Nightwish is considered one of the bands responsible for the development and rise in popularity of symphonic metal at the end of the 1990s, and the creation of the symphonic metal genre.
Although the band has been prominent in their home country since the release of their first single, "The Carpenter" (1997) and debut album Angels Fall First, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn and Wishmaster, which were released in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Their 2004 album, Once, led to Nightwish video clips being shown on MTV in the United States and inclusion of their music in U.S. movie soundtracks. Their biggest U.S. hit single, "Wish I Had an Angel" (2004), made it onto three U.S. film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as "Sleeping Sun", from the 2005 "best of" compilation album, Highest Hopes, prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen's supposed dismissal (depending who you believe, she was either fired or quit of her own accord, and we're iinclined to believe it's the latter)
Nightwish - "Dark Passion Play", album review
(Nuclear Blast/Roadrunner Records)
Winter, 2005. The announcement came out of Finland like Rudolph on hyper-drive - Tarja Turunen had been fired from Nightwish. Whu-what? Arguably the most popular of the symphonic and classicore metal bands, with a continued success that has eclipsed their more commercial (but in some parts better known) contemporary Evanescence, how in the hell would the band bounce back from this? Tarja's piercing (and often quite terrifyingly) green eyes and operatic range pinned this band at the forefront of the genre.
Many female vocalists were rumoured to be in the running to replace Tarunen, including former Tristania vocalist Vibeke Stene, but it was
Anette Olzon, formerly the frontwoman for Swedish rock band Alyson Avenue, who took the coveted place.
After some time off from to regroup and rethink all things Nightwish and post-Tarja, they've re-emerged - with new vocalist Olzon - bringing with them an epic album with stunning soundscapes of ethereal consequence and neo-mystical legends. Anette Olzon is no Tarja Tarunen, in fact she's BETTER. While she does not quite possess Tarunen's pure operatic spectacle (or eyes so green they could slice you in half like an emerald laser), she has more approachability in her voice - softer than Tarunen, less-shrieky. Tarunen, despite her acclaimed voice, could be quite ear-splitting at times. Olzen has enough of a range however to carry this off, and her voice is clearer, easier to understand, pleasing to the ear and able to shift quickly between styles within a single song, and within a single line too.
Add to that the fact that it complements the secondary vocals of Marco Hietala better than Tarunen's did too. Think classic Nightwish with elements of the Gathering, and you're on the right track. It's a good mix. Watching video footage of this newly revitalised line-up, the band now seems a far more coherent unit with Olzen than during the tenure of Tarunen before her, Olzen is as different as they could have gone from Tarunen's ice-queen-like image.
Ceasing to be (and incorrectly seen by many as) a backing band/orchestra for Tarunen's admittedly-excellent operatics, Nightwish are standing in the shadow of nobody now, with nothing to stand in their way except a continuing inability to write lyrics that make much sense in English ;)
- given that Tarja's new solo album makes perfect sense in English, we're inclined to believe that the language problem wasn't something she was responsible for.
The band sounds.. happier. Perhaps it's the result of new blood and the new singer in the shape of Anette Olzen, and the resultant fresh approach she brings with no previous baggage or expectation. From the epic majesty of the near-fifteen-minute opener "The Poet & The Pendulum", you'll be listening to this album will have you listening over and over again. From the heavier "Bye Bye Beautiful" - with its embedded middle-finger-extended to their former vocalist - to the more power-ballad form of "Eva" and modern-Celtic melody of instrumental Last Of The Wilds, this is better than anyone could have expected, not a single duff song of the 13 on the album. The heart of this band was never Tarja, good as she was at times, the heart of Nightwish was the power to enthrall, enchant and entertain with stunning soundscapes and may Nightwish long continue if future albums are as good as this. Standout song amongst the thirteen all-excellent tracks is the one already released as a single, "Amaranth", which you'll be humming or singing to yourself for weeks.
You can check out the video for Amaranth above for a taster of this stunning album.
But for that language barrier that seems to bedevil most Nightwish albums, this could have been our album of the year, but instead they'll continue to feed many more "Misheard Nightwish Lyrics" videos on Youtube. Not bad, but fer fragg's sake guys if you're gonna sing in English, please get someone whose first language is English to proofread the lyrics for logical sense!
Winter, 2005. The announcement came out of Finland like Rudolph on hyper-drive - Tarja Turunen had been fired from Nightwish. Whu-what? Arguably the most popular of the symphonic and classicore metal bands, with a continued success that has eclipsed their more commercial (but in some parts better known) contemporary Evanescence, how in the hell would the band bounce back from this? Tarja's piercing (and often quite terrifyingly) green eyes and operatic range pinned this band at the forefront of the genre. Many female vocalists were rumoured to be in the running to replace Tarunen, including former Tristania vocal
ist Vibeke Stene, but it was Anette Olzon, formerly the frontwoman for Swedish rock band Alyson Avenue, who took the coveted place. After some time off from to regroup and rethink all things Nightwish and post-Tarja, they've re-emerged - with new vocalist Olzon - bringing with them an epic album with stunning soundscapes of ethereal consequence and neo-mystical legends. Anette Olzon is no Tarja Tarunen, in fact she's BETTER. While she does not quite possess Tarunen's pure operatic spectacle (or eyes so green they could slice you in half like an emerald laser), she has more approachability in her voice - softer than Tarunen, less-shrieky. Tarunen, despite her acclaimed voice, could be quite ear-splitting at times. Olzen has enough of a range however to carry this off, and her voice is clearer, easier to understand, pleasing to the ear and able to shift quickly between styles within a single song, and within a single line too. Add to that the fact that it complements the secondary vocals of Marco
Hietala better than Tarunen's did too. Think classic Nightwish with elements of the Gathering, and you're on the right track. It's a good mix. Watching video footage of this newly revitalised line-up, the band now seems a far more coherent unit with Olzen than during the tenure of Tarunen before her, Olzen is as different as they could have gone from Tarunen's ice-queen-like image. Ceasing to be (and incorrectly seen by many as) a backing band/orchestra for Tarunen's admittedly-excellent operatics, Nightwish are standing in the shadow of nobody now, with nothing to stand in their way except a continuing inability to write lyrics that make much sense in English ;) - given that Tarja's new solo album makes perfect sense in English, we're inclined to believe that the language problem wasn't something she was responsible for.
you listening over and over again. From the heavier "Bye Bye Beautiful" - with its embedded middle-finger-extended to their former vocalist - to the more power-ballad form of "Eva" and modern-Celtic melody of instrumental Last Of The Wilds, this is better than anyone could have expected, not a single duff song of the 13 on the album. The heart of this band was never Tarja, good as she was at times, the heart of Nightwish was the power to enthrall, enchant and entertain with stunning soundscapes and may Nightwish long continue if future albums are as good as this. Standout song amongst the thirteen all-excellent tracks is the one already released as a single, "Amaranth", which you'll be humming or singing to yourself for weeks. You can check out the video for Amaranth above for a taster of this stunning album. But for that language barrier that seems to bedevil most Nightwish albums, this could have been our album of the year, but instead they'll continue to feed many more "Misheard Nightwish Lyrics" videos on Youtube. Not bad, but fer fragg's sake guys if you're gonna sing in English, please get someone whose first language is English to proofread the lyrics for logical sense!
(4.5/5)
