Century Child history :
After a worldwide tour in 2000 and 2001 for the release of Wishmaster, which coincided with the release of a DVD and a new EP (Over the Hills and Far Away), Nightwish went back to the studio to record their fourth album. It was a period of turmoil for the band and of anguish for the fans. Sami, the bass player since Oceanborn, was nicely dismissed by the band who blamed him for not being motivated enough (concerts were a terrible proof of the truth of the accusation. Sami was always in the back, he almost never moved, never communicated with the audience…). The rumours about the future of the band were omnipresent. The one that tops the others was the one about Tarja leaving the band to go back working into classical music...

Marco Hietala's arrival :
There was no way the band would have asked Emppu to play the bass on Century Child, just as he did on Angels Fall First. That’s why Marco Hietala, from the band Sinergy, joined the band. Tuomas announced his arrival himself, noting that Marco would play the bass on the following album (Century Child had still no name at that time) but also on the band’s following tour. But that was not it! As Marco had an incredible voice, he would sing the masculine vocal parts which were, until then, sung by Tuomas on the first album and by guests on the others, like Wilska or Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica.

The release of Century Child :
At the end of April 2002, an extract from the album was broadcasted on finish radios. Its name: Ever Dream. An almost 5 minutes explosive and symphonic track, which lead everybody to expect the best for the album. Four short extracts then appeared on the official website and the tension among the fans was at its best. The track list was also revealed and a title attracted the attention of the surprised fans: Beauty of the Beast. This title obviously reminded us of one of the band’s cult songs: Beauty and the Beast, released on the 1st album. Was it going to be the following episode of the story? A tribute? We did not know. Eventually, on May 31st 2002, Century Child was released in Finland (we had to wait for the beginning of July to find it in France) and went up to the 1st place of the Finnish charts. Some songs are surprising, like Dead To The World, a genuine Marco-Tarja duet, Slaying the Dreamer for its fierce side, the cover of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s classic song The Phantom Of The Opera, and, of course, the track that closed the album: Beauty Of The Beast, composed of three parts (the first one being composed by Marco), and which eventually, placed itself in the hearts of the fans as one of their favourite songs.

The Century Child World Tour :
The release of the album was, of course, followed by a new tour across all Europe, but also in Russia and South America where Nightwish was very successful. The tour started in the beginning of summer 2002 and ended a year later, in September 2003, after a break which allowed Tarja to finish her classical singing studies in Germany. France was unfortunately not able to see the band during this tour. Therefore, on September the 2nd 2002, day that then became mythic for French fans, Nightwish performed in Paris, in the Elysée Montmartre which had been sold out for several months.