NIGHTWISH Side Project AURI Announces Third Album 'III - Candles & Beginnings'
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AURI, the project featuring NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and his wife, popular Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela, will release its third studio album, "III - Candles & Beginnings", on August 15, 2025.
Propelled by the celestial voice of Kurkela, the lush sonic landscapes of Holopainen, and the boundless instrumental artistry of Troy Donockley, AURI once again invites listeners into a world that defies genre. Fusing elements of folk, progressive and symphonic music with touches of world, pop, and avant-garde, "III - Candles & Beginnings" promises an immersive journey for the senses.
The creative process for this new chapter began in 2023, shortly after the completion of NIGHTWISH's 2024 opus "Yesterwynde". While Troy composed in the serene landscapes of Yorkshire, Tuomas and Johanna crafted melodies and lyrics from their home base in Kitee, Finland — bridging worlds both musically and geographically.
As a first glimpse into AURI's evolving soundscape, the hauntingly beautiful lead single "Shieldmaiden" is available now, accompanied by a stunning cinematic video directed by longtime collaborator Ville Lipiäinen.
Donockley comments: "Our new album 'Auri III' is waiting to be released, and one of its songs, 'Shieldmaiden', has already escaped. It's a mysterious song, obscured by its own slow rising power. AURI thrives on mystery and ambiguity so all is well…"
The drums for "III - Candles & Beginnings" were laid down in January at the Petrax facility in Hollola, Finland by Kai Hahto, best known as the drummer of NIGHTWISH and WINTERSUN. Hahto will also tour with AURI when the band hits the road later this year.
Tracklist:
1. The Invisible Gossamer Bridge
2. The Apparition Speaks
3. I Will Have Language
4. Oh, Lovely Oddities
5. Libraries Of Love
6. Blakey Ridge
7. Helios
8. Museum Of Childhood
9. Shieldmaiden
10. A Boy Travelling With His Mother
AURI released its second album, "II - Those We Don't Speak Of", in September 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The effort was the follow-up to AURI's self-titled debut LP, which came out in March 2018 via Nuclear Blast.
AURI began its life with three people, united through their shared need to hear a kind of a music which can't be described by words alone. The first song born of this mindset, "Aphrodite Rising", appeared in 2011.
Kurkela lent her unique voice, while Holopainen and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley (also of NIGHTWISH) cast their spells with various other instruments. Now complemented by the dynamic percussive talents of Kai Hahto (NIGHTWISH),the threesome carves fantastical worlds entirely their own.
Holopainen and Kurkela have been married since October 2015.
Having been a studio endeavor in the past, AURI is finally going on tour, with its first-ever live European trek kicking off in August 2025.
