NW were and still are national heroes) split on two fronts: those against Tuomas, and those against Tarja. This situation almost led Tuomas to end the band, and commit suicide. He was saved by the words of his parents that gave him courage to go on, to believe in the future again and to look for a new beginning.
The follwing text is my personal interpretation / explaination of this song, something I matured over the years, by researching, listening to interviews and by reading. Of course there are still plenty of details to uncover, but this is what I think I understood about this song and I'll try to explain it to you guys the best way I can, Please forgive my language mistakes: I'm from Switzerland and English is not my first language... so please bear with me! :)
1. White lands of empathica
To me this section is suspended in time, like in a limbo between life and death. This place represents a state of incertainity for the future and deep depression. A place that is visited by Tuomas at the and of the Dark passion play section, when everything seems lost. In the Dark Tower novel by Stephen King, the "white lands of empathica" are in fact a region located at the "End World" in a snowy tundra, where residents are known for their abilities to empathize and share other people's emotions.
This is the place that Tuomas is sent to after the pendulum kill him in section 3. This is a place where, as a resident, Tuomas empathize and suffer from the backlash of the fans, after the sacrilegious act, committed by him, of the dismissal of Tarja. During his stay in this parallel dimension, Tuomas feels the "blade descending" and he's suffering, unable to decide for his and his band future.
2. Home
Like in a movie this scene starts with a depressed Tuomas, alone in his room in full writer's block. He's stuck in the middle of a song, unable to finish it. He feels that he's still writing "the same old song", a music that was once inspired by his muse (Tarja) and that now cannot exist anymore. Tuomas is feeling abandoned, (widowed) by a friend that once shared the same dream and ambition, but not anymore. Their band only exist because of the "cold world" wanting them to go on as a band. (That's why he feels like a whore) In fact (as Tuomas revealed in the open letter to Tarja) in 2004 the band and the singer were already about to divorce: Tarja and Marcelo (her husband and manager) were not involved with the band anymore and the singer was planning a solo career for herself. However this crisis hit Nigtwish at the pinnacle of their career: their last album "Once" had been a gigantic success and everybody (producers, fans... the "Cold world" to use Tuomas words) were asking for more. Because of that, Tarja decided that she would have stayed for another, last album, before quitting for good. The band felt "trapped" in a really painful situation: the guys wanted to go on with NW but they thougth there was no future for the band without the signature vocalist and frontwoman. At a personal level, Tuomas felt betrayed by her friend (and possibly ghost love) and as he revealed in the open letter to Tarja he couldn't "simply write any new song for her to sing". In this situation Tuomas feels like the prisoner of "the pit and the pendulum" (a short story by Edgar Allan Poe about the torments endured by a prisoner of the spanish inquisition that was trapped into his cell and "strapped to an altar" facing the ceiling, with a razor sharp pendulum suspended over him swinging back and forth and slowly descending, like a sadistic guillotine, designed to kill him slowly with the passing of time).
In this section Tuomas is clearly suffering for the torture of waiting the "blade" to kill him. He wants to do something to shorten his agony (the chains of hell), but he's afraid of the consequences, so he looks to escape into his memories, in his dreamworld, under the surface of the calm ocean of his soul, his "dreamer's hideaway".
3. The pacific
Into the blue of his memories, Tuomas relieves the events that eventually lead to the formation of NW: a night to the shore, the water, the moonlight, the shared dreams of everybody, people that felt "chosen" to become a band and to realize their common dream. But that common dream is over, the pendulum is there, and Tuomas knows he must do something. So he decides to shorten the agony, and stop waiting for Tarja to quit. He decide to die on his own terms by firing Tarja now, knowing that this could result in the end of Nightwish. He then starts counting the remaining minutes before handing the letter.
4. Dark passion play
This is the section where Tuomas commits his suicide by firing Tarja. The scene opens with a tragic, rapid paced instrumental part that reminds me of a mad, desperate but resolute preparation for the final act. Before he dies, Tuomas imagines his fans lined up against him, full of hatred and resentment towards him, spitting on his grave. Tuomas feels like the thief to the right of Christ, the bad one, justly sentenced for being a sinner until the end. Three minutes later, When the blade finally kills him (Tuomas hand the letter to Tarja). The "dark passion" of Tuomas seems to be over: he's found "naked and dead" (dead but honest), "with a smile on his face" (satisfied for everything he did) "and 1000 pages of erased text" (songs he partially wrote but that will never see the light of day).
5. Mother and father
This final act, reveals that Tuomas after all is still alive. He's probably depressed, living in the limbo described in part 1 (White lands of empathica), suffering from the blade, the brutal reaction of the fans and he probably wants to end nightwish for good. The scene describes Tuomas'es parents comforting him after the "figurative" suicide. They say to him to raise, to stop suffering. To look for new inspirations, for new horizons to believe in himself. Their love soothes Tuomas wounds and convince him to try again, marking a "new beginning" for him and for Nightwish.
The documentary that shows some of the tension within the band during the final stages of the Tarja era, is "End of Innocence". Notice this has no relationship with Floor and the documentary everyone recommends about her journey joining the band, "Please Learn The Setlist in 48 Hours". That happened many years after the Tarja events.
Breathtaking 🔥
Been looking forward to this for a while ❤️
My Gents, all you had to do was click on the "CC" button to get the lyrics to scroll on the screen. Maybe next time 🤓
There is a site(I forgot the link) where you can read the letter that he had written to her and her response letter. You can also find a RUclips video of an interview he did about the song.
Also, Tuomas would have the vocals taken out of his ear pieces because of the emotion he would feel everytime he heard the song. It's also why you see other band mates check on him through out this song.
This song was him committing suicide without doing it in real life. Tarajia, Tuomas and Empu were the original founders of the band. It took a huge emotional toll on him. The 2 faces, 1 was the face the public seen and other was the face he only shown in private.
Last thing, the 3 minutes to live. At the end of the 3 minutes Tuomas does a slicing motion across his neck, him dying.
ruclips.net/video/Qbr8pUhuHHU/видео.html I highly recommend watching this for a full breakdown of the song
The CC button is the lyrics on the screen.
you really should check out some of Marko's stuff like his solo album or even with his own band Tarot he has a "supergroup" too with other band members they do covers. they're called The Northern Kings
Agree!
Tides by Tarot. Cannot recommend highly enough!
@@amygoodson-catlady YES!
Great reaction guys. Here is a little more insight into the lyrics and story.
The basic story is from the perspective of Nightwish’s keyboard player and song writer Tuomas. They had fired the original singer and it seemed that the band were finished or at least in a dead end musically.
The song is in 5 parts or acts. Think of this as a play as the title suggests.
The first act (White lands of empathica) is the end scene or imagined end scene. The first thing you hear are dark whispers at the funeral if you listen closely. Speculation and rumor abound as to the trail of events that lead up to the death of the main character. This is the set up to the story that follows. The first words sung are 'The end... which contrast cleverly to the last words in the song, 'The Beginning:
The second act (Home) goes back in time to how events unfolded. Tuomas has been drinking, Tarja is gone and with her all his hopes and dreams, all the future songs that will never be sung.
Then a period of melancholy where he reflects on how beautiful it all started out nine years previous. 'Adventure filled days. One with every smiling face.
Followed by anger, self loathing and despair of the current situation that he believes makes him little more than 'A whore for the cold world'
The third Act (The Pacific) is the aftermath of his rage and a personal low point where he sits alone in his pit of despair and contemplates a future that looks dark and grim. The line' Tuck me in beneath the blue, beneath the pain beneath the rain' suggests he is contemplating drowning himself. This is an interesting allusion as Tuomas often refers to himself as the 'Oceanborn' in other words tossed about by the various currents or emotions and never having the surety of feet planted firmly on solid ground. An ocean soul is another term used by Nightwish.
Beneath the blue is the darkness of death.
The line ‘Sparkle my scenery, with turquoise waterfalls.. is the view you would have of the waves and sunbeams above if you looked up as you sink to your death.
The Fourth act (Dark passion play) is the dark depression and angry thoughts that eventually lead to the (imagined) suicide of the main character.
The first lines are what he imagines people’s reaction will be, a robber who robbed them of Tarja , or stole the band from her.
It also suggests he thinks people will think so little of him that they will celebrate his death.
'The world will rejoice today as the crows feast on the rotting poet'
Even his friends will desert him at the end.
..his friends without shame spitting on his grave as they came'
The dilemma is that he is stuck between having no more tears and not being able to die and the old resentments and feelings return where he becomes once more 'A whore for the cold world' which was the initial self pitying thought in chapter two. The swishing blade and slower heart beats complete this act and he is dead.
The fifth chapter (Mother and father) is the (imagined) effect his suicide would have on those closest to him. The end of course is ambiguous. Floors sirens cries suggest a mourning mother for a lost son.
The very last words 'The beginning' suggest the opposite. Life will go on and the music will continue as will Nightwish.
To make this even more complicated The book by 19th century Horror/ Macabre writer Edgar Allan Poe 'The Pit and the Pendulum' is utilized in the title and background to illustrate a character caught in a dilemma from which there seems to be no escape. In the book the main character has been imprisoned and tortured in various psychological ways. One torture finds him waking up strapped to an altar with a massive razor sharp pendulum swing from the ceiling and slowly descending to slice him in half.
The whole thing is a pure theater of tragedy of course as obviously nobody actually died although Tuomas has hinted that he came close at one point.
These are just my thoughts on the subject and i am sure others will have more to say because there is a lot going on in this song.
The Poet and the Pendulum was written after firing Tarja the original singer. She was the face of Nightwish at the time, and Tuomas considered her a muse to many of the songs he had written at that point. They had also grown up in the same city and knew each other since early childhood. All the band members decided together to fire her for acting too much of a diva. According to all the band members, Tarja was missing lots of rehearsals and would not even travel with the band anymore. Tuomas was painted as the devil by many fans, and went through a deep dark depression. He even considered ending the band and committing suicide. He wrote The Poet and the Pendulum at that time, and actually kills himself in the song. He said he killed himself in the song, as to not do it in real life. To this day every time he plays it, it takes him back to those feelings, and shows on his face. In the last part, Mother and Father, words are sung to him that his real mother said to him at that time of his deep depression. One part that touches me at the end when the guitarist Emppu and bassist Marko, the only other two involved with firing Tarja (that were still active with the band)were standing with Tuomas at the end in solidarity and love. The Open Letter to Tarja is the letter the band gave to Tarja dismissing her signed off on by all band members. nightwish.fandom.com/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Tarja_Turunen
Read a bit of the current comments, didn't see this... The White Lands of Empathica is a reference to Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" books, as well as the song "7 days to the Wolves". Floor, being highly empathic herself, makes this live version of this song so much better than the Marco only demo and Annette studio versions. She really brings out the emotions!
*Edit* This was one of 3 songs relating to the departure of Tarja... "Bye Bye Beautiful" was an official music vid that both introduced Annette to the fans, while also exploring some of the angst Tuomas felt replacing the gorgeous Tarja with another hot looking lead female vocalist! That video replaced ALL band members with hot women!
Then the third song, never to be performed live, and without doubt... THE ANGRIEST! Possibly heaviest Nightwish song to date... "Master Passion Greed"! HOLY CARP Batman! Marco goes OFF! No cussing in Nightwish songs, aside from this one! F-Bomb dropped!
the nightwish holy trinity, ghost love score live at wacken, the poet and the pendulem live at wembly, the greatest show on earth live in tampere finland all soldiers must complete it our valkyrie queen commands us, oh christ what have i become is tuomas feelings about himself after having to fire his lifetime friend who he deeply loved, he knew it would hurt her, hence his deep dark paronoid depressed feelings expressed in part 4
I don 't agree with how the two of you discribe Floor's contribution to this song , it does not mean that I do not respect it , but for me it's just the other way around !
One of the things I like the most and get emotional about when I see and hear TPATP is just how Floor delivers it like only Floor can ( in my opinion it is ) .
Imagine , singing about a well know'n and beloved former lady of the band , she was not around the time this all happened , so sort of looking as an outsider looking in , yet she manages to make me cry while doing this , I for one feel lots of emotions coming from Floor , she has a wonderful gift and that's touching people emotionatly right through the hart , especialy in this particular so personal song I deeply admire her for it ❤ .
Mr. Red (I don't know your names, sorry), I felt your reaction was the closer one to mine. There is a definite impact and I can't shake the feeling of being perturbed after the song ends. In the end (or, as the narration states, the beginning) Floor's four descending notes sung in different ways always get me.
I didn't see it below, but being late to the party I'll add my take on the line you requested. Tuomas and Tarja were very close friends, but over time, likely due to the management of her husband, a distance grew between them. Tuomas, being the founder and leader of the band was put in a position that he had to fire somebody that he loved dearly. If you research the letters, you will see that this didn't come with pain, and Tarja had become a beloved figure, especially in their homeland. To this day, a lot of people are still butt sore over her replacement. The firing taking place in the public arena didn't make it any better for him, as her fans went into attack mode, and between the clapback from the public and the presumed self-guilt of firing a once close friend was traumatic. He seems to be in such a wonderful place thee days, both with Nightwish and his incredible Auri project with his wife Johanna and Troy. I can only say I celebrate his every joy, his every smile and laugh, because of the way he has touched my life. Emppu, Marko, Jukka and Tuomas had no choice in firing her, she felt she had become more important than the band, and was going to leave anyway. Fans just don't understand the underlying currents that take place in bands. Tuomas is a sensitive soul, how else could he compose music that touches your emotions so completely. The fans turning on him was devastating, I'm sure, and he likely felt the band was doomed. Annette helped save it, and Floor elevated it to the unbelievable heights we all enjoy today. We should celebrate all three singers, along with every other member of that family we so very much appreciate! So happy that Jukka is still with the organization in an administrative role. He is family, after all.
It appears that Nightwish & Tuomas performed 3 songs that dealt with the Tarja departure:
1) Poet & the Pendulum (The 5 stages of depression)
2) Bye Bye Beautiful
3) Master Passion Greed. This track is by far the heaviest song in their back catalog. Never performed live to our knowledge. And the band lets out all of their anger and frustration with the situation. Especially Marco.MPG is a must listen, IMO.
🤩👍💥💯
🤘😎 🇫🇮 💙
"The end......... The beginning"
yes, I think you got it right when you said how they like each other and what they're doing. You'll notice that as you continue, you'll see how they interact with each other and their audience. I think the crux of the powerful emotions also comes from their desire and love of the music if you look at it. Emppu, Jukka, Tuomas, and Tarja were a band in 96 and didn't really hit fame until I think 04 with either Nemo or Amarath I think, so here they are finally on top if the world doing what they love, and bam, the bottom drops out and not knowing if you go on, it's over or what. Yeah, I can see emotions, probably Tuomas had all kinds of songs and plans now gone (1000 pages of erased pages) not to mention the hate and vitriol from the fans that blamed him (in hell where he belongs, spitting on his grave), and yes going home to regroup with his parent's love.
Start on the Diana andukinova rabbit hole.. “wicked games” and “I cant help falling in love with you”
He was having slef doubt about firing Tarja was this may be a huge mistake, she did not leave willlingly it was that also he did not know if she would talk to him again they have been best friends for years and founded Nightwish together all the early song they were both composing.
Hello Guys,
If you want to hear other performances from Floor Jansen :
After Forever : Instrinsic
Ayreon : Valley of the Queens
Epica / Floor : Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Enjoy ;) & have a great day !
Make you feel our pain it was rough for the fans as well we were worried that they would stop but they found a good singer that had more mass-market appeal so win. Used to be just a band for the super goth all early concerts never saw normal people always just goths. Some are elitist and stopped liking them for getting mainstream same as Evanescence f those guys if you actually cared about equal rights for all and anti-bullying you would be happy our message is getting the mass's attention how else are they supposed to know what we are doing.
You would have to read the open letters (the band to Tarja, and her open letter back to the band) to REALLY get the full understanding of this song.
he hates what he has become because he has to fire a childhood friend. (and possible lover at one time? I think so.) One last perfect verse was her last show at Hartwell arena in their home country Finland. The whole band knew she would be fired at the end of the concert, but she did not know. This show included, in my opinion Marco's performance of a lifetime, Phantom of the Opera. They have not performed it since and most probably never will.
Tarja dont leave the Band, she fired. Read the Open Letter(fromthe Band). And this is over the time after this. And all the hate becomes Tuomas. One example. Tuomas inviting to the finish Prime Minister, but after the open Letter, he cancelled it (What a Troll).
As many comments stated, it's not about Tarja at all actually. It's how Tuomas felt about the situation and the backlash. Tarja was fired. The band, and especially Tuomas was haited after what happened. He was blamed for pretty much destroying the best band in the country. He felt super depressed after.
Well at least you made the video larger , didn't need a magnifying glass to see it , still could be larger , I don't know if you guys did any research on the song or not , but you should .
Take this song and put in reverse. The ending is the beginning.
Where's y'all's headphones?
hi guys the sound you used to have was better in the comments and music the time with the headphones you are doing great 🍒🤗
Great reaction. Anyway, can i request your reaction to superb band from japan?
The band is call "Lovebites"
They all The Beautiful Queens heavy metal band right now in the earth. They are really really World class musicians. Phenomenal.
And they have a lot diehard fans like me😁. The fans called Wolfpack.
The song is "Set the world on fire"
Hope you check out, and can enjoy it too. Big thanks🙏
Master Passion Greed is a very angry song. Marco really sounds mad. The letter Tarja got and her response to.the letter is out there. The only member that Tarja has physically is Marko they sang Ave Maria together. I Love Tarja now and she's a Beautiful Person 😍. Tuomas and Tarja went to high school together ❤️. Even the Prime Minister of Finland put his 2 cents in. You have to read both letters now. Master Passion Greed is more or less about Tarja's husband.
There is one with lyrics, which would have helped a little more....
🎶🎶👍🇳🇱🤟🎶🎶
If you want a good breakdown of the lyrics watch Amanda' Websters' video here---->ruclips.net/video/iu5ASKudIpE/видео.html It was her first ever time reacting to any Nightwish song, but she basically hit the nail on the head for every nuance of the song, which is quite impressive really. she understood it completely. (watch in private guys, she is a small reaction channel just like you)
It sounds like you're approaching this as if Tarja left Nightwish, whereas the fact is that they fired her and received loads of backlash from the fans. There was an 'open letter' to the public explaining their reasons, and then a counter letter by Tarja basically claiming it's all false. This changes THE WHOLE approach to the listen/review.
You oughta of read the letters but this is a song written so he basically comments suicide in song after their first singer Tarja left in 2005 with Anette joining in 2007 n Floor joining late 2013 from what I have heard this might have been the last time it was performed and you can see band members occasionally check on Tuomas
bye bye beautiful was a song off the same album that is about Tarja in a different way that Floor doesn't do but you should check out the official video my bearded brothers it them making fun of the critics of the band saying they got Anette for the sex appeal.
The Documentary everyone is telling you to do is Learn this set list in 48 hours has nothing to do with this its about finding Floor to eventually replace Anette their second singer.
😊🇫🇮❤️🎶🎹🎸🥁✨🤘
I do not like this setup. The screen is too small on top middle, I prefer the old setup where you guys angled in. Also, I hate the red border. I find red to be really distracting and uncomfortable to watch.
They had decided to sack Tarja as she was behaving like a selfish diva due to the influence of her husband. Tuomas received so much hate that he became suicidal and this was his catharsis. He dies in the song instead. Next singer was Annette who didn't have an operatic voice and couldn't sing Tarja's songs well. There were two albums written during her tenure and quite honestly Floor sings every one better plus can sing Tarja's song too. She is the perfect fit for Nightwish.
Sorry (again), but in my opinion this was just a half-baked & undercooked reaction. Without really knowing the backstory, you got some things wrong, like the way Tarja left as many have already explained to you. You didn't enable the subtitles (or choose a version with them) and then complained about not fully hearing/understanding the song's texts. This song deserves better.
Techically: Your outro music is a bit loud compared to your own voices, I had to adjust the volume here. The red screen border is not a thing of beauty, I think you should/can improve on that. Also, your YT video goes upto 4K screen resolution, but it is nowhere near that type of video quality. Either it's because of a crappy video camera (the couch behind is displayed sharper than yourselves), or your video software is rendering things in lower settings. If this video showed up in RUclips as 720p at best, I would have believed it. So perhaps have another look into that? Personally I think using 4K is kinda useless anyway for YT reactors doing music videos. Things like outdoor sports or scenery will really benefit from 4K, people doing music video reactions not so much. A good quality 1080p picture is better than a crappy 4K picture. Others may not care for it, but it's just something I notice.
The poet and the pendulum has to do with Tarja and the episode of her resignation. According to Tuomas, "The poet and the pendulum" was the way he found to deal with the depression after Tarja's departure. The band, and especially Tuomas, received a lot of hatred from all over the world. They lost a lot of fans. I'm going to summarize the story for you to understand why people's reaction was so negative. Tarja's resignation was a very dramatic episode. The relationship between her and the band had been bad for some time, so at the end of 2004 Tarja decided to tell the band that she would leave. The idea was to record one last album and go on a farewell tour. She wanted to announce her decision to the public and prepare fans for the vocalist change, however, Tuomas convinced her not to do so at the time. It turns out that, after that meeting, the band planned a public firing on the sly. The group wrote a letter of resignation full of attacks to Tarja and her husband. They delivered this letter to Tarja at the end of the "End of an era" show and posted it on the band's website the next day. It was a scandal. In response, Tarja wrote a letter but did not attack the band. She also held a press conference to respond better to the group's accusations. Her husband also spoke. He answered more than 150 questions from fans around the world and posted the answers on the internet. Given the reports that were brought and other available records, including videos and documentaries, a large part of the fan base revolted against the band. Faced with criticism from different sides, Tuomas fell into a depression and wrote "The poet and the pendulum" as a way of dealing with the situation. Some say that Tuomas suffered from unrequited love for Tarja. This feeling would have been the fuel for the composition of some songs.The question of Tuomas' love for Tarja is actually an old theory of fans. This theory was built even before Tarja's dismissal, and is based on old interviews (see this one, for example: ruclips.net/video/gt0haAiGbHo/видео.html) and on the lyrics that Tuomas used to write. The idea of the existence of unrequited love was strengthened when Marcelo himself (Tarja's husband) spoke about the subject in the responses he gave to fans. The depression itself and the song "The poet and the pendulum" can, in theory, be read as a reflection of this love drama. Regardless of whether this theory about Tuomas is true or not, the fact is that bringing internal issues to the public was the worst choice. A lot of the band's past has been brought up and no one has come out unscathed. Because of the scandal, Tarja lost some fans and contracts for her solo career. On the other hand, the band also lost fans and had little-known events brought to a wider audience. For example, Tarja suffered an attempted sexual abuse in the middle of a concert in Guadalajara in 2000. At the time, the band continued playing as if nothing had happened, even after Tarja left the stage along with the criminal and the security guards. There are videos of the episode here on RUclips. Later, after Tarja left, the band itself mentioned the event in its official biography. The way the band decided to fire Tarja and the facts of the past that were brought to public knowledge infuriated many fans. To get a sense of how big the fan base was in the past, look at the number of views of the first videos with Anette ("Bye, bye, beautiful" and "Amaranth"). These numbers are representative of the fan base situation at the end of Tarja's period and beginning of Anette. The first album with Anette was the band's first album ever released with RUclips ever running. We were all curious to know who the new singer was and what she sounded like. Unfortunately Anette didn't please a large part of the original fan base, which also contributed to the band losing more fans. Anette and Floor helped to attract a different audience and reconfigure the fan base. Some old fans have returned with the entry of Floor. She is nothing new to us. For example, I've known her since her first band, After Forever. Here are some sources:
Resignation letter written by the band: nightwish.fandom.com/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Tarja_Turunen
Tarja's press conference after the dismissal, in full:
ruclips.net/video/ATDFinGZ8D8/видео.html
Marcelo's detailed response to questions sended by Nightwish fans at the dismissal
epoque: www.tuomasholopainen.fora.pl/wywiady-artykuly,29/odpowiedzi-marcelo-na-pytania-fanow-czerwiec-2006,455.html
Letter written by Tarja: nightwish.fandom.com/wiki/Open_Letter_from_Tarja_Turunen
A snippet from the book "Once Upon a Nightwish" detailing the abuse incident -
fromwishestoeternity.tumblr.com/post/111177476493/alfaangel-i-just-put-together-some-facts-about/amp
The video of the abuse incident: ruclips.net/video/3bj4h1807kY/видео.html
lyrics next time brow plss
They fired Tarja. Very publicly and ugly. They published the letter they gave to Tarja right after the End Of An Era concert in Helsinki in 2005. The Phantom of The Opera and High Hopes is from that show. To top it all off, Tarja was sick doing the show. They were literally on top of their game in that show. Tuomas usually had Floor's vocals cut from his headset during this song as he couldn't handle her emotional delivery. Tarja was the og singer of Nightwish and a friend of Tuomas back from their school days. The entire world turned on Tuomas and he had nowhere to run to, no safe haven... Everyone hurt so hard by the public backlash that he couldn't rely on his band mates either. Tarja was Tuomas' muse and love and he had to fire her... He just couldn't hold it together.
And boys, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't do the research. Lyrics is just not enough to give this song the context it needs and deserves. This was a suicide note by Tuomas of him leaving this world behind him... This was his way of killing himself without having to go through with it physically. This was an ugly affair from start to finish and she didn't just decide to leave the band.
Nightwish didn't start out to be a symphonic metal band... It just sort of happened with Tarja having the power and vocal capability to do it. They started out as a side project by Tuomas and Emppu to do some camp fire songs that you could play around the fire... Tuomas would have made that work too, he isn't called the Metal Mozart for nothing... Much like he made it work with Annette prior to Floor joining up. Annette is a soprano, like Tarja and Floor, but she doesn't have the power to sing through the band like the others have so Tuomas had to work around that fact with her fronting the band. The songs recorded with Annette are magnificent, but there is a reason why there are no good Annette live videos of her singing old Nightwish songs from the Tarja era.
Great reaction, guys.
For me, this is super-emotional song. As NW fan since -97-98(ish) and Finnish, I lived through whole thing. As much I loved NW with Tarja, I understood why she was fired. But I was shocked about that massive backflash towards Tuomas. In my mind, he didn't deserve all that sh*t. Of course they could do that (firing) differently, but outcome would be the same in the end.
When they hired Anette, I kind of fall out... Her vocals are great, but too poppy for my taste.
So happy that Floor could step in when Anette had to go.
For me there is a lot of emotions from Floor in this song, like channeling from Tuomas... you know?
Anyhow
Still love Tarja and following her solo carrier, I even like Anettes "new" project with Jani Liimatainen (Sonata Arctica),
I even will see them in Tuska Open Air this summer (with a bunch of amazing other bands)
🤘😁🤘
(Tuska -> www.festicket.com/festivals/tuska-open-air/ )