According to the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, NIGHTWISH's upcoming "Dark Passion Play" CD could very well turn out to be the most expensive album ever produced in Finland.

"The final cost of the album was around 500,000 euros [approximately $670,000]," stated band leader Tuomas Holopainen. "We didn't make any compromises that were money-related. Nothing was held back so there is nothing we could've done better."

All in all, "Dark Passion Play" ended up costing twice as much as the band's previous album, "Once".

The bulk of the budget went to the legendary Abbey Road studios in London where the band recorded the orchestral parts for "Dark Passion Play". Also no expense was spared in connection with the promotional videos which will be used to market the album. The group just returned from Los Angeles where Antti Jokinen directed clips for two separate singles.

"The videos cost a total of 270,000 euros [approximately $362,000]," Tuomas said. "We saved time and money by doing two videos in one session."

The total amount invested into "Dark Passion Play" so far is almost 800,000 euros [$1.072 million] but it doesn't concern Tuomas. "I am not scared," he said. "We have done the best we could. There was absolutely nothing we could've done better so it has to be enough."

NIGHTWISH leader/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and new vocalist Anette Olzon will take part in a signing session on July 27 at the Nuclear Blast shop in Donzdorf (near Stuttgart), Germany. The session will run from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

"Dark Passion Play" is scheduled for release on September 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (most of Europe), September 26 via Spinefarm Records/Universal (Finland) and September 28 via Roadrunner Records (USA).

Check out the cover artwork at this location.

A single, "Amaranth", will precede the album on August 24 (Nuclear Blast) and August 22 (Spinefarm/Universal). It will be available in several different versions, the details of which will be announced later.

To see the "Amaranth" cover artwork, click here.

"Dark Passion Play" will be NIGHTWISH's first album to feature 35-year-old Swedish singer Anette Olzon (a.k.a. Anette Blyckert), who replaced the group's original vocalist Tarja Turunen.

(Thanks: Metal From Finland)