Taikatalvi

This is the opening track of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's seventh album, Imaginaerum, which tells the story of an elderly composer called Tom. He suffers from dementia and can recall practically nothing from his adult life, only remembering his youth. The story follows Tom as lies on his deathbed and delves into his imagination as he reminisces about his memories while his daughter, Gem, tries to recover him. The album was produced alongside a movie of the same name, which follows a similar storyline.

The Finnish word "taikatalvi" translates as "magic winter" and introduces the snow flake theme of the album. It is also one of few Nightwish songs performed entirely in Finnish, (the others are "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" from Once, "Lappi (Lapland)" from Angels Fall First and the 2007 single release "Erämaan viimeinen.") The band's writer-in-chief Tuomas Holopainen explained to Metal Hammer magazine: "Since we're doing the movie thing, every song on this album is composed to a certain story, so that's how it all sounded. The movie needed an intro of winter landscapes and all that, and I wanted to give it an exotic touch of being in Finnish!"