SINERGY Singer, Former Bassist Issue Separate Statements Regarding Split

SINERGY frontwoman Kimberly Goss and former bassist Marco Hietala (currently in NIGHTWISH) have both issued follow-up statements yesterday regarding the announcement made by Goss two days ago that Hietala was fired from the group amid speculation and accusations about NIGHTWISH's future. Here are their statements in their entirety:

Kimberly Goss:
"There has been a lot of confusion dealing with the news about Marco being fired. The main question is, 'Why would SINERGY release news about NIGHTWISH before THEY got a chance to do it on THEIR web site?' We in SINERGY had a long meeting about this. We ALL agreed that it is NOT our place to reveal NIGHTWISH news on OUR site. HOWEVER, we didn't want to lie about the reasons concerning us firing Marco, so unfortunately, it had to be done. We would never do such a thing had it not had a direct influence on our decision to let Marco go. We DID tell both [NIGHTWISH mainman] Tuomas and Marco that this news would be written, so they both knew about it ahead of time. In a sugar-coated world, the news would've read, 'Marco is the greatest man alive, but we had to let him go due to artistic differences.' Well, if the fans prefer to be lied to, then maybe we'll take that into consideration in the future.

"I (Kimberly) spoke to Tuomas 10 minutes ago and he agreed that nothing I said here was a lie and that NIGHTWISH will soon release a statement on their own web site. We ended that conversation with, 'Best of luck to you.' I also spoke to Marco today and he is already making bass tabs for our future bassist to learn our songs. So when I say there are no hard feelings, I mean it."

Marco Hietala:
"First of all, I'd like to say that the whole public debate shames us all, but some things do need to be straightened out. I'm a father of 7-month-old twin boys these days, and the amount of work and attention they need is tremendous. This is why I approached the SINERGY guys in Jan/Feb and asked to be replaced for the upcoming tours in USA and Japan (USA already cancelled). At first, things were OK, but when it was found out I'd be doing 2 NIGHTWISH gigs during the same time, it became a face-saving issue and I became a 'greedy moneygrubber'.

"When I was offered a place in NIGHTWISH, I thought about it hard and long and the main things that did it for me were these facts: I've always been a lead singer as well as a bassist and I would be singing co-leads in at least 4 songs on the new album, which by the way kicks ass. I would be co-writing and arranging the band's music as a full member. And all the music and playing with the people I choose to do it with, is 100% from the heart. The actual touring would be short because of [NIGHTWISH frontwoman] Tarja's school and the break the band's gonna have. Only 3 months and a lot of time off in between. And yes, I see nothing wrong in earning money with my hands and my throat. I've been working them all to blisters for a long time. The 3 months of touring with NIGHTWISH would not (in my opinion) damage too much SINERGY's year, which by the way was assumed, not promised by me. I promised my fatherhood would not affect things, I was wrong in that, I readily admit. However, because of the conflicting situation between NIGHTWISH & SINERGY gigs, I've been pressured the whole spring to change my mind about things I decided in Jan/Feb. Finally I was told to make the SINERGY tour or quit NIGHTWISH in fall if the band itself doesn't quit. To me, this was the culmination of a lot of hard times I've gone through with SINERGY. It's never been the easiest of groups to begin with. I love the guys and they're great musicians and persons but I won't apologize for not taking orders now or never. To me, this is the equivalent of waking up in cold sweat, shivering, coming around and finding out: I'M FREE!"