The pipes are Uilleann pipes and he is using an ebow on the electric guitar.

@paulchapman2569

Жыл бұрын

I concur

@ecbftl

Жыл бұрын

The pipes are filled with air using a bellows under Troy's right arm. In some shows, you can see him pumping the bellows as he plays.

@leemarinus

Жыл бұрын

And it is not electric, just mic'ed😅

@leemarinus

Жыл бұрын

Chelo is also backtracked, but Troy adds to the misic with the ebow

The cello effect is created by a small electric magnetized hand held unit called an EBow. It causes the fretted note to sustain and using a volume pedal the sound can be manipulated to simulate a stringed instrument played with a bow. You commentary on voice leading is very appropriate. This song does end with the human race possibly ending, but the cycle of life and the planet will continue with or without us. You my friend are a part of "The Greatest Show on Earth"!

Nightwish uses the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which has recorded lots of samples for Nightwish's music. It might be some of them that you heard in the background

In case you missed the evolution of music with this song 23:00 Start listening for snippets of: Gregorian Chant Minuet in G - Christian Petzold Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Bach Enter Sandman - Metallica

@deed5811

Жыл бұрын

@Goreblast To be fair, Greatest Show on Earth has alot to absorb on just one viewing.

@PittDaddy

Жыл бұрын

I think he recognized it, but didn't mention it. It does take several listenings to fully understand the purpose of those snippets.

The guy at the end is Richard Dawkins in person, the album where this song is from is based on his book “Endless forms most beautiful” Here a short snippet from Wikipedia: Unlike its predecessor Imaginaerum, which has themes of imagination and fantasy, Endless Forms Most Beautiful addresses science and reason. Focusing on the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins, the latter part of the album cites passages from their books. Both authors influenced album tracks; The Ancestor's Tale inspired "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", and The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution inspired "The Greatest Show on Earth". Some songs, such as "Edema Ruh" (inspired by Patrick Rothfuss' novel The Name of the Wind), still have fanciful themes.

Troy uses an ebow on the guitar and makes it sound like a cello.

@mort58

Жыл бұрын

Wouldn´t be wonderful with a cello-battla between Troy and the E-bow VS Tina Guo and her metal-cello? Tomas: du och jag kan vara domare, hehe

@tomassteen6092

Жыл бұрын

@@mort58 🤣😂🤣

THE GIRL AT THE FRONT IS A legend

Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards) is our modern day metal Mozart. He is so deep soul humble person, who writes and composes these beautiful songs, for us. I am so lucky to have all Nightwish albums since 1996 and I am going to see them next month, to Vaasa city Finland, not very far from where I live, Oulu city. I would hope you all Nightwish reactors would join me 😊🤘because you all too are great people.

I am making this comment at 9'43. The album version uses the LPO but here in this live performance, Troy Donockley uses an Ebow to amplify the cello line. In the second time through, he plays the Uilleann pipe before the passage resolves into the second movement 'Life'. Cheers

This Wembley Arena version is special as Richard Dawkins is also on stage at the end, but the Tampere Ratina Stadion version is way better visually. P.S. The album version is little over 24 minutes & it took 2,5 weeks to mix in the studio for the album as it has 800+ audio tracks, and the equipment they had could only handle 200 simultaneously.

@amygoodson-catlady

Жыл бұрын

Also, at Tampere, the beginning instrumentation is different...the EBow is replaced w just the pipes.

@jaskau2462

Жыл бұрын

​..... And with low whistle, before Mr. Dawkins' intro "speech. 😋🙃 Have a wonderful one over there mi lady!

@amygoodson-catlady

Жыл бұрын

@@jaskau2462 Ah yes... both of those instead of the EBow

@penkakicheva-peeva8319

9 ай бұрын

Idk what happened at Wembley arena, I went out of the venue like I was drunk on drugs! I really don't remember what I was doing during the show, complete blackout! I guess my brain just shut down from excitement! I only remember I was cold all the time, even with my jacket on. I now know why. Goosebumps all the time! VIva Nightwish!

@tarmotyyri6733

9 ай бұрын

@penkakicheva-peeva8319 Should you still feel cold, hopefully this helps 🤗

I saw it done live at the same venue at the end of last year, and yes, it was fantastic. Greetings from the UK, and thanks for a great reaction.

@mort58

Жыл бұрын

Great for you,, ok a bit envious. All the best my friend

Troy Donockley, the English multi instrumentalist, is initially playing an electric guitar using an E-bow to give the cello effect and then switches to uilleann (elbow) pipes for the spoken part.

Floor was ill the day of the concert. Yet, the whole show is immaculate. Troy can play 500 more instruments and sings. What a man, really

A lot has been said about the music...can we have a hand for the 3-part harmonies in the chorus and for the animal vocalizations?! The Dawkins/Darwin quotes at the end destroy me every time...really puts your life into perspective!

A rollercoaster ride of emotions, every single time I listen to this ... and I listen to this quite a lot haha. Also Emppu is one of the most underrated guitarists on this planet. This man does crazy shit and always smiles, I love him!

About the formation of the solar system and the evolution of life on Earth. The song is from the 2015 album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, the first recorded with Floor and Kai. Ghost Love Score is from 2004, the Once album with Tarja. The title of the first part, 4.6, references 4.6 billion years , the age of the Earth. The Uilleann (ill-en) pipes are not electric, that wire you see is the instrument microphone wire. The Irish version of bagpipes, uses a bellows, squeezed by the elbow to inflate the bag. Uilleann is the Gaelic word for elbow. All 3 are grunting in the Toolmaker section, Floor ,Marko ,and Troy. Yes, that was the Metallica Enter Sandman riff. There were several pieces of music played before that, including one by J.S.Bach, and a piece of EDM after. The evolution of music section. Some of the other references in the song : L.U.C.A. -last universal common ancestor, the last life form from which all current life on Earth descends. Lucy of the Afar. At the time of discovery in 1974, it was the oldest human ancestor remains found. Dating to about 3.2 million years. The God of the Gaps- whenever man came across something that was beyond his current comprehension, a god or gods were created to explain it. Enter ratkind- some theorize that rats will take over when mankind's time is over. Wembley and Tampere are both awesome versions. Both deserve a watch and listen, so recommend you check out the Tampere version later on your own. The main differences are that Tampere is outside with fireworks, and Troy's part starts with Irish Low Whistle , as opposed to guitar with EBOW here. Richard Dawkins is at at Tampere, that last part, which is a quote from Darwin's book The Origin of Species, is read over the credits. WE WERE HERE!!!!!

A wonderful wonderful Great song. Greetings from nwAse Sweden

Hello again Shawka. As for the cello sound, that is Troy on the electric guitar using an Ebow to magnetically vibrate the strings in an effect that sounds like someone playing strings with an actual bow. You can see it glowing blue and red in his right hand as he presses the device against the appropriate strings. Extremely cool. Then he switches over to the Uillean (Irish Elbow) Pipes. As opposed to the Scottish bagpipes, this has a bellows under his right elbow that he pumps to keep the air in the bag under his left elbow inflated. Then, in the second section, Kai Hahto cranks it up on the drums. Really fun to watch and hear. Tuomas is killing it on the piano / synth throughout. He is a true genius of composition. I loved your reaction and analysis of this amazing song. Floor's dissonate vocals in the part where the animal and tribal sounds were coming in were perfect. Simply spectacular song writing and performance. Thank you for this reaction.

The Tampere version is in my eyes the very very best, what a show, so amazing, this is the second best for me, also good but...... Thanks anyway for doing this.

@mort58

Жыл бұрын

I concur

@tonygmichael6434

Жыл бұрын

I think the sound is vastly better at this Wembley gig. So crisp compared~! but visuals at Tampere was really cool!

@ralfmeyer9086

Жыл бұрын

@@mort58 i prefer Wembley. The old fight Hihi 🤘greetings from nothern Germany

@deed5811

Жыл бұрын

They are both worth watching imo. Love the EBow Troy uses at Wembley. Mostly though, how many other bands have invited a scientist to join them on stage? ❤

@mort58

Жыл бұрын

@@ralfmeyer9086 Yes and I am quite sure we will never ever see a winner in it aswell, haha. All the best from Sweden

Love your commentary. I'm not a musician but I love this band not only for its music but also because they are so different. Intelligent and thoughtful music fulfills you. The three minute sing-song has its place but Night wish takes you on a different adventure if you will. Toumas is a freaking genius.

I love the Dawkins part at the end and it certainly gets you thinking that if my parents didn't woo hoo at the extact time they did I might not even be here. Very scarey and sobering.

That aleatoric part is the bridge in this song, the bridge from the story of the birth of our universe and planet, to the point of the birth of humankind and the history that followed. This song is their Magnum Opus, every time you listen to it, you discover more and more, you hear new sounds, find new understanding in the individual parts of the song, it is just like you said.. a movie, but this movie takes place in your mind... an absolute masterpiece. And the "pinging" sounds you heard (well spotted), i'm 90% sure that's a Marimba. And to have the man himself, Sir Richard Dawkins, do the narration to the music, that was inspired by his book... it's just awesome. Thank you for the great analysis and reaction, it was not hard to tell if this song impressed you, cause it clearly did ;)

Hello, greetings from UK I always look forward to your reactions, I feel like I am going to learn something and I am never disappointed 😁 Thank you

@ShawkaReacts

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much 🙏

It's the ebow that makes the chello sound. In the Tampere version, they don't use that effect at all. But something else 😉. Check that one out also (on your own time).

@sulliken77

Жыл бұрын

And in less than a month, I'll watch this Live in Oslo, Norway @Tons Of Rock 😊

Thank you! It's refreshing to hear a reaction to TGSOE focusing on composition. The music alone can tell a story, to a certain degree. Depending on how educated you are. I'm not as educated as you, when it comes to music. That's why it was interesting to hear your thoughts. I even learned a new term ALEATORIC, thanks for that. Other reactors can focus on vocals or science, that's interesting as well. I don't think you have reacted to THE POET AND THE PENDULUM (Wembley Arena 2015) yet. A 14 minute masterpiece in five movements. I think it's propably the best composition ever by Tuomas, and very personal for him. How he goes through the stages of grief not only with lyrics, but with instrumentation as well, is amazing. Different instruments evoke different emotions. Floor at her best conveying emotions, Marko has a solo vocal part as well, nobody could do it better. Nobody has tried, luckily. The song will most likely never be performed again.

@JariJuslin

Жыл бұрын

It is indeed a masterpiece, but please don't go in all blind. Research first a bit what the song is about, otherwise you'll miss many things.

I really enjoyed your reaction. I've heard this song many times, but you've added to my considerable appreciation of it by sharing your musical knowledge. It is an amazing piece of art, with so many layers that I discover something new every time I hear it.

Really enjoyed your reaction and analysis to this fantastic work of art! You should watch the Tampere version at some point, even if only on your own. This version is 10/10, while that version is 11/10. 😉 You talking about playing the strings of the piano reminded me of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Take a Pebble," in which keyboardist Keith Emerson plucks the piano strings for great effect. I've no doubt you'd love it.

Notes: First, you need to watch the Tampere version from the same year, in particular the beginning and end. Troy: At some point we ended up watching Richard Dawkins lectures on the internet. After a while I suggested, half in jest, that maybe we should ask Dawkins to be our special guest on the new album. Tuomas: It was an amazing idea, and I immediately started wondering if we could really make it happen. Jukka: We were naturally a bit sceptical, too - we had to try and ask him of course, but it was better not to have such high hopes. Dawkins had pretty much shied away from popular culture apart from one episode of The Simpsons. Troy: I enthusiastically assured them that I can make this work, like "You'll see, guys". Well the next morning I wasn't feeling so confident any more and I remembered Tuomas and Jukka going "Told you so" TUOMAS: Still, there was no way we could let it drop without at least trying. So we started thinking about a proper manner to approach Dawkins. We decided our best option would be to send him a hand-written, polite letter, where we would tell him about the band, the scientific themes on the forthcoming album and the fact that he had been a great inspiration TROY: We got no reply, so we sent another letter. In the end, I guess we had a bit of luck, because it turned out Dawkins personal assistant knew the band and actually liked Nightwish. He suggested that Dawkins should take our inquiry seriously TUOMAS: I was in Paris doing interviews for the Scrooge album. When I got back to the hotel in the evening. I noticed there was an email from Dawkins, something like, "1 went to the internet and browsed your band, and what I heard l liked very much. So I'd be happy to co-operate. FLOOR: Tuomas sent us a triumphant message: "You won't believe what just happened: Dawkins said yes!" TROY: It was obvious from the start that Dawkins' appearance would attract a lot of attention - both positive and negative. His book God Delusion had created a worldwide controversy. after all. JUKKA: We didn't invite Dawkins to be on our album to criticize religion but to speak as a scientist: an evolutionary biologist. Of course neither the fans nor anybody else outside the band knew it at that point. TUOMAS: There has been a lot of unreasonable criticism hurled at him for all kinds of reasons. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that Dawkins is also happy to listen to contrary opinions and is always open for new ideas. In that sense, he's like Esko Valtaoja, with whom we had the honour to work on Showtime, Storytime DVD. I had endless possibilities in my hands for "The Greatest Show on Earth" What is the sound of crumpling continental plates that mountains are made of? Or the disintegration of radioactive components? Or the sound of space particles bombarding the earth? And how would I refer to immortal works of music composed by man? Well, I included shades of "Dies Irae" by Thomas Celano, "Toccata" and "Fuga" by Johann Sebastian Bach, banjo music from Western movies, "Rock around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. I was also thinking about borrowing "Sandstorm" by Darude, but in the end, we just went for an unrecognizable techno loop. Also Petzold and Bach. Recording - and Jukka Resigning: MARCO: Kaitsu handled the drum parts admirably, so we could continue with the other instruments right away, This time we tried to concentrate on one song at a time and kept on working on it till we felt there was nothing more we could add. TROY: And we didn't even have thunder. Rauhala does not have the best sound proofing in the world, so it would have been pretty challenging to mike the instruments if there had been rain and thunderclaps. TUOMAS: I actually got off easier than I expected, because a lot of the demo keyboards from Hämeenlinna were good enough to be included on the album. The stuff in "Sea-Worn Driftwood", part five of "The Greatest Show on Earth", for example, was salvaged straight off the demo. In Hämeenlinna, I had explained to Tero that this passage would be about "whales singing and rats taking over the world". I had just come up with that improvised stuff, and it made it on the album MARCO: Recording the vocals was teamwork in the best possible sense, no matter who was behind the mike. We kicked around suggestions and tried out all kinds of last minute ideas. Like, "Hey Floor, throw in some of that sweet upper octave of yours in the second verse... Yeah, that's a nice touch!" FLOOR: Marco kept on surprising us. He might just suddenly say, "Wait, I have an idea!" Then he'd pull out his bass and introduce an excellent harmony MARCO: It was great fun recording the vocals. I've never had the chance to impersonate a troglodyte in front of a microphone before, so creating gorilla sounds for "The Greatest Show on Earth" was pretty hilarious. I didn't want to undermine the majesty of the song in any way, but I didn't exactly do it with a straight face, either! TROY: I recorded my own ape grunts at home. To get in character, I took off my shirt, banged my chest with my fists, and pretended I was an ancient Homo Erectus. I think my wife was a bit worried MARCO: I cut my bass parts pretty quickly in about one and a half days. I even got a bit lazy towards the evening of the first day - if I had really pushed it, I might have been able to complete them in a single day. Notes: The first part, "Four Point Six", is a reference to the age of our planet -in billions of years. The journey starts with a simple but persistent keyboard theme, interrupted by massive thunder claps - the origin of life that despite the murderous bombardment by asteroids, sprouts time and again and finally manages to grow permanent roots. The word "archaean" in the lyrics refers to the Archean Eon, the first of the geological eons of the world (Gaea). The second part of the song chronicles the birth and the first on Earth. "Enter Luca" is a reference to an early life form, an acronym for the Last Universal Common Ancestor. We can make assumptions about the characteristics of Luca and other early life forms by reading the DNA of current organisms: "There's a writing in the garden, leading us to the mother of all." Right from the beginning, one of the key characteristics of living cells has been the ability to sense their environment and react to their perceptions: "Ion channels welcoming the outside world." In the third part, chronicling the age of man, there's a fascinating reminder: All of us current organisms are descendants of an unbroken lineage of winners. "Not a single one of your fathers died young". "Little Lucy of the Afar" refers to the famous fossil of Australopithecus Afarensis that was found in Afari, Ethiopia, a hominin that might have been the ancestor of man (genus Homo). In the long run, all species have the tendency to become extinct, and a fitting vision of the future of mankind is presented in the song, "One day'Il cease to be" On the other hand, man had earlier had "a dream to understand" and "[given] birth to poetry" . He wanted to leave his mark stating "We were here!" In the fourth part, man strives to understand it all, and Richard Dawkins takes up the story once again with a surprising claim:"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. The explanation folows shortly."Most people are never going die, because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been herein my place, but who will in fact never see the light of day, outnumber the sand grains of Sahara." In the fifth and final part, Dawkins recites the concuding words of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: "From so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." FLOOR: I felt real good after the final rehearsals [for EFMB] in a New York studio. There were obviously many challenging parts in the set - I'd have to be extra careful in the beginning of "The Greatest Show on Earth", for example because some of the phones rise from the back of the throat but "operatic vocals are produced in the front of the mouth

That is a full orchestra and a big choir in the background track, along with multiple sounds and effects. The procussionists can get quite creative. I have heard they once rolled some big old 45 gal drums into the London studio to whack on for some specific sound. There are apparently over 600 tracks recorded in the mix for this song. They had to mix down to about 250 (max limit) for the stage system to play during the show. Check out the professional documentary series for the making of this album for an excellent behind the scenes view of how it was created.

@amygoodson-catlady

Жыл бұрын

The album being, Human Nature. Likely, the mallett piano strings sound you're hearing is a part of the orchestration. Possibly a synthetic effect...but likely the orchestra. Good ear, teach!

@ecbftl

Жыл бұрын

@@amygoodson-catlady I think you are thinking of the most recent Album, but this song and tour is I think from the first Album with Floor : Endless Forms Most Beautiful

@amygoodson-catlady

Жыл бұрын

@@ecbftl You are right, friend... my brain is too busy! Ty for correcting me!

@ecbftl

Жыл бұрын

@@amygoodson-catlady np, They are both excellent albums with related themes. I have only seen documentary footage from the making of the first Nightwish album with Floor. I also really love the 6(?) movement orchestral symphony piece on the 2nd CD of Human::Nature with the fan made video for All the Works of Nature that Adorn the World.

@amygoodson-catlady

Жыл бұрын

@ecbftl I love that 2nd cd! I sometimes foster kittens...last spring I had 4 boys, all named after members of Nightwish...so, The Nightwish Kittens...and I played that cd for them everyday! Cats love classical/soft music!

Thank you! I've seen quite a lot of reactions to this song and yet you managed to bring insights and spot things I was completely unaware of. Well done. This is quite a monster piece in terms of layers, allegories, themes and instruments so it's a lot to unpack.

There is a video of recording parts of this alban in London with The London Philarmonic Orchester , thay were testing differant sounds ..

This song is Massive,...Song about Evolution of the Universe , Earth and Life . The song title is taken from a 2009 book by evolutionary biologist and atheist writer Richard Dawkins, concerning the evidence for biological evolution. Dawkins also contributes towards the album. Holopainen explained to HMV in March 2015: "I wrote him a letter a bit more than a year ago and explained the ideas we had for this album, mainly to do with evolution. Since one of the tracks would be named directly after one of his books, it felt like a perfect match to try to get him do some reciting on the album. He sent me an email a few weeks later accepting the invitation." "Later in 2014 we then recorded his parts at Hats Off Studios, Oxford. This is a huge honor for us, since Dawkins is one of our biggest heroes and his writings have been huge inspiration for the album." WE WERE HERE !!!! This song , and that ending gets me every time 🤘🥲🤘. NWSU/FloorFan.

Amazing tune, great reaction!

The guitarplayer used an ' E-Bow ', a technical add-on that simulates the bow of a violin.

What makes the guitar achieve different sounds is an acoustic pick (it's like a metal finger). Not only the sound of the cello but also as a violin. YOU HAVE TO BE A VIRTUOUS EMPU KNOWS HOW TO PLAY ALL THE INSTRUMENTS IN DIFFERENT WAYS. There are many people who think they are clues until you see them live. I went to see Nightwish in all their presentations from the first one with Tarja to the last one in 2022. I recommend you go, it's like going to see musical theater. Every song is an act you will not regret it EPIC moment

Hi, not sure if someone in the comments already figured the source of the "icicle" effect but to me it sounds like a wooden xylophone. Thanks for your reaction much love ❤

Im not sure, but the "icicle" piano effect youre hearing may be a particular patch similar to one used by Tuomas before, notable at the very start and throughout their rendition of Pink Floyd's High Hopes. Most keyboard brands have provided variations of this patch over the decades, and you'll see it with various names, e.g. Crystal Piano. I could be completely wrong... because i couldnt quite hear what you were hearing.

@carlsnow3970

Жыл бұрын

The area that's cited sounds like a "xelophone" (sp).

Gotta hear the Tampere version!!

This song is the anthem of earth and mankind. I prefer the Tampere version. But I like the presence of Sir Richard Dawkins. Every time I see the Wembley version, I wonder if Sir Richard Dawkins knew he was quoting a Nightwish title, 'endless forms most beautiful', eliciting cheers from the audience.

Check also Tampere concert ... maybe more grand. Evolution strory in 21 min.

And what has the music teacher learned frrom today's Nightwish song?

@ShawkaReacts

Жыл бұрын

Music is awesome.

Liked & Subscribed!

This version is good, but the one from Tampere 2015 is superior.

17:30 Maybe the Instrument you mean is a spinet, very unknown and sounds more like a String Instrument but its played like a piano. Greetings from Germany. 🙂

Nightwish has worked a lot with Pip Williams. He is an English record producer, arranger and guitarist who has been supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangements for Nightwish for about 20 years. Tuomas has used the London Symphony Orchestra, The Metro Voices choir, The Young Musicians London, individual guest musicians with their instruments, etc. etc. for the symphonic parts on their albums. Understandably, it is impossible to take the symphony orchestra + others with you on world tours. So they have to use recordings on those parts.

A FEW REMARKLE WORDS IN THE SONG. ***** THE TAPESTRY OF CHEMISTRY: The periodic table of the chemical elements. GAEA: As originally conceived the 'Gaia' concept envisages the Earth as a super-organism that operates to regulate its own environment, principally temperature, to keep it habitable for the biosphere OPUS PERFECTUM the perfect work, the perfect creation AEON: Used in reference to a period of a thousand million years (especially in geology, cosmology and astronomy), its more common usage is for any long, indefinite period THE GARDEN: The earth. THE GOLDILOCKS ZONES: refers to the habitable zone around a star. It's the zone that has just the right temperatures for ( intelligent) life to develop. LUCA: It's the acronym for the Last Universal Common Ancestor, a key concept in the study of early evolution and life's origin that has been tracked by scientists for years. ENTER SANDMAN: Song of the group Metallica LUCY OF THE AFAR Collection of several hundred pieces of fossilized bone representing 40 percent of a female of the hominin species Australopithecus AFARENSIS In Ethiopia, Why was Lucy so important? In 1974, Lucy showed that human ancestors were up and walking around long before the earliest stone tools were made or brains got bigger, and subsequent fossil finds of much earlier bipedal hominids have confirmed that conclusion. Bipedalism, it seems, was the first step towards becoming human. DEVONION SEA: The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic, spanning 60.3 million years ..., called after the place Devon in the UK where rockes of that period were first studied. ********

Good one.

I love Wembley version

Floor: Enter Luca Marco: Enter Ionia Emppu: Enter Sandman

23:53 Floor - Enter LUCA Marko - Enter Ionia Emppu - Enter Sandman

🤗🍒🤘🏻 well done

I don't think I posted my usual comment the first time around. Hopefully not too late for you... Comments from band and management on the creation of the album and this song, and getting Richard involved, plus some commentary... Troy: At some point we ended up watching Richard Dawkins lectures on the internet. After a while I suggested, half in jest, that maybe we should ask Dawkins to be our special guest on the new album. Tuomas: It was an amazing idea, and I immediately started wondering if we could really make it happen. Jukka: We were naturally a bit sceptical, too - we had to try and ask him of course, but it was better not to have such high hopes. Dawkins had pretty much shied away from popular culture apart from one episode of The Simpsons. Troy: I enthusiastically assured them that I can make this work, like "You'll see, guys". Well the next morning I wasn't feeling so confident any more and I remembered Tuomas and Jukka going "Told you so" TUOMAS: Still, there was no way we could let it drop without at least trying. So we started thinking about a proper manner to approach Dawkins. We decided our best option would be to send him a hand-written, polite letter, where we would tell him about the band, the scientific themes on the forthcoming album and the fact that he had been a great inspiration TROY: We got no reply, so we sent another letter. In the end, I guess we had a bit of luck, because it turned out Dawkins personal assistant knew the band and actually liked Nightwish. He suggested that Dawkins should take our inquiry seriously TUOMAS: I was in Paris doing interviews for the Scrooge album. When I got back to the hotel in the evening. I noticed there was an email from Dawkins, something like, "1 went to the internet and browsed your band, and what I heard l liked very much. So I'd be happy to co-operate. FLOOR: Tuomas sent us a triumphant message: "You won't believe what just happened: Dawkins said yes!" TROY: It was obvious from the start that Dawkins' appearance would attract a lot of attention - both positive and negative. His book God Delusion had created a worldwide controversy. after all. JUKKA: We didn't invite Dawkins to be on our album to criticize religion but to speak as a scientist: an evolutionary biologist. Of course neither the fans nor anybody else outside the band knew it at that point. TUOMAS: There has been a lot of unreasonable criticism hurled at him for all kinds of reasons. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that Dawkins is also happy to listen to contrary opinions and is always open for new ideas. In that sense, he's like Esko Valtaoja, with whom we had the honour to work on Showtime, Storytime DVD. I had endless possibilities in my hands for "The Greatest Show on Earth" What is the sound of crumpling continental plates that mountains are made of? Or the disintegration of radioactive components? Or the sound of space particles bombarding the earth? And how would I refer to immortal works of music composed by man? Well, I included shades of "Dies Irae" by Thomas Celano, "Toccata" and "Fuga" by Johann Sebastian Bach, banjo music from Western movies, "Rock around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. I was also thinking about borrowing "Sandstorm" by Darude, but in the end, we just went for an unrecognizable techno loop. Also Petzold and Bach. Recording - and Jukka Resigning: MARCO: Kaitsu handled the drum parts admirably, so we could continue with the other instruments right away, This time we tried to concentrate on one song at a time and kept on working on it till we felt there was nothing more we could add. TROY: And we didn't even have thunder. Rauhala does not have the best sound proofing in the world, so it would have been pretty challenging to mike the instruments if there had been rain and thunderclaps. TUOMAS: I actually got off easier than I expected, because a lot of the demo keyboards from Hämeenlinna were good enough to be included on the album. The stuff in "Sea-Worn Driftwood", part five of "The Greatest Show on Earth", for example, was salvaged straight off the demo. In Hämeenlinna, I had explained to Tero that this passage would be about "whales singing and rats taking over the world". I had just come up with that improvised stuff, and it made it on the album MARCO: Recording the vocals was teamwork in the best possible sense, no matter who was behind the mike. We kicked around suggestions and tried out all kinds of last minute ideas. Like, "Hey Floor, throw in some of that sweet upper octave of yours in the second verse... Yeah, that's a nice touch!" FLOOR: Marco kept on surprising us. He might just suddenly say, "Wait, I have an idea!" Then he'd pull out his bass and introduce an excellent harmony MARCO: It was great fun recording the vocals. I've never had the chance to impersonate a troglodyte in front of a microphone before, so creating gorilla sounds for "The Greatest Show on Earth" was pretty hilarious. I didn't want to undermine the majesty of the song in any way, but I didn't exactly do it with a straight face, either! TROY: I recorded my own ape grunts at home. To get in character, I took off my shirt, banged my chest with my fists, and pretended I was an ancient Homo Erectus. I think my wife was a bit worried MARCO: I cut my bass parts pretty quickly in about one and a half days. I even got a bit lazy towards the evening of the first day - if I had really pushed it, I might have been able to complete them in a single day. Notes: The first part, "Four Point Six", is a reference to the age of our planet -in billions of years. The journey starts with a simple but persistent keyboard theme, interrupted by massive thunder claps - the origin of life that despite the murderous bombardment by asteroids, sprouts time and again and finally manages to grow permanent roots. The word "archaean" in the lyrics refers to the Archean Eon, the first of the geological eons of the world (Gaea). The second part of the song chronicles the birth and the first on Earth. "Enter Luca" is a reference to an early life form, an acronym for the Last Universal Common Ancestor. We can make assumptions about the characteristics of Luca and other early life forms by reading the DNA of current organisms: "There's a writing in the garden, leading us to the mother of all." Right from the beginning, one of the key characteristics of living cells has been the ability to sense their environment and react to their perceptions: "Ion channels welcoming the outside world." In the third part, chronicling the age of man, there's a fascinating reminder: All of us current organisms are descendants of an unbroken lineage of winners. "Not a single one of your fathers died young". "Little Lucy of the Afar" refers to the famous fossil of Australopithecus Afarensis that was found in Afari, Ethiopia, a hominin that might have been the ancestor of man (genus Homo). In the long run, all species have the tendency to become extinct, and a fitting vision of the future of mankind is presented in the song, "One day'Il cease to be" On the other hand, man had earlier had "a dream to understand" and "[given] birth to poetry" . He wanted to leave his mark stating "We were here!" In the fourth part, man strives to understand it all, and Richard Dawkins takes up the story once again with a surprising claim:"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. The explanation folows shortly."Most people are never going die, because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been herein my place, but who will in fact never see the light of day, outnumber the sand grains of Sahara." In the fifth and final part, Dawkins recites the concuding words of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: "From so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." FLOOR: I felt real good after the final rehearsals [for EFMB] in a New York studio. There were obviously many challenging parts in the set - I'd have to be extra careful in the beginning of "The Greatest Show on Earth", for example because some of the phones rise from the back of the throat but "operatic vocals are produced in the front of the mouth

yes, this is a song to listen and watch many time to get all .. i am still doing❤‍🔥 Greetings from NW-Army-Germany and SabatonFan

Yup, I thought it was a cello too

I think they changed sound after some time so it started out as a cello and then to something else.

It's cool that a classical piece is heard and the Halloween kinda also. But Empuu played the enter sandman riff... and u missed it. It fit the song, and was a great nod to another band they love. But ya missed it. Makes me wanna tear up , good content , I'll sub.

It's easy. As long as Tuomas Holopainen is in Nightwish, Nightwish will be exist. With the third, fourth, ninth vocalist...

@reubenlaspinas9686

Жыл бұрын

Tomas is Nightwish. He was the founder of the band together with Tarja and Emppu. It is his project.

the other version is better, but it's nightwish, so even if it's not the best it's still better than 90% of other music out there. lol

I think the instrument your looking for is a xylophone.

Wish the original video had a flashing light warning lol

you may have been thinking hammered dulcimer. i am bit late with this.

Try The Tampere Version next

ODDS OF BEING BORN 4 TRILLION TO 1

Tampere performance is better, but this one has the e-bow and Dawkins. A tossup really, both are magnificent

louder, louder, LOUDER. please

🤩👌💥💯🎼 *OPUS PERFECTUM* 🤘😎 🇫🇮 💙

I think, the sound effect you mean comes from a xylophon or something like that...

\|/ No disrespect to anyone else's opinions or anything, but for my money, it is actually the other (Tampera?) Live performance that is the better, more performatively invested & thus more emotionally moving, version of this incredible (and incredibly long) Nightwish song. I would check it out if you were inclined to compare & contrast the two. There are really some rather notable differences between them, too... divergences appear at several different sections of the overall tune, in truth. Saying that you're going to check it out would have been a thing that was worth your while; well, now that would just simply be a dramatically uncharitable understatement. 😊

Is this a song or an experience? 🤔

Acc 2 me, the Crapy version. Love the Tampere version. LOL!

you must to react: Shaman - Fairy Tale live

you have to look this one from tampera ai knowe rediceles but it is better

This is great, but the Tampere version is even better.

@pro-v7500

Жыл бұрын

Debatable. Aside from the fireworks the Tampere version doesn’t give me anything that Wembley doesn’t. Plus Wembley has Troy on the e-bow instead of the low whistle.

@ShawkaReacts

Жыл бұрын

I've heard this is quite the debate.

@Twfly

Жыл бұрын

@@ShawkaReacts Best way to settle this debate, is just watch both! Lol! Win win! :)

@Klojum

Жыл бұрын

@@pro-v7500 Tampere is their home turf. The fireworks are part of the music and give a better impression of the Big Bang than the music 'on tape', all while Dawkins only recites his text at the end. The music ending and appreciation towards the fans with the extended podium was done better in Tampere IMO.

@ANDZIGCREAM

Жыл бұрын

Visually yes. Sound, no. This is way better mixed. In Tampere Floor, as much as we love to hear her, is mixed way to high over the music. And this is more mystical in a way.

React Joelma tour "isso é calypso" 2022 at Amazônia, bloco 1 and bloco 2. her face is very swollen, because she has sequels of the covid19 that she got 4 times.

😁🇫🇮☃️💙🪄🎼✨💯🤘

thhe best one is live from tampere 100 times better than this one..plzz do that one u wont regret it

it really saddens me tough that the great masterpiece, the greatest musical composition and performance by the greatest band on earth, had to be to honor the most destructive force in the history of human thought. dogmatic fundamentalist materialism. humans exist as an accident caused by the brutal dog-eat-dog struggle of selfish genes. It saddens me.

@zoebaggins90

Жыл бұрын

Same! As a creation, this song is a masterpiece. I just completely disagree with the very idea it's espousing.

Fairly sure that "not piano" sound you're hearing is a hammered dulcimer.

They're not a bagpipes, they're Uilleann Pipes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uilleann_pipes

how cool is the girl in the audience