TARJA TURUNEN (ex-NIGHTWISH) has issued the following new blog entry from Petrax Studios in Hollola, Finland:
"It’s so funny to read that some of you got nervous because I didn’t write in two days…come on. I am working here :) !
The photo session went really well and Jens Boldt did magnificent work again. Some of you will love it, others will freak out.
Few days ago I needed to say goodbye to lovely Will Calhoun.
He is just a wonderful personality and very supportive character. I enjoyed working with him a lot. I hope to meet him very soon again. Thank you Will for your kind words, effort and talent.
Today in the morning I returned back to the studio where Doug and Alex are recordings their parts.
Doug did a great job in the album song 'Naiad' today. Bass is not only the supportive instrument on this album, but also it has a big role in being a mood creator. There is more than one song with two bass lines.
This is the last day for Doug in the studio and soon it will be getting quiet here again, since only Alex will stay with us.
Just few days ago there were 12 of us!
Anyway, I am really getting excited about the recordings because the songs are sounding already exactly how I wished them to sound long time ago. Just wonderful…
The same way that we did when Mike played his parts, Doug and Alex are playing together in the heavier songs while Doug is recording. That way it’s easier for him to get the correct groove of the song. The guys are recording in the control room where we all are present. It’s really cosy here.
Chris recorded a small Hammond feature in one of my songs. The song is very theatrical with tempo and key changes and needs all kind of crazy stuff and Hammond is definitely one of those elements.
There is a very old Hammond here in the studio and I wanted Chris to record with it even though I knew he has one of his own at his home studio. I just wanted to hear that old instrument’s massive sound.
Before Chris and Will left the place, they got to try out the snowmobile! Even though the one in the photo is Alex. I saw they had some fun for a while. There is lot of snow here to play with those machines! It can be dangerous though…
We are progressing nicely and fast."
Tarja Turnen is detailing work on her new album, What Lies Beneath, on her official blog at Tarja-whatliesbeneath.com. Further updates to follow.
NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon has scrapped her previously announced plans to release a solo album. She writes on her official blog, "The factors [that contributed to my decision] are mainly that I want to focus on my family during this break from NIGHTWISH. I am sure I will do a solo some other time, but at this time it doesn't fit into my life and then it's better to not do it than to do it and it just won't feel good. But I hope you all will follow me and the boys in NIGHTWISH from the summer when we start to work with the new album. It will be fun!!"
In the early hours of Friday, February 12, EPICA's tour bus crashed on Canadian Highway 1 while driving in the Rocky Mountains when a car lost control and went spinning for the bus. The bus driver, Dave Mabry, managed to avoid a head-on collision by running the bus against the rail-guard. 
Former AFTER FOREVER vocalist Floor Jansen's new project called REVAMP has inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's debut album is scheduled for release in Europe on June 4.
