Article by James Hal
Nightwish are a core feature of the symphonic/power metal genre. They all originate from Finland and combine heavy metal riffs and hard hitting drums with a female operatic vocalist who can really hit the high notes. Not forgetting the most important feature of the band, soaring orchestra, high pitched violins, and various inclusions of piano riffs and many other ‘percussion' instruments to create an atmospheric experience for the listener. They have released a total of five albums during the past seven years and yet are not very well known in the U.K, this looks set to change with their latest release, ‘Once'.
‘Once' sees the release of the first single ‘Nemo' here in the U.K, this coupled with extensive advertising and a video which was made for the single has helped to promote the new album and Nightwish have gained many new fans.
The album is filled with epic soaring powerful songs that is what most old time fans would have come to expect, the orchestra plays an even bigger part to the songs in ‘once' than it did in their other albums and includes a few experimental tracks that may be unfamiliar to some fans, yet are still easily recognisable as music from the band. Examples of such experimentation would be ‘The Siren' and ‘Wish I Had An Angel'. 'Wish I Had An angel' features a pumped rapid almost dance/trance beat throughout which fits the soaring chorus surprisingly well whereas the siren is mainly structured with electric and standard violins bringing a very ‘oriental' feel to the song.
There are no real ‘weak' or below average tracks on ‘Once' there is variety between the tracks which would keep any listener entertained, although some fans may notice the distinct lack of piano or keyboard playing and more orchestra helping to create a ‘movie soundtrack' style to the album.
'Romanticide' is a little ‘heavy' for my liking, I always prefer the more melodic side to Nightwish, but this song at least does prove they can make ‘heavier' songs and would fit in well with the ‘metal heads' so it is still not a poor track, just not Nightwish at their best.
Best tracks:
3. NEMO: The first single released from the album and has catapulted the band into success across Europe …and beyond!!
This is a fantastic song with a simple yet hugely effective piano melody which kicks off the song and features as a build up during the bridge sequence. The chorus is where the vocalist, Tarja comes into her own with fantastic operatic vocals that help to make it an incredibly catchy and powerful moment in the song, the song is sung with real emotion and was the perfect choice for the first single by the band! One of my all time favourite Nightwish songs!
9. GHOST LOVE SCORE: Now this is what can only be described as an ‘epic'!! The song lasts for a length of ten minutes, no more no less and really features fantastic use of the orchestra throughout, in fact the orchestra is what shapes and builds this song, without it, it just wouldn't be the same. The song builds up through a fantastic one minute intro of pure orchestration which leads into a soft soothing verse which then explodes into the best chorus Nightwish have ever made, so powerful and emotional, even better than Nemo's, trust me you have to hear it to believe it! What makes it even more effective is the use of a choir in the background adding to the atmosphere throughout the repeated chorus. Use of great talent and a lot of work helped to create this masterpiece and the album wouldn't be the same without it.
11. HIGHER THAN HOPE: A great closing track clocking in at around 5 minutes, it uses good acoustic guitar to help create a soothing, relaxed atmosphere and then…yep you've guessed it the chorus explodes the song into life with male vocals also featured to create even more atmosphere. A fantastic bridge features using great violin and haunting dark male/female vocals. A catchy, instantly likable song and really suits as an ending track to the album.
