This is my 50th review, so I just thought I'd do a band and an album that are very special to me.
Nightwish is perhaps the biggest name to come out of the Finnish metal scene. Finland has obviously delivered many bands that have scored high in the local charts and sold well all over Europe, but Nightwish is really one of the biggest names to come out of the land of woods and lakes. Their fanbase is now so big it even includes people who wouldn't normally listen to metal, in which the roots of this band lie.
And Oceanborn is definitely a metal album. It has more distinct power metal overtones rather than their later works, it really reminds me of bands like Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica, but rather better and with awesome, awesome vocals. Tarja Turunen should need no introduction but again I have to say that her performance on here is stellar. Definitely one of the main factors that brought the band to where they are today.
The power metal is especially audible in the more straightforward tracks on the album. Stargazers, the album's opener, blasts out of your speakers with keyboard lines, guitar solos and riffs at top speed, resembling Stratovarius on speed. Tuomas even pulls off a grandiose keyboard solo, even though he rarely takes the spotlight (Tarja is granted that honour), he really shows he has some skill on his instrument. Emppu Vuorinen shows here he can actually do some awesome shredding. Where on Once he was relegated to rhythm guitar duty to support the orchestra and keyboard lines, here he shows he can solo pretty well. Sacrament Of Wilderness is a holy mofo shred song, excellent for all the guitar lovers out there, Stargazers just shows how he can really blast out his stuff, pretty awesome all right there. Plus he can also do emotional and slower stuff, not just copy Malmsteen and friends: Swanheart has him do a gorgeous, melodic solo that'll bring tears to your eyes. Sure, Swanheart is a bit too sappy, even for my tastes, but there's no denying the music the band presents is high quality. No such thing as a sophomore slump for these guys.
What does attract attention is how many songs are keyboard driven. Everything revolves around Tuomas' keyboard lines. Stargazers, Gethsemane, Sacrament Of Wilderness, Pharaoh Sails To Orion, Moondance; everything brings some keyboard line to the forefront. It really is Tuomas Holopainen shining through. Where he supports more than takes the forefront on later albums the keyboards are really dominant here.
The band also brought in Tapio Wilska (ex-Finntroll) to do two duets on the album, so Tuomas wouldn't have to sing like he did on the band's previous album. This leads to two kickass songs, of which The Pharaoh Sails To Orion is most definitely the most epic and awesome song the band has ever done. Heavy, evil, aggressive, contrasting, yet retaining all sense of musicianship and melody, the band's talents culminate in a six minute and twenty six second musical orgasm that will leave you begging for more. It has every aspect the band is famous for, every ounch of musicianship, everything the band does is on here. Tarja's high and emotional vocals, speedy keyboard lines, pounding double-bass, guitar solos, and a deep male voice set against Tarja's to contrast and oppose her divine singing. It is classic Nightwish at their best. Devil And The Deep Dark Ocean also has this element, but I just find it to be slightly overshadowed by Pharaoh. Nonetheless, it's also worthy, like the rest of the album is actually.
And then we get to the next point what makes this album so good. There is a flow on this album, the songs connect and nothing is misplaced or out of synch with the rest, yet every song retains its own character. We flow from speedy and light (Stargazers) into melodic (Gethsemane) into evil (Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean) into technical (Sacrament Of Wilderness), back into normal gear (Passion And The Opera), into mellow and sappy (Swanheart), then through folk (Moondance) and mystic (The Riddler) into epic(The Pharaoh Sails to Orion) into loving (Walking In The Air) and an emotional closing track (Sleeping Sun, but only if you have the limited edition, so make sure to get one with this song on it.) The band covers a broad spectrum of emotions and styles whilst continually sticking to a trademark Nightwish sound, which commands a lot of respect and awe from the listener. It's hard to understand the greatness of the band if you are not into this sort of style, but if you open your mind it is a well-rewarding experience.
And that is what will make this album an immortal classic of power metal. Despite retaining a patented sound, the band manages to display innovativity, variety, and creativity while never alienating themselves from their roots. And for that, Nightwish will always be honored as the band that showed the world how to effectively contrast power metal and female soprano vocals without ever losing an inch of their credibility. A remarkably stellar achievement, and one definitely worth your time. Worth checking out for everyone, even non-metal fans.
Album kicks ass too
