Marko Hietala facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marko Hietala
Hietala in 2019
Background information
Birth name	Marko Tapani Hietala
Born	(1966-01-14) 14 January 1966 (age 59) Kuopio, Finland
Genres	Heavy metal, symphonic metal, power metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, bass, guitar
Years active	1984–present

Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born on January 14, 1966) is a talented Finnish heavy metal musician. He is a singer, bass player, and songwriter. Many people around the world know him as the former bassist and male singer for the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He also helped write songs for Nightwish alongside Tuomas Holopainen.

Marko is also the lead singer, bassist, songwriter, and lyricist for the heavy metal band Tarot. He is part of the supergroup Northern Kings. In 2013, he played a main character on Ayreon's album The Theory of Everything.

Biography

Marko Hietala was born in Kuopio, Finland. He is the youngest child in his family. Marko lived in Tervo until he was 15 years old. Then, he moved to Kuopio to study classical guitar, singing, and music theory in high school.

In 1984, Marko and his brother Zachary started a heavy metal band called Purgatory. Later, they changed the name to Tarot. In 1986, Tarot released their first album, Spell of Iron, and went on tour. Before becoming a full-time musician, Marko worked as a sound engineer for live shows and in studios.

While touring with Tarot in 1998, Marko met the members of Nightwish. Nightwish was a new band at the time and opened shows for Tarot.

Joining Nightwish: 2001–2021

Marko Hietala joined Nightwish in 2001. The band's leader, Tuomas Holopainen, and their manager called him. They offered him a spot as both a singer and a bass player. Century Child was his first Nightwish album. He joined after their previous bassist, Sami Vänskä, left the band.

Marko was also a special guest musician for Delain. This band includes many musicians from the gothic and symphonic metal music scene. He also sang backing vocals for Altaria on their album Invitation. Marko has also been a member of the bands Sinergy and Northern Kings.

When Marko joined Nightwish, many songs were written for him to sing duets with the band's lead singer, Tarja Turunen. This allowed Tuomas Holopainen to use Marko's strong voice to add a new sound to the band. A famous example is Nightwish's cover of "The Phantom of the Opera" from the album Century Child.

During Nightwish concerts, Tarja Turunen would take a break. Before Marko joined, the band would play an instrumental song. After he joined, they started playing covers of famous songs during this break, with Marko singing the lead vocals. They covered songs like Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" and Pink Floyd's "High Hopes". Some of these covers were later released on Nightwish albums.

After Tarja Turunen left Nightwish, Marko became even more involved in making the album Dark Passion Play, which came out in 2007. He sang lead vocals on some songs. He also wrote the music for the song "The Islander", where he played acoustic guitar instead of bass. Marko also helped Tuomas Holopainen write the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove" for Nightwish's 2011 album, Imaginaerum.

For the band Delain, Marko played bass on their album Lucidity. He was also the main male singer on that album. He sang on two songs from Delain's second album April Rain and two songs from their fourth album The Human Contradiction.

In March 2009, Marko joined the band Sapattivuosi. This band covers Black Sabbath songs in Finnish. In Sapattivuosi, Marko only sings and does not play bass.

In 2010, Marko took part in Kuorosota, which is the Finnish version of Clash of the Choirs. He led the Kuopio choir and came in second place. During the show, he performed Tarot's song "I Walk Forever" with his choir. He also sang "The Phantom of the Opera", a song he had covered with Nightwish.

In June 2010, Marko joined the heavy metal supergroup HAIL! for two shows in Finland. He sang Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights" with other famous musicians.

On August 14, 2013, Marko was the first singer confirmed to be a guest on Ayreon's new album, The Theory of Everything. In 2017, he performed live with Ayreon for three shows. These shows were later released as the live album Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live.

Marko Hietala released his first solo album, Mustan sydämen rovio, in May 2019. He used his birth name, Marko Hietala, for this album and plans to use it for future projects. He describes his solo music as "hard prog". An English version of the album, called Pyre of the Black Heart, came out in January 2020. He toured Finland in 2019 and Europe in 2020 with his solo band.

In 2020, Marko participated in and won the Finnish version of Masked Singer.

In December 2020, Marko told Nightwish that he had decided to leave the band. He needed to focus on his well-being and other projects. On January 12, 2021, Marko announced his departure publicly and said he would be taking a break from public life.

Ten days later, the Swedish symphonic metal band Therion released a music video for their song "Tuonela", which featured Marko Hietala.

Marko's Journey: 2021–present

On June 18, 2022, Northern Kings made a comeback, ending their 12-year break. This also marked Marko Hietala's return to public performances after 17 months. The band played at the 'Tuhdimmat Tahdit festival' in Nokia, Finland. Marko later said in an interview that he has not been in touch with Nightwish members since he left in 2021. He also said he is not sure if he will ever return to Nightwish.

Marko performed with his solo band at the Z7 Summer Nights Open Air festival in Switzerland on July 8, 2023. Later that evening, he joined his former Nightwish bandmate Tarja Turunen at her solo show. They sang "The Phantom of the Opera" together. This was the first time they had sung the song together since Tarja left Nightwish in 2005. They also performed the song at Olavinlinna in Finland. They toured together in 2024 in Latin America and Europe.

Marko Hietala and Tarja Turunen released a song together called "Left on Mars" on March 13, 2024. Marko has said that he is open to the idea of starting a new band with Tarja. Marko released another single, "Frankenstein's Wife", on September 4, 2024. On November 26, 2024, his third single, "Impatient Zero", was released. At the same time, he announced his second solo album, Roses from the Deep, which will be released on February 7, 2025.

Marko Hietala also took part in Season 15 of the Finnish TV show "Vain elämää" in 2024.

Influences

Hietala in 2013

Marko Hietala has shared who inspired him in music. He says that Geezer Butler and Bob Daisley are his biggest influences as a bass player. For singing, he looks up to Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford.

He also listens to many different types of music, from very soft to very heavy. He says he "soaks up almost everything" he hears. This music then "somehow ends up being used" when he writes his own songs.

Personal life

Marko Hietala has two children, twin boys named Antto and Miro, born in 2001. They are from his previous marriage. They used to live in Kuopio, Finland.

When Marko is not touring, he enjoys reading books, playing video games, and watching movies. He especially loves fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories. In August 2018, he married Camila (Cavalcanti) Hietala. He and his wife have a daughter and live in Spain.

Marko was born with the name Marko, but he was often credited as Marco throughout his career. He said he started using "Marco" when he was young because he thought it sounded "cool." Now, he says it doesn't matter to him anymore. Starting with his solo album Mustan Sydämen Rovio, he plans to use his birth name, Marko, for all his future projects. He called the "Marco" spelling "the last lie I had constructed about myself."

Discography

Collaborations and projects

As guest/session member

In-studio

See also

In Spanish: Marko Hietala para niños