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''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. According to Nightwish songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, the album is a concept album that tells the story of an old composer who is reminiscing of his youth on his deathbed. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish's "The Islander" music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story.〔(Nightwish.com - Imaginaerum )〕 It is their second and last album with vocalist Anette Olzon. The first single off the album, "Storytime" was released on November 9, 2011〔 and quickly topped the Finnish single charts.〔 According to ''Iltasanomat'', ''Imaginaerum'' sold more than 50,000 copies in Finland during the first day after release. It has been described as Nightwish's best album by Sonic Seducer and has been album of the month by Dutch metal magazine Aardschok Magazine. ==Background== While rumours of the next Nightwish album had been circulating for a while, the album was confirmed in the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine ''Soundi'', when lead composer and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen stated that he had started work on a new album. In October 2009, rumours about the new album were circulated, suggesting that the title would be ''Wind Embraced''. Lead vocalist Anette Olzon dismissed the rumours as false and stated that the songs for the new album had not yet been completed, with the exception of three songs written before May 2009. Holopainen said in a 2009 interview that "()I can't reveal to you anymore but there is going to be a big twist so to say, on the next album." In an interview with uilleann pipist Troy Donockley (who recorded with the band on ''Dark Passion Play''), when asked about his involvement in the new album, he stated "Oh, yes, I ''will'' be playing on the next album and, from what Tuomas has told me, it is going to be something extraordinary..."〔 In early 2010, Olzon reported that the album was half-written, and that fans should not expect anything earlier than fall of 2011. In April 2010, Holopainen revealed that he has now finished writing songs for the album, and in June, he had finished recording the pre-production demo.〔 Throughout the summer of 2010, the band gathered to rehearse songs in the Finnish village of Sävi, and recording of the album started in October 2010〔 and ended in May 2011, while the finished album stood ready on June 4.〔 The band announced in late 2010 that more information about the album's content would be released in late January 2011,〔 but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that there would be a delay in the information being released due to schedule changes. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton-Gaiman-Dalí amusement park we are about to enter."〔 In the same statement, it was also revealed that the album would be themed, and that "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before". The orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff".〔 In the Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs would not be getting any orchestration at all, differing from their latest album, on which all songs had a major orchestral presence. On February 10, 2011, Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title would be ''Imaginarium''. They also revealed that the band had been preparing a movie based on the album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for "The Islander". According to Tuomas, the name was meant to be related to "the power of imagination and the roller coaster of life". At first he thought of ''Imagine'', but that would be too obvious and similar to John Lennon's song, so he changed it to ''Imaginarium''.〔 On February 23, three interviews were released on the website - one each with composer Tuomas Holopainen, director Stobe Harju, and producer Markus Selin. Holopainen revealed the origin of the project, and that Nightwish will appear as themselves in the film, with minor roles. On August 31, the band announced that the album and movie had changed name from ''Imaginarium'' to ''Imaginaerum'', to avoid mix-ups with other things entitled "Imaginarium". This also led to changing the title of the track with the same name, but the song "Storytime" still include the word "imaginarium" in the lyrics. In early September, it was announced that the first single from the album would be "Storytime". A week later, the band released the ''Imaginaerum'' cover, tracklist and commentary on each song written by Holopainen. "Storytime" was released as a CD, download and as a video through YouTube on November 9,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nightwish: Storytime CDS )〕 and after a mere week the band announced that the single was topping the Finnish single chart, as well as having high positions in Hungary and Great Britain. On November 18, Amazon released 30-second samples from every song off the album, and the band shortly announced on their website that Amazon had done so without their knowledge, and that they recommended that one shouldn't listen to them, if one "want to experience the true impact of the album". On November 23, the Finnish Disney comics magazine, Aku Ankka, collaborated with the band in a pre-listening of the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove", which was released on Aku Ankka's website and required a code that was given in that week's issue of the magazine. Within hours, pirated copies of the song were out on YouTube and various torrent sites. Nightwish confirmed on January 11 that this will be the second single of the album. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Imaginaerum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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