NIGHTWISH Announces North American Tour

Finnish / Dutch / British symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH will embark on a 27-date North American headlining tour in the spring. The trek will launch in New York City on April 9, hit three Canadian cities plus Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, then close out in Silver Springs, Maryland on May 14. Support at all dates will come from Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN.

Commented NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala: "Our work on the new album has been going with serious productive speed and comfortable ease at the same time. It's going to be great to get it out to you and play these pieces live. And with this announcement, it will obviously happen quite soon!

"Here are the dates for the North American shows. Come on over and we'll raise hell and kick some arses together!"

NIGHTWISH 2015 tour dates with DELAIN:

Apr. 09 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
Apr. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
Apr. 11 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Apr. 13 - Quebec City, QC - Capitole Theatre
Apr. 14 - Toronto - Phoenix Concert Theatre
Apr. 16 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
Apr. 17 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
Apr. 18 - Chicago, IL - Concorde Music Hall
Apr. 19 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
Apr. 21 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Apr. 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
Apr. 24 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
Apr. 25 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre
Apr. 26 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
Apr. 28 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
Apr. 30 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
May 01 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek theatre
May 02 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
May 03 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
May 05 - Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory
May 06 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
May 08 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues
May 09 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
May 11 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Work
May 12 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five
May 13 - Charlotte, NC - Filmore
May 14 - Silver Springs, MD - Filmore

Longtime NIGHTWISH drummer Jukka Nevalainen is sitting out the recording sessions for the group's new CD due to health issues; Kai Hahto (WINTERSUN, SWALLOW THE SUN, TREES OF ETERNITY) has replaced him.

NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main composer Tuomas Holopainen recently spent two and half weeks in Hattula, Finland with the band's producer/crew member Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen recording a demo of the songs that will appear on NIGHTWISH's next studio album, the first to feature Dutch singer Floor Jansen.

Asked in a recent interview with Sweden's Metalshrine what Floor Jansen will bring to the next NIGHTWISH album, Tuomas said: "She [will] bring a lot of interpretations, some arrangements and positive energy for sure, but she [will] not [be] included in the songwriting process. She told me that the first time around, she has [her side project] REVAMP and Marco [Hietala, bass/vocals] and I will do just fine for now."

Speaking to Germany's EMP Rock Invasion at the end of last year, Floor stated about the songwriting process for the next NIGHTWISH album: "I think it's more like it's always been. So Tuomas is gonna start writing. And how it's gonna evolve later on, we'll see. But I don't feel the necessity of me being an active songwriting member, because the music is so good. It's about the songs and the music that goes first and not about my ego wanting to join like that. But if I can participate or add something with my creative input, of course I would love that. Of course, I have creative energy in me that needs to come out one way or another, but that's where REVAMP comes in."

Regarding whether she has any fears that, due to the band's troubled history with lead vocalists, her time with NIGHTWISH will not last very long, Floor told Finland's Radio Rock: "No. And whether this is in NIGHTWISH or in anything with anyone in everyone's lives, what guarantees do you have? So it's just about what you make of it and with the chemistry that you believe in. And I believe in the chemistry that we have today, 'cause it's been very strong since the beginning and grew to be better throughout the months. It's still a very recent thing. But what feels good now, that's where you should go from, and that's what I do."

Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.