NIGHTWISH's MARCO HIETALA Calls Singer FLOOR JANSEN 'A Powerhouse'

Alan Dixon of The Metal Voice conducted an interview with NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala at this year's Heavy Montreal festival, which is being held August 6-7 at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether some nights on tour are more challenging than others for NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen:

Marco: "I don't really know. I think she's a powerhouse. But, of course, some nights are more challenging, because, well, when you're touring, of course, you cannot be at your best every day; you might be lacking sleep, you might be a bit sick. For instance, what happened last time we were [touring North America] around February, that's not a good time to do touring in the northern states and Canada that much, because you get the flu season and all that and then you get three busloads of people who meet each other every day, and when they're drunk enough, they start kissing and cuddling each other, so everybody is catching it."

On what Floor Jansen brings to the band on the stage and in the recording studio:

Marco: "She brings a definite presence and charisma of totally her own. That is at least on the stage, and, of course, at the studios, at rehearsals, she's also very into knowing what's in the songs, knowing her lines, adjusting them to herself and all that. So she was probably already, when we started to do the album, she was way more into the rehearsals and all that, so then that you can hear also in the studio."

On NIGHTWISH's upcoming concert DVD, "Vehicle Of Spirit":

Marco: "[We are] still in the process [of putting it together]. We've doing editing and mixing and editing for quite a while; it's a big load of stuff to go through."

NIGHTWISH recently announced that it will take a year-long break in 2017 following the completion of the touring activities for the group's latest album, 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful".

An unofficial 20th-anniversary show will be held on August 20 at Himos Park in Jämsä, Finland.

NIGHTWISH will release "Vehicle Of Spirit" on November 4. The DVD will feature the band's performance from London's Wembley Arena in the U.K., along with their show at Tampere, Finland's Ratina Stadion.