Nightwish

Meh song, but Floor's vocals sound incredible. I hope she uses this much power and range in Nightwish's new music...

Also, I'm a sucker for blues runs. :yes:
 
I like the chorus. These two wanted to do this eleven years ago but had no time to record it. I guess a lot of music was already written years ago, so perhaps there was not that much time needed to finally make it happen.
 
It's pretty good. I can see it growing on me. Everything Floor touches turns to gold. Perhaps she should have a shot at 'The Apparition'.
 
If a song can ruin (beat) a singer, then the song is stronger.
I don't think I agree with this. A song can be so badly written and composed that even the best singer can't make it sound good. To put it bluntly, you can't polish a turd. Other songs are greater than the sum of their parts (see Slayer and Motorhead for examples).
 
The latest after Iron Maiden, Megadave and Dream Theater to jump on the Latin American bandwagon. At leats their most recent live album was recorded in London though.
 
CONSOLIDATION PROJECT/MAKE MUSIC DISCUSSION GREAT AGAIN

I'm gonna try to get a headstart here since I don't know what to expect as life hits me. My friend and I decided to switch favorite artists this year: he'll do Maiden, and I'll do Nightwish. So, as a part of the 365 albums goal, let's start that.

NIGHTWISH - ANGELS FALL FIRST
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Albums 2/365

Tracks:
  1. "Elvenpath" - I'm loving this opening riff and stuff, it's awesome. Tarja is a great vocalist, obviously, and she does such a great job here. Pretty good way to open a career; not everything in this song works but a lot of it does... it's pretty cool. 8/10
  2. "Beauty and the Beast" - Another pretty good opening, though not as good as in the previous song. I like this change-up though. I'm not as big on Tuomas as a vocalist (kinda reminds me of the Muppets, TBH, which isn't bad but doesn't necessarily fit this song). Another change-up leads to a pretty cool solo piece before Tarja does a nice piece there. Cool ending. This song is a bit of a mish-mash but I like a good lot of it. Not as good as the first song, though. 7/10
  3. "The Carpenter" - Cool opening, again. Interesting verse, but damn this chorus piece is a pretty awesome. Weird vocals but it works IMO. Weird flute(?) section. Some better vocals in the chorus would push this to a 9, but it's a solid 8/10 as it is.
  4. "Astral Romance" - Another cool opening leading to a pretty awesome verse. Tarja's stuff is still great, but again, I'm not solid on Tuomas. Parts of this instrumental section remind me of Maiden. It's a good song with nothing that stands out greatly. 7/10
  5. "Angels Fall First" - Nice acoustic intro. Some really emotional vocals throughout. Ending piece is pretty cool. Again, it's a good song but not quite outstanding. 7/10
  6. "Tutankhamen" - Another great opening, very nice Egyptian feel to it. Decent verse, but I like that fast vocal piece more - the chorus, I guess. Pretty cool stuff throughout, I like it. 8/10
  7. "Nymphomaniac Fantasia" - Interesting opening, but not one I particularly care for. I like the build-up here though after the minute mark. It's pretty cool. Cool verse, awesome high note at the end of it. Pretty great song, but it ended too soon IMO. Still, it's quite strong. 8/10
  8. "Know Why The Nightingale Sings" - Another great opening, another strong verse, love the instrumental section. In fact, there's nothing bad about this song at all; it's the best one I've heard on here so far. 9/10
  9. "Lappi (Lapland)" - Part I is good but not outstanding, though I love that the lyrics are in Finnish. Part II is a little more interesting, very atmospheric stuff. Part III is better still, I like the opening here. Some epic stuff throughout, though I can't say that everything here is perfect. Part IV is pretty nice. As a whole song though, this may be the weakest here. It's nine minutes long and yet I don't think they do enough in that span of time. Still, Part IV is a cool closer. 6/10
This is a really solid debut album. Some parts work better than others, but as a whole it's nice and from the looks of it, the next few albums will be even better. I'm excited.

Rating: 78%

It's really interesting to see someone unfamiliar with Nightwish listen to this album and like it! If you enjoy this, you'll no doubt love this band because this easily their weakest effort.

Hey, it's Black Abyss Babe!

NIGHTWISH - CENTURY CHILD
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Album 8/365

Tracks:

  1. "Bless The Child" - I first heard this song a while back in MaidenFans chat as a live version, and I've loved it from almost the first moment I heard it. I wish this song was longer because damn, it just passes by. But I love it. 10/10
  2. "End Of All Hope" - This song sort of retreads the "Wishmaster" style of chorus, but it does it even better than that song did. It's quite good! I like it. 9/10
  3. "Dead To The World" - Marco is a way better vocalist than Tuomas was on the first album, and his vocals mesh well with Tarja's. I'm really digging this overarching story that seems to be going on, and it's such an intense song. 10/10
  4. "Ever Dream" - Another really good song, so atmospheric. Not quite sure about the lyrics this time, though, but the rest of the song is great. 9/10
  5. "Slaying The Dreamer" - Pretty good song, though it goes off the path in the second half and ends on a weird note with that screamy piece. Without that, it could've been a ten, but... 8/10
  6. "Forever Yours" - Pretty nice ballad but not as good as some of the other songs here. 8/10
  7. "Ocean Soul" - What a beautiful song. Those lyrics, that voice... god is it wonderful. 10/10
  8. "Feel For You" - A pretty great song, though Marco's vocals aren't so good this time and bring it down just a notch. 9/10
  9. "The Phantom of the Opera" - This song was destined to be perfected as a metal epic. Nightwish absolutely kill the original (and there's another cover on YouTube that's even better than this one). Suffice it to say that this is a fucking amazing cover, and I'll even be that guy: this is better than the Maiden song of the same name. I love it. 10/10
  10. "Beauty of the Beast" - Nightwish finally knock it out of the park with an epic. This song is way better than their previous two attempts and is such a great closer. 10/10
What a fantastic album. Everything takes another step up - the musicianship is better, the production is better, hell, even Tarja is better (her English pronunciation is a big step over the past albums). No song is bad, and while the whole thing isn't perfect, I wouldn't surprised if this is as good as they'll get - though I'll be happy if it does get even better after this.

Rating: 93%

YES! I love this album. It's the beginning of peak Nightwish, IMO. Marco made this band level up real hard. Most of the tracks here are classics, with Dead to the World and Beauty of the Beast being two of my picks for best underrated gems in the entire discography.

Marco's chorus isn't that great. It's decent but not as good as anything on the previous album.

Alright Marco, it was cool the first time, but please stop singing. Without him I may have gone higher in my score, because it's actually quite a decent song. I just wish Tarja was the only one on vocals.

Ugh, goddammit Marco, shut up. Without him, this song could've easily knocked it out of the park, but alas, it's only almost perfect.

Doesn't quite blow my mind, but it's a good closer and Marco doesn't sound as bad on this song.

Marco can also be replaced as a vocalist as far as I'm concerned.

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I honestly just don't understand how this can be someone's opinion of Nightwish. I mean, I guess IRYO, but jesus...Marco is the best part of these songs.
Exit: Tarja Turunen. Enter: Anette Olzon. Subject: Long fucking album. Operation: Dark Passion Play.

NIGHTWISH - DARK PASSION PLAY
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Album 13/365

Tracks:

  1. "The Poet and the Pendulum" - Nearly fourteen minutes long. Will this be a "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", loved by almost all who hear it? Or will it be a "Red and the Black", loved by some, panned by others? Or is it just Nightwish's equivalent to "Sign of the Cross" - an epic opening an album? It's a daring move, and for an inexperienced band, often a shot in the foot. Well... let's see! Quiet opening that lasts for over a minute but sets the scene quite nicely. The buildup here is superb, erupting finally into some epic fucking music. The verse is great, Anette is a pretty competent vocalist. The chorus is pretty nice, too. I like how the music is even more theatrical than on previous albums. The vocals in the quieter piece are really great. There's a lot of great, theatrical shit happening between here and I'm all on board. The screaming bit comes out of nowhere but I actually think it works really well. Repeat of the chorus, then a cool spoken word before we get a nice pendulum swing + slice. The quiet bit following it is really nice and I like the soaring stuff that happens as it progresses. Really cool quiet ending to such a massive, audacious song. Maybe the chorus could be a tad better, but that's such a slight thing I don't even care. This is easily better than everything on the previous album combined ("Nemo" notwithstanding) and I think it's awesome. Good job, Nightwish, that risk paid off. 10/10
  2. "Bye Bye Beautiful" - Really cool opening, nice Anette verse. Marco sounds better here, I think the vocals mesh better than on Once. Screamy chorus is screamy but not too bad. This one isn't perfect but it's still very good. I like it. 9/10
  3. "Amaranth" - Nice piano opening before we launch right into a heavy riff. Really nice verses, cool pre-chorus, awesome chorus. Everything here is awesome, and Anette truly shows how good she is at singing. The accent shines through but damn can she use it to her advantage. 10/10
  4. "Cadence of Her Last Breath" - Breathing, and then rising build-up before heavy riff + orchestration erupts. Cool verse, and then that chorus comes in and it just slays. The quiet bit after the instrumental section is cool and that awesome chorus comes in again and god is it good. This is another amazingly great song. Goddamn, this album is on a roll! 10/10
  5. "Master Passion Greed" - Cool opening before we barrel into an aggressive-as-fuck riff. Marco's singing again and it's pretty decent. Really frantic song with a simple but effective chorus. Honestly, giving Marco a song to sing on his own wasn't such a bad idea, because he does a pretty great job here. Took a moment to understand what was going on, but it's a pretty great song. Not quite perfect, but good enough. That rising ending is awesome. 9/10
  6. "Eva" - Cool piano opening and verse with Anette back in full bloom. These lyrics are really intriguing. Slowly builds until the final chorus where it erupts in full storm. Great, great song. 10/10
  7. "Sahara" - Really cool opening before erupting into that opening riff. Guitar sounds like it fits right into the desert. Plodding verses feel like a literal trip into the desert. The theatrics on this song are in full effect. There's even an ABBA-like bit near the center which I like. I was worried this song may have been reaching a bit too far, but god, it's awesome. Holy shit, I'm loving this album. 10/10
  8. "Whoever Brings The Night" - Cool building opening. I like most of the song, but that chorus doesn't quite click with me. Nearly there, though. 9/10
  9. "For the Heart I Once Had" - I mentioned ABBA earlier, and this song feels like a symph metal take on writing an ABBA song. I love that verse and the chorus is epic in every way. This is exactly what I wanted from a song with that title and more. I love it. 10/10
  10. "The Islander" - Stormy opening that builds up quietly. Marco comes in with a verse and it actually works really well. Really nice acoustic-based song. The chorus doesn't quite knock it out of the park, but the rest of the song is pretty great. 9/10
  11. "Last of the Wilds" - Building, building - ah, there we go! This opening is awesome. Parts of this song feel like Buckethead could've done it, only with different instruments. For an instrumental, this is one kick-ass song. 10/10
  12. "7 Days to the Wolves" - Cool drum beat as the orchestra rises and we launch into a pretty badass riff. Anette is great on the verse, and Marco works well in the chorus. I like the middle bit that brings out the fears of the wild quite well. It's not quite as good a song as most of the others here, but it's still very good. 9/10
  13. "Meadows of Heaven" - Building orchestration and piano before Anette comes in. It gradually builds and each moment is better than the last. Perfect closer to an amazing album. 10/10
I thought that Nightwish would peak with Century Child and gently dwindle down, with some good songs here and there. Certainly Once felt like it was on that track. On that note, I went into Dark Passion Play fully expecting a decent but not-that-great release. I definitely wasn't expecting it to blow my mind. But. Holy. Fuck. It. Blew. My. Mind. Maybe it's how ambitious this album is that makes it succeed, because it's ambitious as fuck, it's long as fuck, and it opens with a goddamn thirteen-something minute song. But goddamn it fucking works!! This is easily the best Nightwish album yet and I have no idea how they'll ever be able to top this and I'm excited to see them try. My god this was good. Anette is a great vocalist, Marco works much better here, and Tuomas really upped the songwriting. I also think they finally hit perfection with the whole "symphonic metal" thing, because this is the most theatrical metal album I've ever heard. It's a monumental affair that just needs to be experienced. I love it. Holy shit, I love it.

Rating: 99%

Oh, Thank Dio! I do agree that Marco meshes better with Anette because her voice isn't as biting as Tarja's, the blend is certainly better due to Anette's bell-like Disney voice. He also makes a great lead vocalist on some of these tracks. DPP is also in my top Nightwish albums despite Anette being my least favorite NW singer and the bloated length (Cadence, Night, and Heart could have all been cut).

Endless Forms is my favorite, despite the albatross that is Greatest Show on Earth. After that I’d go with Wishmaster or Century Child. Once is good too.

Edit: actually I’d probably take Once over Century Child

Same here. Endless Forms is at the top for me, I'm beyond excited for what they do next. My number two is Century Child and three would be Dark Passion Play. Once has some endless classics on it, but is wildly varied in quality.
 
I honestly just don't understand how this can be someone's opinion of Nightwish. I mean, I guess IRYO, but jesus...Marco is the best part of these songs.
Yeah, Marco is weird for me. Sometimes I think he’s awesome, sometimes I don’t like it. Depends on the song and the album.
 
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