"Storytime" is the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
's seventh studio album, ''
Imaginaerum
''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Re ...
''. It was released on November 9, 2011,
twenty days prior to the album, along with a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
.
The song premiered on
Radio Rock
Radio Rock is a Finnish rock music radio station owned by Nelonen Media, a part of the media group Sanoma.
Radio Rock's broadcasting began on 1 January 2007, at 0.00, with the official spoken programs beginning on 15 January 2007. The first s ...
, a Finnish radio station at 9.00 GMT +2 on November 7, 2011, two days before its commercial release.
Composer and band leader
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...
has said of "Storytime" that it "is a single that pretty well represents the whole album", and that it gives a better picture of the album than "
Eva
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
" and "
Amaranth
''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
" did as the first two singles from the 2007 album ''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
''.
Background
The song was revealed as the first single and music video on September 2, 2011, with the release date set to November 11. A week later, the band released the ''Imaginaerum'' cover, track list and commentary on each song written by Holopainen, including the first clues concerning the song, hinting on references to
yuletide
Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indig ...
and ''
The Snowman
''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book ''The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It wa ...
''.
On October 26, the first content from the song and video was released in a 50-second teaser video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
The single was released as a CD, download and as a
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
through YouTube on November 9,
and the day after, Holopainen featured in a YouTube video talking about the video and the background of the song.
After a mere week, the band announced that the single was topping the Finnish single chart.
On November 18, the lyrics to the song were released in a YouTube video and on the band's website.
Musical and lyrical content
Composer and lyricist of the song,
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...
has said that "Storytime" is inspired by the 1982 movie ''
The Snowman
''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book ''The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It wa ...
'',
the theme of which was previously covered by Nightwish for their ''
Oceanborn'' album. The idea for the music of "Storytime" was born when Holopainen wondered why no-one had made a remake of the film, and pondered on what his version of the score to the scene in which "
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ''The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fav ...
" plays would sound like.
In a teaser text released prior to the release, Holopainen summarized the song:
:"How would it feel to take a midnight flight with a snowman through the most wondrous landscapes, like in the classic animated Yuletide film? The meaning of our very existence is created though stories, tales and imagination. They are at the very core of humanity."
The lyrics references several classical pieces of fiction concerning imagination, including the character of
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
and ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
'' by
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
. The lyrics also mention the mythical
Gaia
In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...
, the Greek
primordial Earth goddess.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
to "Storytime" features the radio version of the song, which is one and a half minute shorter than the album version.
The video shows the band playing the song in the suits they wear in
the ''Imaginaerum'' film, and with characters from the film briefly shown throughout the video. The video cuts between this movie-like scene and footage of the band dressing up, and behind-the-scene footage from the making of the film.
After having done "a few grand fantasy videos" like "
Amaranth
''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
" and "
The Islander
Islander, Islanders, or The Islanders may refer to:
People
* Islander, referring to Jersey people
* Islander, New Zealand-English term usually meaning Pacific Islander
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''The Islander'' (Rylant novel), ...
", the production team wanted a more down-to-earth video, a making-of clip, which would be "pretty interesting to watch for the fans, even a couple of times."
Packaging
"Storytime" was released simultaneously as a CD, as a download and as a YouTube
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
.
The cover art was done by Janne "Toxic Angel" Pitkänen, who had previously done the cover art to both ''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
'' (2007)
['']Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
'' booklet. Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
(2007). D/ref> and ''Imaginaerum
''Imaginaerum'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Re ...
'', as well as all single covers since "Eva
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
". The cover features a book with the emblem from the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove" and the text "Storytime" on the side. The book stand beside the roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
seen on the ''Imaginaerum'' cover, and the background has a winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
theme to reflect the lyrical content. It is the first single since "Sleeping Sun
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad and the fourth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released as a maxi single with three other songs on 2 August 1999 to coincide with the total solar eclipse that would occur on 11 August ...
" to feature the title of the song in another font than Nightwish's traditional.
Track listing
The track listing was revealed on the website of Nightwish's official fanshop on September 2, as the pre-sales began.
Charts
References
{{nightwish
2011 singles
Nightwish songs
Songs written by Tuomas Holopainen
Nuclear Blast Records singles
2011 songs
Number-one singles in Finland