“As the cliché goes, it’s all about the journey, not so much the destination,” says Tuomas Holopainen. For the Finnish musical mastermind, wheels are very much in motion. Auri, the band he formed with his wife Johanna Kurkela and Nightwish bandmate Troy Donockley, are set to release their third album, III – Candles & Beginnings. Drawing on everything from folk and prog to symphonic rock, the album shows just how expansive their sound has become.
“We don’t gather together and plan things ahead,” he says, “like, ‘Let’s do this kind of Auri album, let’s bring in more guitars,’ or ‘Let’s do folkier stuff.’ We never do that. It’s all just pure songwriting freedom and seeing what we come up with.”
“Just when you think there’s some kind of template, it…