CD Review: Nightwish's Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Eric's Version)

Reigning as the world's most famous symphonic metal band, Nightwish is back at it again with another album entitled Endless Forms Most Beautiful.  The album is named after a quote used in the Charles Darwin book On the Origin of Species. Knowing this much, it is safe to say that the theme of this album will be primarily about the origins of life, evolution, and all of that fun scientific stuff that creationists hate so much!  They even got Richard Dawkins, a famous evolutionary biologist and writer, to do some voice work on the album!

Along with the release of this album, Nightwish had quite a few lineup changes that greatly affected the outcome of the final product.  On October 1st, 2012, former lead singer Anette Olzon was let go by Nightwish and was immediately replaced by metal veteran Floor Jansen for the rest of the Imaginaerum tour at that time.  Jansen was just a session vocalist when she filled in for Olzon, but the band quickly realized that she was the right person for the job.  On October 9th, 2013, Floor was named the official lead vocalist for Nightwish.  Her experience as a lead vocalist in several other bands (most notably the now defunct After Forever, and Revamp who most recently went on hiatus due to Floor being in Nightwish) gives this band that edge they have desperately needed ever since they fired vocalist Tarja Turunen ten years ago.  Her voice is impeccable and in my opinion she is the best and most versatile female vocalist in metal today.

A promotional photo of Nightwish for their new album

A few other lineup changes occurred since the last album as well.  Drummer Jukka Nevalainen was forced to sit out of the recording sessions as well as the following tour due to insomnia.  He was replaced by friend Kai Hahto from the bands of Wintersun and Swallow the Sun.  His skill at the drums are quite impressive, so Nightwish really could not have asked for a better replacement!  The other important change was the decision to make Troy Donockley a permanent member of Nightwish.  As a uilleann pipes player, Troy has been playing with the band since Dark Passion Play, bringing to life songs such as "Last of the Wilds" and "I Want My Tears Back".  Now as a permanent member of the band, Troy's presence will be even more prominent than before as he brings out the folk sounds that Nightwish always seemed to have had ever since their inception.  

With this star-studded band now in full gear, will this new album be as good as everyone had hoped? Let's find out in my track by track portion of the review:

1. "Shudder Before The Beautiful"-  At the very beginning, we get a poetic reading from Richard Dawkins himself.  After that, the symphonic elements come into full gear in a frenetic pace.  The main riff sounds like a fusion of "Storytime" and "Stargazers".  It's a bit recycled, but it works nonetheless.  The chorus is also a bit reminiscent of "Dark Chest of Wonders". Though not as compelling of a chorus as that track had, the backing choirs and the inspiring lyrics help give the chorus a much needed boost to the track.  The highlight of this track is the dueling guitar and keyboard battle just before the bridge. This is the first time I have heard Nightwish do this sort of thing since their Wishmaster album, and it sounds glorious indeed!  My biggest complaint here is that I feel like Floor's voice is mixed a bit low.  I can still hear her, but there is so much going on that it is sometimes difficult to understand everything.  However, this is more of a technical complaint and it doesn't affect the scoring of the song.  Overall, this is a very good opener to the album.  This isn't the most creative song by this band, but it's something you would expect them to produce.  (4/5)

2.  "Weak Fantasy"-  One of the heavier tracks.  The intro section of the song centers around from what sounds like a movie score, which gives way to a pretty cool main riff that you can hear if you listen closely.  The verse sections have nice sounding acoustic guitars that accompany Floor's voice well.  Unlike the previous song, Floor is able to show off more power in her voice, but it's only during the chorus.  We also get to hear Marco Hietala's voice on this track more predominately. Sadly, this is one of the few times we get to hear his voice up in the mix.  Not the best track by far, but it's good for what it is. (3.5/5)

3. "Elan"- I have already reviewed this track previously here, but I will further analyze it. "Elan" is the first single released for the album.  Like most songs in this affair, it sounds like the typical accessible and radio friendly Nightwish single, perhaps even less inspired than other tracks like "Nemo" or "Storytime".  I just don't find myself listening to this all that often personally.  It's only saving grace are the lyrics.  That is a department in Tuomas' songwriting which hasn't weakened in the slightest.  Overall, it's dull and boring and it fails to bring out the talent of the band.  The alternative version is a little better, but not by much. (2/5)

4. "Yours Is An Empty Hope"- The heaviest track on the album by far, but it is also one of the weaker tracks as well.  The main guitar sounds like a variation of "Dark Chest of Wonders" and the orchestral parts remind me of "Master Passion Greed".  We even get to hear Floor growl in the chorus!  Indeed, that was a surprise to hear!  The one thing I do like about this song is that Marco gets to sing through a good portion of it!  Sadly, his voice feels a bit wasted here because this is a forgetful song.  Overall, this is just not a very creative or inspiring track. (2.5/5)

5. "Our Decades In The Sun"- The album's only ballad.  It starts off with that children's choir that Tuomas used during the bridge in "Storytime" and that sounds rather nice here.  It's a heart-filled ballad with good lyrics but it isn't anything mind-blowing or memorable to write home to. (3/5)

6. "My Walden"- Looks like we have a successor to "I Want My Tears Back"!  Beginning with singing the chorus in Welsh by Troy, we are greeted to a very folksy sounding track with his pipes being the highlight.  The chorus will have you humming it for days!  It is so crazy catchy!  The last section of the song is where the folk instruments take over.  It almost reminds me of the way "Beauty and the Beast" from Angels Fall First ended except with folk instruments.  Indeed this is one of the stronger tracks on the album and I could see this being a possible single in the future. (4/5)

7. "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"- The title track and one of the heavier songs on the album.  I find this to be primarily a filler track with only a few highlights.  The bridge section with the choir and guitar is actually the most interesting part of the song.  Not terrible, yet not that great. (3/5)

8. "Edema Ruh"- To me, this is the best song on the album.  The keyboard intro gives off a "Come Cover Me" vibe and it also has this 80's rock feeling that is hard to describe.  I love the way the verses give off a very tranquil feeling and the chorus sounds very inspiring as well.  Troy gets to sing during the bridge right before the final chorus and it somehow feels right in place with the rest of the song.  Of all the songs on the album, I would probably go back to this one the most since this song feels the most "old school Nightwish".  This is also a potential future single as well. (4/5)

9. "Alpenglow"- This song begins with a nice orchestra/guitar riff that really sounds like it could be in an awesome movie soundtrack.  The chorus is catchy and impressive, especially toward the end of the song.  The guitar/pipes solos are interesting and really helps give this song more power.  So overall this is a good track, even though Nightwish has clearly written better.  It is still enjoyable nonetheless. (3.5/5)

10. "The Eyes of Sharbat Gula"- The instrumental track of the album.  The usage of the children's choir is very nice here, but overall I think this is a boring song with very little to offer.  It isn't "terrible", but I do not find myself coming back and listening to this one. (2.5/5)

11. "The Greatest Show On Earth"- Okay, so this is the song that we all wanted to hear for so long! Clocked in at an impressive 24 minutes, Tuomas really wanted to create his own "creation of life" epic through this song.  The name of the song is actually taken from the title of the Richard Dawkins' book, which interestingly enough Dawkins actually speaks a lot here on this track! The song is actually divided into 5 parts and from what I can hear this is how I think it got broken off into:

I: "Four Point Six"- The title of this section is based on "4.6 billion years ago" when the Earth was formed and new.  Tuomas opens this one up with some inspiring piano melodies that really fit well with the atmosphere of what he wants to bring out in his music.  Floor also gets to use her operatic vocals during this part as well.  Then we hear Richard Dawkins speak a narrative much like how we heard it in "Song of Myself", although it is not quite as long as that.  Thus, we begin with the next section of the song.

II: "Life"- The rest of the band finally kicks in with the kick drums and guitar going into a 16th note fury, which reminds me of " The Poet and The Pendulum" in some ways.  Then the verse section kicks in, with a very familiar sounding riff.... hmmm.. where have I heard this before?  Oh yes!  It's "Bye, Bye Beautiful"!  At least I am pretty sure that is what it sounds like!  The chorus then kicks in and this is the most that we hear the potential and power in Floor's voice as she is really hitting some VERY high notes with her chest voice.  Then it bridges out into a furious orchestral section that really sounds great with the drums and guitar accompanying it!  So the song winds down and what do you think we get to hear?  Do we hear a guitar solo?  Do we get more singing?  Nope!  Instead, we get to hear animal jungle sounds like monkeys and dinosaurs on a Nightwish record!  I am not kidding.  It actually goes on for a while and drags on a bit!  I never thought it would happen but it did.  But thus, life is created apparently which leads us into the next section.

III: "The Toolmaker"-  Toward the end of the jungle animal sounds, the symphony builds up again and we get what sounds like a variation of the riff from "Endless Forms Most Beautiful".  Marco sings again and it is great to hear!  So with that, we get an epic chorus where Marco and Floor sing in unison with one another.  Toward the bridge of this section, we get another break in the action, but thankfully it doesn't last too long and once again we get to listen to that epic chorus!  It then reprises with Marco and Floor singing "We were here" with a buildup of epic choirs and orchestral arrangements.  And thus this section ends with silence after that climax.

IV: "The Understanding"- This section begins with some soft piano playing by Tuomas along with accompaniments from the strings section of the orchestra and pipes being played by Troy.  Then the drums kick in and Richard Dawkins starts talking in a narrative yet again.  This time it's a bit longer than it was in "Four Point Six" and yet it still isn't nearly as dragging as it was in "Song of Myself".  Once he stops talking, the orchestra takes over and it gives off this worldly sound that's found on such movies as 2001: A Space Odyessy for example.  Then the last part of this section begins with ambient keyboard and sounds of the sea.  Then Dawkins talks for one last time right before the final section.

V: "Sea-Worn Driftwood"- The beginning of this begins with..... well... the sounds of a whale!  Yep, it ends with just sounds of the sea as if you are listening to a mood relaxing CD!  Finally, the song slowly fades out and thus we conclude this monster of a song!

I had to listen to this at least 5 times in order to truly understand everything that is going on in it.  The more I listened to it though, the more I got the structure down and the song really grew on me through each listen.  It is only in parts II and III where we actually hear the full band playing along and that is also where we get to hear Floor and Marco sing with what I think are the best written vocal parts of the album.  Is the song well made?  Absolutely!  But I think it is actually, well, too long to be brutally honest!  Some parts really needed to be shorter for the listener to really get through this beast of a track!  Nonetheless, this is very thought provoking and anybody who is into evolution or science in general really needs to listen to this song.  Also, repeating some riffs from previous tracks also loses some points on the final score here as well.  Like I said, there are great parts in this song, but it took me at least 5 listens to fully appreciate it for what it is.  This is indeed the standout track on the album and it needs to be heard a few times in order to understand everything.  (3.5/5)

Bonus Track: "Sagan":  This wasn't on the official tracklist, but I will review it anyways.  It is a pretty forgetful song with rushed lyrics throughout.  Troy has a cool solo in this but it isn't enough to help this song get out of mediocrity.  I can see why this was left out of the album.  (2.5/5)

So that is my review of Nightwish's Endless Forms Most Beautiful!  Here are my overall thoughts about this album:

Pros:
-Much more band oriented than the previous two albums.
-Emppu, Tuomas, and Troy all got to shine with their respected instruments at times.
-Catchy songs and choruses.
-Great and amazing lyrics throughout.

Cons:
-Most of the songs aren't using Floor's true potential in her voice.
-Some tracks seem uninspired and not very creative.
-You can hear some repeating riffs and melodies from older songs.
-The drumming could of been a little more diverse, especially with the talent behind the drum kit.
-Marco's lead vocals got used sparingly.  He was only dominant in a few songs.

So was this the masterpiece that we had hoped for from this band?  Not exactly.  I would not say that this is a "terrible" record, but this just comes across as average to me.  That's right, it's as average as it possibly can be on a Nightwish album.  I am a bit disappointed with the outcome because knowing the talent that this band now has, it just wasn't nearly as great as I had hoped for.  The previous album was actually better so this is actually a step back in my opinion.  This seemed like a very "safe" album to me with very little experimentation to be had while at the same time it brings nothing new to the table. There were also a lot of tracks that sounded like older songs and for that, there really wasn't any song on this album that really "shocked and awed" me like some of the older material did.  Let's keep in mind that this isn't a young band anymore!  Honestly, no one should expect them to make anymore masterpieces like Oceanborn or Wishmaster anytime soon, but we can only hope that day will come again!  To sum it up, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is a good symphonic metal album to add to your collection, but to call it a masterpiece is a little far-fetched.


Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars

CD Review: The Quantum Enigma by Epica

The Quantum Engima Epica's sixth studio album was released on 2 May 2014. This album features new bass player Rob van der Loo, who replaced Yves Huts. So far two singles have been released "The Essence of Silence" and "Unchain Utopia".

To be honest, I have never been into Epica mainly because of Mark Jansen's grunts, screams, his overall attitude and Simone's vocals. The couple of songs I checked online, be it studio versions or live recordings, left me uninterested. But it all changed after listening to The Quantum Enigma. The album might be catchy, but still it maintains quite heavy sound.

The opening track "Origiem" is instrumental song with only singing choir provides listener with a great taste of what's coming next. The powerful choir and orchestra work perfect along the rest of the band on every song. I always have the feeling that, the orchestra and choir give the extra spice to the songs and don't overshadow them.  Another thing I like about The Quantum Enigma is the unpredictability of songs' structures in e.g. "Omen" or "Unchain Utopia". Just because some songs begin with blast, it doesn't mean, that there won't be some twist coming a bit later on and vice versa. Even though Mark's grunts are present on almost all of the songs I find them not so "disturbing" as I expected them to be. And because in my opinion Mark's grunts are used quite sensibly and in places where the songs only benefit from them, I don't find the grunts annoying at all. And I say this as a person, who usually avoid songs with grunts, screams and other  "acrobatic vocal performances".

My favourite songs are "Omen", "The Second Stone" and bonus track "In All Conscience", which is not only my very favourite song of the album, but I consider it to be one of my all time favourite songs. The lyrics, the music and the powerful chorus is what makes this song to stand out for me. So "In All Conscience" I can honestly say, that The Quantum Enigma sparked an interest in Epica in me.  

CD Review: Shine by Anette Olzon

'Shine' is the first solo album of former Nightwish singer Anette Olzon. Although, the album was release in  March, the composing and recording of some of the songs date back to 2009. It was after DPP world tour when Anette announced, that she's working on her solo album. But due to her second pregnancy, the release of the album was postponed.
Prior to the album release, we got a tease in form of lyric video of 'Falling', followed by first single 'Lies'. Although 'Lies' and 'Falling' have rock sound, don't be fooled. 'Shine' mostly consists of ballads and slow songs. Songs that definitely let Anette 'shine' and you can tell, that this is her comfort zone.

One thing that was a big surprise and a let down for me was the fact, that five out of ten songs were already played live or shared as demos. 'Floating', 'Invincible' and 'Falling' were shared with us on Anette's Myspace page. Although in form of demos, I dare to say that very little has change since 2009 when it comes to these three songs.  Other two 'Watching Me From Afar' and 'Like A Show Inside My Head' were performed live shortly after Anette's departure from Nightwish. 'One Million Faces' was written by Martijn Spierenburg known as a keyboard player in Within Temptation.

My second complain, and this is only my personal opinion, is a lack of challenging songs. Yes, Anette sounds very good on all of the songs, but most of them are just plain, sometimes boring songs, that you know right from the beginning what you're getting. An element of surprise is missing. I personally call 'Shine' a chill out album. Nice enough but not something I would expect after so many years of 'making' it.

CD Review: The Human Contradiction by Delain

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their fourth studio album 'The Human Contradiction' on 4th April. According to lead singer Charlotte Wessels, who is also responsible for all the lyrics on this album, the album's title was inspired by Octavia E. Butler's science fiction trilogy 'Lillith's Brood'.

In all honesty, I never really cared for Delain. I knew they existed because of their collaboration with Marco Hietala from Nightwish, but their previous work failed to grab my attention. It wasn't until I read mostly positive reviews that I decided to give their new album a shot. To my biggest surprise, I ended up being hooked right from the very first tunes of 'Here Comes the Vultures'. And this 'being hooked' state of mine continued throughout the entire album. The songs have catchy melodies indeed, but I never felt that the 'catchiness' is forced or calculated. Again, we have the pleasure to hear Marco Hietala on two songs 'Your Body is a Battleground' and 'Sing to Me', which also belong to my favourite songs. Another two guests, George Oostheok (ex-Orphanage) and Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy, ex-The Agonist), provide growls to songs 'Tell Me, Mechanist' and  'The Tragedy of the Commons'.

After a couple of spins I can definitely say, that 'The Human Contradiction' is on my list of favourite albums of this year. I even learnt to appreciate Charlotte's vocals more than ever before. I believe it's time to give Delain another try and listen to their other three albums again.  

CD Review: Colours In the Dark by Tarja

After 3 years of waiting, Tarja released her new album 'Colours In the Dark' in August/September. Before the release of the album, Tarja teased us with lyric video 'Never Enough'  and official first single 'Victim of Ritual', which was released in July.

Personally, I'm not really surprised with the direction of Tarja's new album. In many interview Tarja anticipated, that her main influences were film soundtracks and American heavy metal. Although, the album has only 10 tracks, it doesn't seem to be necessarily a bad thing as some fans were complaining. Most of the songs are longer than 5 minutes anyway.

The album's opener is also the first single 'Victim of Ritual' which immediately reminded me of  'Anteroom of Death' from her second album 'What Lies Beneath'. Followed by '500 Letters', which is supposed to be the second single released sometime in September. This song is really catchy and is about Tarja's obsessives fans. I like this song along with more atmospheric 'Lucid Dreamer', which features Tarja's daughter Naomi, 'Mystique Voyage', where Tarja sings in 3 different languages. My personal highlight of the album is 'Deliverance'. A perfect combo of all Tarja's favourite musical styles which blend in together very nicely. 'Never Enough' and 'Neverlight' are the heaviest songs on the album and definitely bear the 'stamp' of American heavy metal which Tarja is so fond of. As with the previous 2 albums, Tarja decided to make another cover.

This time it is Peter Gabriel's 'Darkness', which along with the ballad 'Until Silence' are 2 songs which I tried to like, but failed to do so. Maybe they need even more time to grow on me, but in the case of  'Until Silence' it's not only the lyrics, which I find rather repetitive and boring, but the song itself sounds a bit dull to me. The last song of the album is a duet 'Medusa' featuring Justin Furstenfeld know as the lead singer of the rock band Blue October. 

Since I bought the deluxe version I received a one off download code for the bonus track 'Into the Silence'. When Tarja played this song for the first time during her 'What Lies Beneath World Tour' I wasn't really impressed with this song. I liked 'Never Enough' more. But this studio version not only has new intro added but also the middle part is changed and it became on of my favourite songs of 'Colours In the Dark'. I consider it to be one of her best ballads.

So to say at last. To me 'Colours In the Dark' is a very big step forward. It seems like Tarja found herself a style which she shines in and also record company, which helps her to improve and evolve. Also, I must not forget to mention booklet. If you can, buy the CD because the photos are just stunning! Tarja looks beautiful, relaxed and so natural. I always complain about her official photos, because she pulls horrible faces but these are just great. And if I ever get a chance to see her live, I will definitely go. Even though, her accent still bothers me a lot.

To find tour dates check here. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, do it here.

First official single: Victim of Ritual

Review Roundup

Having been quite unwell lately, I haven't been producing as many reviews as I used to, and also, as you can see, this blog has been a tad bit neglected by me, too.  But I do have some reviews to share that I haven't yet posted here, so let's get to those.

1.  Perhaps the most highly anticipated album of the year for me this year was the new Dawn of Destiny release, Praying to the World.  I am happy to say that it is fantastic!  I even like their new vocalist, Jeanette! I reviewed it for Sonic Cathedral here.

2. SinHeresY's EP, The Spiders and the Butterfly.  Great metal from Italy, where a lot of fantastic metal is coming from these days.  Italy seems to me to be the newest metal powerhouse, which is great if you think Lacuna Coil is sliding down the tubes.  SinHeresY is a dual male & female fronted band and their EP is very promising.  I find myself going back to it again and again.  Again, I reviewed it for Sonic Cathedral, here.

3. If you haven't heard Akoma, Denmark's awesome symphonic metal band with a killer vocalist, you should definitely check them out!  I've been a fan for a while now, and they released a new EP this spring called The Other Side.  Check my review of that on Sonic Cathadral here.

4. I co-wrote a review of LA-based symphonic metal band Ashentide's EP here on Sonic Cathedral.  A very promising start from a young band with a lot of talent!  The EP is available for a free download from the band's site.

The next reviews are all from Black Wind Metal.

1. As Winter Falls' EP, available for free download from the band's site, was a nice surprise.  Hailing from Slovenia, this is as talented quartet, and my review of the EP, Road to Nowhere, is here.

2. Maltese metalers Rising Sunset were kind enough to send me a copy of their new CD, Equinox.  It was a little bit not my cup of tea lyrics-wise, and this caused some conversation in the comments.  Musically, it wasn't bad, though.  That review is here.

3. Switzerland's 69 Chambers released Torque this spring and I reviewed it here.  Again, not exactly my cup of tea.

4. Opera Diabolicus - awesomesauce!  I loved this CD, entitled +1614.  I couldn't say enough good things about it.  You can read my gushing about that one here.

5. Pythia's The Serpent's Curse was a great surprise for me since I found their previous CD milquetoast.  I really enjoyed this new CD, though, and that review is here.

6. From Nancy, France, Fenrir is a female fronted folk metal band, and I reviewed Echoes of the Wolf here.

7. I even did a review of a male fronted power metal band from Cyrpus, Winter's Verge.  Pretty good stuff, too.  That one is here.

8. Huntress is a band making a lot of waves on the scene these days and one that is gaining a lot of popularity through it's seemingly endless touring.  I almost got to see them at Paganfest in Seattle, but was sick so I couldn't attend the gig.  But I was particularly interested in seeing them.  Their CD is fun, though not exactly my cup of tea vocally or stylistically.  But I loved their song "Eight of Swords".  That review is here.

That's it for now!  Enjoy!

Review Update

Busy times for us all here, but I have been keeping up my reviewing gigs with both Black Wind Metal and Sonic Cathedral.  Here is as summary.

For Black Wind Metal:

Epica's Requiem for the Indifferent
Amberian Dawn's Circus Black
Shear's Breaking the Stillness
Evenoire's Vitriol (the best of the bunch; it's really excellent & I highly recommend it!)
Effloresce's Coma Ghosts
Silent Opera's Immortal Beauty (the worst of the bunch; at 1/5, it's my lowest rating ever)

For Sonic Cathedral:

Lyriel's Leverage (awesomesauce!)

Some Reviews

Today Xandria's new album is released in Spain, Sweden, and Finland.  The rest of Europe follows tomorrow and North America gets it's hands on it March 6.  But, thanks to my review gig over at Black Wind Metal, I got a review copy!  And let me tell you, this is one awesome fucking album.  I was so impressed, and I think fans of the symphonic power metal genre are really going to be impressed, too.  My review for Neverworld's End can be read here.

Also for Black Wind Metal, I reviewed the new Diabulus in Musica album, The Wanderer.  I was only so-so on that.  That review is here.

Finally for BWM, I reviewed Meden Agan, who hail from Greece.  This is a band I encourage you all to pay some attention to, because they are absolutely brilliant.  Their newest album, Erevos Aenaon, is so impressive, and I think Iliana, their operatic vocalist, is going to become a powerhouse on the scene.  That review is here.

More reviews coming up!

Reviews Update and New Finds

I've come across some great shit lately, and some not so great shit, but I'm always game for new stuff no matter what!  So here is an update of some of my reviews that are appearing on other sites.

On Black Wind Metal:

• Beyond the Bridge's The Old Man and the Spirit.  Excellent stuff!  Progressive metal from Germany, featuring both a female and male vocalist.  I'm not the biggest prog fan ever, but I was really blown away by this this.  What a great find!
• the not-so-fabulous sophomore album by Voices of Destiny, Power Dive.  Ugh.  Not great, IMO, but others may really dig it.
• German power metal outfit Elmsfire's Thieves of the Sun garnered a rave review, as did Italians Setanera's EP, Spettralia.

Upcoming on BWM I have Meden Agan's Erevos Aenaeon and Lacuna Coil's Dark Adrenaline (ugh).

And over at Sonic Cathedral, I have a review of Battle Beast's Steel. 

Some Reviews

I've done a lot of reviewing for other sites recently, and as they are published I'll share the links here.

For starters, however:

Trillium - Alloy on Black Wind Metal (this is Amanda Somerville's new metal project)
Narwhal Tusk - In Despair on Black Wind Metal (excellent Russian symphonic power metal)
Ancient Bards - Soulless Child on Sonic Cathedral (another excellent band from Italy)

Upcoming: Voices of Destiny, Meden Agan, and Setanera on Black Wind Metal, and Battle Beast on Sonic Cathedral.

CD Review: "Imaginaerum" by Nightwish

 Now it’s my turn to write my thoughts about Imaginaerum. I must say I was among those, who had no problem to accept Anette as new lead vocalist.  This time I was looking forward to listening to Imaginaerum even more. Why? I liked the idea of the album and I was eager to hear Anette’s progress. The reviews highlighted Anette’s vocal performance a lot which was a good sign for me. Not that I had doubts but well. 

Imaginaerum is, as Tuomas calls it, a place where your imagination is being cured. And your imagination will be cured by a great diversity which this album offers. You’ll find folk song, jazz song, epic song, oriental song and many more.

 When I heard the first single Storytime for the first time my thoughts were just "wow." I still think this is one  of their best singles so far. And now happens something I thought  won’t ever happen. I actually prefer radio edit over album version. The bridge doesn’t fit the song at all, IMO. Also for the first time ever a children's choir is presented. 

Slow, Love, Slow is one of the songs I was curious about. I have nothing against jazz in general but I had no idea what to expect from this one. I admit I listened to the samples and after listening to the whole song it ended up on my favourite ones list. The others  are Scaretale, Rest Calm, Turn Loose The Mermaids, Last Ride of the Day and Song of Myself.

I would love to point out Anette‘s vocals on Scaretale. She just sounds great. She can be an evil witch and in a next minute a seductive singer singing in 1930’s nightclub. I consider Turn Loose the Mermaids my favourite ballad in general. I like Anette's warm, low vocals. Although, the "western" instrumental part with whistling sounded strange at first, I learned to appreciate it. Rest Calm is another favourite of mine. I like the sudden change from heaviness to softness and the combination of Anette and children's choir works great. Last Ride of the Day has catchy chorus and nice fast tempo. My only concern about this song is, if they ever play it live (pretty please yes!) will Anette sound at least decent? I hope so. Song of Myself an epic song with long dragging poem. I must admit I do skip the poem more often than actually listening to it. Yet it is nice to be able to hear Anette’s son, Marco’s twin sons or Tuomas‘ parents and many more recite the poem. I think this song is one of those you have to listen couple of more times to understand why the poem is included.   

Well now the list of  not so favourite ones  but still good songs. I really don’t think they are bad at all. It just took me some time to appreciate them. Arabesque  is the one I skip all the time. It was composed only because of the film and honestly I don’t care for that song at all. Ghost River is the one I had to force myself to listen to again. I like the dialogue between Anette and Marco. Also "We will go down we will drown drown, deeper down" sung by children's choir is my favourite part from the whole song. Nice dancy song I Want My Tears Back will be played live so I’ll see if it plays a trick on me. Taikatalvi, Birdie song and Imaginaerum are nice ones again and I expect them to grow on me later.

All in all I don’t dare to call Imaginaerum Nightwish’s best album. Although I dare to say it is miles ahead of Dark Passion Play. You have to listen to the album more than just once, though. I personally did it dozens of times.  Another thing that little bit bothers me are the bridges on Last Ride of the Day and Storytime. They seem to me so out of the place. 

But never mind. Lets put it straight again. I love the album much more than Dark Passion Play. I love Anette vocals. Also the booklet seems better to me. Generally, I really am looking forward to seeing them live one day. (Still waiting for the UK's dates to be announced!) AND I hope to see the film this spring. 

         

CD Review: Nightwish's Imaginaerum (Eric's Version)

Ah yes, the much anticipated album of the year is finally out. Nightwish releases their seventh studio album Imaginaerum, the same name by which the movie will be named after. Knowing this album is based around a movie, the music is going to be basically a film score with Nightwish playing over it. And of course as expected, the hype surrounding this album is so out of this world and many wonder if this will meet all the expectations.

As mentioned on my Dark Passion Play review, I felt that their new vocalist Anette Olzon seemed out of place in the music and the range of the vocal melodies were too high in pitch for her. As of late, Anette hired a vocal coach to help with some of these issues she had from the previous album. Will it pay off? I really admire her courage and desire to improve. Of course, there will never be a vocalist like Tarja Turunen again in Nightwish. She was so unique and really brought out the essence and beauty of Tuomas’ music. Despite that, I am willing to accept Anette as their vocalist and see what she can offer on this album.

With all of these expectations and hype, will Imaginaerum live up to it? Well let’s dive right into my song by song review of the new Nightwish album!

1. “Taikatalvi“: (4/5) The intro track. Starts off with a toy box playing a melody with Marco singing in Finnish. He sounds great as he usually does. I wish I knew Finnish though. I think the song gets very beautiful when the flute and the string instruments come in. A very good intro track.

2. “Storytime”: (4/5) The first single of the album. A very catchy and upbeat song with a very strong orchestral section in the middle. It also features a children‘s choir, one of the elements that is unique about this album. I will admit that this is a “safe” Nightwish song so to say with everything that you most likely will hear by this band, but it does a good job in representing the album as a whole.

3. “Ghost River”: (4/5) The song starts off with a great guitar riff. Reminds me of Van Halen, but this is of no surprise since Emppu plays in an 80’s throwback band (Brother Firetribe). Marco sounds very dark and cynical in the song, especially in the pre-chorus sections. The children’s choir singing part of the chorus was very nice. A very good song.

4. “Slow, Love, Slow”: (4.5/5) This is the most unique song Nightwish has ever composed. It is a jazz song. Yes, a jazz song made by Nightwish! Out of all the songs I heard with Anette singing in it, this has to be perhaps the best and most versatile vocal performance in her career with Nightwish. Her voice fits the mood of the song so well. I also love Emppu’s solo in this song as well. It is unorthodox for him to come up with such a bluesy solo, but it sounds so good and I rate this solo one of the best in his career with Nightwish. No other band in their genre would dare to reach these territories. Just brilliant.

5. “I Want My Tears Back”: (4/5) This song is a bit more structured, much like “Storytime” and could easily be another single from this album. The chorus is extremely epic and well written with Marco and Anette giving great vocal performances. The highlight of this song is Troy Donockley on uillean pipes. He gives this song such a great atmosphere and the folksy breakdown with him and Emppu dueling is fantastic. Very cool. A recommended listen.

6. “Scaretale”: (4.5/5) Symphonic power metal at it’s best. A very creepy intro I must say, but when it gets into the good parts, it takes off and never lets up! It’s very bombastic and a big sounding song. Also, Anette’s vocals are so powerful in this song. Here, she sounds dark and evil, something I never would have thought she would sound like. The middle part of the song is so crazy! It’s basically circus music! At first, I thought this was very odd, but the more I listened, the more I liked it and it is actually quite brilliant. One of the album’s highlights.

7. "Arabesque": (3.5/5) An instrumental. A very cool orchestration, but it isn’t the highlight of the album. It is worth listening to though for good atmosphere and feeling. It’s almost like intermission.

8. “Turn Loose The Mermaids”: (4/5) A folksy ballad with Celtic influences. At first I did not care for this song that much, but the more I listened, the more I liked it and realized that it is actually very good. I think Anette sounds very nice on this song too. Beats the hell out of "Eva" that’s for sure.

9. “Rest Calm”: (4/5) A slower metal track, but good nonetheless. Marco sounds so powerful and literally blows you out of your seat in this song during the verses! I like how they have Anette singing this one, going from one emotion to another during the chorus sections. Very clever. The children’s choir is also featured in this song. A very recommended song.

10. “The Crow, The Owl, And The Dove”: (3.5/5) Honestly, I really disliked this song when I first heard it, but like “Turn Loose The Mermaids”, the more I listened the more it grew on me. The only thing is that this is probably the most radio friendly song Nightwish ever released. Despite that, this is actually a well written song. One thing I didn’t care for is the breakdown where Troy Donockley sings. Yes, the pipist sings! It sounds out of place, but it doesn’t destroy the song. Not my favorite song on the album, but it is worth a good listen for sure!

11. “Last Ride Of The Day”: (5/5) Epic!! That is exactly what this song is! A very good bombastic song with a whirlwind of emotions and feelings throughout. The highlight of the song is the chorus. In my opinion, it's one of the best choruses in Nightwish’s career. A great melody! The orchestra and choir is used so well in this song. The best song on the album for me. Just pure Nightwish.

12. “Song Of Myself”: (2.5/5) A very long song, clocking in at almost 14 minutes. Great orchestra sections, choirs throughout… etc. Why is this song only a 2.5/5? Well because it is only half of a song! The first half sounds very powerful and good. The second half of the song is basically dialogue! What?? Really? Yes, we have six and half minutes of basically strings, piano, some guitar, and people reading dialogue from what appears to be a script from the movie I assume. I don’t know. All I know is that it was unnecessary to have for that long and because of that the song is a big letdown. A little bit would have been okay, but I think that part of the song should have been a separate track in my opinion. But it is worth a listen if you like poetic script reading and if you pay attention, there is some interesting stuff being read actually if you have enough attention span to get through it all.

13. “Imaginaerum”: (3.5/5) Another instrumental and the title track. Seems to be the music you would hear at the end of the movie during the credits. It is basically the orchestra, led by Pip Williams, playing the highlights from every song on the album. This track sounds very nice, but it isn’t my favorite one and I think it is one of the weaker tracks.

So that is my song by song review of Imaginaerum. Here are my overall thoughts:

Pros:

• Much better album overall than Dark Passion Play, with better lyrics and better songs throughout.
• Anette’s vocals are vastly improved, mainly due to the fact that the songs are now written for her range.
• Marco sounds so epic and great as usual.
• Very epic orchestral sections throughout.
• So much variety and experimentation.

Cons:

• Lack of good guitar work at times, but when needed, Emppu has good stuff on here.
• Parts of the album has flaws, like Troy singing in “The Crow, The Owl, And The Dove” and the second half of “Song of Myself” for example.
• Some listeners may have to listen to it a few times to get the idea of the album.

I feel that Nightwish has really stepped up on this album. I am so impressed with how they made a great comeback since the last album. Dark Passion Play seemed very awkward and not like a true Nightwish album the way I know them. All the mistakes that were on Dark Passion Play are corrected on this album. If you are a fan of the last two albums, you may have a difficult time accepting this album at first because of it’s theatrics and experimentation. The last couple of Nightwish albums were definitely more commercial sounding compared to this one. Imaginaerum goes back to their roots with the lyrics and songwriting aspects, while at the same time incorporating elements from the last two albums. There are literally so many crazy things going on in this album, and you really do need to listen to it a couple of times to get it all. If you listen to the album from beginning to end, it actually makes more sense.

As far as Anette goes, I am impressed with her on this album. Her vocals have improved so much and I can tell she is really trying to get better. As I said in the last review, I had nothing against her as a person, but I felt that she did not belong in a band like Nightwish. But after listening to this, I can say that she actually belongs now with all the diversity that this band can bring to the table. Think about it, she sings in a jazz song, a folk song, and a bunch of epic symphonic power metal songs. As much as I miss Tarja in Nightwish like most of us do, you have to admit that she did a pretty good job and I don‘t think Tarja can sing some of these songs as well as her either. Sure some people may not like her sound vocally and she isn‘t the most unique singer ever, but I think that if you still have issues with Anette, keep an open mind because you will be very surprised with what is offered on this album.

This kind of diversity of music is not something many bands can achieve, which is why Nightwish is one of the greatest bands of all time to me. This is why they are legends and should be accounted as being perhaps the best band of our generation. Tuomas knows how to impress people, and I can honestly say that he has done it again! It is an exciting time to be a Finnish metal fan. The music that comes out of that country is so great and this is another album to add to your collection if you like symphonic power metal or female fronted metal. It is by far their most consistent album since Wishmaster. It has its flaws of course, but the good outweigh the bad and remember to keep an open mind when listening to this. I give this album a horns up as I can honestly say that the true new era of Nightwish starts now! \m/ Congratulations Nightwish on a job well done!

Overall score: 4/5

Nemesea's The Quiet Resistance Review

My latest review for Black Wind Metal is of the new Nemesea CD, The Quiet Resistance.  And you can see that I have very little good to say about it, too!

It's here.

Coronatus's Terra Incognita Review...

...Is now up over at Sonic Cathedral's web zine.  This is the German band's fourth album with yet another vocal line-up, and it seem that this time they got it right because this is a really strong album.

The review is here.

Review Up

My review of Van Canto's newest CD, Break the Silence, is up on Black Wind Metal.  You can read it here.

CD Review: Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu

Oh boy...... where do I begin? *Facepalm*

Metallica is one of my favorite bands, but what the hell is this crap? Metallica decided that they wanted to do something a little different by producing a concept album with another artist. Lulu is based on a series of two plays (Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box) by Frank Wedekind, a playwright who lived in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. They decided to record the album with Lou Reed, an old experimental rock musician who honestly has no business doing anything with a group like Metallica! This collaboration would be nothing more than a big mess, like mixing water and oil, and that is exactly what happened on Lulu.

Musically, the album is just pure noise! It sounds like Metallica came up with a bunch of rushed metal riffs and gave it to Lou Reed for him to make shitty songs. Metallica on this album sounds generic and boring, almost like the equivalence of nails on a chalkboard for metal listeners! But of course the worst part of this project are Lou Reed's vocals! He doesn't sing, instead he simply talks over the music and it sounds terrible and out of key. Everything just sounds so annoying on this album! Even some of the lyrics are laughable. In their single, "The View", James Hetfield sings lyrics such as "I am the Table", which has now become a big Internet meme as of late! Actually, I find that line pretty humorous myself and it seems that people are now calling James "The Table"! Unreal!

For a concept album, this was extremely horrible, awkward and poorly executed! It's one thing to try to be original, but please make it at least listenable! Why did Metallica sign up for this? What was the reason for creating this horrible album? Why would Metallica release this garbage after releasing a fairly decent album in Death Magnetic? What were they thinking?? Normally, I would do a song by song review, but this album was so bad that it did not deserve that! I would honestly rate this among the top 10 worst albums of all time! Seriously, it is THAT BAD! I have been looking for an album to give 0 stars and a DOUBLE horns down for, and that is exactly what this album deserves! /w\ /w\ Absolutely horrible! Do not buy or even listen to this, and this is coming from a long time Metallica fan! Metallica is going to have to do something really amazing in the future to make up for this garbage!

I am honestly ashamed to be a Metallica fan after listening to this..

Rating: 0/5 Abomination!

CD Review: Visions of Atlantis's "Maria Magdalena"

I love how some bands save their best material for EPs.  Leaves' Eyes does this all the time, with the exception of Melusine, which was pretty bad compared to gems like their Legend Land EP and their Elegy EP.  From a marketing standpoint, these EPs make total sense, and it makes sense to keep some little surprises back from the fans so they'll buy more stuff.

Maria Magdalena, released Oct. 21, is VoA's first EP, and I have to say, though I liked Delta well enough (review here), I on the whole like this EP a lot more.

It starts off with the cover of a song I'd never heard before, "Maria Magdalena", originally performed by German pop artist Sandra.  You can listen to the original here.  It's very typical 80s pop and it kind of makes me cringe when I listen to it.  The VoA version, which you can listen to here, is a much more updated, modern version and it rocks.

Also included on this EP are a few new songs, the faster "Change of Tides" and "Distant Shores" and the slower, ballad-like follow up to "The Poem" from 2007's Trinity, entitled "Beyond Horizon - The Poem Part II."  This latter song is great, mainly because it shows of Mario Plank's sensitive side.  In fact, one of the things I liked most about this EP overall is that Mario uses his clean vocals and leaves his growlier voice at home for a while.  In "Beyond Horizon" he sounds amazing and emotional like he never has before.

The other song on this 6-track release that I enjoyed a lot was a remake of "Last Shut of Your Eyes", which originally appeared on VoA's 2004 release, Castaway, back when Nicole Bogner was still lead singer. (Oh, Nicole, where are you now?  You were so awesome!)  This newer version of course features current VoA female lead Maxi Nil, who is an excellent singer.  She really shines on this EP, and when listening to this song in particular, I got a sense of nostalgia.  This is a song that originally got me into the band, yet I hadn't heard it in ages.  Hearing "Last Shut of Your Eye" has inspired me to go back through VoA's discography and revisit my old favourites because it's just been plain too long.

This is definitely an EP worth listening to if you're a VoA fan, as I am, and if you're looking to get into the "new" VoA.  Though Delta is certainly a worthwhile listen, Maria Magdalena doesn't have a single weak or filler song on it, so I definitely recommend it.  Horns up! \m/

New Find & Review: Obsidian Shell

My slave-driving boss over at Black Wind Metal sent me a copy of Hungarian Gothic/symphonic-ish metal band Obsidian Shell's newest release, Evershade, for review purposes.  The review is now up on Black Wind Metal here.

I really think this is a band worth checking out.  I really liked Evershade, once I got over the first song on the album, which was a bit on the bland side.  They have some good stuff.  Unfortunately, the singer & bassist left the band shortly after this CD was released, so I'm not sure what the future hold for them, but they deserve a bit of attention because I think they are quite promising.

Here are a couple of samples from Evershade for you to enjoy, "Hidden" and "Season of Light."

Crysalys Review Up

My review of Crysalys's debut album, The Awakening of Gaia, is now appearing on Sonic Cathedral's web zine here, if you are interested in hearing my thoughts about this promising new band.

Echoterra Review

Echoterra, symphonic power metal from the States featuring ex Visions of Atlantis front woman Melissa Ferlaak, is releasing their new full length album, Land of the Midnight Sun, on October 17.  As a reviewer for Sonic Cathedral's web zine, I was fortunate enough to get an advanced promo copy of the CD to review, and you can read my review up on the zine here.