In an interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece , Nightwish multi - instrumentalist Troy Donockley spoke about how the band will be taking a break from touring and will not be hitting the streets to celebrate their latest album Yesterwynde (2024), saying: “Well, I was part of the decision, like all of us.”
“We weren’t forced to this conclusion, but we were pointed towards it much earlier, even before the pandemic. We realized we were on the verge of burnout from doing too much. So we made the decision, and extraordinarily, the decision to take this hiatus, this time off, is for all of us. There’s no time limit. We have absolutely no plans for when we’re going to get back together to play live again.”
Donockley continues: “At the moment, we’re just trying, I suppose personally, for all of us, to recapture our balance, to recapture, I suppose, our sense of direction for the band. It hasn’t been easy – there have been several personal issues – but I have to point out that we’re an unusual beast, Nightwish, in the sense that we love being with each other. It’s a rare thing for bands.”
The artist adds: “Many bands prefer to have separate dressing rooms and all that kind of nonsense, while we really enjoy our own company. We socialize even when we're not working. We have fun with each other.”
Returning to Nightwish's decision not to play live anymore in the foreseeable future, Troy says: “So, it's not the end. It's an extended break. However, I can see more live work probably in 2027, which is the band's 30th anniversary. I imagine we'll do something live to celebrate. We might do that.”
Fragos pointed out that Nightwish's long touring cycles must have become increasingly emotionally exhausting, since they have been doing exactly that year after year. After hearing this, Troy comments: “That’s one of the main factors, but when you take that and spread it across six people, all feeling the same way, and on top of that, put it on a seven-week tour, or you travel to South America, three weeks in South America, then you’re in Japan, then you’re in America for five weeks. And we all have families. Floor [Jensen] has two young children. It’s going to cause lifestyle confusion.”
Check out the interview given to Troy Donockley by Rock Hard Greece :
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