Former NIGHTWISH bassist Marko Hietala says he doesn’t think he’d ever return to his former band
During a recent interview with Mexico’s MB Live, Marko “Marco” Hietala, the former bassist/vocalist of NIGHTWISH, was questioned about the possibility of his return to the band.
He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t really think so. I mean, the guys and the ladies, they weren’t really aware how deep my troubles [with depression] went. I did try to talk about them quite a lot, but also since I wasn’t totally aware. The only thing that I had was that I talked to my doctors and psychiatrists every now and then. And then we would try some different pill or a combo of these pills and all that. And they never just went all the way through. They would stop working at some point of time because, yeah, we were trying to medicate symptoms.”
Hietala also says he felt a certain amount of “pressure” while he was a member of NIGHTWISH. “Yeah, about the business and the way, how it goes and the change of companies and daughter companies and all that,” he explained. “And how it goes is that everybody’s looking to get a penny from your ass. And it’s really boring.
“But then again, you kind of have to live with it if you’re gonna be doing this and recognize how much you have opportunities to influence and change things. And so far the copyrights and musicians rights and all that, they are not up to the level. And, of course, with these days of the heavy right-winger populist politics and all that, they’re not really caring about those, but they do care about them companies who can, again, a penny out of my ass.”
In January 2021, Hietala made his departure from NIGHTWISH official, citing in a statement that he had been unable to find validation in this way of life for quite a few years. His position has since been filled by session bassist Jukka Koskinen (known for his work with WINTERSUN), who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 during the band’s two interactive experiences.
NIGHTWISH is presently in the process of crafting their next album, following the release of “Human. :II: Nature.” in April 2020.
In a memorable turn of events in December 2020, Hietala emerged as the victor in the fall 2020 season of “Masked Singer Suomi,” the Finnish version of the well-known masked singing competition. His hidden identity as “Tohtori” (the Doctor) was a closely guarded secret until his triumph was revealed.