Amberian Dawn on Temptation’s Gate, Nicole’s Arrival, and a New Identity: “I Demanded She Sound Like Herself”

Tuomas Seppälä and Nicole Willerton speak with Metal Addiction ahead of the release of the Finnish symphonic metal band’s boldest album yet.

By Gerardo Pérez – Metal Addiction

With Temptation’s Gate now out — released last Friday, 26 June — Amberian Dawn have officially stepped into a new era. Not just a lineup change, but something that feels, on every listen, like a full artistic reinvention. The first single had already landed with fans before anyone even knew a new singer was involved, and the reaction told Tuomas everything he needed to know. Ahead of the full release, we sat down with keyboardist and chief songwriter Tuomas Seppälä and new vocalist Nicole Willerton to talk about how Nicole came on board, what makes this record different, the surprising connection between progressive and symphonic metal, the possibility of a multi-singer reunion show, and why Latin America shouldn’t give up hope just yet.

The New Chapter: How Nicole Willerton Joined Amberian Dawn

Metal Addiction: The announcement that Nicole was joining the band came as a real surprise. For a lot of fans, the first single dropped and they were already saying “I love this, but who is this?” before the news even broke. Why keep it secret until the single was out?

Tuomas: It was a deliberate choice. I wanted people to hear the music first — without the noise of an announcement, without the inevitable comparisons. And it worked, I think. The single had already been accepted by our existing fans before they even knew who was singing it. So by the time Nicole was revealed, the music had already done the work. That gave me a lot of confidence going into the full release.

Metal Addiction: Can you walk us through how the change actually happened?

Tuomas: It was about a year ago. We were in a phase where Capri simply didn’t have time for us anymore — she had other singing projects she was leading, and it became clear she couldn’t continue with us. Something had to be done, and the only real option was to find a new vocalist.

I didn’t want to do a public search. That’s not how I work. So I started thinking about singers I already knew or had come across. I had seen Nicole’s singing videos on YouTube and Facebook, and I remembered them. I reached out, we started chatting and demoing some songs together, and that’s how it started.

Metal Addiction: Interestingly, you found Capri through a similar approach, right? Not through an open audition?

Tuomas: Exactly the same, yes. I don’t like public searches. Back then, I told a couple of close friends in the music business that I was looking for a vocalist, and through a chain of mutual connections — a friend of a friend of a friend — I was eventually put in touch with Capri. I seem to keep doing things the same way. I’d rather contact someone I already have a feeling about than open it up to hundreds of strangers.

Metal Addiction: Nicole, did you ever imagine you’d get a call like that?

Nicole: Honestly, no. I upload covers because I genuinely enjoy it — I’m not chasing views or trying to get noticed in any calculated way. I just love taking songs and making them my own. So when Tuomas reached out, it was completely unexpected. It’s funny, actually — one of the vocal trance artists I work with also contacted me after I posted a cover of a Devin Townsend song, because they loved the same band. You really never know who is watching. The internet has completely changed how these connections happen — artists can just put themselves out there, and the right people find them. It’s a different world from how it used to work.

Temptation’s Gate: More Than a Vocalist Swap

Metal Addiction: I’ve had the chance to listen to the album ahead of release, and what struck me immediately is that it doesn’t feel like just a singer change — it feels like a new identity for Amberian Dawn altogether. You can still hear echoes of the early albums, but this is clearly something bigger. Was there a specific moment in the writing process where you decided to stop being cautious and just let the record be whatever it needed to be?

Tuomas: For me, it was a very natural process — I didn’t consciously decide to change direction or shed anything. I just wrote songs that felt right to me in the moment, stylistically. But finding Nicole definitely gave me fresh inspiration, because I came to know her capabilities and her style fairly quickly. For example, the growling section in “Unchained” — I knew she could do it, and I had a strong feeling it would work brilliantly in that specific moment of the song. We tried it, and it was exactly what it needed to be. That kind of discovery opens new doors. Knowing what a vocalist can do, and then writing directly to those strengths, is one of the most exciting parts of the creative process.

Metal Addiction: The ABBA tribute record was a massive success, but it also created a very specific public image for the band — one that some might argue was hard to shake. Did you ever feel, while making Temptation’s Gate, that you were in some way writing against that perception?

Tuomas: I didn’t feel it at all, honestly. The whole process was so natural and focused. We weren’t trying to achieve anything against anything else — we were just doing our own thing and following where the music went. I also told Nicole clearly not to try to sound like any vocalist who had come before her. I demanded that she sound like herself, and only herself. And she did exactly that.

Nicole: If I wasn’t singing it in my own way, I wouldn’t be singing it full-heartedly. That was important to me too — it wasn’t just something Tuomas asked for, it was something I needed for the music to feel real. And I think that’s exactly why it doesn’t sound like a replacement. It sounds like a beginning.

Writing for a New Voice: Music First, Always

Metal Addiction: How do you approach writing when you’re still getting to know a new vocalist? Do you start building melodies around what you know they can do, or do you lay down the music and let the singer find their way into it?

Tuomas: Every song is genuinely different. A track can start from a melody fragment, a chord progression, or even a single specific sound that immediately suggests a mood or a direction. The song kind of writes itself outward from that first idea — it’s a bit like a painter who puts something on the canvas and then responds to what’s already there, rather than working from a rigid plan.

Most of the time, it’s about the music first. A few songs on this album were written with Nicole’s voice specifically in mind, but not many. And I don’t think about lyrics at all during the writing process — that has always been the vocalist’s territory entirely. Nicole is genuinely exceptional at writing lyrics. There are some very interesting and layered things happening on this album lyrically, and she can explain what they mean and where they come from far better than I ever could.

Nicole: This album is very personal to me. I wanted to sing about something real and emotionally true, because I believe that if it resonates with me on a deep level, it will find its way to other people as well. That said, for future material I would love to dive much deeper into mythology — Finnish and Scandinavian mythology especially. There is so much dark and genuinely fascinating material there, and I find it endlessly inspiring. It connects to everything — nature, history, the way people in this part of the world see the world.

The Finnish Sound: Melancholy, Nature, and the Deep Dark Forests

Metal Addiction: Finnish metal has always carried a very recognisable emotional quality — a kind of melancholy and restraint that lives even inside the most bombastic and cinematic music. Is that something you consciously think about, or does it simply come through because of who you are and where you’re from?

Nicole: I think it’s the Scandinavian culture more broadly. We are all deeply connected to the landscape around us — the nature, the seasons, the long dark winters, the forests. And there is a rich and often quite dark mythological tradition that runs underneath all of it. It comes through in the music without you even consciously reaching for it.

Tuomas: It’s just who we are. You don’t decide to sound Finnish. It’s already in there.

Metal Addiction: And there’s an interesting parallel with progressive metal in that regard — that genre also tends to carry a lot of emotional weight and complexity. Nicole, you mentioned Protest the Hero earlier. Do you think progressive metal and symphonic metal are more aligned than people realise?

Nicole: Absolutely. Progressive metal and symphonic metal meet each other halfway in a lot of places. And gothic metal too — they all share that willingness to let music be emotionally large and structurally ambitious at the same time. I think it’s a natural journey for a lot of listeners. You start somewhere and the music leads you deeper and deeper. It’s not so much about getting older — it’s about getting more curious.

What They’re Listening To

Metal Addiction: What’s been on your playlist recently?

Nicole: Honestly, a lot of Amberian Dawn — we are deep into rehearsals for the release show, so I’ve been living with these songs. But outside of that, I’ve been listening to a lot of Protest the Hero. I have a real passion for progressive metal.

I also love classical music deeply. Verdi is probably my favourite composer — I love opera. And I listen to a lot of piano music: Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart. That side of me goes back a long way. I started playing piano when I was four years old, so it has always been part of how I hear and understand music. Then depending on the mood — maybe some 80s or 90s metal, maybe 80s disco. It really varies. I like to let my listening follow my feelings.

The Past Comes Full Circle: Dark Sarah and a Possible Three-Singer Reunion

Metal Addiction: You’re sharing the stage at your Helsinki release show with Dark Sarah, which is Heidi’s band — Amberian Dawn’s first ever vocalist. The fact that relationship is strong enough to share a stage is notable — a lot of bands can’t even be in the same room as former members. How did that stay intact?

Tuomas: I’ve always been on good terms with Heidi and everyone around her. We actually toured together a few years ago — Sirenia, Amberian Dawn, Dark Sarah, and Rexoria all on the same tour, sharing a tour bus for roughly three weeks. When you spend that much time in a confined space with people, you either fall apart or you genuinely connect. We connected. We’ve had some great conversations over the years, and we’ve even talked about collaborating on something — maybe a few songs together, something in that territory.

Metal Addiction: There’s been talk — maybe even fantasy — about a show where all three Amberian Dawn singers appear on stage together. Heidi, Capri, and Nicole. Is that something that could realistically happen?

Tuomas: Sharing the stage with Heidi, Capri, and Nicole — that would be an extraordinary thing. Will it happen? I think it’s possible. It’s been discussed. I don’t want to promise anything, but it’s not just a dream either. If it came together, it would be a very special night.

Latin America: The Dream That Almost Happened — And Could Stil

Metal Addiction: Fans in Latin America and Spain have been waiting for Amberian Dawn for years. It feels like every year there’s a “maybe this time.” Could Temptation’s Gate finally be the catalyst?

Tuomas: Everything is possible. We were actually supposed to play in South America not that long ago — a huge event, tens of thousands of people in the audience — and it got cancelled just a couple of days before it was supposed to happen. We were that close. It was genuinely gutting.

I would love to do a proper South American tour. The passion fans there have for this kind of music is real, and we feel it even from here. But those tours are complex to put together. We need the right support from local promoters to make them viable. So if anyone reading this is in a position to make that happen — for Latin America, for Spain, for anywhere that speaks Spanish — please reach out. Make the people happy. I’m quite sure it doesn’t matter which era of the band you grew up with; the reaction to Nicole has been overwhelmingly positive, and I think a new audience would embrace this record.

[To any promoters reading this: the door is open.]

Final Words

Nicole: I really hope you’re going to enjoy the album. If you have thoughts or reactions — good, bad, anything — please let us know. We genuinely want to hear from you. And I’d encourage you to listen through all the songs together, as one complete journey. Some of them reveal themselves slowly. They grow on you. Give them that chance.

Tuomas: (laughing) People mostly hear me on keyboards — the interviews are probably the only time my voice actually appears. I hate the sound of my own voice, but I’ll say this: I hope you like the album, and I hope to see you on tour. We are aiming to have touring sorted for next year. That’s the goal.

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Amberian Dawn’s new album Temptation’s Gate was released on 26 June 2025. Stream and purchase it now, and follow the band on social media for tour announcements.

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