In May 2007, Nightwish announced Anette Olzon as Turunen's replacement. That September, the band released their sixth album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold almost 2 million copies. The album's lead single, "Amaranth", became one of Nightwish's most successful in Europe. The supporting tour, one of the band's largest, started on October 6, 2007, and ended on September 19, 2009. The band released an EP/live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), in March 2009 as a CD/DVD, and their seventh studio album, Imaginaerum, was released globally on various days in late 2011/early 2012.
On October 1, 2012, Nightwish announced that they had parted ways with Olzon and would be finishing the tour with at that time ReVamp vocalist (ex-After Forever) Floor Jansen. In October 2013, Nightwish made Jansen and longtime session uilleann pipes player Troy Donockley permanent members of the band, and they were featured in the acclaimed album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, released on March 27, 2015. From 2014 to 2019, Nevalainen, while still a member of the band, was inactive due to severe insomnia issues; in July 2019, he announced that he would not be returning to the band, with Kai Hahto, who had acted as his replacement since 2014 (including by performing all drums on Endless Forms Most Beautiful), being promoted as the official drummer, and is featured as such at the ninth album, Human. :II: Nature., which was released internationally on April 10, 2020. After twenty years of performing with the band, it was announced that bassist Marko Hietala had parted ways with the band in January 2021. Jukka Koskinen was announced as Hietala's replacement to play bass during the tour. In August 2022, he was announced as a permanent member of the band.
Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and musical entity in Finland with certified sales of nearly 900,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band worldwide, selling more than 10 million records and receiving more than 60 gold and platinum awards, having released six Number 1 albums and thirteen Number 1 singles. On October 26, 2018, Nightwish was inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame, becoming the honorary gallery's 11th member.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightwish
Studio albums
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Dark Passion Play (2007)
Imaginaerum (2011)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Human. :II: Nature. (2020)
Tutankhamen
Nightwish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To greet me with its rays
I place my hand on my forehead
To see your chariots' flames
Watch me kneel before you
Hear the cats meowing in the temple
They yearn the milk you cascaded
[Chorus]
Treasure of
Tutankhamen
I am the one it is
Take me with you
Through the stargate
To the valley of the kings
Sacrifice me
Tutankhamen
And let me be your queen
Take me
Tonight and always
We'll breed to fill all earth
Three milleniums it took me to guard your rest
Your slumber in mighty Phoenix's nest
But tonight the darkness in the tomb has perished
For Carter has come to free my beloved
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Nightwish's song "Tutankhamen" are rich with Egyptian imagery and themes of service and sacrifice. The singer in the song is addressing the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, who is believed to have reigned during the 14th century BCE. The singer imagines himself as a servant or worshipper of Tutankhamen, and he kneels before the pharaoh's image in the temple, listening to the sounds of cats meowing reverently. The singer yearns for Tutankhamen's promised treasure, which is the focus of the chorus.
The second verse of the song references the legend of Tutankhamen's curse. The singer imagines himself as a guardian of the pharaoh's tomb, watching over his eternal rest for three millennia. However, this darkness is disrupted when the archaeologist Howard Carter arrives to free Tutankhamen's spirit. In the context of the song, this moment represents a liberation for both Tutankhamen and the singer who serves him.
Overall, "Tutankhamen" is a song about devotion and loyalty, but also about the fleeting nature of glory and power. The pharaoh himself is long gone, but his legacy lives on in the minds of those who continue to worship him.
Line by Line Meaning
As the sun sets beyond the pyramids
The singer watches as the sun sets behind the pyramids
To greet me with its rays
The singer feels the sun's rays on his face
I place my hand on my forehead
The singer puts his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun
To see your chariots' flames
The artist watches for the flames of Tutankhamen's chariots
Watch me kneel before you
The artist kneels before Tutankhamen
Hear the cats meowing in the temple
The singer hears the cats meowing in the temple of Tutankhamen
They yearn the milk you cascaded
The cats desire the milk that Tutankhamen has poured for them
As I yearn that promised treasure
The artist longs for the treasure Tutankhamen has promised him
Treasure of
The treasure of Tutankhamen is being referenced
Tutankhamen
The pharaoh Tutankhamen is being referenced
I am the one it is
The singer believes that he is the one meant to receive the treasure of Tutankhamen
Take me with you
The artist wants to go with Tutankhamen to wherever the treasure is hidden
Through the stargate
The singer references the ancient Egyptian belief in traveling to the afterlife through the stars
To the valley of the kings
The singer wants to go to the valley where the tombs of the pharaohs are located
Sacrifice me
The singer is willing to be sacrificed to Tutankhamen
Tutankhamen
The pharaoh Tutankhamen is being referenced again
And let me be your queen
The artist wants to be Tutankhamen's queen
Take me
The singer wants to be taken by Tutankhamen
Tonight and always
The singer wants to be with Tutankhamen forever
We'll breed to fill all earth
The artist wants to have a lot of children with Tutankhamen to populate the world
Three millenniums it took me to guard your rest
The artist has been guarding Tutankhamen's tomb for over 3000 years
Your slumber in mighty Phoenix's nest
Tutankhamen has been sleeping like a phoenix in his tomb
But tonight the darkness in the tomb has perished
The darkness in Tutankhamen's tomb has been lifted
For Carter has come to free my beloved
Howard Carter has come to free Tutankhamen from his tomb
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TUOMAS LAURI JOHANNES HOLOPAINEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind