Article by Kirsten
Released in 2001, the year when Nightwish were in danger of splitting up (and when bassist Sami Vänska got the sack), the "Over the Hills and Far Away" EP could easily have been a rather sub-standard release, affected by the quarrels and quibbles of its creators. But this EP - a mixture of new songs and live renditions of classics from the band's first three albums - is actually excellent. While perhaps not essential if you already have the early albums (it only has four new songs, including a cover and a remake), all the songs on here are of a high standard, and it could provide a good introduction for newbies unsure if they'll like Nightwish's earlier power metal-ish sound.
Opening with a well-executed cover of a Gary Moore song (from which the EP takes its title), the standard of this disc rarely falls below "bloody brilliant". The title track suits the band's style, and showcases their ability to make any cover song they do - from "Walking in the Air", the infamous theme song from The Snowman (incidentally, also on this EP), to Megadeath's "Symphony of Destruction" - their own, without losing the spirit of the original.
This is followed by a duo of new (well, old now, but new for this EP, if you see what I mean...) tracks, demonstrating the two extremes that Tuomas Holopainen's songwriting seems to reach. First up is the heavy, headbang-y "10th Man Down", which, along with "One" by Metallica, is arguably one of the finest metal songs about war ever written. And yes, it has the obligatory battlefield-type noises at the start. It also features some vocals contributed by Tapio Wilska, who did such an admirable job on "Oceanborn", providing a nice contrast to Tarja Turunen's (as always, beautiful) operatic warblings.
Before you've had time to fix your hair after the previous track's mosh-fest, the keyboard-driven intro of "Away" fades in, heralding the start of a soft, and very moving, ballad. With some lovely whispery vocals on the verse parts, contrasting (perhaps a little too much) with the powerful chorus, it's certainly different from "10 th Man Down", although it's (almost) a song of equal quality. While probably not hugely appealing to those who'd rather hear "Slaying the Dreamer" than "Sleeping Sun", it's nonetheless a sweet, simple song that manages to stir the listener's emotions (thanks largely to Turunen's voice, as opposed to the slightly bizarre lyrics, for example - "...don't let the dreamer fade to grey like grass" - maybe they have a different kind of grass in Finland?).
Those who've heard Nightwish's debut album ("Angels Fall First") might recall "Astral Romance"- 4 th track, slightly ruined by Holopainen's...erm..."unique" vocals, includes a guitar/keyboard part that sounds almost exactly the same as the solo from Iron Maiden's "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter"? Well, here's a remake! Gone are the woeful male vocals (yay!), and the "borrowed" riff (boo!), and in their place are some new lyrics, some rather minor alterations, and some vocals by Tony Kakko (of Sonata Arctica fame). While it's certainly an improvement on the original (which was, despite the singing, rather good), it's still very much the same song, and whether this is a plus or not is a matter of opinion.
The final six tracks are all live recordings, from a gig at the end of 2000. Mostly songs from 2000's "Wishmaster" album, there are also tracks from the two earlier albums, so it provides, and they take in all the different "sides" there are to the band's music - making them a rather nice, if brief, introduction to the joys these albums have to offer. Tony Kakko pops up again, too, singing male vocals on "Beauty and the Beast" - one of the best (and cheesiest) songs on "Angels Fall First". Then there's the sing-along classic (in a very metal sense) "Wishmaster", the lighters-in-the-air ballad "Sleeping Sun", and the surprisingly tasty "Walking in the Air" (like the later Phantom of the Opera, this really shouldn't work, but does), among other delights.
So, to buy or not to buy? As most of these songs are available on other CDs, this EP, with only 3.5 new tracks, could be considered a little unnecessary (especially if you dabble in the dark art of file sharing, you bad person you...). But the new tracks are all excellent, and the songs do have a different quality when recorded live ("The Kinslayer" arguably sounds better than on the album), so, should you see this EP sitting on the rack of your local music emporium, tempting you with promises of operatic heavy metal, you probably won't regret buying it. And for newbies, this could be a great introduction to Nightwish's earlier style, a sort of stepping-stone between "Century Child"'s darker, film score-influenced sound, and the more power metal-esque style of " Wishmaster" and "Oceanborn".
