"Amaranth" is the thirteenth single by Finnish

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre 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 guitars ...

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 Neval ...

. It was released as the first official single from their sixth studio 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 ...

'', and was the second single overall to feature former frontwoman

Anette Olzon Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish class ...

, following the

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

" Eva". The official release date was 22 August 2007 but it was leaked onto the Internet earlier, though the exact date it leaked is unknown. The title song includes all of the band members, but the single contains a bonus track called " While Your Lips Are Still Red", on which Olzon and the guitarist Emppu Vuorinen do not play. This song is used in the Finnish film ''

The Matriarch ''The Matriarch'' ( Finnish: ''Lieksa!'') is a 2007 Finnish comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Markku Pölönen and produced by the Pölönen-owned film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Plot Martta (Sanna-Kaisa Palo) a ...

'', released in September 2007. The official video for "Amaranth" was released on 15 June and has had over 100 million views. On 24 August 2007 the Nightwish's official website reported that "Amaranth" had already achieved gold status in Finland two days after its release, meaning sales of over 5,000 copies. On 29 August it was announced that the single had topped the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts (; ) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista'' (lit. "the Official Finnish Chart"), which is ...

. On 6 September the official site also announced that Amaranth had reached the top of the charts in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

too.

Reach

"Reach" was the original title for "Amaranth" when Nightwish began recording the demos for ''Dark Passion Play''. After they had chosen a new female singer in February 2007, the lead vocal of the song was changed from

Marko Hietala Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, ...

to Olzon and the lyrics of the chorus and parts of the music were changed, becoming "Amaranth". "Reach" was later included as the second track on the "Amaranth" CD single.

Music video

The video for the song is the first from the ''

'' album, succeeded by another, " Bye Bye Beautiful"; both were directed by Antti Jokinen and filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in spring 2007 and cost more than €270,000. In June

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Olzon said that the video, which was released with the single, is based on a Finnish painting called '' The Wounded Angel'',Nightmail
''Nightwish.com'' which was painted at the turn of the 20th century by

Hugo Simberg Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finland, Finnish Symbolism (movement), symbolist painter and graphic artist. Life and career Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (), Finland, the son of Colonel Nicolai Simberg ...

and voted the most loved painting of the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki in 2006. The video alternates between the band playing underground and scenes of a story of two boys who find a fallen

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. It begins with the boys playing by a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

, having a good time, but when one of them looks up from his toy boat, he sees an angel lying on the other side, unconscious and bleeding from her eyes. The boy points out the angel to his brother, and they run to her aid. Subsequently, they are seen carrying the now blindfolded angel on a makeshift stretcher. They travel to a nearby

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in order to treat her. Residents of the village are confused and some look upon her with contempt, possibly seeing her not as an angel, but as an object of

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

. This may be a reference to

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, who fell from

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

during the great battle. Because of Lucifer's treachery, a fallen angel is often viewed as evil. The boys reach their house and set the angel down on a bed. One of them touches the angel's

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s, and she regains consciousness. The boy tilts her chin up, and a drop of blood falls from her eyes into his open hand, which closes. A mob of men, made up of some of the villagers who saw the boys bring in the angel, barge into the house and drag the boys out, away from the angel, who has begun to thrash helplessly. A man outside sets the house on fire with a torch. The mob outside rejoice as the house burns down, but the angel escapes back to Heaven.

Track listing

The first version of the single was presented by

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is an international record label. Founded in Finland in 1990, Spinefarm was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2002. History Spinefarm Records began as a mailorder distribution company, founded by Riku Pääkkönen. The c ...

on 22 August 2007. The track listing was revealed on the website of Nightwish's official fanshop on 21 June, as the pre-sales began.

Charts performance

"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single, reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed there for three weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot the following week and remained there for a further six weeks. In total it spent 21 weeks inside the Finnish Top 40. In the UK, it charted at #120 on the mainstream chart but topped the Rock Singles Chart for five weeks.

Sales and certifications

In popular culture

*"Amaranth" (alongside "

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

" by

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

) was sampled by the German dance-act Baracuda in the 2008 single "Where is the Love". *The song was made available for download on 14 August 2012 to play in ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, on October 26, 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on Novembe ...

'' basic and pro mode utilizing real guitar and bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits and keyboards.

References

External links

Nightwish's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amaranth (Song) 2007 singles Nightwish songs Number-one singles in Finland Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression Songs written by Tuomas Holopainen 2007 songs Spinefarm Records singles Nuclear Blast Records singles lt:Dark Passion Play#Amaranth