Hi. As you noticed, this video montage, including the live performance from the 2013 Wacken concert and the poem called "Love" from the studio album, was dedicated to the late Ann Waychoff. Ann was an old lady from Pennsylvania, who dedicated the last years of her life to the promotion of the band she loved, Nightwish. She used to greet new reactors in the comments with a brief history of the band plus a few words of encouragement to keep going. This was her favorite song and she often suggested it for a future reaction. Because of her tact and delicacy, Ann was seen as an island of peace in the midst of fan groups that were often in conflict, so when she was hospitalized, her absence from the comments was immediately felt. After consulting with some fans, I started posting her history speech to the new reactors in her name. Some of the fans then made these video montages ('extended edition.."), as well as a few years later, when Ann left us. As you can see, her memory is alive among the fans even now, because she made many of us aware of the unique importance of Nightwish and their music.

R.I.P Ann Waychoff, founder of NW army, without her the NW army would never have got this strong, this was her favorite song!! Now we got our dear general Gabriel Bardac, to carry on Ann´s work..

The spoken poem is based upon a poem by Walt Whitman. This poem is called song of myself and has 52 verses, maybe one for every week of the year. The spoken parts are all recorded by people who mean a lot to Tuomas. Among those are Troy, his dear friend Tony Kakko, his wife Johanna Kurkella, Pip Williams who is the conductor of the orchestra, that provides the symphonic music. His mom, maybe his dad to. One of Marco's sons and I believe Marco's dad. Maybe other people know more. I love that you did the whole version. It is so special to hear al these voices. And the lyrics are amazing. Have a great weekend.

I fecking love this epic performance of this epic song. I am so thanful that I happened to be there! RIP Ann, mother of the Nightwish Army. We will never forget you and your kindness.

R.I.P Ann Waychoff mother of the Nightwish Army. June 28th, 2020 . Ann was a big Nightwish Fan. And every new person who listened to NW, she went through a little chat. And gave them some info about NW. This was her favorite song. And this song belongs to her. I like very much that Gabriel have continue Ann s work.... so her heritage is still here.

Many skip the extended version. So glad you did not. Thank you thank you thank you. This was an incredible journey and a pleasure to share with you.

Love how he uses " piano black " to describe " dark " But of course he would. That middle section is so EPIC RIP ANN.

R.I.P. dear Ann. We will never forget you !!!!!!!! And Thank You Gabriel for carrying on the flame that Ann ignited. NW Army South Germany.

RIP Ann Waychoff. Sometimes the within is piano black. And there forever remains the change from G to e minor. Keep exploring Nightwish!

The song is from the concept album / film music Imaginaerum. When the main character finds out that he has dementia, he begins to write down everything he always wanted to say to his daughter but never said. This silence has alienated the two of them. This creates a work of art that he calls Song of Mysrelf. He'll never get over it. The quotes at the end are from Song of Myself and are spoken by the band and actors of the film. The bing, bing, bing will be the music box that sat on the father's piano. He had explained to his daughter that she would play if she played correctly. But no matter how much she practiced, it never played. For the daughter, this music box became an example of her father's lies. After his death, she strums the piano, finds the key to the music box in the piano strings and lets it play. The model for Song of Myself is the poem of the same name by the American poet Wittman. Last Ride of the Day describes how the father fights against trauma, forgetting and death in order to come back to life one last time. At the same time, his daughter understood Song of Myself despite its incompleteness. She drives through a storm to her father's deathbed in the hope of being able to reconcile with him after all. Storytime introduces the main character at the beginning. Ghost River describes the father's lifelong struggle with his trauma. Dead Boys Poem is an older song that is also on Gabriel's list. The film is probably also the reason for the breakup with the second singer Anette Olzon. She becomes pregnant unplanned and demanded a three-month break from the tour. However, the film had not yet premiered and it was unclear whether it would recoup its costs. She allows herself to be persuaded to hire a replacement, but rejects the band's suggestion: Floor Jansen. She's afraid she'll be replaced. During the tour she becomes seriously ill and has to go to hospital with a fever. The band asks the audience if they should still do the concert with the two singers from the support bands (who had an hour to prepare) and the audience agrees. The concert will then be more of a karaoke evening, but everyone will have fun. Anette complains from the hospital that they should have asked her. Shortly after her return she must have found out that the band had hired Floor against her will. There is a spontaneous break and the band no longer has a singer two days before the next concert. Floor has to arrive a month early and has 48 hours to memorize 1.5 hours of playlist. About 9 months later she was asked if she wanted to become a permanent member of the band.

Dead Boy and Poet are both self-references Tuomas uses repeatedly. No 2 in my favourites list. Marco is superb - I love his second entry (the rising gliss) so much I extracted it and have it as my ringtone. Favourite parts: Piano Black , and particularly the best description of depression I've heard - "sometimes the within is piano black". Piano black - that deep glossy black that almost evades the eye. Emppu holding that long note one-handed as he drinks a Corona. The unexpected pauses (rests) towards the end, particularly, in this performance, when Floor turns her hands upwards and the flames seem to come from her palms. Great chuggy rhythms in the breakdown. Little pizzicato string sections in the run-up to that ending. At the end the lead vocals use the same lyrics as the choir are singing in the earlier parts - "All that great heart lying still and slowly dying All that great heart lying still on an angelwing". That lyric is perfect for the staccato rhythm. The change from G to E minor: This song is from the album Imaginaerum which the tour of which this concert was one show was promoting It has an eponymous movie. The movie contains most of the songs and gives you an overall context (Storytime, Scaretale, Last Ride etc). The film is about an aging writer looking back on life and his daughter is called Gem. ...and lots more (Edited for spelling and clarity)

TO Ann 🕯❤ Thank you for this reaction!🙂👍‍‍ Greetings from Finland! (by Nightwish fan since 1998)

R.I.P ANN .The older Nightwish army never forget you. And thanks, you react it with the awesome poem. Grettings from northern Germany

Just now I lost some tears about Ann and the whole nightwish community - never mind......

A lovely reaction. Given your insight and intelligence I am so glad you did the extended version. I know you would love the spoken word part and eagerly wanted to see your thoughts on the text. I was not disappointed. Loved your insights. One of things I love about this song and performance, besides that extended breakdown where you have to headbang, is at the end where coming out of the instrumental, Floor strides up to the microphone to sing the final refrains. She looks like a panther stalking her prey as she approaches the microphone. So powerful and intoxicating! Can't wait for your next reaction.

You are a very likeable person, Thank you!

NW Army Italian Division reporting. Ann Waychoff ..... you will always be in our hearts ♥

Thankyou Forever Ann's song R I P

DUDE ! TANGLED WEBS, DAUGHTER OF THE DROW! Love those books! Love your videos too dude. Hope your daughter recovers quickly.

Inspire by a Walt Whitman poem of the same name from the 1850's. Your hard drive is in perfect running order Saeed! Definitely references from literature. The spoken words is the Walt Whitman "Song of Myself" inspired part.

R.I.P Ann Waychoff mother of the Nightwish Army. June 28th, 2020 . All Hail General Bardac of The Nightwish Army! Hail! Hail! Hail! Thank You of your reaction!

R.I.P Ann Waychoff mother of the Nightwish Army. June 28th, 2020 This is your song. If you ever have to explain the Groove in Metal to someone - play this tune. Until the Breakdown hits you with a 10 ton hammer it is all fun and games. But then the slow chugging monster with the machine gun riffing takes over. And for every Metal Head this lights up the day. Awesome….Imho one of the best songs ever. Sometimes the sky is piano black…. Floor Jansen, First of Her Name, Queen of the Valkyries and Stonehenge, Lady of Nightwish and Protector of our Metal Realm. Long may she reign. Bow, mortal !

Ann 🥀🍃 Thank you for your reaction. Thank you for always beeing open, honest and totally enthusiastic 😆🤘! Greetings from Germany and EMPPU RULES 🤗 alex

In memory of Ann Waychoff. Such a welcoming person ❤️ It only seems like yesterday that we got the sad news. 4 years ago next month 😞 R.I.P. our God mother 💔💔💔💔

"A midnight flight into Covington Woods A princess and a panther by my side These are Territories I live for I'd still give my everything to love you more" -Tuomas is genius, who else writes songs like this??? Btw, you are so great in this! A new subsciber here ofc.

🎶 Nightwish Live at Wacken Open Air 2013 🎶 Correct speed - FullHD - Remastered 🎶( kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o-CTrJaSntecj2Q.html ) Setlist: 1. Dark Chest of Wonders, 2. Wish I Had an Angel, 3. She is My Sin, 4. Ghost River, 5. Ever Dream, 6. Storytime, 7. I Want My Tears Back, 8. Nemo, 9. Last of the Wilds, 10. Bless the Child, 11. Romanticide, 12. Amaranth, 13. Ghost Love Score, 14. Song of Myself, 15. Last Ride of the Day 🎶🎶🎶 Epic concert! 🎶🎶🎶 Audience in this concert was 82k+

Dead Boy is mentioned in a few songs actually. Easter egg hunt!

Nice catch on both storytime and ghost river! As other said, the dead boy is a recurring figure in tuomas writing. Sometimes it represents the end of the youthful innocence, sometimes it is literally a dead boy. And yes, there's a song that is named dead boy's poem. Keep up the good work!

This one's a nightwish favourite, I love it thanks for your great reaction, enjoy the weekend, hopefully if your family are ok🇬🇧

Most of the Wacken 2013 is related to the movie Imaginaerum. A concept of Tuomas and a good friend. It is about a composer of songs and stories, struggling to keep his mind, while being in the depths of Dementia. It is a well researched story. All of the members of the band in 2011 have bit parts in the movie and Tuomas plays the art of the composer during his mid-life. It is available on KZfaq, Free Movies with ads. An hour and a half long. Watch it when you have a chance. Of all people, you will be impressed. Thanks!

Thank you very much for doing the extended version and doing a great analysis of it. Very much appreciated. The voices reading the poem included Troy (most of it was Troy) plus Tuomas's wife Johanna. Not sure who the others were.

Great observation regarding the mention of Storytime & Ghost River (River ghost) 👍🏻

Like all good poetry, everyone can interpret it in their own way, but how I interpret the last line is it's about how growing up changes you. G and E minor have exactly the same keys, just in a different order, yet one is hopeful and another somber. Losing your childlike innocence is also a recurring theme in Tuomas' works.

Funny how we as humans can go from Good to Evil men i always visioned G to Em as this lol. Music is such an emotional ride and Nightwish does it best.

Hello Saeed, thank you for an another amazing reaction i loved it. Have you already reacted to their new song, parfumerie of the timeless? I love,love, love it Until yhe next one, bye

Great reaction dude, it was worth the wait 👍

Epic!! Tx Saeed. Greetings from South Africa

UK Army popping in. RIP Ann

Tuomas loves Disney and soundtracks especially those of Hans Zimmer. He named all this as main influences for his own music. And yes, he is a real poet. Concerning the music he works together with his bandmates especially when it comes to the endproduction but he insists on writing all lyrics. To include this great poem for the tribute to Ann Waychoff is wonderful.

Wow!! I don't know many people who have read the Drizzit series. Awesome books. Great reaction!

I do really enjoy watching your reactions, there are some reactors you subsctibed to, you watch just for your most favorite songs, and then theres is some you listen to most they publish, and you are in 2nd catogory, just though you should know..

Yes! Love. Despair. Yearning. Violence. Contemplation... We "humans" are a bit muddled, yes, yet STILL wondering. Who are we? Why? How? Are we..? Okay, another really nice react! Clearly, this provokes more layers - as it should. Enjoy your journey! Cheers rl 🤘👹🤘

Remember the thoughts you had with this song when you get to The Greatest Show On Earth.

RIP Ann🤘🎸

Very beautiful, thank you

Great reaction 👍 you are there.

🤗🍒🤘🏻 well done

About Pirates of Caribbean: remember Tuomas had Jack Sparrow figurine on this keyboard stand in the End of an Era tour!

Good one.

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Woorden Schrijven over gedachten waar je nog niet bij hebt stilgestaan luisten naar jouw belevenis een reis op muziek die verbind Woorden komen en gaan als golven van de zee waar het zout op de lippen zwijgend ervaart in het nu Anne voor jou leuk om te horen en zien hoe je Nightwish ervaart dank je wel

Well you still on Eacken,you must see Wembley life,Argentina live,Tampere live and also human nature tour live,soecialy shoemaker

Also please react to the last song the last ride of the day from Wacken,masterpiece

Tuomas is a fan of Zimmer's music so he's probably influenced a lot of Nightwish music.

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Did you react to Amaranth too? If so, I have missed it! :O

First!

Too much talking m8