Former NIGHTWISH Singer ANETTE OLZON On Touring For Long Periods Of Time: 'It Was Fun, But It Was Also Very, Very Hard'

Former NIGHTWISH and current THE DARK ELEMENT singer Anette Olzon has told PowerThorn in a new interview that she is not a big fan of staying on the road for long periods of time. "For me, I've done that big, heavy touring thing that [THE DARK ELEMENT guitarist Jani Liimatainen is] doing at the moment [with INSOMNIUM]," she said. "I did it with NIGHTWISH. It was fun, but it was also very, very hard. I have problems sleeping in the bus, for instance, so either I have to drink beer or take pills to sleep [laughs], which is hard. I also think it's a bit boring when it comes to traveling. Nowadays, I don't really like to go anywhere and I just stay at home because I've seen the world, I've been in cities. I remember that I woke up many times and I didn't have any clue what country I was in, what city I was in, and it was kind of scary, you know, when you just wake up, like, 'Where am I?' It happened a lot. I also have a lot of memory losses from my touring days, because it was very intense. So I try to think that I've done that, you know, that Jani's doing at the moment, and I cherish it, but I prefer to do a little bit less gigs. More like, 'Let's do two gigs and have fun,' and then we go home. I prefer that."

She added: "I think also that when you do a tour like that six days a week, traveling, traveling, traveling, people getting sick and still having to perform, you know, singing with a flu in your body and stuff, you don't give your best every evening. If you only have a few gigs, normally you're not ill and you're good and you're happy, and I think that shows to the audience, too. You can give them much more for their money, I believe."

THE DARK ELEMENT's second album, "Songs The Night Sings", was released on November 8 via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2017's "The Dark Element" was mixed by Jacob Hansen, who has previously worked with VOLBEAT and AMARANTHE, among others.

Joining Olzon and Liimatainen in THE DARK ELEMENT's current recording lineup are Jonas Kuhlberg on bass and Rolf Pilve on drums.

Olzon originally joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 and recorded two studio albums with the band before being dismissed in 2012 in the middle of the group's North American tour. She was replaced by former AFTER FOREVER singer Floor Jansen. Olzon later claimed that an argument arose between her and NIGHTWISH when she asked for an Australian tour to be postponed during her pregnancy. Mainman Tuomas Holopainen suggested that Jansen should front the band on a temporary basis, but Olzon said no.