| Nightwish 'Angels Fall First' Drakkar, 1997 Lord Pale: Nightwish hail from Finland and their debut album Angels Fall First is an interesting spin on the Finnish sound. Mid paced and melodic 80's metal tribute riffs chug and squeal alongside cheesy gay keyboard synth that also takes alot of cues from the 80�s. The order of the day here is highly catchy and appealing choruses and guitar/synth passages carried by Tarja's operatic feminine vocals that reach sensational stratospheres and add a very original feeling to proceedings. Occasional male vocals pop up in a couple of tracks here and there and work well together with Tarja's angelic voice. As with most melodic outfits from Finland the famous guitar/keyboard solo trade off rears its head within some tracks but it�s done stylishly and adds to the cheesy appeal. Nightwish do a great job of creating opposing atmospheres within their style, sometimes dreamy and mellow and at other times brooding or upbeat, which adds a decent amount of variation to proceedings. Some may find the sound a little overbearing by the end of the album, and I prefer to listen to separate tracks rather than the whole album but a great effort anyway. Favourite Tracks - The Carpenter, Angels Fall First, Elvenpath Mark - 7.5/10 Nightwish 'Oceanborn' Spinefarm, 1998 Lord Pale: Nightwish return with their second offering 'Oceanborn' which shows a more professional direction and better songwriting skills. The music is essentially the same although a little faster with a better production. The guitar keyboard duels are more commonplace and the playing a little more proficient than that of Angels Fall First, and the atmosphere is a little more cosmically orientated. The male vocals crop up from time to time again although less frequently this time around, however Tarja's vocal acrobatics more than make this album with her operatic classical training coming across much more on songs like 'Passion and the Opera�. The keyboards incorporate a piano sound akin to Samael's 'Passage' along with their usual form of bombast although they are alot more restrained and less cheesy than the debut. Another slow piece focusing on emotive vocals graces the album in the form of �Swanheart�, Oceanborn's equivalent of Angel's Fall First from their first album. Oceanborn is as varied and interesting album as Angels Fall First only in a style more preferential to my ears with the focus on astral themes rather than fantasy, which suits their musical style a little better in my opinion. Overall another entertaining piece of classical melodic metal, try it. Favourite Tracks - Passion And The Opera, The Riddler, Sacrament Of Wilderness Mark - 8/10 Nightwish 'Wishmaster' Spinefarm, 2000 Lord Pale: Nightwish seem content with their sound as their third album 'Wishmaster' shows no real progression, just more of the same style of melodic operatic metal. Wishmaster blends the style from both previous albums together and uses elements out of both to create another classical opus. Wishmaster is definitely a slower album than Oceanborn and focuses more one the ballad style songs of its predecessors with a couple of tracks to pick up the pace in between. Alot of the keyboards centre around a flute style sound, which floats gently behind the music making this perhaps their most mellow album to date. A few chanting passages highlight the title track which is the only real surprise (if you could call it that) to be had here. Favourite Tracks - Wishmaster, Deep Silent Complete Mark - 7/10 Nightwish 'Over The Hills And Far Away' Spinefarm , 2001 Lord Pale : Nightwish's new 4 track MCD failed to impress me greatly , with only 2 new tracks , a cover song ( the title track ) , a rerecorded track , and 6 live tracks . Why Nightwish chose to cover Over The Hills And Far Away , when it has so recently been covered by Thyrfing and done much better , has left me at a loss . However this synth drenched cover remains unobtrusive and quite melodic without grabbing the attention in any form . The two new tracks are fairly predictable Nightwish material with one being a more uptempo track and the other being a more balladesque piece , but they are amongst some of the better material the band has written . I've never been a fan of live tracks on mini cd's so I think that the choice to include them here is just a waste of time , even though they are an admirable performance . The remake of Astral Romance doesn't offer to much in the way of surprises but sounds better rerecorded . Overall I feel that Nightwish will soon be a very distasteful band if they don't look at what they are doing and offer their fans something a little more in the way of progression . Favourite Tracks - 10th Man Down , Away , Astral Romance Mark - 5/10 Nightwish 'Century Child' Spinefarm , 2002 Lord Pale : Century Child is Nightwish's last album with vocalist ( and major draw card as it seems ) Tarja , and sees the Finnish group getting back to their roots on their strongest album to date . Century Child is a heavier album than both of it's predecessors with a more prominent bass sound , perhaps due to their new bassist who also contributes some vocals . The lyrics seem to follow a concept of lost love , with the exception of their great cover of 'The Phantom Of The Opera' lending the album an interesting story line . The first track 'Bless The Child' is a fairly standard Nightwish track with the familiar synth and vocals , and I cringed upon hearing it thinking the band were going to deliver another heard it all before like Wishmaster , thankfully the rest of the album had some interesting developments . The following track 'End Of All Hope' has the operatic chanting style element of the Wishmaster title track , whilst the third track 'Dead To The World' opens with a intro reminiscent of Queen before breaking into the old classic format of the duelling clean male/female vocals of their debut . The rest of the album is well varied with the excellent single 'Ever Dream' , 'Forever Young' ( featuring a tin whistle!! ) , and 'Ocean Soul' providing the more traditional mellow Nightwish sound , whilst 'Slaying The Dreamer' introduces some more aggressive male vocals with a heavier mid section , and the final track 'Beauty Of The Beast' seems to be a distorted mixture of a lot of older Nightwish tracks musically and comes off a little sloppy at times , leaving only the aforementioned cover , and 'Feel For You' another good song with both clean male and female vocals . I will have to take marks off of the band for lack of progressional skills , but this is a major return to form after the disappointing and rather repetitive Wishmaster . Recommended . Favourite Tracks - Dead To The World , Ever Dream , The Phantom Of The Opera Mark - 8/10 Nightwish �Once� Nuclear Blast ,2004 Gloon: For some reason Nightwish have risen to be one of the biggest female fronted metal bands in Europe and while still safely classified as semi underground they have managed to build up a large and loyal following world wide. I for one hate flowery powermetal and overly melodic opera rock but I will try and be objective while staying away from too many tongue in cheek comments. From the outset the glamorous guitars and dreamy opening set the tone for what is to be a happy, fluffy slipper ride through the realms of the Care Bears to the land of marshmallows, milk and honey, the land of Nightwish. I don�t mean to be disrespectful but this is almost the type of un rebellious, ball less metal tot that your Grandma would enjoy listening to on Sunday mornings before church. From the techno dance rock of �Wish I Had an Angel� to the uplifting, Mills and Boon emotional ride that is �Nemo� this is Barbie Metal at is most pinkest. Things almost get scary during �Planet Hell� but then the song starts and you realize its about as menacing as your neighbours pet fox terrier, �Dead Gardens� suggests an end to the flower power, however while being heavier it reverts to niceties after the initial riff. This on the other hand is the good news as the truly terrifying outings on this album are the epics both 8 and 10 minutes respectively, sitting through either of them will have you knitting and making tea in no time. Its rumored that this may be the swan song for the band if so I bid thee farewell, for they must have surely reached the pinnacle of peace and enlightenment in metal through this release, truly sticky sweet. Favourite Tracks � The final cord of closer �Higher than Hope� Rating � 4 halos out of ten |
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