Format single Length 3:54 | Recorded 2006–2007 Writer(s) Tuomas Holopainen | |
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Released August 22, 2007 (Spinefarm Records)
August 24, 2007 (Nuclear Blast Records) Label Spinefarm Records
Nuclear Blast | ||
"Amaranth" is the second single from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's Dark Passion Play album, and also the second single with the former frontwoman Anette Olzon. The official debut date was August 22, 2007, but it leaked onto the internet before the official release, though the exact date it leaked is unknown.
Contents
The title song features all the band members, but the single contains a bonus track called "While Your Lips Are Still Red", on which Anette and the guitarist Emppu Vuorinen don't play, and this song is also featured on the Finnish film "Lieksa!", released on September 2007. The official video for Amaranth was released on June 15, and has more than 85 million views as of 2017.
On August 24, 2007, the Nightwish's official website reported that "Amaranth" had already achieved gold status in their native Finland two days after its release, meaning sales of over 5000 copies, and on August 29 it was announced that the single had topped the Finnish Singles Chart. On September 6, the official site also announced that Amaranth had reached the top of the charts in Hungary and Spain too.
Reach
Reach was the original title for Amaranth when Nightwish began recording the demos for 'Dark Passion Play'. After they had chosen their new female singer in February 2007, the lead vocal of the song was changed from Marco Hietala to Anette Olzon and the lyrics of the chorus and parts of the music was 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 Dark Passion Play album, succeeded by another, Bye Bye Beautiful; both were directed by Antti Jokinen, and shot in Los Angeles, United States, in spring 2007 and cost more than €270,000. In June 2007, Anette Olzon said that the video, which was released together with the single, is based on a Finnish painting called "The Wounded Angel", which was painted in the turn of the 20th century by Hugo Simberg and voted most loved painting of 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. It begins with the two boys playing by a stream, having a good time, but when one of the boys 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 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. This may be a reference to Satan, who fell from Heaven during the great battle. Because of Lucifer's treachery, a fallen angel is often viewed as evil.
The boys reach a hut and set the angel down on a bed. One of them touches the angel's wings, 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 before, barge into the house and drag the two boys out, away from the angel. 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 is presented by Spinefarm Records on August 22, 2007. The track listing was revealed on the website of Nightwish's official fanshop on June 21, 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 at number 1 for 3 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 6 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 5 weeks.
In popular culture
"Amaranth" was made available for download on August 14, 2012 to play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards.