Nightwish

[Diesel 11]

I also never knew what Tarja was singing in the pre-chorus and assumed it was something like "Hold, nice day my heart" or something, but the actual lines are pretty poetic (and concise!) for Tuomas:

Old loves, they die hard
Old lies, they die harder

It's kinda surprising to me that you guys haven't paid too much attention to Tuomas's lyrics before. When I got into Nightwish I was reading the lyric booklets alongside the music. He has his Tuomas-isms but overall he's among my favorite lyricists.

For a group of Finnish forest elves to be writing this sweeping epic using (what later turned out to be completely gibberish and fake) Native American chants simply seems misguided. It's tough to hear considering John Two-Hawks has been called out as a phony of the indigenous community and his words here literally have no meaning.

For all of John Two-Hawks's faults - and they seem to be many - the words he's saying are not actually gibberish. Two-Hawks has been upfront about not being an master of Lakotan, and IIRC stated that he had a friend help with the translate. Whether that's true or not we may never know, but people have checked the words found in the Once booklet, and while there are some mistakes and grammar issues, the translation is fairly accurate in a Google Translate kind of sense - hitting the big pictures but without the finer details that an expert would've had in his translation.

With that said, I certainly agree that the song won't ever feel flawless thanks to the controversy, but I think it's a perfect song if you ignore that. It's kind of like the situation with "Hallowed" or "The Nomad" - yeah, some fuckery went on, but great songs are still great songs. And in Nightwish's case, it seems like a genuine mistake due to lack of information. So I can give them a pass but it is an unfortunate dilemma.

Things get back on track with The Siren, which opens with a really cool, killer Emppu-driven section punctuated by a nice set of strings. It's a cool, but a weirdly empty song.

Empty? To me this is Tuomas utilizing everyone to their full potential. Tarja's vocal layers are glorious, truly playing the role of the siren. Marko is a wonderfully doomed sailor, he nails that fucking chorus. Emppu gets to play some fire guitarwork alongside the orchestra (love the violin solo), and Jukka is reliable as ever. Everyone sounds like they're having fun. And the framework is fairly simple; the lyrics guide us to the shore Tuomas wants us to see, and then he lets the music speak for itself. Easily in my Top 3 from the album.

It definitely loses some points for me due to a full minute of spoken word killing the momentum

Goddamn dude, harsh! "Higher Than Hope" was written about a Nightwish fan who had cancer and ended up becoming a friend of the band. He died the same year Once came out IIRC. The spoken word bit is a direct recording of his own thoughts on his impending death. I understand where you're coming from, but to me the context makes it work. (Also they only ever play this song when his family is in attendance.) (Also his father also died of cancer and passed away while listening to his favorite album, Dark Passion Play.)

Honestly, the member it seems to take away the most from here is Tuomas. Emppu and Marko (and Jukka) still stand out pretty prominently in the mix. I find myself having to ask "is that all orchestra or a keyboard" frequently here?

Yeah, I agree. You can tell that by EFMB he's focusing more and more on just straight piano, which definitely add to the layers this band continues to craft with each and every song.

If that's him stitching he should stitch more often!

If you can believe it, the final section (featuring Marko's "rap"), was originally written as part of a six-minute version of "Nemo". It was at the behest of the producer to divorce that section from "Nemo" and Tuomas, not wanting to toss it out completely, combined it with another idea he'd had which resulted in "Romanticide". I think we can both agree that the final result on the album is far and away better than what almost was!

Comparing this to Powerslave is pretty fair, though, as there's an equal amount of filler on both.

Even if that WERE the case (and it's not), both are better albums than Seventh Filler of a Seventh Filler. Also L + ratio + your mom's a hoe.

It's really nice to see Floor have such a creative role in the setlists and changing vocal parts. Honestly I would have thought Tuomas too smug to allow it previously.

I don't actually think Tuomas isn't as much of a dictator as a lot of people think. It's clear he has the final say at the end of the day, same as Steve does in Maiden, but when you actually read about how they compose records, it's a full band experience. He supplies (almost all of) the songs, and then everyone gets a say in the studio as to how to arrange them. And it's worked out quite well for them, it sounds like. They seem to enjoy the recording process even if the songs aren't all written by them. Tuomas has the vision and they add their input whenever and wherever it benefits the songs.

I couldn't disagree more. The set starts to lose me entirely after Sleeping Sun, and the inclusion of Creek Mary's Blood (plus five fucking minutes of chanting as a separate track), and the choice of Wish I Had An Angel as a closer is baffling. Up through Sleeping Sun, it's a phenomenally sequenced live album.

I agree that "Wish I Had an Angel" isn't the best choice for a closer, but otherwise I disagree. "Stone People" is a great way to transition from GLS to CMB, and the latter has only ever been played like five times so I think it's a wonderful special inclusion, especially since GLS is gonna appear in most setlists from here on out.

Now granted, I am only slightly familiar with the original version, but this song feels so random and awkward on this record. I love that we get a Marko solo tune, but why this? It's fine, but as with most covers I don't think it should be included on official releases.

Man, I thought you'd be all over this one! I love the original Pink Floyd song, but Nightwish really transform it into something even better. "High Hopes" was, of course, the final track on Pink Floyd's final album (ignoring Endless River), and its lyrics are a look back over one of the most magnificent careers in rock history with the curtain rapidly closing behind them. I love the inclusion on this album here because it's the band, minus Tarja, looking back over their own career. They know what's going to happen, and there are mixed emotions going on. To me this adds a lot to the performance itself. Plus, Tuomas's sparkly keys are amazing and Marko KILLS IT on this song. To me it's up there among my faves from this band (among many faves, I should say).

Anyway, be glad you got "High Hopes" instead of "Symphony of Destruction" or "Wild Child", which they also played live. Now that would've been boring as shit.

 

[Diesel 11]

Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places) (2009)
A little document of the Dark Passion Play Tour, this is the weakest of the live albums so far, but not without its merits. We get our only live record with Anette at the helm, and she does a really good job with her own material. It's basically an alternate version of the DPP album with a few songs missing and some bonus tracks tagged onto the end. A nice little package.

"Bye Bye Beautiful" kicks things off; love the heavier guitars in the beginning but this doesn't seem like a very good choice for a concert opener. Marko sounds like he's out of it during the chorus; can't tell if it's the material that's giving him trouble or if it's an off night. Certainly not the easiest chorus to sing, but he was the high point of the song in the studio and here he's the low point. "Whoever Brings the Night" gets a solid performance, but it's "Amaranth" that really finally draws you in. Listening to it live reminds me of how easily I forget that this song is a fucking banger.

Now comes the big one, "The Poet and the Pendulum", and while it feels out of place given how used I am with how it opens the album (and I think it would've been a killer concert opener too), it's a strong performance. Marko once again feels out of it but his is a tough section to sing. Anette also drops a few of the vocal lines to make it easier on her, but the final verse in "Mother and Father" is a tremendous climax to the song. Then without a second thought we are flung into the dark sands of "Sahara" for a fun performance of a monster song.

At this point we're finally roped in and the band takes us into a fantastic rendition of "The Islander", which is easily one of my favorite live songs from them. I love it as part of the Tampere concert from Vehicle of Spirit and this version is killer too, easily my favorite on this album. There's a vibe it has that's even better than the original studio version, with its stripped-down mechanics allowing the band to take it easy as they get the audience involved with the tune. The finale, with Marko's beautiful voice rising above the mist, is truly phenomenal.

Troy Donockley joins the stage for "The Islander", and this transforms into a great performance of "Last of the Wilds" before Anette returns to finish off the live section of the record with a great rendition of "7 Days to the Wolves". On this song, Marko has once more reclaimed his title of being the master, putting all doubts I had in those first few tracks to rest.

What remains of the record is a trio of Dark Passion Play material not found on the album. "Escapist" feels like a Century Child song played with the DPP lineup. The intro allows Tuomas to play around with his orchestra, and the rest of the song is a nice if inconsequential affair that does have a super fun chorus. It feels a little empty compared to the rest of the album, but I'd take it over "For the Heart I Once Had". Marko and Tuomas put their tools together on "While Your Lips Are Still Red", the theme to the Finnish film Lieksa! (The Matriarch), which is a lovely little ballad with beautiful verses and a strong chorus. Finally, a demo version of "Cadence of Her Last Breath", featuring Marko on vocals, closes us out. Leave it to this band to have a demo that sounds as good as many band's actual final products. It's a nice glimpse into what could have been if the group decided to just continue as a four-piece.

Overall, not their best live record, but certainly not a bad one. Just a solid little outing that feels like a bonus package from the world tour. Worth your while, but likely not something that will be returned to all that often.

 

[Diesel 11]

Imaginaerum (2011)
Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally happened. Tuomas Holopainen and his ensemble cast of performers have jumped the fucking shark. On Nightwish's seventh album, Tuomas goes so fucking over-the-top that he forgets that he's a bandleader and not a ringmaster in a circus. Imaginaerum - originally intended to be titled Imaginarium (hence the line in "Storytime") but that was already taken - is the record where the entire sink isn't just ripped out of the studio kitchen, but also rebuilt into several smaller kitchen sinks that are arranged in the formation of a kitchen sink that eclipses the size of the mermaid moons, crow's ghost river nest, and the fucking ego of the man that said, "Hey, let's write a movie, but like, instead of a movie, it's an album," oh but also they released a fucking movie alongside the album anyway.

Well I got about twenty minutes into the movie when I tried to watch it a few years back and lost interest completely. I just do not give a shit about children and snowmen and magic when it's being piloted by Tuomas Holopainen or one of his cronies. Luckily, the album is way better. It's certainly the most flawed Nightwish record we've seen in quite some time, but a lot of these songs slap and are super interesting steps forward, since the band has nothing left that stands in their way when it comes to writing, performing, and arranging music. It's just that the experiments documented on Imaginaerum come with the pros and cons that most experiments have.

The Songs.
We begin with a beautiful little intro called "Taikatalvi". Marko sings about 'winter magic' in his native Finnish and it is so. fucking. good. God I love it. Segueing into the fantastic BANGER that is "Storytime" makes this the Nightwish equivalent of Maiden opening Seventh Son of a Seventh Son up with "Moonchild", only this is 10,000x better. From beautiful stirring Finnish to the fucking swirl of "I AM THE VOICE OF NEVER-NEVERLAND!" is just pure gold. And then Emppu reminds everyone why he's here, with "Ghost River", at heart a roaring duet between Anette and a demonic child killer Marko (which also introduces the children's choir that Tuomas has picked up for the first time), but bookended by possibly the best riff in the band's entire catalogue (and the one in the middle rips too!).

After being cast down a river of slithering heaviness, Tuomas B. Benson pokes his head in the door and smilingly inquires, "Hey fellow metalheads, do ya like smooth jazz?" Getting used to the transition between those first two rockers into "Slow, Love, Slow" took some time, but I do enjoy this mellow little traverse through a winter-beset New Orleans is we slowly shuffle through with childlike wonder at the falling snow. That trumpeter really do be vibing. Anyway, this is soon forgotten because Mr. Holopainen thrusts forward another piece to whet our appetite in the form of ANOTHER ABSOLUTE BANGER, "I Want My Tears Back". This is, up to this point, Troy's finest moment. The heavy guitar that opens up the song ends up playing second fiddle to the pipes, and while it through me off when I first heard the song, I love the shit out of it now. Anette and Marko take turns at the mic. Marko's vocals especially put joy in my heart, god he's so good. And the instrumental jig section is fantastic and fantastical - I feel like it's something Steve and Janick might write if they believed in leprechauns.

Then we come to "Scaretale", with its creepy decayed children singing plague songs, and at first it seems like this is gonna be another FUCKING CORKER. But here we run into an issue. Yeah, a good chunk of "Scaretale" is killer - the build-up is excellent, Emppu's riff slaps, and Anette has her crazy witch performance that I love. But the problem is that Tuomas arranged in seven minutes what should've been left to breathe for ten. Again, the build-up is excellent, but the payoff is weird. Anette's verses feel cut short, as if there's a missing riff that they forgot to plug in, and Marko's circus nightmare performance feels half-baked as well. It's so short that it genuinely feels pointless. I'm not a big fan of circus music, but I'd be okay with this moment if Tuomas would expand on it. But he doesn't, and it disappoints the shit out of me. "Arabesque" follows, and it's a nice instrumental intermission that allows the jugglers to have sex with in the rafters. I do appreciate how even the 'segue' tracks have their own identity and don't feel like pure fluff, something that Nightwish always do particularly well every album (just like Maiden).

We calm down a bit and head to the dentist doubling as a mortician. Yeah, "I checked your teeth and warmed your toes" is one of the Tuomas lines of all time. But "Turn Loose the Mermaids" is an otherwise beautifully arranged little ballad, although I wish the title had been saved for something more epic than this. "Rest Calm" is a great, doomy track that begins beautifully with Marko screaming at the top of his lungs, "IIII!!!! WANT TO DIE!!!!" Me 2 m8 me 2. (I'm kidding, it's "went", but it's funnier hearing it as "want".) The chorus maybe reprises once too often, but otherwise this track slaps, and Marko is the highlight (although Anette is Very Great Too). Then comes the Marko-written "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove", and wow, I underrated the shit out of this one in the past. Beautifully layered, wonderful duet between Marko and Anette showcasing just how good they sound singing together, and Troy even sings himself for the first time in the bridge! Super good.

And then comes the closing trio. I know "Last Ride of the Day" is a fan favorite and helps close most Nightwish shows nowadays, and I do like it, but it's not one of the album's highlights for me. "Song of Myself" opens in the same manner that "Last Ride" and "Scaretale" do, which kind of throws you off, but it builds into a fucking fire track. There are four parts to it, but you may has well have just split it into two - the song, and the poem. Stitching the two together is certainly an odd choice from Tuomas Odd Choice Holopainen, but as time has gone on I have come to enjoy "Love" a lot more than I ever expected to. The voices chosen are great, the music in the backround (featuring the whole band minus Anette) is quite nice, and the man does have a way with words. I just also wish he didn't have to include the old man cumming in a doll. ;-; Finally, we close out the movi- sorry, album, with a credits scene. The title track is just a reprise of several tracks that came before in a splendid little (read: six minute) orchestral piece. Decent way to close out the record.

The Good.
Imaginaerum has a ton of stuff going for it. Anette and Marko complement each other wonderfully, possibly better than on DPP; Troy gets some more room to play that he uses to great effect (you can tell that Tuomas is going to leap at the chance to incorporate him right into the band, as well he should, because he is one talented motherfucker that adds new dimensions to an already great sound); the great songs on here are FUCKING AMAZING; and it's nice to see the group experimenting with their sound, not content to just stick to their comfort zone.

The Bad.
The inconsistency from song to song works, but it doesn't help much. It's like Tuomas assembled thirteen amusement park attractions and tried to market something for everyone, from the goths to the metalheads to the pop fans to the classical snobs and to the weirdos who listen to theme park soundtracks on shuffle. A lot of this record is great, but the choices he's made throughout are questionable even when he pulls them off. And then there's "Scaretale", probably the most experimental song here, but he doesn't take it all the way. It's like he's going over the top but then stops as soon as he sees the other side, instead of running down and entering it. Just commit, bro!

Will also say that the production on here is pretty compressed. Emppu's guitarwork is often awesome but on a handful of songs (particularly "Storytime" and "Last Ride of the Day"), it sounds like fucking razors stabbing my eardrums.

The Verdict.
Overall, in spite of its flaws, I think this is still a monster album. It's got some tracks that rank up there with the band's best, and a couple that rank among their, let's say 'least consequential'. Overall, my impression of Imaginaerum is ultimately that it's the band's wildest and most overblown record to date. It's not too surprising, then, that they would strip back the sound in the Floor era... but that's another story for another day.

Also, farewell to Anette who did not deserve to go out so soon because she is just phenomenal all throughout this record. Goddamn, what a shame. Love her voice. She's certainly more pop oriented, but that girl can belt like a motherfucker! At least Tarja got five albums before he was axed, Anette got two. TWO! Tragic.

 

[Diesel 11]

Showtime, Storytime (2013)
Well Anette is gone, and in her place is the wonder of the Netherlands Floor Jansen, of After Forever and ReVamp fame. Despite being on the Imaginaerum Tour, the setlist that introduces the wide world of to the new face of Nightwish is basically a Once + Imaginaerum set with a few other classics added for balance.

And you know what? This is kind of a masterclass in how to introduce your new singer. "Dark Chest of Wonders" and "Wish I Had an Angel" kick things off with a strong boost of energy, before the band dips their toes into their early sound for a downtuned but delightful "She Is My Sin". Floor kills it on those goddamn high notes! By the time we reach the classic "Ever Dream" it's frankly stunning to hear the new life she has injected into songs that were already awesome from the start.

Floor knocks the Tarja songs out of the park completely, but I'm not as wowed by her singing some of Anette's tracks. She seems to take a more laid-back approach on them, and the result is a bit lukewarm. "Ghost River" is cool, but the chorus to "Storytime", which should be smooth sailing, is almost too smooth, and her voice is a bit uninteresting in "I Want My Tears Back" (although Marko brings the fire as always!). She always can't pull off "Amaranth" half as well as Anette did. That song kind of loses its spark. "Nemo" is actually walking the tightrope but she does succeed by the end.

But then you have the beautiful "Bless the Child", and the rousing rendition of the first half of "Song of Myself", which actually works super well live as a stand-alone piece. And the whole band is playing to their strengths. "Last of the Wilds" makes an appearance, and "Romanticide" is a highlight among the highlights - hearing Floor and Marko raise their voices in unison, and then hearing Floor outclass fucking Marko, my god, that's amazing!

And I would be remiss to not mention the album's grand slam, "Ghost Love Score". Now here is how you teach me to fall in love all over again with a song I never stopped loving in the first place! The original was perfect, and this performance is perfect too. In the original, the highlight is on Tuomas's song construction, climaxing with the brilliant chorus that gets its due time in the sun. In this updated live performance, the highlight is Floor's mastery of her craft, climaxing with one of the most unbelievable vocals I have ever heard in my friggin' life. Once again, this song never fails to give me chills.

It's a little odd not to end with that moment, and while I think "Song of Myself" could've been rearranged before GLS, "Last Ride of the Day" is a stunning conclusion to a terrific show that works even better live than it did on the original album. Throw in some hilariously awkward crowd banter from Marko, and close everything out with sea of voices screaming out in exhilaration to the tune of "Imaginaerum", and you have a live record that, while maybe not eclipsing End of an Era, comes really fucking close.

 

[The Dissident]

That version of Ever Dream is what introduced me to Nightwish, I rarely listen to the studio version of it or Ghost Love Score due to how amazing that are on this album. That being said Nightwish is on the list of bands to hopefully do another runthrough this summer.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Damn you move fast, Diesel!

 

[Diesel 11]

I can’t linger too long. Nightwish constantly have me hooked for the upcoming albums and I wanna get through them all! The records get one good listen and then it’s off to the next one — I’ve heard them so often by now that I don’t need to go back again and again. If I do that, I run the risk of overplaying them. Hence, an album a day keeps the doctor away.

 

[Diesel 11]

Taking a side-step today to log the first of Tuomas's side projects, this one under his own name.

Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge (2014)
To be alerted to the news that Tuomas was dropping a solo album back in 2014 must've resulted in some perplexing thoughts. A solo career? Isn't that basically what Nightwish is? Maybe it's hindsight, having heard Human. :||: Nature. which proved for once and for all that nothing is off the table in terms of what Tuomas and the band are willing to do. Of course the question that follows has to be, "Well what's it about?" Ladies and gentlemen and enbies, leave it to fucking Tuomas Holopainen to write a goddamned album about Scrooge McFucking-Duck.

As I've mentioned before, I too grew up with the Barks comics about Scrooge and Donald, and also fell in love with Don Rosa's epic detailing about Scrooge's rich past. That doesn't mean I'm going to go out and write a record about it! It's such a silly idea, but Tuomas - gotta give the man credit - he plays it so serious and straight that you can't help but be won over by the madness of crafting such an album. By and large, this is orchestral music with a film score kind of feel to it. You get some rock vibes in the ending to "A Lifetime of Adventure", but otherwise this is like if Nightwish was just the orchestra without the rock elements. Tuomas's musical voice is ever-present, but it's almost like a divergent evolution from what we've heard the man write before.

Still, you can hear some of the stuff that he'll be working on in the upcoming two Nightwish albums first toyed with here. There's a lot of great uses of less typical instruments, from the banjo in "Into the West" to my favorite, the digeridoo in "Dreamtime". Much of this album is instrumental, but he rounds up a talented group of voices, including Alan Reid who plays the role of Scrooge and has a few spoken word pieces before finally singing in the last track, and his future wife Johanna Kurkela, whose voice is like the sparkling jewels lusted after by her character, Glittering Goldie, and with whom Tuomas is going to start writing much more music in the future (see: Auri). And of course you can't forget Mr. Holopainen's new muse, Troy Donockley, who gets some uilleann pipe time in spite of them being Irish and not Scottish!

There's not much I can say about the music aside from the fact that it flows very well together. It's basically a bunch of orchestral ballads one after another, and Tuomas certainly knows how to arrange a composition. There are moments here where you feel the typical Nightwish chills (the chorus to "A Lifetime of Adventure") and moments here where you're ready for Tuomas to wrap things up ("Goodbye, Papa"). The closing track "Go Slowly Now, Sands of Time", is an acoustic track that hearkens back to the early days of Nightwish. I hate to keep comparing this stuff to Tuomas's actual band, but the similarities are just so blatant throughout. You can tell the same person writes both of them. It almost feels like a Nightwish outtake.

I guess my overall opinion is that this is a nice record for sure, with a lot of good layers that make it worth investing some time in, but at heart an easy listening record that you can put on and just roll with as your thoughts guide you instead of Tuomas's. Clearly a lot of time and effort was put into the album, but it does feel a bit empty in the end. It's a good place for Tuomas to experiment with a pure orchestral sound that he would later expand upon in "All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World". There, he comes closer to the shores he's trying to reach and makes it fit within the context of his main act. Here, those shores are still distant, but the journey is nonetheless a smooth one.

This is an album that can be enjoyed but doesn't have the staying power to constantly rope you back in. Nightwish-lite.

 

[Randalf]

She always can't pull off "Amaranth" half as well as Anette did.

Amaranth was quite a tricky song for he from the start! I saw her first gig as a Nightwish vocalist in Finland in... November 2012 and while she absolutely shined through the the whole set (Planet Hell works so well with Floor & Marko!), you could tell that Amaranth wasn't the easiest song to nail; that chorus is quite a handful!

However, I think she has really improved with that. In 2015, it already sounded a lot more comfortable and I think the Decades Live version goes down a lot smoother than the Showtime, Storytime take on it, which I like too, but anyway.

 

[Kalata]

What remains of the record is a trio of Dark Passion Play material not found on the album. "Escapist" feels like a Century Child song played with the DPP lineup.

Another great and catchy bonus song that should have been a regular song.

Showtime, Storytime (2013)

^ One of my favorite live albums.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Dark Passion Play (2007)
Let's start with an admission: this is my Nightwish album. This was the first new record that came out after I became interested in the band, similar to BNW for Maiden. As such, it holds an incredibly high score in my heart and, though I will attempt to be objective I can promise nothing.

After the unceremonious firing of Tarja and the dramatic fan backlash in the wake of the announcement, Tuomas only had one option: go darker, go crazier, go bigger. His confidence in the new vision of Nightwish is evident from the get-go as his choice for an opening track is a 14-minute behemoth of a song. The Poet and The Pendulum is massive: from it's brash orchestral elements to its sweeping melodic lines, vocal interplay, and lyrical journey of depression, creative death, and rebirth. This is a perfect Nightwish song and the metaphorical encapsulation of Tuomas' pain and decision to continue on after dividing the entire fanbase. It is perhaps the most important song in the catalogue. It is pompous, ridiculous, dark, and everything that makes Nightwish a beautiful guilty pleasure. I mean, the man writes his own fucking eulogy and has a boy recite it in the middle of the song. A dead boy speaking of The Dead Boy. Honestly, the song is so good that it almost overshadows Anette's arrival.

Bye Bye Beautiful is the musical sibling of I Wish I Had An Angel, using some electronic soundscapes and increased heaviness to spit anger in the empty footprints left behind by one Ms. Tarja. It's a seething, pissed off track that lets Marko sink his teeth in and gnaw to the bone. The verses, however, allow Anette to really showcase her unique, direct voice. She sounds great. Amaranth is a beautiful track three, following obviously on the trail of Ever Dream and Nemo, and it's another great tune. Probably a step down from those two, but the chorus is so odd and interesting. It's another immediate recognition of how differently Anette's voice complements Tuomas' compositions. The key change and Anette's shouts at the end are so cool. This is Anette's song. As much as I love Floor and admire Tarja: neither of them can sing this song. Floor has two official live releases of this song and neither works. Anette is so perfectly tuned for this material and it's honestly very impressive.

Cadence of Her Last Breath is a song I never paid much attention to prior to this listening, but it has really grown on me. It's heavy as hell (shades of nü-metal influence) and the keyboards/orchestrations are killer. I adore the melody and performance of the chorus, even if I find Marko's "runaways" to be a bit cringeworthy. Emppu has a really cool solo here that is made all the better by Anette's vocal line leading into it. The heavy breakdown is also great (isn't this used later on Pan...?). Master Passion Greed is the opposite: I used to like it quite a bit due to its heavy riffs and creepy tonalities, but ultimately I find it to be one of the lesser tracks on the album. Sadly, that's because of Marko's vocal melodies. Thrash-influenced shout singing and cursing just isn't why I listen to Nightwish. It's a good instrumental and a good chorus, but the verses are easily my least favorite moments on the whole album. The second half of the song is far better than the first half.

Eva is a haunting, devastatingly sad piece. It's not my favorite song, it's a weird choice as a single, but it's really very pretty. And also sad. Did I mention it's sad? Woof. Emppu has a very simple, interesting little solo. Up next is Sahara, which is easily one of my all-time favorites. From the tinkly piano intro to the amazing riff that follows, it's dark, mysterious, catchy, heavy as hell, and I'm always a sucker for Egyptian-sounding anything. Thematically, it's completely out of place on this record, but it's so good that it doesn't matter. The middle section dominated by the orchestra and Jukka's intense drumming is sublime. The outro is awesome. I'm very glad to see that they've brought this one back into some recent setlists.

The album hits its only real bump with the next two songs, but mainly the incredible throwaway Whoever Brings the Night. The riff sucks, sounds exactly like Dead Gardens, and reeks of "we better not cut Emppu's song from the record or he'll be pissed". The bridge is cool. Everything else about the rest of the song is bad. For the Heart I Once Had, though weaker than most of the album, is actually a nice little piece. I find that I really enjoy the way the main melodic guitar line literally feels forlorn, like it's always about to miss a note or a beat, like the performance is hanging on by a thread. It's a nice, subtle touch to the playing and kinda reminds me of Satriani.

The Islander was my favorite Nightwish song when I got into them. I think it's probably what convinced me to really listen to their back catalogue, as it was so different from everything else I had heard. At the end of the day, it's just a perfect sea shanty folk song that allows Marko's softer voice to shine. The atmosphere painted within the composition and performance is unparalleled. Following that up with a traditional instrumental jig romp? Sign me the fuck up right now and twice on Saturdays! I love every second of Last of the Wilds. It's a nice callback to the days of Moondance from Oceanborn. Following that up with one of the heaviest hitting tracks ever that also features Marko's vocals just tearing the lyrics to shreds? Just fucking shoot me now I'm dead, it's all too awesome. 7 Days to the Wolves is incredible. The syncopated verses, the huge chorus, the crazy bridge section, and that ending...pure awesomeness. The trio of The Islander-Last of the Wilds-7 Days to the Wolves is, in my heart, my favorite one-two-three punch on a Nightwish record.

Personally, I wish the album closed with 7 Days to the Wolves. Meadows of Heaven is a beautiful song, and they really try to get it to that majestically epic level achieved by the previous song, but it never really reaches the same apex. I think it's the right choice thematically, it allows a release from the darkness of the rest of the album, the Gospel part is great, and Anette sounds very good, but the "rawr metuhl" in me wants it to end with the heaviness of 7 Days.

Overall and despite its flaws, I think this will always be my favorite Nightwish record. There is something so dark, raw, emotional, and, well, of course, snowy and wintery about it. Anette's arrival is a breath of fresh air for both the material and the band members. I truly believe she is the most unique lead singer Nightwish has ever had. Floor is infinitely more talented and Tarja sang on the most "classic" songs, but I don't think either of them is anywhere near as unique as Anette. She also pairs perfectly with Marko, who is easily Nightwish's most unique voice. I really think that this lineup, this moment in time, was the fulfillment of Tuomas' original concept for the band. Anette and Marko, and the rise out of the deepest despair of his life, allowed Tuomas a perfect storm to create his ultimate heavy metal Disney fantasy. The fact that they would move away from this following the subsequent album lends credence to that fact, too. Tuomas had to find a new path, a new night wish, if you will. But that's getting ahead of ourselves. For up next, we take a detour into carny land...

A+

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Dark Passion Play (2007)

With five distinct sections and a runtime of nearly 14 minutes, this song answers emphatically the question of if Nightwish will still be good without Tarja. The answer is, of course, YES! Sure, you have to indulge in Tuomas's pity party - as he has stated, he kills himself off in this song so that he didn't have to in real life - but it's easily looked over because of just how fucking awesome this song is.

It's honestly amazing how good TPATP truly is. It's so good that I don't care at all about Tuommy's pity party raped dead boy suicide.

To be frank, I don't like the way that Nightwish fired both Tarja and Anette, and their viciousness on this record is a bit off-putting.

I agree on both accounts, though I find their dismissal of Anette to be far more vicious. At least with Tarja it felt like a very long time coming, built on years and years of unspoken anger.

Maybe it's because it's Anette's first record with the group, but I think this album stands out for having the worst amount of lyrics to vocal line ratio on any Nightwish album. And I say this with all the love in my heart because I love it in spite of this, but I still think it needs to be pointed out. Both the verses in "Bye Bye Beautiful" and the chorus to "Amaranth" have this issue. Maybe it's just that Anette was thrust into a situation of "all these songs weren't written for my voice" or maybe without someone like Tarja to reel him back, Tuomas went off-the-wall. Regardless, the songs are still awesome.

I see where you're coming from, but honestly I think Anette's delivery (and pronunciation) makes Tuomas' occasionally overwritten lyrics moot. I found these moments far more obvious when sung by Tarja on earlier songs.

"Eva" switches the tone with a luscious ballad that grows to epic heights about a metaphorical girl whose spirit is crushed by an evil world. I've underrated this one in the past; it's a great song.

Eva is a sneaky one. Sometimes I think it's not all that great, but it really worms its way into your subconscious and soul.

Tuomas of course writes the lyrics, and frankly I think the man needs to have sex because he is once again insatiably horny.

But he is The Dead Boy. And Dead Boys can't have sex lest they engage in Necrophiliac Fantasia.

"Last of the Wilds" introduces us to future band member Troy Donockley and his Uilleann pipes (an instrument many may associate with the Titanic soundtrack). When I first got into this band I had to rework my brain to get the instrument, but now that I've gotten over my why can't I just hear that rockin' guitar! phase I really have come to love the instrument. It is beautiful and almost like a feminine version to the more well-known Scottish bagpipes (Uilleann pipes being Irish).

As much as I dislike Troy as a full-time member, his inclusions with those pipes are great.

Overall, DPP isn't quite as good as Once, but I think it's still a fantastic record from front to back. It's just a different experience than any of the previous albums. This is large-scale, over-the-top Nightwish that sets its sights beyond just what the band itself can do. Tuomas is no longer crafting music, he is crafting experiences.

Indeed. This was the first time Tuomas fully realized his capacity as a composer, I think, and ultimately lead to both the future of the band and his confidence to produce side projects.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

It's kinda surprising to me that you guys haven't paid too much attention to Tuomas's lyrics before. When I got into Nightwish I was reading the lyric booklets alongside the music. He has his Tuomas-isms but overall he's among my favorite lyricists.

I will say that his lyrics from Century Child on have been far more worth digging into than the majority of the first three albums, which were honestly very poor IMO.

Goddamn dude, harsh! "Higher Than Hope" was written about a Nightwish fan who had cancer and ended up becoming a friend of the band. He died the same year Once came out IIRC. The spoken word bit is a direct recording of his own thoughts on his impending death. I understand where you're coming from, but to me the context makes it work. (Also they only ever play this song when his family is in attendance.) (Also his father also died of cancer and passed away while listening to his favorite album, Dark Passion Play.)

Ok, I mean, well...I did not know that. That certainly adds a much deeper, sadder layer to it.

If you can believe it, the final section (featuring Marko's "rap"), was originally written as part of a six-minute version of "Nemo". It was at the behest of the producer to divorce that section from "Nemo" and Tuomas, not wanting to toss it out completely, combined it with another idea he'd had which resulted in "Romanticide". I think we can both agree that the final result on the album is far and away better than what almost was!

Holy crap...thanks be to that producer! That version of Nemo would have been atrocious. Where are you getting all this info, btw?

Even if that WERE the case (and it's not), both are better albums than Seventh Filler of a Seventh Filler. Also L + ratio + your mom's a hoe.

I don't actually think Tuomas isn't as much of a dictator as a lot of people think. It's clear he has the final say at the end of the day, same as Steve does in Maiden, but when you actually read about how they compose records, it's a full band experience. He supplies (almost all of) the songs, and then everyone gets a say in the studio as to how to arrange them. And it's worked out quite well for them, it sounds like. They seem to enjoy the recording process even if the songs aren't all written by them. Tuomas has the vision and they add their input whenever and wherever it benefits the songs.

I'll be honest, it's just the vibe I get. I know there's tons of Nightwish interviews and documentaries out there, but I haven't watched them or read them.

Man, I thought you'd be all over this one! I love the original Pink Floyd song, but Nightwish really transform it into something even better. "High Hopes" was, of course, the final track on Pink Floyd's final album (ignoring Endless River), and its lyrics are a look back over one of the most magnificent careers in rock history with the curtain rapidly closing behind them. I love the inclusion on this album here because it's the band, minus Tarja, looking back over their own career. They know what's going to happen, and there are mixed emotions going on.

I guess I just need to listen to it more?

Also, how fucking weird must it have been for Tarja to be recording and singing these songs that clearly have underlying (or overt) messages directed at her...especially at this show! Did she just not care? Was she totally oblivious? Wild.

Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places) (2009)
A little document of the Dark Passion Play Tour, this is the weakest of the live albums so far, but not without its merits. We get our only live record with Anette at the helm, and she does a really good job with her own material. It's basically an alternate version of the DPP album with a few songs missing and some bonus tracks tagged onto the end. A nice little package.

I literally had no idea this existed, so thanks!

"Bye Bye Beautiful" kicks things off; love the heavier guitars in the beginning but this doesn't seem like a very good choice for a concert opener. Marko sounds like he's out of it during the chorus; can't tell if it's the material that's giving him trouble or if it's an off night. Certainly not the easiest chorus to sing, but he was the high point of the song in the studio and here he's the low point.

Yeah, this is a pretty bad showing for him overall. He's pushing way too hard.

Now comes the big one, "The Poet and the Pendulum", and while it feels out of place given how used I am with how it opens the album (and I think it would've been a killer concert opener too), it's a strong performance. Marko once again feels out of it but his is a tough section to sing. Anette also drops a few of the vocal lines to make it easier on her, but the final verse in "Mother and Father" is a tremendous climax to the song.

This is definitely an interesting listen. I always wondered if some of those soft highs on the record were Anette. Either way, she sounds good here, despite the changes. As with her recordings of the Tarja songs, she makes some very interesting changes when adapting the melodies. Marko...yeah....yeesh. A few too many beers, my friend.

At this point we're finally roped in and the band takes us into a fantastic rendition of "The Islander", which is easily one of my favorite live songs from them. I love it as part of the Tampere concert from Vehicle of Spirit and this version is killer too, easily my favorite on this album. There's a vibe it has that's even better than the original studio version, with its stripped-down mechanics allowing the band to take it easy as they get the audience involved with the tune. The finale, with Marko's beautiful voice rising above the mist, is truly phenomenal.

Marko's final chorus is truly something magical, my Dio. Totally redeems his performances on the other songs.

What remains of the record is a trio of Dark Passion Play material not found on the album. "Escapist" feels like a Century Child song played with the DPP lineup. The intro allows Tuomas to play around with his orchestra, and the rest of the song is a nice if inconsequential affair that does have a super fun chorus. It feels a little empty compared to the rest of the album, but I'd take it over "For the Heart I Once Had". Marko and Tuomas put their tools together on "While Your Lips Are Still Red", the theme to the Finnish film Lieksa! (The Matriarch), which is a lovely little ballad with beautiful verses and a strong chorus.

I will never understand why The Escapist wasn't included on DPP, in favor of the woefully bad Whoever Brings the Night. It would have made for a much stronger album. I understand not including While Your Lips Are Still Red, though, even if it is a good tune.

 

[Diesel 11]

Where are you getting all this info, btw?

I'll answer this first because it ties in to a lot of stuff that you've brought up. A lot of this is just down to Google and being part of a large Nightwish Discord server, where there's all kinds of articles you stumble across. Sometimes I don't even remember where I read certain things but I definitely know I read them, lol. Also I've stumbled upon a Nightwish forum that seems to double as a fansite. The admin does a great job of compiling information from throughout the band's history and I've learned a ton of new things while reading through the site.

even if I find Marko's "runaways" to be a bit cringeworthy.

I did too at first, but nowadays I think they work to add an extra little element the way that his vocals in "Ever Dream" do. Sometimes the simplest of additions works all the better for the music - something Tuomas will really start discovering when he utilizes Troy and Marko more as backing singers on Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

Thematically, it's completely out of place on this record

...unless you go the extra mile and start analyzing the characters of the song. Is Tuomas the philosopher? Is Tarja the queen? I guess we'll never know...

Personally, I wish the album closed with 7 Days to the Wolves. Meadows of Heaven is a beautiful song, and they really try to get it to that majestically epic level achieved by the previous song, but it never really reaches the same apex. I think it's the right choice thematically, it allows a release from the darkness of the rest of the album, the Gospel part is great, and Anette sounds very good, but the "rawr metuhl" in me wants it to end with the heaviness of 7 Days.

See, I think that this is what makes Tuomas a great album sequencer. Sure, you could end with the heaviness of "7 Days to the Wolves", but it takes you to such dark dimensions that "Meadows of Heaven", and its beautiful ode to childhood, acts as the perfect way to wrap things up. It's a comedown after all the climaxes you've been through. Think of it in terms of sex - sure, the nut is good, but the post-orgasm cuddles are just as important.

She also pairs perfectly with Marko, who is easily Nightwish's most unique voice.

Yeah, I think in terms of the best duo of Nightwish, Marko and Anette play off of each other the best. But then again, Marko would play off of anyone well.

The fact that they would move away from this following the subsequent album lends credence to that fact, too. Tuomas had to find a new path, a new night wish, if you will.

And that's one of the things I love about this band. Tuomas never sits still. With every album he's trying to expand his sonic realms, open gateways to new 'stories', for better or worse. Every Nightwish album builds upon the last, but feels nothing like the last. Which makes them so hard to rank, too - they all have a really unique identity.

I agree on both accounts, though I find their dismissal of Anette to be far more vicious. At least with Tarja it felt like a very long time coming, built on years and years of unspoken anger.

Yeah, I agree with this, although Anette wasn't exactly dropped completely out of the blue. I think it started with her pregnancy and the rest of the band were too stubborn to consider rescheduling tour dates. When she realized they were interested in taking Floor on as a replacement singer while she focused on her pregnancy, she dug her heals in because she was afraid that Floor would win over the fans and she'd lose her job. Well... so much for that. Still, Nightwish did not give either Tarja nor Anette the respect they deserved before they were ousted. And that really sucks. Things have been mostly patched up with Tarja over time, Tuomas has even considered inviting her on stage for a song or two recently, but Anette is adamant that she wants nothing more to do with them. And like... after Tarja, the band recorded some really heavy-hitting songs about the breakup, which kinda shows that they cared at some core level. After Anette, they recorded love songs to the planet. Almost like they forgot all about her. It's shitty of everyone involved, I think. But ultimately no one is perfect and these things are difficult even for the best of people.

I see where you're coming from, but honestly I think Anette's delivery (and pronunciation) makes Tuomas' occasionally overwritten lyrics moot. I found these moments far more obvious when sung by Tarja on earlier songs.

I agree that they don't really bother me, because despite them the songs are absolutely killer. But I do think this is the only album in the discography where I'm really noticing Tuomas ham-fisting some of those lines. "Whoever Brings the Night", your least favorite song here, is the prime example.

As much as I dislike Troy as a full-time member, his inclusions with those pipes are great.

Eh, he was practically a full-time member by the time the band was touring Imaginaerum. I think he adds a lot to their sound. Sure, there's the pipes, but he's also an excellent backing vocalist, adds a beautiful contrast to Marko and Floor when singing lead, can do a shitload of other instruments like guitar (dual guitar leads between Emppu and Troy!), and the flute (opening the doors to them playing "FantasMic" again some day...???). I think the potential of the band with Troy as part of the lineup is massively expanded. Now it's just a matter of how Tuomas decides to work him into the sound.

Ok, I mean, well...I did not know that. That certainly adds a much deeper, sadder layer to it.

Here's the full story, BTW. It makes "Higher Than Hope" fit much better as the closing song. Like I said when I went through Once, it's almost like "Kuolema" and "Higher" are extra little bonus extensions that close us out with an ode to a departed friend of the band.

Holy crap...thanks be to that producer! That version of Nemo would have been atrocious. Where are you getting all this info, btw?

They did a little interview for Louder Sound (link) that discussed the making of "Nemo", where Tuomas mentions that it was originally two minutes longer. I forget if I read it somewhere or if it was mentioned on that server I'm in, but the piece they removed was eventually incorporated into becoming the ending to "Romanticide". If I find an actual source for this I'll send it to you.

I'll be honest, it's just the vibe I get. I know there's tons of Nightwish interviews and documentaries out there, but I haven't watched them or read them.

Yeah, and it makes sense because Tuomas definitely leads the circus. But having read interviews and seen videos and whatnot the vibe I've gotten is definitely that it's a more encompassing group project than at first glance.

I guess I just need to listen to it more?

Yes.

Also, how fucking weird must it have been for Tarja to be recording and singing these songs that clearly have underlying (or overt) messages directed at her...especially at this show! Did she just not care? Was she totally oblivious? Wild.

If I remember right, the band's growing fame shifted the mood of everyone involved. Tarja and the band didn't interact all that much aside from recording and performing, and of course Tuomas kept his mouth shut instead of discussing his actual feelings about the growing situation. Of course there is also evidence to support that he had a massive crush on her and maybe that played into all the bitterness between the parties. So I don't know that Tarja was oblivious, but she probably did not have the headspace to consider all these different factors while fronting a massive band doing a massive world tour. And then after she was fired, it was probably all clear in hindsight.

Marko's final chorus is truly something magical, my Dio. Totally redeems his performances on the other songs.

Exactly! I think "The Islander" is a wonderful addition to any Nightwish live show (Tampere from the Vehicle of Spirit DVD showcases this phenomenally) and it sucks that we'll likely never hear it again, or at least not with Marko on the vocals. Maybe they'll invite him on stage for a single show here and there and play it with him. I guess we shall see.

 

[Diesel 11]

Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Coming off the heels of a blown-out production like Imaginaerum and with vocal powerhouse Floor Jansen now under their wings, it seemed safe to assume that the upcoming Nightwish album would be even bigger and more grandiose as part of Tuomas Holopainen's constant quest to outdo himself. In some ways this is true - the album is longer, it features their biggest song to date - but a lot of Endless Forms Most Beautiful actually sees the band calming down and looking at new ways to write and compose music. And the running theme here is no longer pure imagination, but an embrace of life, nature, and the scientific.

It needs be remarked that EFMB sees the band getting shaken up quite a bit. Obviously Anette is gone, and Floor is singing in her place, but Troy has now been made a full band member and his presence is felt throughout the album in greater detail than before. Additionally, Jukka stepped down from his position as the band's drummer near the start of the recording process due to insomnia issues (and fully left the band in 2018). Wintersun's Kai Hahto has stepped up to fill in his role.

At the end of the day, all Tuomas needs is for the sounds to come together to benefit his vision, and that's what happens here. It's not as heavy an album as DPP or Imaginaerum, but EFMB almost returns us to the early Nightwish sound in terms of layering the guitar with the music, while also bringing the orchestra further into the mix. The whole record is about how to layer every element in your sound, and I think it's one of Tuomas's most compelling successes as far as that goes. There is a massive depth to this album's sound that you can spend hours uncovering (although the one downside is that the mix could stand to be a little clearer than it is - a few of those layers ended up getting flattened).

So let's talk about each of the members and the way they build those layers amidst the ever-present orchestra that dominates the sound:

• If you had heard Showtime, Storytime and felt the way Floor eviscerated songs like "Ghost Love Score" or "Romanticide", you'd probably expect the band to write something along those lines to really show off her vocal skills. But Nightwish have never really been ones to play to expectations. She still has some high moments every song often that showcase her range, but most of what she's singing is softer, less belting, more playing to the beauty the songs are trying to portray. Some have been mad with Tuomas for 'stifling' her, but in all reality it's Floor that wanted to use this approach more often, and the band even tried recording several different vocal takes to see which one would fit better. This is what everyone decided worked best. And the more I hear it, the more I like it. Her voice adds to a sort of peacefulness that the record offers.
• Marko's vocals do get scaled back quite a bit in this album; he has lead roles in three of the album's songs, whereas on Imaginaerum and Dark Passion Play he had five. But this isn't considering the amount of songs where he adds backing vocals to the chorus melodies, or little flourishes just for the hell of it. Both he and Troy are used wonderfully as supplements to Floor's own voice. Moments like the chorus of "Élan", the ending to "Our Decades in the Sun", that "whoahhhh" before the second chorus of "My Walden"... these are such tiny moments but my god do they improve the songs by tenfold. And then when he does let loose? We hear a more mature Marko than we've really gotten before. That bridge in "Weak Fantasy" is my favorite. He doesn't have to push himself much on this record; he just has to use what he's mastered to add to the effects that are being brought across.
• And of course now the band has a third vocalist to add even more harmonies to the vocal department. Not only does Troy kill it with all his instruments, but he also makes those melodies pop in a folkier style with his laid-back singing that always adds just enough of his brand of wistful enthusiasm for the natural. The intro to "My Walden", sung by Troy in Welsh, is just really fucking cool yo.
• So Kai is on drums instead of Jukka, and he does a strong job throughout. He's a bit more faceless than Jukka though, I think. There's more technical proficiency but Jukka had a flair all his own. Still, bringing him in has added a new layer to the percussion that we'll really hear on the next album in greater detail.
• Emppu is still in that weird case of, doesn't actually do a whole lot, and yet still such an important part of the sound. Nightwish are Nightwish because of the way the guitar boosts the orchestral elements, and Emppu is the one that provides that guitar. He actually has a handful of super cool moments on here - the guitar and synth duel in "Shudder Before the Beautiful" allows him to let loose with gusto; "Our Decades in the Sun" allows him to showcase his moodier side; and I love the little riff just before the final chorus in the album's title track (almost wish it was used to build out a whole song).
• And then there's Tuomas himself. His keyboards can easily get lost among the orchestra, but on this record we can really hear him above the mix. He plays a lovely straight piano that you can definitely pick up in tracks like "Élan", "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" and "The Greatest Show on Earth", but there's also that guitar and synth duel in "Shudder Before the Beautiful" where he can wank a little bit. The whole album reminds you of just why he's one of the best keyboardists in the genre.

So all of the layers each member, plus the orchestra, brings to the table are awesome, but what about the songs themselves? Well never fear, because they hold up really well too. "Shudder Before the Beautiful" sets the album's tone with a Dawkins quote and then launches into a fairly bubbling orchestral spin that's reminiscent of a less bombastic "Storytime". Lyrically we are introduced to the running theme of science and nature that this album holds. It's followed by the banger that is "Weak Fantasy", a song about how religion can keep people in line through fear tactics, and which steps up from strong song to fucking great song as soon as Marko takes the mic. Then comes the lovely little single "Élan" which is a lovely example of how Floor's lead and the boys' backing vocals come together beautifully while singing about embracing life and nature.

"Yours Is an Empty Hope" is the heaviest song here, recycling the riff from "Dark Chest of Wonders" but in a new fashion that works well in the context of the song's calling for all the haters to go outside and touch grass! I think the highlight of this one is the instrumental section, where all the elements slowly build up in absolute sparkling fashion; one of the band's coolest, yet underrated moments. "Our Decades in the Sun" is a simple but effective ballad about the band's love for their parents; and "My Walden" is Tuomas creating an ideal world with inspiration from Henry David Thoreau.* This one is a two-parter, kind of in the style of "Slaying the Dreamer" or "Romanticide", but way less heavy as those. The chorus soars.

Then comes the bombastic title track which namedrops a bunch of different species from throughout time, almost like a shrunken and fun version of the ending song which it shares a riff with. You can really feel the swirling magic of the tree of life in the music here, and the instrumental section is another good one. "Edema Ruh" keeps the wide-eyed wonder of Planet Earth alive while adding in a bit of the fantasy of old as the band sing of themselves as wandering travelers, here to entertain you with stories of life. It's a heavier ballad than "Our Decades" but also among the most beautiful songs the band has ever written.

"Alpenglow" nicks a few bits from "Ever Dream" but takes us to new heights, kinda. I get the sense that this song isn't so much about being on top of a mountain, soaking in the breadth of the world below, as it is about looking up at a mountain and just being like, "Wow, that's a fucking mountain!" Musically, at least. Lyrically this is Tuomas planting the Nightwish flag firmly in the territory of "I love this place, follow me and we can love it together!" The way he plays around with the chorus keys is really cool, and the song works super well as a sort of closer to the 'main' part of the record. We also have the 'children of war' themed instrumental "The Eyes of Sharbat Gula" (the name of the Afghan Girl from the National Geographic cover) that I have a bit of a soft spot for. In spite of being the weakest track here and even running a minute or two longer than it has to, I love its build up, the way Marko and Troy's voices intertwine in beautiful fashion, before the ghostly children's choir takes over. Simplicity can be stunning, and its lack of words (Tuomas planned to add some but Troy pushed to let it speak for itself) speaks louder than anything Tuomas could've written.

And finally we have the big one, the gargantuan 24-minute opus "The Greatest Show on Earth", a trek through the history of life on Earth inspired by Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin. And I'm gonna say it - I'm starting to think it just isn't long enough. Maybe it's just me being selfish, because I love every moment of this piece, but I think with either expanding those "Life" and "Toolmaker" sections, or adding an extra chapter between them, we could've fucking transcended music altogether. As it is it feels almost brief and fleeting in spite of that runtime, but in the end is probably still my second favorite song from the band. Let's go through a highlight reel of each of its parts:

• I. Four Point Six - The way this sets the scene is just phenomenal. The piano, gradually building through added layers of synths and orchestra, then being supplanted by the massive sounds of the Big Bang as the universe explodes into being, is just so fucking cool I can't even begin to find words to tell you how cool it is. It's not rock, but man does it rock me to my core. Floor does a fantastic introduction to the world before Troy pipes up and Richard Dawkins appears to set the scene.
• II. Life - From the explosion of the universe to Earth's explosion of life. This piece wastes no time as it erupts at the speed of light. We go through some evolutions of species and get a really kick ass chorus. The finale that branches the gap between this section and the next does a wonderful job of detailing the creatures that have evolved (call me childish but love the dinosaur roar!).
• III. The Toolmaker - I almost feel like this part seems to jump in too fast. Mankind has only existed for a short period of time but appear not even halfway through the song. Regardless, another kick-ass section that details our egoistical failures as a species, yet also embalms our hopes in the phrase from "Alpenglow" that acts as the climax: "We were here." What a fantastic piece, bringing the "Four Point Six" piano melody back into the fold, that also doubles as a live moment of epicness.
• IV. The Understanding - Wonderful orchestral bit that features a brilliant Dawkins quote about the hopefulness in death. A strong denouement.
• V. Sea-Worn Driftwood - Maybe I'm in the minority but this final piece, to me, might be the best moment in the whole thing. Its growing quiet shows a world that has cycled onward and away from our species, and after a final, beautiful quote from Darwin (name-dropping the album title), all the music ceases, and we are left with the sounds of nature. And that, to me, is where all the magic really lies. Turn up the volume and just take it all in. Astounding.

As a whole record, this is among the band's most consistent. Every track here is good, with a strong balance of styles that works super well. The songs all feel natural, too, without getting too lost in the aesthetics that will be pursued in the tracklistings on Human. :||: Nature. And again, this beast is a masterclass in how to build layers. As far as compositions go, it's probably Tuomas's crowning achievement. As far as their discography is concerned, this first outing with Floor is a massive record that never gets bogged down in its own weight. When I first got into Nightwish, I thought it was a lot less interesting than I do nowadays. That, then, is the true testament of the album - the more times you hear it, the better it gets.

 

[Diesel 11]

Vehicle of Spirit (2016)
Vehicle of Spirit comprises two shows from the EFMB Tour, one from Wembley and one from Tampere. The Wembley show, however, is the only one released as an album, and thus is the one being discussed here. Which is a shame, because I have way fonder memories of watching the Tampere show than I do listening through the Wembley recording. What the fuck happened here? Where are the live spectacle of Showtime, Storytime and the layers of Endless Forms Most Beautiful? Because this live release is a disappointment.

It's not all bad, to be clear. The first two songs - "Shudder Before the Beautiful" and "Yours Is an Empty Hope" - rock, and just after the keyboard and guitar duel in "Shudder", when Floor shouts out at the crowd for the first time, I got fucking chills, man. I really thought this might be the record that bested them all. But by the time we've gone through "Ever Dream" - which was magnificent on Showtime, Storytime - and "Storytime", it's clear that things are not going to be as anticipated. I was hoping that the EFMB material would pick things up again but even "My Walden" felt so empty and devoid of life, a complete opposite of what it was on the record.

Luckily then comes "While Your Lips Are Still Red" and Marko blows me the fuck away. I think this one might be better than the original. I certainly got the song a lot better. Another one of those moment where I got goosebumps. Going into the Wembley recording I was a little sad that "The Islander" wasn't part of the set because it was a highlight from the Tampere concert, but man, this song does exactly what "The Islander" did and also comes off as a massive live moment. And then comes a rousing performance of "Élan" which is beautiful as always.

Aaaaand it's kind of downhill from there. "Weak Fantasy" sees Kai showing off and the bridge is still incredible, but as with "My Walden" I still feel like it's hollow. "7 Days to the Wolves" and "Alpenglow" have strong performances, but I feel like they should've been pushed further back in the setlist for better balance. "The Poet and the Pendulum" is a masterpiece but feels dry, as does "Nemo" (and I'm not quite sure if I like the flute Troy adds or not). "I Want My Tears Back" is just sad, especially since it's probably my favorite song on Imaginaerum. It's like the band is on the brink of divorce and trying to have fun for the kids. Super cool to hear "Stargazers" again but Floor just isn't Tarja. She's being passive where Tarja would be aggressive.

"Ghost Love Score" is always going to be good, that's just the nature of the song. This is definitely a worse performance than on End of an Era or Showtime, Storytime, but still solid (and it's interesting to hear Marko drop in some proggy basswork during verse 2). "Last Ride of the..." same shit, different "...Day". Finally, "The Greatest Show on Earth" brings things up quite a bit with a strong performance that, while also suffering like the rest of the album, still kicks ass, with Emppu adding a guitar lead in "Four Point Six" and Richard Dawkins actually coming onstage for the final quote in the song, which is super cool and a fitting end to the show.

So what is it that makes this album feel so hollow? Two-fold. First of all, the production has crushed a lot of the layers you got in the past. Obviously live albums are never perfect, but all the prior ones sounded better than this. And then there's Floor, who sounds like she's either having an off night or has lost the plot completely. I know that EFMB was a less vocally intense album but she's just moving up and down where she should be belting and thrusting into the material, like she did on the previous live record. "Ghost Love Score" is a great example. She's hitting the ending notes, sure, but she's not giving it her all. It doesn't pierce the heart, it just sort of... taps it. Add to the fact that she sounds muffled in spite of being higher in the mix than anything else, and you got a weird fucking album man.

Not sure if this is better or worse than Made in Hong Kong, because there are some great moments here, but I was mostly just ready for it to be over. Vehicle of Spirit, my ass. They must've had too many spirits if they thought this was a job well done. Christ.

 

[Randalf]

The song selection for the whole Vehicle of Spirit thing is amazing indeed, particularly the Wembley show due to inclusion of The Poet and the Pendulum & Seven Days to the Wolves. I do agree with the above about the thin sound of the live album, though.

I saw two shows on that tour: Tampere (first and so far the only time I've been featured on a live release by any band, haha! ) and Espoo 2015. The show in Espoo had basically the same set as London/Wembley, but instead of While Your Lips are Still Red and I Want My Tears Back they still played The Islander and Sleeping Sun. The grandeur of the stadium show in Tampere (end of July) was unforgettable and Floor absolutely nailed the oldies like Sleeping Sun and Stargazers (that sounded massive there!) and of course The Islander was very intimate performance for such setting. The arena show in Espoo, which took place in November, was naturally a lot more intimate altogether and The Poet and the Pendulum on that night still remains as one of my very favourite concert experiences.

I think the sound was very good at both shows; for an outdoors show here, the sound in Tampere was surprisingly good, actually and everything sounded very crisp in Espoo as well (I was fairly close to the stage at both shows). Kind of a pity that the live album couldn't quite match that, for I believe the sound in Wembley wasn't much worse if you were there. They were probably slightly more fried at that point, though, as it was the last gig of their 2015 tour. Dunno. I definitely get what @Diesel 11 is pointing out above, as much as I like the record (despite the somewhat thin production).

 

[Diesel 11]

Auri (2018)
So this album was way better than I remembered! Tuomas dives into another side project, but this time it's as a full band alongside his new best friend Troy Donockley and his wife Johanna Kurkela. Some of the vibes from The Life and Times of Scrooge are present here, but this record feels way more focused and truly the start of something big. Auri may not be knocking it out of the park just yet, but there is undoubtedly magic within this album.

The music that this trio plays is a unique brand of progressive folk. Johanna is the lead vocalist, and her voice is just incredibly lovely. She really captures the childhood innocence of Tuomas's writing. She also plays the viola and it is a terrific accompaniment to the songs. Tuomas, meanwhile, crafts some wonderful soundscapes with his keys (and also contributes to backing vocals, apparently!). And then there's Troy, who plays a shitload of other stuff that's too long to mention here. Suffice to say he gets to show everyone who's the master once again.

The album opens with "The Space Between", which is one of the more rousing ones on the record, and the chorus is absolutely stunning. "I Hope Your World Is Kind" better sets the mood for where the album is going to go, with its soft melodies feeling like a child staring out a window into the world of the night. "Skeleton Tree" is mostly instrumental and it fucking slaps. "Desert Flower" and "Night 13" stumble a little bit, but the viola in the former is excellent. The album returns to greatness with the magnificent "See" and its eastern melodies that absolutely entrance you.

"The Name of the Wind" is a lush little instrumental that allows Johanna to show off her voice a bit more, "Aphrodite Rising" has vocal melodies that almost remind me of Maynard James Keenan's style, and "Savant" is another cool instrumental. "Underthing Solstice", the longest track here, is also one of the best. There is a sparseness that makes it feel tiny yet massive at the same time. I get vibes of northern travelers setting around the fire on a winter's night, of caves opening up their secrets deep underground to those who dare to explore them, and of wandering through dark German towns where a Weihnachtsmarkt is set up just on the other side of where you're standing. This is where the band really proves their worth in spades. The finale with "Them Thar Chantrelles" is just icing on the cake; Johanna plays around in near silence before we enter an exciting jig led by Troy and then she really lets loose.

I need to give this one more spins in the future because you get that classic Tuomas feel but there's a really well-knit tapestry here that feels like something stronger than just a solo project. I'm very much looking forward to the next album. Beautiful stuff.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Wow, I'm pretty behind on this!

Century Child saw Nightwish turn a new corner into a darker, heavier, more brooding sound. The follow-up, Once, is easily in my top three Nightwish albums, and definitely their heaviest yet. I also don't find it to be nearly as depressing as the previous record, which might be the tone or the production or something. I dunno. It's a more whimsical, magical album by far.

Dark Chest of Wonders was initially inspired by a jam session where Tarja was wearing a tight black T-shirt and Tuomas couldn't stop staring at it. Absolute blast of a tune to open an album with, with lots of twists and turns. Love the diminished ascending bass run in the beginning, and the way the keys dance over the heaviness. Amazing chorus, too. Wish I Had an Angel is probably about Tuomas's blatantly obvious crush on Tarja again, as he mentions lust in the lyrics, which, aside from dying and magic, is his favorite topic. Seems like a real healthy dude. This is a straightforward EDM metal song, but it's catchy and fun and bouncy. Angry Marco is great. His bass and Jukka's drumming really push this one forward.

Nemo (which Tuomas swears isn't about the fish but given his track record of kiddie Disney stuff I heavily doubt this) is another 10/10 tune and I believe the band's first really big hit. I'm pretty sure that this song starts the annoying "low-key verse with simple bass line and no guitar" trend that the band uses at least three times on every album since, but this song rocks regardless. My only complaint is that Emppu's solo should have been at least twice as long, as the guy used to show off more of his lead skills. Tuomas's piano is the driving force in this song for me, along with that stellar chorus. Planet Hell is more in the vein of the opening track - heavy, pounding, and aggressive, this is quite a departure from the previous song. Once again, the rhythm section and guitar are the highlights here, bringing a heavy power metal feel back into the fold. Lyrically this seems to be the complete opposite of the last few Nightwish albums about hugging trees, but what do I know? Lyrical analysis isn't exactly my forte.

Creek Mary's Blood isn't a bad song per se, and is actually quite beautiful in parts. But it's too overdrawn and never really reaches a climax, making it my second least favorite song on the album. Still, I love the orchestration here, particularly after the first chorus with the snare, harp (I think), and guitars. It's a little cheesy when it gets all bombastic, but I have to remind myself that I'm kind of listening to Disney metal here. I almost think this tune would've been better as an instrumental. Thankfully, The Siren picks things up again in a "duet" with Marco playing a doomed sailor and the apple of Tuomas's eye being a sexy siren lulling him to his doom. This is one of the most unique Nightwish songs in terms of arrangement, atmosphere, and overall mood. I still can't wrap my head around it. Is that a guitar at 1:56? Amazing. Great outro, too. This song should've taken four minutes off of the previous one and really dove into the material. It should have been an epic.

A lot of people think the album takes a dip here, but I like Dead Gardens. It's not perfect, but that riff is pounding and beautifully syncopated with the rhythm section. Great chorus, too. Right before the outro, Emppu palm-mutes one section of that riff just once, and it sounds killer. The outro, which admittedly is not my favorite section of the album, features what I think is Marco screaming over almost a full minute of dissonant riffage (the band took a brief transitional section from earlier in the song and decided to repeat it ad nauseam here, which would not have been my decision). But "Marco is the garden, and it's dying... it's poetry, you see. The vines wither and the thorns stab the Dead Boy's heart as he dies in agony. It's... beautiful." - Tuomas

Romanticide is one of the tracks I usually skipped on listens years ago, but now I can't get enough of it. Lyrically this song is definitely about wanting to kill Tarja, a nugget of information Tuomas wisely hid from the singer as she recorded it. This is one heavy-ass song; possibly the band's most medal side at this point (maybe ever). The nu-metal breakdown is redeemed by Tarja's Frankenstein-ish line and Emppu's refreshingly kick-ass solo. I don't know what's going on in the song's final section, but that bass riff and groove are infectious. This is evil as hell, but unlike the end of Dead Gardens, it works. We also get the obligatory mention of the Dead Boy here. Oh Tuomas, you kook.

Ghost Love Score is... meh... a 3/10 at best. Nay, I jest! This is the band's best song; Tuomas is flat-out wrong if he thinks it's that "epic" on the first Floor album with half the track consisting of sounds of butterflies humping each other. I'm not going to break this song down, because I love every second of it. This is Disney metal's crowning achievement, and makes all other Nightwish songs feel like puny little pathetic bugs that can easily be crushed underfoot. Highlights include the intro (with truncated measure for funsies), the first verse, the first chorus, the second verse, the second chorus, the third verse, the fourth verse, Emppu's little happy solo, the orchestrated section at 4:15, the Pirates of the Caribbean part at 5:39, the evil part at 6:21, the happier part at 6:50, the lead-in to the final chorus (the intro reprise), the pre-final-chorus, the final chorus (first time), the final chorus (second time with different vocals (I think)), and the final chorus (third time with added orchestral layers). Oh, I almost forgot the final chorus!

Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the result of Tuomas wanting his treasured princess to cater to his elvish fantasies, and the end product is easily the weakest track on the album. There's just not enough meat here to chew on. I know it's in Finnish, but I swear I heard Tarja sing "sexy" somewhere in there. Oh no... is it me who has elvish fantasies?! Tuomas, you monster!!!

Taking a sharp turn from provocative woodland creatures, we have Higher Than Hope, the apex of pure depression. It's a beautiful song with an incredibly powerful chorus that really makes you question things. My favorite part is around 3:54 with the strings and stuff. The final chorus is even in a different key (a step higher), which is a rare treat from Nightwish. While Ghost Love Score arguably would have been a better album closer, I think this works quite well, too.

What a great album. From a consistency standpoint I think it might be their strongest, along with Imaginaerium and EFMB. But I'll get to those adventures in due time. After this album, Tuomas and the boys opted to fire Tarja in a pretty shitty manner, which was quite spineless. Hopefully he won't do the same thing when he inevitably cans Floor.

 

[Diesel 11]

The follow-up, Once, is easily in my top three Nightwish albums, and definitely their heaviest yet. I also don't find it to be nearly as depressing as the previous record, which might be the tone or the production or something. I dunno. It's a more whimsical, magical album by far.

I also think that this is the best example in the discography of the band just writing songs. As in, they (read: mostly Tuomas) just sat down and wrote songs without any real recurring themes running through the whole show. Each song captures its own unique world:

• "Dark Chest of Wonders" is about the magic of stories and where they can take you.
• "Wish I Had an Angel" is about lust from a slightly deranged view.
• "Nemo" is about how loneliness and depression can make us feel faceless.
• "Planet Hell" is about humanity and how often we turn towards destruction.
• "Creek Mary's Blood" is about the trials and resilience of the Native American peoples in the face of genocide.
• "The Siren" is about (duh) a siren and a sailor who sails into her path.
• "Dead Gardens" is about writer's block and how it feels like your creativity has reached its breaking point.
• "Romanticide" is about (I assume) harsh critics turning an artist to hate his works.
• "Ghost Love Score" is about a relationship that is fundamentally broken yet will continue to hold weight even as the two parties separate.
• "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" is about how death often inspires art.
• "Higher Than Hope" is about a friend in the face of his death and how it inspires others.

Instead of the last three albums, which have all had big themes running through, this album is just a bunch of songs that don't really connect together but fantastically complement each other musically. It's a big part of why I love it. Narrative / conceptual / thematic album are / can be awesome as well, but it's almost like there's a wider scope here.

Nemo (which Tuomas swears isn't about the fish but given his track record of kiddie Disney stuff I heavily doubt this)

It's definitely not based on the fish lol. If there was a Disney character that offered inspiration, it would most likely be Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But where "nemo" means "nobody" in Latin, there's a lot of other works that might bring inspiration, including Homer's Odyssey, where Odysseus convinces the cyclops that his name is "Nemo", so when the cyclops runs to his friends shouting about how "Nemo" poked his eye out, they don't believe him. But at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure, as previously mentioned above, that it's just a more poetic way to discuss depression, loneliness, and despair, and how we can feel faceless in the wake of them. But yeah the film has definitely ruined the way Americans will approach this word lol.

I'm pretty sure that this song starts the annoying "low-key verse with simple bass line and no guitar" trend that the band uses at least three times on every album since, but this song rocks regardless.

I don't really mind this because the band makes it work, but I do think they could stand for a little bit more imagination there. My bigger criticism is Tuomas's trope of having the second verse often be half the length of the previous verse (see: "Wish I Had an Angel", "End of All Hope", "Amaranth", "Shudder Before the Beautiful", and many more that I'm forgetting). So whenever he thinks outside the box here, like in "Dead Gardens" where he end up in an instrumental and bridge instead of returning right back to the chorus, or "Rest Calm", where the second verse is actually double the length of the first and features a key change, the impact is deeply felt.

Lyrically this seems to be the complete opposite of the last few Nightwish albums about hugging trees, but what do I know? Lyrical analysis isn't exactly my forte.

I think it fits right in, actually. Man spends too much time waging war instead of appreciating the world he lives in. Goes hand-in-hand.

Is that a guitar at 1:56? Amazing.

Violin, actually, and Emppu doesn't even get to play that piece live because Tuomas uses an organ synth for it. But damn that violin sounds fucking stunning.

This song should've taken four minutes off of the previous one and really dove into the material. It should have been an epic.

At the same time though, I appreciate its fleeting nature. It comes in, sets the record straight, and dives back into the sea. And the minimal framework we get in terms of verse / chorus sets us in the right direction but allows the music to really speak for itself. So fucking good.

The outro, which admittedly is not my favorite section of the album, features what I think is Marco screaming over almost a full minute of dissonant riffage (the band took a brief transitional section from earlier in the song and decided to repeat it ad nauseam here, which would not have been my decision). But "Marco is the garden, and it's dying... it's poetry, you see. The vines wither and the thorns stab the Dead Boy's heart as he dies in agony. It's... beautiful." - Tuomas

So the actual reason Tuomas includes this extended outro that turns into soulless clanging before the plug is pulled is because it's supposed to represent a person staring in the face of writer's block. When nothing is flowing - and I've felt it before too - it feels like a sort of hollow, empty hole in your brain where something is supposed to be, but nothing comes. If you take this too seriously, it can feel like your world is dying and you have nothing left to live for. Actually it was the first song written for the album because Tuomas, suffering from writer's block, went, "Well... what if I just write about this?" Anyway, I still say it's an underrated song and I love the outro myself.

Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is the result of Tuomas wanting his treasured princess to cater to his elvish fantasies, and the end product is easily the weakest track on the album. There's just not enough meat here to chew on. I know it's in Finnish, but I swear I heard Tarja sing "sexy" somewhere in there. Oh no... is it me who has elvish fantasies?! Tuomas, you monster!!!

Just let the musicality of the language flow over you, bro. Also the word is "siksi" and yeah, you're projecting because (according to Google) it basically means "therefore".

The final chorus is even in a different key (a step higher), which is a rare treat from Nightwish.

Maybe I don't really know what a key is (my music knowledge is limited solely to hey this sounds cool I like it and hey this sucks I hate it and whatever I've picked up in the odd YouTube video), but Tuomas does play around with this a bit; "Dark Chest of Wonders", "Nemo", and "Creek Mary's Blood", just from this album alone, raise the melody in the final chorus. I think. Would be nice if you could give me a call back, my number is

Spoiler

ITS SMART BECAUSE THE POST ENDS THE SAME WAY DEAD GARDENS DOES