1. Stargazers -
This is the first Nightwish song I heard (as it is the opening track on my first-bought
album of theirs that comes quite naturally, as I am not infected by a quite common fetish
that is the “begin playing albums from the last track and forward - especially
recommended when dealing with concept albums). It is also one of the best, as it captures
everything I felt maybe was missing on the other albums - the mature freshness and
enjoyment in playing. The melodylines are among Tuomas’ most haunting, and the way
the track excels - from the bombastic intro through the mystical verses (chord progression
- Gm, G# (!!!), Gm, Eb, Bb, F), the brilliant chorus and ingeniously arranged
solo-section, where the themes build up between guitar and keys in a way that most other
bands can only dream of. The lyrics are very intricate and “difficult”, but they
are very well written nonetheless. “Floating upon the quiet hydrogen lakes/In this
ambrosial merry-go-round they will gaze/Ephemeral life touched by a
billion-year-show/Separating the poet from the woe”
2. Gethsemane -
During the first listens to the album I though this song was among the worst on the disc.
This has now changed. Although the opening section is nothing special, a Malmsteen-bridge
on a dull half-speed, the rest is much better. The verses are symphonic, mid-paced, and
very beautiful, and the part beginning at about 0:54 is pure genius! Atmospheric
dream-like vocals and simply gorgeous arrangements definitely makes for good music. The
guitar-riff at about 2:18 is nothing special, but the galloping keys/guitar section before
has more drive than my 1:18 scale Batmobile. The same goes for the solo-section at about
4:54, and the part beginning at about 4:20. Once again the poetry (I choose to call it
that, Tuomas is more of a poet than a mere lyricist) is excellently written. “Forgive
me, for I don’t know what I gain/Alone in this garden of pain/Enchantment has but one
truth/I weep to have what I fear to lose”.
3. Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean -
This is maybe Nightwish’ hardest moment, and on this track Tarja has to share the
vocal duties with some guy called Wilska (who I’m quite sure sings in some
semi-famous Finnish Dark/Death Metal band which name I do not remember) who adds a
dark-pitched male voice to some parts. This is not in any way like the clean vocals Tuomas
himself sang on “Angels Fall First”, but a much darker style. It is not by any
means “growling”, though - give me Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) or Chris Barnes
(Six Feet Under) anytime and I’ll show you Death Metal singing the way it should be.
The song itself is quite complex, featuring quite aggressive riffing/drumming (both
guitarist Emppu and drummer Jukka really get to strut their stuff here), at times kind of
“morbid” sounding keys, calmer parts, the most amazing vocal melodies (sung by
Tarja, of course) and a tempo and punch to die for. A very diverse song, and when
everything’s done in the same excellent way, this makes for a true gem. This is also
the song on which the cover painting is based, by the way.
4. Sacrament of Wilderness -
After three marvellous songs you’d probably expect a lame one now, right? Well, then
you’ll have to look somewhere else. “Sacrament of Wilderness” (damned good
title, eh?) follows excellently up in the same tradition as it predecessors, although it
is maybe a tag more straight-ahead than for example “Devil…”. Most of the
riffs are pretty standard Heavy Metal rhythm-wise (but nice anyway, and have all of the
typical crunchiness found in Mikko Karmila’s productions), but some Stratos meets
Children of Bodom keyboard parts spice up the soundscape a bit. The chorus-melody, for
example, is magnificent, and the German PM-influences here are quite obvious. Lyrically,
though, there’s not much Gamma Ray in here (read: they do not mention someone who
wants to be free), and quotes like: “Dulcet elvenharps from a dryad forest/Accompany
all charming tunes/of a sacrament by a campfire/A promise between the tameless/and the one
with a tool/Tonight the journey from the cave begins” is Nordic Metal (not the Danish
distribution company) at it’s best. The song ends with a modulating of the thrilling
chorus, and the sparkling of another diamond is fading away.
5. Passion and the Opera... -
…is I guess what Nightwish’ music is all about, and it’s all to be found in
this beauty. Because a beauty it is, and in the ending section (the “bluesy”
(kinda) riffing and mid-paced verses before it is not bad either) of this piece Mrs.
Turunen really gets to show what she’s worth. Accompanied by heavy guitars and drums
this is namely nothing but an excerpt from one of the all-time music masterpieces -
“The Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart, which sound nothing but godly, other-worldly,
heavenly (see above for disclaimer) etc. etc. (This excerpt is by the way from the aria
“Queen of the Night” - which, I just have to make this clear, NOT is a track
from the 44th version of the “Absolute Italian Power Metal”-compilation
“The Mighty Battle between the f*cking Warriors of the Freezing North and the Bloody
f*cking Dregons (note the accent) of the Desert of Immortal Bloodshed”. Please note
the new and fresh influence from 80s German Thrash Metal in the way the word
“f*cking” is used.) “An Aphrodite for mortal souls/Playing hide and seek in
lecherous roles/Their erotic hour, my tearless weep/Their satisfaction, my infinite
sleep”. Need I say more?
6. Swanheart -
This is a ballad, and once again, this is nothing but top-notch. Once again Tarja shines,
the light in this twinkling star never seems to fade. The melodies are pure brilliance,
and I sometimes catch myself thinking why Tuomas (and Nightwish) really are playing Metal
at all. The ballads, no, not only the ballads but I guess all the melodies these/this
guy(s) come(s) up with are so tremendously beautiful, that I’m sure they could have
reached world stardom and beyond by turning pop. Who needs Celine Dion, Sarah Brightman,
and Andrew Lloyd Webber when we have Tarja and Tuomas? But this is NOT a complaint, only a
uttering of the outmost fear by a to-the-bone Metal fan who’s brutally afraid that
one of the genre’s top voices shall disappear. If you not agree, why don’t you
listen to the part from 0:29 to 01:06 on “Swanheart”. If you still don’t
agree after having done that, I’ll send you to hell (I guess Piet Sielck from Iron
Saviour can show me the way, he’s been there, he says.)
7. Moondance -
But every album (at least 99% - “Imaginations…” by BG and “Divine
Wings…” by SyX may be the exceptions that determine the law) has it’s
bad(der) moments, and I’m afraid this also goes for “Oceanborn”. This
instrumental and it’s follow-up “The Riddler” are namely far from as
tremendous as the rest of the album. But let’s take the first things first and
don’t be too pessimistic for the future of mankind, because there are definitely some
good bits here too (in the end - “bad” for bands like Nightwish does not mean
“bad” in terms of “Dawn of Victory” kinda “bad” or
something). The intro, for example, is nice. Some gently synth opens the ball, playing a
soft melody which is very “Northern” sounding. This theme is then repeated
accompanied by guitars and drums, but in that way the gentle melody loses some of its
magic. Another beautiful flute/keys part follows, and once again it sounds marvellous. But
(without repeating myself), this nice melodywork is ruined when the band enters (no
offense, please…). The very “German” sounding (think Bellmann meets
Rhapsody meets too much beer) guitars and drums sounds quite out of place here. In tracks
like “Black Dragon” of Luca Turilli’s solo album it works well, but not
after such gentle tones.
8. The Riddler -
This is the most simplistic song on the album, and also the dullest one, in my opinion
(Tuomas doesn’t like either). The entire piece dwells in a comfortable mid-tempo,
with an exception of some quicker double-bass parts towards the end. There are some nice
themes and motifs in here, the verses for example, are not bad. “Make me guess if the
Earth is flat or round/Set a quessing if fantasies are unbound/If tales aren’t just
for children to see/That it’s peace if sleep walks with me.” The lyrics, though
are excellent as usual, and they are the definite highlight of the track. “(…) I
wish to be touched/Not by the hands of where’s and why’s/But by the Ocean’s
minds.”
9. The Pharaoh Sails to Orion -
Yes he does, and he couldn’t have found himself a better piece of music in which to
do it. The diverse influences at display (classical and especially Arabian/Eastern music,
for example), show why Nightwish is not your A4 power/speed band and the mystical
atmospheres (where Mr. Wilska once again contributes darker vocals) adds even further to
this impression. The godsend bombasticisms at 0:49 and brutally ingenious chorus (4:52 and
onwards) are among 1999s biggest musical moments, and all in all this is another
Nihilisticly (non-existing word, but great for the alliteration) Nightwish Number, and
among their best compositions ever. It is this kinda compositions (this is more than a
mere song) that makes me feel proud of being a Metalhead (the Word dictionary wanted to
change “Metalhead” to “Meathead” but by the strength of the Sword I
chose the right one of the two…).
10. Walking In the Air -
I’m not sure whether this is to count as a bonus-track or not (I believe it’s
not, because I’ve seen “Oceanborn” with another bonus-track - the
unbelievably godlike ballad “Sleeping Sun” in addition to
“Walking…”) but it’s definitely worth owning. What makes this track
different from the others is that it’s not originally composed by Tuomas. It is
namely based on the soundtrack to the Finnish Christmas cartoon “The Snowman”,
and originally created by an Englishman called Howard Blake. He is obviously an excellent
composer, as the theme is very beautiful. The arrangement (done by the entire band, I
think) is also very good, as it does only strengthen the already existing melody. This is
what I feel may be lacking in “Moondance”. It is not instrumental, as one maybe
could expect, but in Nightwish’ case this is never a bad thing. Tarja’s throat
makes a sound as beautiful as any pan flute or kazoo (…) in this world, and although
the lyrics to this one is not printed in my booklet (it may be in one of the other
versions - as I said, I hate one record company licensing their records to a million - or
two - other labels) but anyway I just lean back into a state of total pleasure. (This goes
only until I realise that I forgot to hit the “repeat all”-button on my CD
player…) |
