THIS IS A TRIBUTE! Ex Metal Elitist Reacts to Nightwish "High Hopes (Tribute to Pink Floyd)" 

Empus guitar playing in this is song simply amazing.

Marko is one of those guys in movies that lives in the middle of the woods yet everyone says he is the man you seek. I swear to God he's like the Yoda of the European metal scene. Great reaction bro!!!!!

I will never understand why this group of extremely talented people are not better known!

You titled it perfectly. This is not a Pink Floyd cover, it's a tribute. One of my favorite live performances.

Marko is a national treasure of the Finnish metal scene. I've been a fan of his since the 90's.

Emppu is the most soulful quitarist in metal scene. Luckyly he is in Nightwish. His melodic solos are just perfect.

"The gras was greener!" I miss Marko in Nightwish. But, I'm happy, he's doing fine now. I hope, he learns to handle his ADHD well, on long term, so he'll never run into a "burn out like" situation again. Health is more important than money and fame

"Marko amped up the song from British nostalgia to Finnish regret" Don't know who said it, but it felt very true.

Marco is such a loss to Nightwish, as his departure left a hole that simply cannot be filled. Troy is a calmer, more subtle harmonic voice, but Marco drips passion and only he can match the emotions that Floor produces in her vocals. With his song, he leaves his beating heart on the stage. This being the final concert of Tarja, and she is offstage in a costume change, I'm sure emotions were running high amongst all of them, but Emppu, Tuomas and Jukka poured their souls into this performance as well. Nice reaction, Cosmic. I enjoy how you grasp the importance of the music Nightwish creates.

Emppu is the only guitarist that gets close to the emotive playing style of David Gilmour. Marko really gives me the same chills in this tribute as I get listening to David singing High Hopes. I have not heard any tribute to Pink Floyd as good as Nightwish is capable of.

Emppu's soaring guitar solos in this rank up there with the iconic guitar duet between Don Felder and Joe Walsh, in Hotel California. And Jukka's drum fills are sublime. And then we have Marko's stunning vocals, soaring over everything. You are absolutely correct in that Marko sings with his soul. A great example of this is the moving Voice of my Father, a solo performance by Marko. Haunting and beautiful. Here's a link to it; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dwvqpRRCDdE.html Every member of this band is a virtuoso in their own right.

One of the things that makes Nightwish great is that every member is an amazing talent in their own right. As for Emppu, we should all enjoy our jobs as much as that guy does. Marko is amazing, and if you've seen his interviews, he seems like a very cool guy. I'd hang out with him and have a beer...or a tea, or whatever someone of his caliber drinks. This song gives me chills every time.

I've encountered many covers in my 68 years, but when I first heard this one, I quickly concluded that I know of no other that honors the original song more than this performance. Thanks! It's a classic.

Marko is a rabbit hole to explore, he's worked with a ton of bands, had his own band, does solo work and his time in Nightwish was amazing. Should check out The Phantom of the opera from this same concert.

He is so enchanting when he sings. His vocalism is so underrated. It's as if his vocals is our souls aching. ❤

I got very lucky that I got into Nightwish back in the early 2000s. All of their tours in the US, they played smaller clubs. I think have seen them 5 or 6 times...and after the shows here in Cleveland, Marco always came out after the show and chatted it up with the fans, he would sign autos, take pictures until the last person left. Tuomas also did this, they were both great to talk to....how lucky was that for the fans in the USA. You get to see them in a club, 10 or 15 feet from the stage. It is crazy when you see them play in foreign countries they are playing in arenas or huge festivals and we got to see them up close and personal. Glad you discovered them and are loving them, enjoy the continued journey. Give Unleash the Archers a try, I think you will love them as well.

Hi Wolff 😄, even Mr. Gilmore himself was impressed. It's another superlative by them. EMPPU even tries to leave a musical reference (bad englisch 😶) to Gilmore's slide guitar. Thanks for all. 🤗 alex

Nightwish makes every song great. Marko is beyond amazing. You need to hear Phantom from this concert.

I am a fan PF all my life (67 y old Dutch bloke) and have seen them several times. As you say, this is a tribute, the ultimate tribute of an exceptional band to an exceptional band

Emppu is very much underrated.

Empu is the modern day Alex Lifeson. To see Marko shining even brighter, check out Phantom of the Opera from End of an era show.

🤗🍒🤘🏻Great job by Nightwish/Marko

If you ever see Marko when he smiles, you feel like he’s your best friend. Someone you can go to & confide in him. You feel comfort & trust in that smile. It’s hard to describe.

Amazing Marko ❤❤❤ Thank you 🙏❤ Greetings from, Nightwish Army, South Africa ❤️🇿🇦❤️.

✨HIGH HOPES✨ This was A tribute to Pink Floyd 🖤 Absolutely Amazing, Well Done! Even David Gilmour gave this Band a compliment. I love Nightwish 🤘🎸🖤 KIITOS 🇫🇮 🙌 Sincere thanks ⭐from my little🥰 country the Netherlands 🇳🇱 🙋🏼‍♀️

Here you can really hear what Marco can do when he sings solo and which guitar solos by Empu 🙂

There are a lot of covers, only a few real tributes and usually both of those are studio versions. This is live and a real tribute. They really showed their class, skill and passion. Funny little detail: in the end when only Tuomas plays, you can hear from the audience some gentleman screams "loistavaa!" in Finnish, which means "brilliant!". Sums it up.

Marko is amazin and he also gives amazing hugs.

🤩👍💥💯🎼 "Kiitos!" (=Thank you) in the end... 🤘😎 🇫🇮 💙

I've listened to Floyd since the 80's! This is my go to now for this song.... since NightWish covered it & made it their own! ❤❤❤❤

Marko will be missed! 🤘🎸

Wonderful reaction again dude (forgive me for repeating myself) - Marko is another rabbit hole worth going down, his work with Tarot before and during his time with Nightwish is superb, as is his solo work 🤘

'Blanket of Love'. lol. I like that. You're a good dude.

I love and miss Marko a lot with Nightwish. he was a big part of the band. But respect his decision for leaving. Definition of a Metal Superstar = Marko Hietala!

Marko Hietala (pron: HEE-ah-Tallah) is a classically trained guitarist, bassist, songwriter and incredible vocalist both solo and in harmony! He has a thriving solo career, with 1st band Tarot, (see song, Tides, live Undead Indeed) his latest project, Pyre of the Black Heart (singles, Stones, Voice of My Father, and Dead God's Son), his involvement w The Northern Kings and his numerous collaborations and guest vocal gigs...he's a true rock star!

Thanks, and more Marko please👍😊

My favorite bands are TooL and Pink Floyd. Just in the last couple years I've added Nightwish to that list.

I’m not saying this is better than the original, but given the choice of listening to one or the other, I’d pick this. It becomes a different song - their own song - because of Marko’s vocal which is so powerful and much different from the darkly controlled vocal on the original. And Emppu’s playing is his own thing but subtly pays homage to David Gilmour with its feel - a tribute to the ultimate ‘feel’ rock guitarist.

Marko singing with Delain..Nothing Left..and solo Voice OF My Father

I was there that night to witness this. I'll never forget it.

Bättre än originalet, vilken jävla röst Marko har. Så bra❤❤❤

You might wanna check the Pink Floyd original of this at Live Pulse. It's amazing.

The members of Nightwish are all top of the heap musicians! Yes...I miss Marco! One day, I hope he decides to comeback! Tuomas...brilliant in everything he does! Emppu...is an underrated lead guitarist! Come on Man...those two solos were world class! This is the reason that a 65 year old guy, who has lived and breathed Heavy Metal, has embraced NIghtwish!

Oh yeah, glad to see you doing ones me and others recommend here on YT. Even if only cause your Patreons. And doing more of the ones that highlight Marco and how awesome he is. How pivotal he was in their success and how good as a group they were, no matter the lead singer. In my opinion all were/are great, but each better in a way or two than the others, or at least for certain styles.

Classic! Thanks for recting!

Love them all❤❤❤

Marco is the kind of person that you can really go and talk to and he will listen what you are saying. I have met him and he is so easy person to get along with.

"Flesh & Blood" by HiSQ feat Marko Hietala, then something from his solo album "Pyre Of The Black Heart", like "The Voice Of My Father", "Stones", "I Am The Way", "For You"....... or something from TAROT, like "Wings Of Darkness", "Do You Wanna Live Forever" "Tides", "Pyre Of Gods"...... the list just goes on......

They played this song nearly every show during their last tour with Tarja, "Once' Upon a Tour" from 2004-2005; musically, it was them saying their goodbyes (in the capitol of their Home Country too). This performance was part of "End of An Era", which is the last concert with Tarja Turunen as their Frontwoman/Lead Vocalist; one of two legendary concerts of their career, the other being Wacken 2013. I don't think I've ever heard of them performing it since.

It's one of the best tribute I ever heard. You can see they are big fans of Pink Floyd and put all their effort and emotions in it. Yukka (the drummer) had a big migraine attack this evening, Tuomas noddes at crew to check on him. I can't image drumming with a migraine. (due to insomnia and migraine he had to stop and let his good friend Kay take over. He is still involved with the band, in managing) This was the evening they fired the first singer, Tarja. Thanks Cosmic for you reaction and kind words. Love from Holland

One of my favourite bands paying tribute to another of my favourite bands with such reverence, respect and musicianship. Even the lighting rig looked like a nod to Floyd. Simply stunning.

I listened to the original from Pink Floyd & then to Nightwish tribute & I have to say that I love the Nightwish tribute better. 😊

It is said that Dave Gilmore himself rates this as the greatest cover of any Pink Floyd song Marcos vocal talents are showcased and he doesn't disappoint His vocals are amazing It is such a shame he has decided to retire his abilities and talent will be sorely missed

I'm a Floyd fan and this was a wonderful version of the song. They did not just do a copy they made it their own. This was the gig where they said good buy to Tarja.

Found this on another website. Makes you amazed at how he sings now. "Marco, on the other hand, was a hard rock and metal guy in his own right, modeling his singing after another rock great, the late Ronnie James Dio. Hietala sounds like Dio, in tone and vibrato. He has an amazing range, but roughly 25-30 years ago suffered from a botched throat surgery attempt to remove a polyp, and lost his entire falsetto range. He had to relearn how to sing and get that range back, all with his head/chest mix, and not total head voice. He can still hit a G4 in his chest voice, but took some hard relearning and retooling of his voice. Rumor had it that he had hired some vocal coach at the time... named Floor Jansen."

this is my favorite performance by any group of any song. it just does something to me every damn time.Marko just wow

A masterclass 🙏😊👍❤️

This was an incredibly emotional night for them, and that is without a doubt channeling through Marcos voice and the others body language. It's their song now.

When you watch the whole concert on DVD in the beginning you can see Tuomas hiding his head with his arms for a while, Jukka did the same during "High Hopes". They all were highly moved because they all knew that they would fire Tarja after this concert, the singer that stayed with them from the beginning of the band and has been together with them for nine years. It was very hard for them all but they obviously have not seen a possibility to go on working together with her. She must have changed a lot during these years, I don't know what the final reason has been for letting her go. Tuomas even thought of ending Nightwish and he went near suicide. He expressed all his emotions about this with the song "The poet and the pendulum". In "High Hopes" everyone of the four members singing and playing it they must have felt every word of this song. For me this made it so exceptional and deeply felt.

Thanks

Another great reaction Cosmic!

Yes!!!!! MARKO MARKOO MARKOOO.....😊😊😊❤❤❤❤🎉🎉 My Viking favorite 😂

Ok brother...Dead Boys Poem needs to be up next...2018 live Buenos Aires

Cosmic, What are you doing to us? This to me is better than the original (how dare I say that about a Pink Floyd classic)? Marko is like Heineken, he reaches parts others vocalists can't. Maybe, just maybe the god's will align over Finland, and Marko will re-join Nightwish, even as a guest vocalist. Until then we have you Cosmic, bringing us all these phenominal reviews, it's always a joy to see what songs you have reviewed each day, Thank you.

Imagine the feeling of one of your favorite band doing a cover of a song originally from your other favorite band.

I can tell you the exact day when I first heard Pink Floyd, The Globe Arena in Stockholm at the 13th of June 1989, probably at eight a clock. The girlfriend of a friend of mine worked for a security company that covered the concerts at the globe arena and their employees were given two free tickets each. Since my friend was a bore and not interested she asked me to come along. I had never listened to a song by Pink Floyd so I had no idea what to expect. The short story is that Pink Floyd became my friends for life and less then a year later the girlfriend and I became a couple for 25 years and now have two grown up kids. I have written in my last will that Eclipse shall be played at my funeral. People often just listen to Eclipse and don't think about it's meaning Roger Waters: ”I don’t see it as a riddle. The album uses the sun and the moon as symbols; the light and the dark; the good and the bad; the life force as opposed to the death force. I think it’s a very simple statement saying that all the good things life can offer are there for us to grasp, but that the influence of some dark force in our natures prevents us from seizing them. The song addresses the listener and says that if you, the listener, are affected by that force, and if that force is a worry to you, well I feel exactly the same too. The line ‘I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon’ is me speaking to the listener, saying, ‘I know you have these bad feelings and impulses because I do too, and one of the ways I can make direct contact with you is to share with you the fact that I feel bad sometimes.”

Fantastic reaction , this was in 2005

Marco on Top, as Emppu and Jukka and Tuomas. Emppu is underrated for sure. one of the very best on lead guitar. IMO

Marko Hietala, often called the father of metal in Finland. I think you described his singing perfectly. He reaches down into his soul and brings us his deepest feeling about both the lyrics, and the music. I have often wondered why his voice moves me so deeply. I finally just gave up and decided that, it just did. And, the rest of the band is so wonderful. Emppu on that singing guitar, Jukka bringing out all of the soul a drum can deliver and Tuomas pulling it all together on that keyboard. This band. That's all I can say, just "this band."

Epic tribute

Thank you so much, I love Marko! 🤘

Greetings from 🇨🇦 I can't wait to hear what you think about the original by Pink Floyd. I recommend the PULSE version, same concert as Comfortably Numb😉

I mentioned it before, he's the Finnish Oldfather of metal. You'll now enjoy his solo album Pyre of the Black Heart. Try "Song of my father". Yes it's about Marko's father.

Thank you for this reaction! I think that during Emppu's solo the camera is capturing the essence of all the band members❤

Nightwish Army south Brittany France reporting. This was filmed at Tarya's last performance with Nightwish, she was on a costume change, she was fired at the end of the gig, the gig was called End of an Era, which it was.

Another awesome review. You get it, sir. Welcome to the Nightwish Army

Dear Cosmic, i Love how you Go this Journey, i feel every Emotions. I was Fan from Nightwish since 2003. Thanks for your Reactions.

The band nightwish has no one yet that can sing like Marco. I hope he's doing well he also is truly blessed. I loved this performance.

Fantastic tribute/cover/whatever! If you want to hear more of Marko singing from the heart, try _The_ _Voice_ _of_ _My_ _Father_ (from his solo album), then once you've got an idea of what it's about (and if you have time) do the Finnish version Isäni ääni as well, maybe live at Henry's Pub for variety. It's a softer song than this but I think you'll agree it's worth it.

so glad you liked this, this is such a great showcase of his vocals clean and gritty :)

Markoooooo...!!❤❤😍🤘🤘 they are all awesome, this song is amazing...Nightwish ❤🤘🤘thanks for your great reaction!

What really impress me is that Jukka had migraine this evening

He sings with his soul. Yes, he really does.❤

Alright, so the original is my favorite song, and Floyd's version from Pulse gives me more chills than Sub Zero. That being said, FUCK this version is great. When somebody suggested it to me years ago, I was like "this is probably going to just piss me off," but it blew me away. Nightwish turned the vibey, English countryside feel into a metal monster. The lyrics on the original give a sense of longing, like just reminiscing by a fireplace or something, but this feels like you had those days stolen from you, if that makes sense. Almost anguish. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that they killed it.

🤘🤘🤘🤘👍👍👍👍👋

Nightwish is always good, whether they play their own material or cover songs. Tuomas is a master composer and lyricist, but also a master at making music arrangements. Marko's departure from Nightwish left a big gap because he is a unique musician. Master bass player, guitarist and singer. There is no other like him! BTW. Tony Iommi was asked in an interview who has done the best Dio-era Black Sabbath cover. Marko Hietala answered Iommi immediately. And after a few seconds he added "Marko is a good singer".

Nightwish tends to bring great singers, they had 3 elite level, so far, which is one of the reasons why the band is loved (they can do anything).

we are fortunate to cross the part of your life here on our path. As for this video, Marko is amazing and his voice sounds so good, but we can notcie the fabulous work of Empuu and Jukka too

One guy in the audience is heard right near the end yelling PERFECT in Finnish. That is what this is - Perfect. Every one if them made it so. Marko & Emppu really shine here.

Glad you made it to this one sooner rather than later! Can never get enough Marko.

Marco Can SANG. You should check out his band Tarot with his brother. Especially Wings of Darkness 1986 and the 20th Anniversary. Saw a interview with Marko and he's in a goid place right now. You should react to him and Tarja singing Phantom of the Opera. Tarja was just Tarja but Marko stood out. If you haven't yet.

Perfection❤

Even though Marko is not a religious man. Marko and Floor sing Ave Maria worth a look. Another funny thing Marko was on the Masked singer and Won lol. This shows not just his talent but he's willing to try anything. And one last thing we forget These amazing artists English is not there first language that alone is amazeballs!. Floor can sing in Dutch, Finnish, German, Spanish, Italian and English. I have trouble speaking in my own English lol.

Hello fellow Council of the Wolff members

The argument is always over Tarja and Floor. It should be over Tarja, Floor and Marko if people are determined to waste time arguing over non-issues. He's got a fantastic voice. Keep on keeping on.

What you said about Marko hit my soul. You’re so right. Thank you for this outstanding reaction.

Marko singing The Islander was what first brought me to Nightwish, then it was Floor that held me in thrall with her emotional singing and kept me listening to Nightwish. For more of Marko singing you should check out his Voice of my Father which is available on youtube in Finnish and English, both are very moving. Thanks for reacting to this one of Nightwish and Marko.

Marko is fantastic.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

The sound of a band of brothers closing ranks and coming together, there's was an awful lot going on behind the scenes in the band at this time, it was on the night of this performance that the original lead singer would be sacked and an open letter would be made public. For more Marco may I suggest "The voice of my father" a tribute to Marco's late father (yeah bring tissues)