The Kinslayer

"The Kinslayer" was a promotional single released by Drakkar to promote the Finnish symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish's album "Wishmaster".

The song was written by keyboardist/bandleader Tuomas Holopainen and is about the Columbine high school massacre. It features a dialogue between Tarja Turunen and Ike Vil of Babylon Whores. It also includes a line from William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which is said to have been heard during the massacre. ("Good wombs hath borne bad sons.")

The song may also be written in reference to the Dragonlance series of fantasy novels. The line "Even the dead cry, their only comfort" is found in the book The Test Of The Twins, and the Kinslayer War was a major historical event in the Dragonlance universe.

"The Kinslayer" is also the name given to the character Lews Therin Telamon in the Wheel of Time series.

Track listing

# The Kinslayer

(as of Drakkar's official single tracklist)