CD Review: Borealis's Fall from Grace

Since discovering this Orangeville, Ontario band a couple of years ago via Last.fm, I have been a big fan. Borealis's debut CD, World of Silence was powerful and mature for such a young band, and I felt right away that they had a bright future. The guitar work, vocals, synths - pretty much everything - were all so strong that the world seemed to be their oyster. Long did I await their follow-up, Fall from Grace.

As the saying goes, "ask and you shall receive." Lion Music, Borealis's new label, had an application process for prospective reviewers, so I applied, was accepted, and very soon I was able to download a review copy of FfG courtesy Lion Music's site.

And it was so worth it! Borealis has done it again with an amazing release that belies their youth. Exploding out of the gates, the opening track "Final Hour" impresses right off the bat with a pounding heaviness, and, wouldn't you know it, the echo of a growl in the background! Immediately, I noticed the drumming, performed by Sean Dowell. Drumming isn't something I normally notice much, but for some reason, the drumming in this track - and throughout the entire album - really stuck out for me.

This album gallops along at full throttle (sorry to mix my metaphors) and never rests. It's fast, and I think an improvement in the complexity department over World of Silence - which says a lot. I also felt that the keyboards were, for lack of a better word, integrated more into the tracks than they were in WoS. Matt Marinelli's clean vocals are also a real highlight, as is, again, the superior guitar-work done by Marinelli and Ken Fobert, who, incidentally, has since left the band.

Standout tracks for me are the aforementioned "Finest Hour", "Where We Started", where I can hear a definite Nightwish influence in the guitar parts, "Regeneration", where I also hear an Oceanborn influence and is also one catchy tune, and the slower, acoustically-driven "Watch the World Collapse", which I think shows off the bands sensitivity, emotion, and versatility very well. This is a metal ballad done right.

I only wish the lyrics had been part of the downloads from Lion Music, because one thing I really enjoy about real CDs as opposed to downloads is sitting back and listening while reading along with the lyrics. I also wish there were more than 9 tracks!

I can't say enough great things about this album, and I really hope this launches Borealis into the greatness it deserves. Congratulations you guys - this rocks! Double horns up! \m/ \m/

CD Review: Nightwish's "Oceanborn"

There are very few albums out there that really impact and change the course of music or a genre for many years to come. Some albums have been redeemed as classics while others are considered timeless. One of those albums is Nightwish's "Oceanborn", and it is without a doubt one of my personal favorite albums of all time.

Since the band did not have an official bass guitar player during their first release, Nightwish hired bassist Sami Vänskä who was originally from Nattvindens Gråt and played alongside Tuomas Holopainen before his days in Nightwish. I think his presence really impacted the band and gave them some different approaches to the music. Alongside his friend Tapio Wilska, who was the vocalist for Nattvindens Gråt and most known for his work in Finntroll, he appeared as a guest vocalist for a couple of the songs on "Oceanborn": "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" and "Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean". The songs on this album are more progressive, more symphonic, and more complex than what we saw from "Angels Fall First".



So here is my song by song review:

1. "Stargazers": Immediately, we are treated to symphonic power metal greatness right from the beginning. Excellent bombastic intro with a mysterious sounding melody that leaves you in awe. We are also treated to perhaps the greatest vocal performance of Tarja Turunen's career, especially the high notes in the chorus where she sings "Watching the eyes of the night". Symphonic metal really does not get much better than this, and this is really one of the best Nightwish songs of all time. Definitely deserves a classic rating. 6/5

2. "Gethsemane": The song begins with what I consider one of the most memorable melodies of all time. After that we get a very emotional song with Tarja once again putting out another stellar performance. The song is complex and very powerful with perhaps the most poetic lyrics of Tuomas' career. Definitely one of their most complex songs they have ever written and Emppu's lead in the outro is memorable. 5/5

3. "Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean": Starts out with a great riff and does not let up from there as a pure balls to the wall song. This is one of two songs on "Oceanborn" with Tapio as a guest vocalist. This is indeed one of the darkest and heaviest songs in the band's history. Not as good as the first two songs, but it definitely is a good one. 4/5

4. "Sacrament of Wilderness": A mid-tempo power metal number with an amazing intro with the keyboard and guitar work. We are once again treated with great lyrics from Tuomas. Tarja does an outstanding job on this song. The whole song is just pure power metal perfection. 5/5

5. "Passion of the Opera": The intro has one of Emppu's greatest riffs of all time, followed by a great performance by Tarja once again, especially with her vocal solo during the breakdown of the song all the way to the end. Very powerful and moving. 4.5/5

6. "Swanheart": To be quite frank, this is a beautiful ballad. Tarja's voice is emotional, Tuomas' melodies on the keyboard are great, and Emppu treats us with a great outro guitar solo. Definately one of Nightwish's best ballads and most underrated. I personally find this song better than "Sleeping Sun", well at least in my opinion. 5/5

7. "Moondance": The album's lone instrumental. The main melody has a Russian feel to it, giving it the atmosphere it needs for a great piece. It is fun and exhilarating and has a nice ambient middle section. 4.5/5

8. "The Riddler": A very interesting song. The verses in the song sound very "electronic" the way Tuomas' wrote the melody during that part. It is a good song, but I find this one a bit weak in comparison to the rest of the album. Still good though! 4/5

9. "The Pharoah Sails to Orion": This is one of my favorite Nightwish songs and for many good reasons. The intro starts off very eerie and dark, followed by Tapio darkly reading off a Bible verse. After that follows the main keyboard melody which is as amazing as you will ever hear from any band. The guitar riffs are awesome, Jukka's drumming is top notch, and Tarja and Tapio really give this song justice. Epic and amazing, this goes down as a classic song with an amazing outro to cap it off. 6/5

10. "Walking In the Air": A cover of a song by Howard Blake. Tarja really sings this one very well as usual, and it really stays true to the original in what Nightwish is able to make of it and that is to turn it into a symphonic power metal song. Nice cover. 4/5

11. "Sleeping Sun": Even though this song was not on the original track list of the 1998 release of "Oceanborn", I am going to put it on here since it was on my copy of the album when I got it. Anyways, the song is beautiful, it is a Nightwish classic about the eclipse in 1999 and many fans claim this to be one of their best songs. But personally I think this song maybe a tad overrated in my opinion. I am not saying it's bad, but I think it gets a little too much craze especially when Nightwish has written better ballads in my honest opinion ("Dead Boy's Poem", "Swanheart", "Angels Fall First" just to name a few) Anyways, it is a Nightwish classic regardless. 4.5/5

12. "Nightquest": This song was a bonus track for "Oceanborn", but I will review it anyways. This is a song about the band. The opening riff is very good, the keyboard licks have a more "rock" feel than what Tuomas usually does, and the song overall is just fun and exciting. Very underrated song. 4.5/5

So that is my review of "Oceanborn". Here is what I thought about it:

Pros:
-Solid songwriting and plenty of technicality throughout
-Improved production from their last release
-The band showcases the extent of their abilities on this release
-Awesome ambiance and memorable melodies
-Lyrics are top notch
-No filler tracks

Cons:
-Hardly any cons, so if there are any issues, they are very minor! XD

Following the release of this album, Nightwish has not made an album that would match this since. It really is a stand-out album in their discography and a classic for the symphonic metal genre and for female-fronted metal as well. This is the album that represents the quality by which symphonic power metal is done. "Oceanborn" ranks among the best in metal albums along with Metallica's "Master of Puppets" or Iron Maiden's "Powerslave" just to name a few. I put this album in my top 5 albums and with good reason. Metal never sounded more beautiful! Definitely a genre changing album and a classic. This deserves a 6/5 and a rare DOUBLE horns up! \m/ \m/

Overall rating for "Oceanborn": 6/5 CLASSIC! Rock on!