Ex-NIGHTWISH Bassist/Vocalist MARKO HIETALA Announ…

Former NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala has unveiled details of his new solo album, “Roses From The Deep”, due on February 7, 2025 via Nuclear Blast. This marks Hietala‘s first major project since his critically acclaimed “Pyre Of The Black Heart” captivated fans worldwide in 2020.

“Roses From The Deep” promises to deliver a unique blend of dark, introspective lyricism and soaring, cinematic soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from myth, nature, and the human experience, Hietala has crafted an album that transcends genres, with elements of progressive rock, folk, and symphonic metal seamlessly intertwined.

“Roses From The Deep” represents a journey into the hidden layers of our emotions and the beauty we often overlook in darker times. It’s an album about fragility, resilience, and finding light even in the depths of shadow.

The album’s latest single, “Impatient Zero”, arrives with a visually stunning music video. Featuring a stomping, groovy beat and a grand, anthemic chorus, the track is set to captivate listeners and perfectly set the tone for the rest of “Roses From The Deep”.

“Impatient Zero” follows the huge success of the album’s first two singles. “Left On Mars”, a haunting duet with ex-NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, quickly became a fan favorite, showcasing the vocal chemistry between the two icons. The second single, “Frankenstein’s Wife”, with its dark storytelling and intricate composition, further heightened anticipation for Hietala‘s upcoming release.

Hietala comments on “Impatient Zero”: “It’s about a battle for being under a continuous assault of inner monsters. And the awful truth, that in this reality, people get to see those monsters, too, instead of the real face.”

Track listing:

01. Frankenstein’s Wife
02. Left On Mars
03. Proud Whore
04. Two Soldiers
05. The Dragon Must Die
06. The Devil You Know
07. Rebel Of The North
08. Impatient Zero
09. Tammikuu
10. Roses From The Deep

To mark the album release, Hietala will embark on a tour across Finland.

Feb. 07 – FI Lahti – Finlandia Klubi
Feb. 08 – FI Kuopio – Sawohouse Underground
Feb. 12 – FI Helsinki – Tavastia
Feb. 13 – FI Savonlinna – House Of Olaf
Feb. 14 – FI Tampere – Olympia-kortteli
Feb. 15 – FI Turku – Logomo

Lineup:

Marko Hietala – Bass, Vocals
Tuomas Wäinölä – Guitar
Vili Ollila / Bob Engstrand – Keyboards
Anssi Nykänen – Drums

Hietala announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January 2021, explaining in a statement that he hadn’t “been able to feel validated by this life for a quite a few years now.” He has since been replaced by bassist Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN),who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band’s two interactive experiences.

This past March, Hietala was asked by Brazil’s Ibagenscast if he would consider taking part in a reunion of the band’s classic lineup, either for a tour or fresh material. He responded: “Hmm, I would consider it. But I think that the organization there would have to be looked very carefully into it and some of it would have to be dismantled. Because the business side and how the people there work, they are one of the big reasons why I left.”

He continued: “In all the bands that I’ve been [in], I found out that I’m probably the most kind of courageous person there is and therefore also I have the inner strength to be the most honest and most fair and the one who upholds the justice between the people and taking care of everyone most. And that is something that I saw, the last years, were lacking. So, these kind of things would have to be taken care of. But I mean, [NIGHTWISH] was a big part of my life and I always, always backed up the music that we did because I love to do music that is versatile and ambitious with a lot of all kinds of atmospheres of all the world, from sensitive and soft into the big and pounding metal and all that. So, musically, I have no regrets at all. I’m happy and proud to have been a part of it. But, yeah, the organizational situation and the attitudes and who talks to whom and about what, those are things that I would totally dismantle and make into a transparent situation.”

In an August 2022 interview with Finland’s Chaoszine, Hietala revealed that he went through a dark period in his life, which included depression, insomnia, anxiety and an eventual attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Speaking about how he eventually came to the realization that exiting NIGHTWISH was the right thing to do, Marko said: “It was a long process. Of course, the COVID year that was there, where I had a lot of time for soul searching, it obviously gave me the last incentive that I need something else, that if I just continue with this I’m just gonna get sicker and sicker. But, of course, it’s a process.

“I’ve been chronic depressive since 2010 [or] 2011, so I’ve been on a permanent medication ever since,” he revealed. “Sometimes you get used to the meds [and] you will need more. We did raise [the dosage] during the years also, but it just didn’t work. And now that I started to do… I had psychotherapy for over four years now, and then I also talked to psychiatrists and some doctors and did that also in Spain. Then my psychiatrist here in Finland said that I should do these ADHD neuropsychological tests, which I then did in Spain. And, okay, I got it.”

Hietala reiterated that he “had been thinking about” leaving NIGHTWISH “for a while” before making the final decision. “Because I had a lot of weight. And I tend to… With the attention disorder, it tells me that when there are lots of trouble, then the disorder makes it into a real chaos,” he explained. “There’s a shitload of stuff coming and going and no peace anywhere. And for a year or two, I was already waking up every night at three o’clock to bad dreams and anxiety. So I’d say that the whole process probably started already with my former divorce [in 2016]. That was a very sad time when you think about your kids and your broken homes and all that. And then, when I started to get clear from that, then there were, well, all kinds of things. I don’t really wanna go any deeper to what kind of things I’d gone through, but I’d gone through enough.”

Acknowledging that making NIGHTWISH‘s 2020’ album “Human. :II: Nature.” was a “difficult” experience for him, Marko denied that his mental state at the time resulted in a diminished role for him on the final LP. “I think the original idea was to have that… we’ll do a couple of [solo vocal appearances], or one solo for me and Troy [Donockley], and the rest Floor [Jansen], and then the harmonies; that was the idea originally for that,” he said. “So I don’t know if it affected. I think it was sort of as planned. But at that time I already had serious trouble with concentrating and serious trouble with a constant black cloud over my head.”

In July 2022, Hietala told Finland’s Iltalehti that he had not kept in touch with NIGHTWISH since his departure or followed the activities of his former band.

In December 2020, Hietala was crowned the winner of the fall 2020 season of “Masked Singer Suomi” — the Finnish edition of the popular masked singing contest. He was disguised as Tohtori — the Doctor.

Photo credit: Mika Toivanen