Nightwish- Élan Song Review

So yeah, I haven't posted anything in a while, but since this new single has been released by the one and only Nightwish, I figured that this needed to be done!

So about the new single.  Well, how can I put this.  To sum it up, it's bland and boring to be brutally honest.  Floor Jansen never ceases to amaze me with her talented voice, but I feel that she is underutilized in this song.  However, that isn't the only thing that is wrong with this song.  The instrumental section is generic and uninspired for the most part, the song structure is predictable and plain, and Emppu's rhythm guitar section is barely audible in the music.

Everything in this song feels forced and mundane to me, and this isn't something I expect out of Nightwish at all.  It lacks that depth Nightwish songs typically have.  Even songs like "The Crow, The Dove, And The Owl" and "Amaranth" though poppish and typical still each had a nice hook to those tunes that made those songs more memorable. This felt completely uninspired and lackluster.  I hope this isn't a sign of things slowing down for this band.  As some may know, I actually enjoyed the last album very much, even with Anette singing the songs.  Now that they have Troy Donockley as a full time member, the great Kai Hahto (Wintersun, Swallow the Sun) filling in for them in Jukka's absence at drums, and of course Floor Jansen at vocals, I expected a better single out of this group.  It is just a mediocre song altogether.

Let's hope the rest of the album is better.  There is going to be a 24 minute long song on the new Nightwish album Endless Forms Most Beautiful entitled "The Greatest Show on Earth".  That should be fairly interesting.  I expect that there will be better songs to come, or so I hope that is the case!  I will be reviewing this album as soon as it comes out.  The new Nightwish album will be released on March 27th in Europe, March 30th in the UK, and March 31st in North America.

Sonata Arctica's New Single

Here it is, and it's called "I Have a Right."

My first impressions are that A) it's a tad poppy with the keyboards and B) it's very repetitive.  Still, it's catchy enough, as SA usually is, and I think this might grow on me.  I'm definitely looking forward to the new CD, out in North America May 22.

Epica's New Single

It's called "Storm the Sorrow." CD out in Europe March 9.

I think it's OK.  Not earth-shattering, but just OK.

Thoughts?

Metallica's "Just A Bullet Away" thoughts and reaction

To be honest, I hesitated to listen to this track mainly due to the fact that their recent debacle Lulu was such an epic disaster! The first thing that caught me was the aggressiveness of this track. "Just A Bullet Away" really sounds like something Metallica would have wrote on Master of Puppets or ...And Justice For All, however it isn't quite up to par with any songs off those albums. It is basically a mid tempo thrash song with a clean bridge section reminiscent of "Master of Puppets". The guitar work is very thrashy at times, and the melodic solo during the bridge section is pretty impressive I must say. Overall, the song isn't super incredible but it is a hell of a lot better than that other crap they put out a month ago! I'd say it's a decent Metallica song. It's worth listening to if you are actually still a fan of the band after Lulu.

More than likely, I will review the entire EP Beyond Magnetic soon once I hear the other three tracks off of it. A recommended listen for a bit of 80's Metallica nostalgia.

Finally: Nightwish's "Storytime"

Hot off the virtual press, here it is, the first single from Imaginaerum, the long-anticipated "Storytime."

I know I love it. I know I've been playing it non-stop since it was leaked onto the internet Sunday night (Monday morning in Finland).

And here it is, in all it's glory!