Former Nightwish bassist / vocalist Marko Hietala is featured in a new interview with Finland's Savon Sanomat, where he discusses reconnecting and performing with former Nightwish bandmate Tarja Turunen. 

Turunen was fired from Nightwish in October 2005. The pair reunited in July 2023, performing in Pratteln, Switzerland at the Z7 Summer Night Festival.

Hietala: "Among other things, we talked about how incredibly bad she was left feeling (getting fired from Nightwish). Of course we all felt bad about the way things ended back then. We talked about how she felt like she had to leave everything behind and move to Argentina. I had a similar thing, although for me it was a long process of sliding into darkness. That's the kind of stuff we've been talking about and discovered that people are people. They have both sense and emotions, and those two often work well in unison when things are well. So finding a new understanding of another person and finding a friend again after many years, it's a hell of a good thing."

Hietala and Turunen collaborated on a new song called "Left On Mars", which was released on March 13th. The duo performed the song live at Tokio Marine Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on March 8th. Fan-filmed video is available below. 

Marko Hietala about the song: “A love song to my wife which ends up uniting two old friends. Even if the song itself sucked, I would be pleased about the result!”

Marko's guitarist and album producer Tuomas Wäinölä remembers hearing the song for the first time at Marko's place in Kuopio: "It was a strong one immediately. I think Marko had the idea of it being a duet too, straight from the beginning. After that, it was just a matter of grinding and demoing it well. The fun part was taking the song to Switzerland on a USB drive, like proper agents! We had this secret meeting when we had a Pratteln Outdoor gig with Tarja, both playing our own sets. And yeah, it was great to see them together on stage and finally singing the same tune again!”

From the initial spark of inspiration to the final note, every moment of "Left On Mars" exudes passion and creativity. Marko's evocative storytelling sets the stage for Tarja's enchanting performance, forming a cosmic connection that transports listeners to a world beyond imagination.

Stream the single here, and watch the official music video below.

Tarja was a member of Nightwish from 1996 until 2005, recording five studio albums with the band. Following her public and controversial firing from Nightwish in 2005, Tarja embarked on a successful solo career. She has released nine solo albums since 2006.

Marko Hietala, best known as Tarot's frontman before joining Nightwish in 2001 following the departure of bassist Sami Vänskä, recorded six albums with the band. In January 2021 he announced his departure from Nightwish, but has remained active as a solo artist, as well as recording with Therion and performing with Northern Kings.