NightwishOnce
By
Amber Morrison,
Contributor
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 @ 1:04 PM
(Roadrunner Records)
Nightwish was formed in Finland in 1996 and has enjoyed success in their native land. In fact, their 2002 release Century Child achieved gold status in less than two hours after it's release. Now with the release of their new album Once, Nightwish is looking to conquer the international market.
The first single the Iced Earth-esque "Wish I Had An Angel" can also be heard on the soundtrack to the up-coming thriller Alone in the Dark. Lead vocalist Tarja Turunen's beautiful operatic voice blends in with bassists Marco Hietala's gruff vocals on the chorus that quite possibly could conjure up comparisons to their European goth counterparts. However when you listen to the rest of the CD, you will hear a major difference.
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The first track, "Dark Chest of Wonders," blares out in the typical Nightwish fashion. You will be hooked by guitarists Emppu Vuorinen crunching riffs, Jukka Nevalainen's powerful drumming, and of course Tarja's operatic tone.
The cool thing about this CD is that no two songs sound the same. "Nemo" is the one song where Tarja's voices shines down. "Planet Hell" is another song that has Turunen and Hietala intertwining on vocals. "Romanticide" is the most guitar-orientated song, starting off with Judas Priest-like riffs and screeching solos, by far the heaviest song on the album. The ballad "Higher Than Hope" is the most emotional song, brilliant lyrics by keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen.
The songs "The Siren," "Dead Gardens" and the two bonus tracks, "White Knight Fantasy" and "Live To Tale the Tale," I felt were sub-par on this otherwise celestial album.
These next three songs could easily become classics. "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" is a song sang entirely in their native tongue. Two epics include the eight and a half minute "Creek Mary's Blood." Depicting the plight of Native American Indians, the song features John Two-Hawks, a Lakota musician on flute, chants and vocals. Very interesting combo of European goth and Native American's, but it worked. There's the aptly titled “Ghost Love Score,” which sounds like a great, lost Danny Elfman soundtrack. A suicidal gothic melancholy that is just simply stunning.
This could be Nightwish's breakthrough or it could just be the beginning of this bands evolution. The band is a force to be reckoned with in 2005.
trux72 - 4/30/2005 10:12:33 AM This cd is really good. The sound overall is more symphonic and Tarja sings better than ever. Their best cd since Wishmaster. Check out Marco's side band Tarot and their cd "suffer our pleasures ". Total killer stuff !
TheDarkJester - 3/30/2005 8:50:59 AM I kept thinking there was an 80's inspirational action/self impproving movie going on in the background while I listened to it. I thought someone was going to come running up the stairs and say the dog was having puppies.
mariodeth - 2/11/2005 12:53:13 PM I didn't like the review though...
mariodeth - 2/11/2005 12:52:30 PM This one is really really good...one of the best Cd's i've got last year, actually. Very heavy and you can hear it's not manufactured crap...
autumn801 - 2/10/2005 7:29:58 AM I agree with amber, this Nightwish album is awesome.
Romanticide, Ghost Love Score, higher Than Hope, are the best songs I've heard in a while.
Most Americans won't get this band, they like the crap on the radio with catch lyrics, because Americans have no attention spans.
I jsut into this group in the last few weeks and they are AWESOME.
Rayna_ - 2/2/2005 9:08:53 AM www.nightwish.com
MisterCrowley - 2/2/2005 5:00:02 AM Never heard of them. I might check them out and I do have to agree with Rex. The singer looks pretty good. Does anyone know their website?
WISHMASTERMIKE - 1/31/2005 2:26:34 PM As a fan of NIGHTWISH for several yrs,I already know they're heavy and Tarja's voice is beautiful and operatic.I was really hopeing for more substence,like how this cd compares to the others.Is it as good as the mighty WISHMASTER or what?How is it different? Why?This is really very shallow.
dolphin80 - 1/31/2005 11:19:35 AM This band is pretty good. Its gonna get comparisons with Evanesence, however, Nightwish has been around a lot longer. I liked Century Child better than Once though.
dancypants - 1/30/2005 4:49:09 PM This is truly unique manufactured crap.
zakk_zappa - 1/30/2005 3:10:01 AM A very cool band!
fdj333 - 1/29/2005 10:26:43 PM Great CD, Ive had it for a month or so and I listen to it atleast once a week
Rex_D_Carr - 1/29/2005 5:02:48 PM On the plus side, this Tarja is very fine looking lady :)
Rex_D_Carr - 1/29/2005 5:02:46 PM On the plus side, this Tarja is very fine looking lady :)
Rex_D_Carr - 1/29/2005 4:49:19 PM I will also agree that they sound nothing like Blind Gaurdian. A case could be made that they're in the same catergory music wise.
Nightwish was formed in Finland in 1996 and has enjoyed success in their native land. In fact, their 2002 release Century Child achieved gold status in less than two hours after it's release. Now with the release of their new album Once, Nightwish is looking to conquer the international market. 
