Nightwish keyboardist / founder Tuomas Holopainen guested on the Breaking Absolutes podcast, hosted by Peter Orullian, and during the chat Holopainen discussed the band's upcoming livestream show, An Evening with Nightwish In A Virtual World. He also revealed the replacement for bassist Marco Hietala, who left the band in January, will be revealed only a few hours before they play. 

Nightwish recently checked in with the following update:

"Welcome to The Islanders Arms! Preparations are getting finalized and rehearsals are underway. We can't wait to open the doors for you all to this magical and special place! This venue must be the most unique place we have ever played in and we are excited to be able to share a little sneak peek with you all."

The interactive An Evening With Nightwish In a Virtual World concert experiences that will kick off the Human. :II: Nature. World Tour has been rescheduled from March to May due to changes in the band’s touring schedule. The new dates are Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th.

Tickets purchased for the original dates are automatically valid for the new dates, or can be returned by March 12th. More details below. Two day tickets will be on sale for the current price until February 14th, 22:59 CET. After this the price will go up.

VIP packages will go on sale at the same time. The VIP package includes a virtual session with the yet unrevealed bass player of Nightwish’s Human. :II: Nature. tour, among other perks. The identity of the bass player will be revealed on the live virtual session included in the VIP package on Friday, May 28th.

Nightwish will perform in a tavern called The Islanders Arms built in a virtual world for two nights in May. On both nights, the fans will experience an unforgettable 1.5-hour performance, hearing songs live off the latest album, Human. :II: Nature. for the first time ever. These two nights will have their own, slightly different setlists.

- Friday, May 28th: Europe: 8pm CET / 7pm GMT, duration approx. 90min
- Saturday, May 29th: North and South America: 8pm ET (UTC-5) / 5pm PT (UTC -8) / 10pm BRT (UTC-3) / 7pm CST (UTC -6), duration approx. 90min

Virtual VIP sessions with the bass player will be held on both dates before the show (schedule to be confirmed later).

The live events to be experienced at Burst.fi. A recording of the concert will be available for 48 hours after the event for all the ticket holders. More details and tickets at Nightwish.com.

Tickets purchased for the original March dates are automatically valid for the new May dates and do not need to be exchanged.

If you have purchased a two evening ticket and would like to upgrade to a VIP package:

Choose the addition option VIP Europe upgrade or VIP World upgrade on www.nightwish.com. Customers in Europe can choose either one of the options. VIP packages will go on sale February 15th. Limited quantity.

If you have purchased a two evening ticket + t-shirt bundle and would like to upgrade to a VIP package:

The t-shirt sold with the VIP package is different from the one in the prior ticket + t-shirt bundle (additional print on the back). It is not possible to cancel or exchange a previously purchased t-shirt for the shirt sold with the VIP Europe package. You can complement your order by choosing the addition option VIP Europe upgrade (in addition to a two evening ticket and a virtual session, you will receive 2 different shirts and a VIP pass) or VIP World upgrade (you will receive a two evening ticket and a virtual session, but not the VIP shirt or a VIP pass) on www.nightwish.com. Customers living in Europe can purchase either one of the options. VIP packages on sale February 15th. Limited quantity.

The t-shirts and VIP passes will be mailed during the spring.

Following is Hietala's original statement regarding his departure.

Hietala: "Dear people. I am leaving Nightwish and my public life.

For a quite a few years now I haven’t been able to feel validated by this life. We have streaming company big guns demanding 9/5 work from artists of inspiration while unfairly sharing the profits. Even among the artists. We’re the banana republic of the music industry. Biggest tour promoters squeeze percentages even from our own merchandise while paying dividends to Middle East. Apparently some theocrasies can take the money from the music that would get you beheaded or jailed there without appearing as hypocrites. Just a couple of examples here.

This past year forced me to stay home and think. And I found myself very disillusioned about these and a lot of things. I found out that I am in need of that validation. For me to write, sing and play, I need to find some new reasons and inspirations. 'My Walden' so to speak. And it’s even in my book that I’m a chronic depressive. It’s dangerous for me and the people around me, if I continue. Some of the thoughts a while back were dark. Don’t worry, I’m fine. I have my two sons, a wife, the rest of the family, friends, a dog and lots of love.

And I don’t think that I’ll be gone for good.

Conspiracy is the word of the day. For the people who like them I need to say that my 55th birthday is now on 14th of Jan and I’ve certainly done my time for now. Blaming for instance Tuomas is an insult to both him and my free thinking. This is a very sad thing to all of us too. Have a care please. But of course now we’ll know, if some go there on purpose.

There are a couple of things agreed on that I will do on 2021. Otherwise I kindly and with respect ask the media, bands, artists projects etc. to not ask me for anything within the next year. I have some reinventing to do. I hope to tell you about it on 2022. It’s not a promise though.

I am so sorry about this.

Marko Hietala

P.S.: Tony Iommi is an exception to the 'no contact whatsoever.' Childhood hero takes a precedence."

Nightwish issued the following statement in the wake of Hietala's announcement:

"Marko`s resignation has left us with some difficult decisions and choices to be made. After much thought and consideration, we have, in mutual understanding, decided to perform the upcoming 'Human. :II: Nature. world tour as planned, but with a session bass player. The live line-up will be announced at a later date.

We respect Marko`s decision and wish him all the very best. We will not comment any further."