News Round-Up: Nightwish DVD, New Epica Song and more!

There has been a bucketload of news while I was away this weekend, so it's time to round it all up in one handy place...
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NIGHTWISH ANNOUNCE NEW LIVE DVD

Nightwish are due to release a new live DVD/blu-ray package - their second with Floor Jansen on vocals after 2013's Showtime, Storytime. The DVD will be titled Vehicle of Spirit and includes footage from both the legendary Wembley Arena show in London (which featured a guest appearance from Richard Dawkins) and the band's biggest ever production at Ratina Stadion in Tampere, Finland. 

Tuomas Holopainen explained the title and artwork choice:  

"The title "Vehicle Of Spirit" came from a friend of Troy's, who after seeing our show a few years ago defined Nightwish as 'A vehicle of spirit that defies category'. That beautiful description has followed us ever since, and felt like a perfect match as the DVD title."

"We didn`t want to include a traditional band shot for the cover [...] So we started brainstorming on different options and the idea of a classic silent movie era - Hollywood visuals quickly came up. With those classic slogans the cover has a little tongue-in-cheek-touch to it, but it's still classy and eye-catching in its simplicity and originality."

According to comments on the band's official Facebook page, the DVD/blu-ray will include the entirety of both shows. A live CD of the Wembley show will be available but only as part of the mediabook edition (but the digital download will be on iTunes and possibly other sites). It will include bonus material recorded elsewhere on the band's world tour.

Vehicle of Spirit will be released on November 4th 2016 via Nuclear Blast, with pre-orders starting on September 9th.

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EPICA RELEASE NEW VIDEO, BEGIN ALBUM/MERCH PRE-ORDERS

Epica have released a video for the first song off their upcoming album The Holographic Principle. The song is titled Universal Death Squad and shows that the band are going for a strong technological theme this time around.

Although it is a lyric video, it features full footage of the band performing the song as well as Simone in robot mode. Check it out in the player below:

Epica - Universal Death Squad (Official Lyric Video)

But that's not all from Epica. The band also unveiled a new pre-order section on their webshop where you can get all the editions of the new album along with a whole host of new merch. There are many different editions available ranging from bundles to box sets and vinyl (we hope to have a buying guide for you soon). So far there are no unique bonus tracks included, only acoustic and instrumental versions, but band members have commented on Facebook Athat bonus tracks will be released at a later date.

There is a wide range of new merch, too: not only t-shirts and hoodies, but also leggings, flags, hats and even action figures.

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MANDA OPHUIS QUITS NEMESEA

More sad news as another band has lost its vocalist - Nemesea's Manda Ophuis announced today that she is quitting singing and is instead going to focus on her job working in education with highly gifted children. The singer explains: 

“After a long period struggling with personal issues, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided to relinquish my dream to be a singer.  For now, I want to thank everyone who has supported the band and I in all the years we've been around. I have so many great memories that I will cherish forever”.

Manda was a founding member of the band 14 years ago. They are hoping to continue with a new singer.

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WINTERSUN FINISH... SOMETHING?

Keeping up their tradition of teasing fans, Wintersun have posted a series of celebratory recording updates on Facebook without making it entirely clear what they've actually recorded. Some have speculated that we could be about to see the finished Time II, though band leader Jari Mäenpää has previously stated that he is unable to finish the album without having his own recording studio. 

In his most recent post, Jari commented:

"When I announced last week that "it is done", I did not mean that IT is done. I meant that IT is done! 

But seriously, after almost two years of insane amount of work (not to mention a lifetime of practicing and developing music composing, lyric writing, playing, singing, production and engineering skills etc.), something big and amazing that will blow your mind has finally been completely finished, 100%! We thought (and I'm sure you did too) that this day would never come, but it's finally here. I feel I did the impossible! Feeling very proud and happy!

The question now though is, will it ever be released? Well it will be sooner or later, but that is yet to be determined. I have sent a long email to Nuclear Blast and we are now in negotiations with them. That's all I can tell you right now. Keep your fingers crossed!"

Whether it is the elusive Time II or a completely new project, it seems Wintersun will be delivering something epic for us to listen to soon.

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That's all for the news round-up - hopefully we're all caught up now! Stay tuned for more updates and the Epica buying guide, coming soon.