Tuomas was very careful to take the competitive element out of the equation out of respect for Pink Floyd. In an interview he emphasized that this was not a cover but a tribute. Marko is phenomenal. I wish him all the best in whatever his plans for the future are.

Check out 'The Phantom of the Opera (End Of An Era)' and you'll see Tarja for the first time. Marko applied to be Iron Maiden's singer in the 90s. The funny thing is that years later Steve Harris became a big Nightwish fan. Little story about Harris and Nightwish: In the summer of 2022, the Finnish media published an old interview with Tuomas from 2005. Tuomas told about events from the world tour. They had a gig going on and he suddenly noticed that Iron Maiden's Steve Harris was following their gig near Tuomas' keyboards. Later that evening they were at the bar and noticed that the guys from Iron Maiden came there too and after a while Tuomas gathered courage and went with his camera to ask to get a picture of him and Harris - a man he had always admired greatly. He tapped Harris on the shoulder, said "excuse me, sir...", but after that he didn't get to speak for a couple of minutes when Harris started to talk "oh, Tuomas from Nightwish. I'm a big fan, I own all your records, awesome band!..." and so on. Tuomas was almost speechless when he tried to explain how great the whole thing was and said that he almost peed his pants. Later Harris commented: “When I heard Dark Passion Play (2007), I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘Now, this is a proper fucking album.’ It’s got everything bar the kitchen sink in there. It was controversial because of the new singer, but she was brilliant. No disrespect to Tarja, but Anette’s voice suited them a lot better. There’s heavy stuff, classical, even a bit of Disney - all kinds of shit in there. I think it’s one of the best-sounding albums I’ve ever heard in my life." “Then I got the next one, Imaginaerum (2011). Storytime is a fantastic, instant song. The rest of the album took me a while to get into. Dark Passion Play was so good, I thought there was no way they could ever come up with an album that’s anywhere near that, but the more I got into Imaginaerum, the more I loved it. I think Tuomas is definitely a genius as a composer, and Dark Passion Play and Imaginaerum are two of my all-time favorite albums." 2020 Harris did promo work and gave an interview to the Finnish music media and he ended the interview: "I can't wait for Nightwish's new album! Tuomas Holopainen is one of the greatest songwriters ever, and the whole band is absolutely brilliant. For example, the collaboration of three singers, Floor Jansen, Marko Hietala and Troy Donockley, sounds great. Please send my warm greetings to the whole band of Nightwish!"

David Gilmour once said in an interview with the BBC that this would be the best cover of a Pink Floyd song ever. I'd like to recommend another example of Marco's skills. 'The Islander' Nightwish 2015 in Tampere. Be sure to turn on the subtitles, because Marco's introduction (in Finnish) is really entertaining. Greetings from Germany, Kelsea

Nice one man. For all my life (68y old Dutch bloke) I am a fan of Pink Floyd and have see them several times. A song I always loved and is on my all time playlist. Nightwish did not cover this one, this is the ultimate tribute from an exceptional band to a exceptional band. Nightwish, by the way, I only started following after seeing Floor Jansen participating in Beste Zangers. Nightwish and Floor now belong to my category of exceptional bands/musicians (Queen/Freddy Mercury, David Bowie, Santana, Bob Marley, Frank Zappa, U2, Cranberries, The Cure). And seen them all in my younger years, and many more. And later on got to know Sabaton, Ayreon, Epica, The Gathering, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Kamelot, Toehider, Avantasia. Within Temptation I knew some time. All because of me liking Floor and Nightwish.

Gilmour gave his stamp of approval of this performance, saying it was the best cover ( it's actually a tribute) of a pink Floyd song .

Emppu is a master guitar player and never shows off, he always plays for the song! 🤘🎸

Marko is one of the great ones. And of course, Emppu knows how to do this. Just epic.

End of an Era was 2005 in Helsinki. It was with Tarja, she was backstage changing. Marko kills it, he has been a lead singer. He sang lead in a band called Tarot before joining Nightwish. From 2001 when he joined , through this show, he would often sing covers to give her time to change. Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction is another they have done, 2004 ish. Emppu's guitar work is an awesome tribute. His ESP EV-1 is based on the Horizon model. Tuomas' angled keyboard is indeed for ergonomic reasons besides looking cool. If you want to hear Tarja, check out, also from this concert, "The Siren" or the cover of "Phantom of the Opera". Marko sings with her on both. If you're interested in checking out Tarot, try "Wings of Darkness" or "Tides"

Marko won the first version of Finland's Masked Singer. There are some clips from that show on YT 🤘🏻

Emppu has his own signature guitar from ESP called the EV1

Phantom of the Opera with Marko and Tarja !!! Best phantom ever, honestly. Beautiful work by the best band 🥰

Now you've heard the quality of Marko's singing and the big loss, since he left the band in 2020...

Marko has been the front man for the band Tarot since the mid-1980s…you should check them out. Tides is a favorite by them.

Marko 🔥🔥🔥

Great reaction...Marco is a legend...powerful voice, amazing talent...beautiful viking...Nightwish army Latinoamerica present❤

Check out Markos old band Tarot, great reaction 😊👍👍

‼️ YES ‼️ Nightwish has phenomenal singers. And not to forget the other band members… Within your Nightwish journey you will also have other sides of Marco - but also great 👍 Try especially: While your lips are still red (Wembley 2015), The Islander (Tampere 2015)

Great song, brilliant performance. Loved your commentary.

E v e r y time...every time (having seen this very tribute bout 250 times on YT)...every time the tears come...how does my band do this?!?

This group of musicians is so incredibly talented that even when their lead singer isn't there they can put on a performance that is absolutely world class. Marko is certainly a lead singer in his own right and he is an icon in the European metal world. I am glad that he appears to be so much happier now, and that the type of concerts that he is performing in seem to give him so much satisfaction. And, I am thrilled that his band "Tarot" will actually be performing in the Tuska Festival in 2024. Hopefully, they will be able to do some other gigs, also.

Thank you for a Nice reaction 🙏🤘

On some point is worth to check Marko's solo production also, example his musicvideo/song "Stones".I think that you will not be disappointed...

Hello again, BemusingBill. Nightwish Army Phoenix subscriber back here again for you. Wow indeed. As a long-time Pink Floyd fan, I have to say this cover is perhaps even better than the original... and that's saying one hell of a lot. Marko absolutely killed it, as did Empuu, Tuomas, and Jukka. Fantastic and thank you for continuing your Nightwish live performance reactions. Nightwish is a band that is always best served LIVE. They have so much charisma and showmanship... especially Floor and Marko.

Great reaction 😊 Markoooooo..!!❤❤

This is their tribute to Pink Floyd's music

I love your genuine reactions, thank you sir! Marco is indeed very well known in Europe and is active in metalbands since the 80's. He is now touring with Anneke (a beautiful voice, also a Dutch female metal singer) This evening was lifechanging for all of them, including Tarja. You can tell by their deminour that they were a bit tense. Emppu, normally a smile on his face and Yuka having a HUGE migraine during this concert (that's why you see Tuomas nodding to Yuka, for crew to check on him) What an hell, having migraine and drumming. (That's why he lays his head to rest everytime he does not need to drum) Their latest albums are pure art with also very heavy raw sounds, changed with more folky metal sounds and Floor going full blown opera. But I love it that you start here. Be warned, the NW road is long and every new song seems better than the last one😉 We need to direct our NW army guys. He deserves way more likes and subscribers!

Emppu is awesome guitarist and also has black belt in judo! In youth he won two national gold.

So happy you react for this,another one is Islander from Tampere concert

Just premium. Love it everytime.

I had high hopes for this and you did not disappoint! Shows that the guys are a band to be reckoned with even without a female singer! Marko regularly sang covers - Megadeth, Black Sabbath etc... when Tarja was changing (some videos are on YT). You can see that they all know the words to this song - a real tribute. AND Emppu's solos! Ville again for the visuals! The circle light behind them hearkens to Pnik Floyd's Pulse also. Emppu used to play a white Nuno Bettencourt in the early days.

Here for you. 🙃

This is "just" a filler song so their "main" singer can change costume. It's obviously in top100 best metal covers 😁

Great reaction Bill, really enjoying your journey into this incredible band 🤘

Emppus's Guitar is a custom ESP EV1 (for Emppu Vuorinen).

Thanks for the video, even if you had to do it with a hoarse voice. The best song sung by Marco, Master Passion Creed, is only available in the studio version. The song is also heavy Nightwish that is available. Ghost River, Kiss While Your Lips Are Still Red and Islander are also good. Of course, if you want to hear Marco before the failed surgery that damaged the nerves of the vocal cords Tarot's old songs are hard like Tarot - Stigmata (I Feel For You) unplugged. If you want to understand the history of Nightwish better, you should listen to the Angels Fall First album with Beaty and the Beast lyrics. Why? Because the song provides the basis for the Ghost Love Score, Poet An Pendalum, Dead Boys Poem and the understanding of everything that happened, including the Master Passion Creed. The song is one of the few with Holopainen as one of the singers.

I think you will be shocked by Petr Elfimov - Child in time!

I went to the Pink Floyd Division Bell in Oakland. Great Concert!

What's extra impressive about this performance was that Jukka the drummer was ill with a severe migrain at the time

Yes, a long viking bearded "Tarja' singing. 😜👍 Haha, anyway it's an excellent tribute.

One of the things that make this performance even more powerful to me is the fact that this was the last show with their original singer, Tarja. There was a lot of turmoil within the band at that time, and at the end of that show, Tarja was going to be handed her dismissal letter, a fact that was known by all members of the band except her. Thus, this particular concert has a special vibe. It could have been the final show of Nightwish as a band, the night their High Hopes were dashed.

loved it a super lot. gold tier energy. super glad I came across your channel! 😍😍😍Btw October Ends has done it again! their new song is a masterpiece. React to it now!

It is an EV-1 custom model. Emppu Vuorinen -1. Marko was the front man of his former bands. See you for the next one Bill! Maybe Romanticide?

I never liked the video made with this song but I loved pink Floyd doing this song live, nightwish did it justice they are all first class musicians, and marco can sing and this was not a happy night for them, they where afraid this would be the end of nightwish so they gave it there all. God bless

One of my favorite Marko performances. I've heard David Gilmour perform this song live, and I really like how Nightwish changed the vibe from softly wistful and melancholic to full-blown tragic and epic. Check out "The Islander" for a softer, more folksy vibe, particularly his amazing performance of the song at Tempere, Finland (with a little help from his friends lol). Also his band Tarot, a heavy-metal band Marko formed with his brother back in the early 80's. Hope all is well with you and your family.

... and this is just the Bathroom song ... ;)

I'm 74 and never knowingly heard any Pink Floyd music back in the late 60's and up. Never seen or heard this song from Nightwish until a year ago. Then I looked up and watched a few live versions of Pink Floyd performing High Hopes. I am the most honest to be able to judge which is better. Pink Floyd is a bore compared to this Nightwish version. Who would ever replay Pink Floyd's version after seeing this? To this day High Hopes is the only Pink Floyd song I have knowingly heard. Must of missed their songs in the bars in the late 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. LOL.

Jukka obviously suffering a bit here but still delivers an epic performance 😢

Emppu Vuorinen plays a custom ESP. He has two, I believe. The ESP EV 1 and the ESP EV 2. Stay safe 🤘 ✌️

Watch these Tarot-Wings of darkness Marko Hietala-The voice of my father

Hi, you need to do a reaction for The Poet and The Pandulum > Wembley 2015

A bit recent song featuring Marko, check Below Zero 2021 by Waltari.

🤩👍💥💯🎼 🤘😎 🇫🇮 💙

I love both versions. And while I don't agree that the song now belongs to Nightwish, I do appreciate that they put their own spin on it, and didn't just do a simple cover. Like when Metallica covered "Whiskey in the Jar," they did a great job, but it's basically the Thin Lizzy version, only heavier. Nightwish completely made this their own, which is what you want out of a great cover. So, there's no reason to pick one over the other, because they're almost like two completely different songs. 👍🤘🤟

Tarja really has a great beard 😯 - just kidding. Marko really has a wonderful voice - this is probably my favourite performance of his, amongst many great performances with and without Nightwish.🇬🇧🤘🤘

Those 4 then enter Floor,is it even fair to other bands!

Hi from the UK 👋 🇬🇧 check out Marcos band tarot and wings of darkness 😊

Have you heard Tarot? Have you heard Marko's Voice of my Father?

Hai Bill, Geargods did a special on Nightwish. Not with Jukka but with Kai as drummer. Check it out on KZfaq.

Wow, Tarja's voice has got lower 😂

just starting off, but can you make the concert a little smaller, can only see 80% of your bearded face and that why we are watching

And uhh, Marco is the front man of his own band. Always has been. Or involved with other bands. Since before NW, and after, sadly. No more Marco or Jukko for NW, which takes away from them, so much.

get a clue, it`s the band not you.

actually carry on without me. too lame

I've always said that I bet there are a lot of Pink Floyd fans out there (I'm one of them) who harbor a guilty little secret they would fear to mention in front of other PF fans! ......ooops. 🥸

Hi, you need to do a reaction for The Poet and The Pandulum > Wembley 2015