Its been a long time in the making but
Nightwish have finally returned with their eagerly awaited follow up to 2004's world wide smash Once, an album which kick started the bands career in both the USA and the UK and gave them success beyond anything they could previously have hoped for.
But at what price was this success gained?
Once and its predecessor Century Child had been accused of leaving behind the bands trademark operatic Power Metal style in search of a more "commercial" gothic sound. In addition the fame and attention thrust upon the band caused an internal rift so fatal that their singer
Tarja Turunen was fired after the final show of the Once tour amid accusations of undermining the rest of the band with her diva-like behaviour.
This lead to a massive and highly publicised search for a new singer in which the band were linked with the good (Simone Simmons from Epica), the sound-alike (Nicole Bogner from Visions of Atlantis) and the ridiculous (Amy Lee from Evanesance). Eventually after all the intense speculation, the previously unknown singer Anette Olzon was chosen and the band settled back into the recording process to put the finishing touches to what would become Dark Passion Play.
This album really can be classed as
Nightwish's make or break release. Would Tuomas and company really want to chase the Almighty Dollar and use this new singer as a way of abandoning their previous style or would they stay close to their roots continue writing music which matches up to their previous output?
Sadly it seems like the band couldn't really decide and have delivered a 75 minute epic which is an uneasy mix of styles and for the most part needs the outstanding orchestration skills of Pip Williams to hold it together.
The album starts with a fourteen mini-epic
The Poet and the Pendulum, the opening treble part giving way to a heavy riff which sounds like it was taken straight off the previous album. Initial observations are that
Nightwish are sticking to the formula that made Once so successful. But if this is the case then
The Poet and the Pendulum takes things to even more complex level of song structure and orchestration.
For example there is heart-breakingly beautiful orchestral break at 4.27 with a boy soprano singing over it which leads into a heavy brass section at 6.22. This builds up the atmosphere with the addition of strings and whispered vocals then breaks into a heavy string lead section with pounding double bass over which Marco lends some screamed vocals before Annette comes back in for the chorus. And those twists and turns account for just 5 minutes of the songs running time. It's an impressive piece of music.
However the song is let down rather badly in places by its lyrics. Tuomas has stated the song tells the story of the band up till the present day. And while this may be the case it is hidden in some of the worst examples of self-pitying lyrics this side of a
Korn album. Tuomas used to do this stuff quite well (Dead Boys Poem, Bless the
Child etc) but here the lyrics seem drenched in childish sorrow culminating in the cringe worthy whispered passage;
"In the year of our Lord 2005
Toumas was called from the cares of the world
He stopped crying at the end of each beautiful day...
He was found naked and dead
With a smile on his face, a pen and
1000 pages of erased text"
I'm sorry, I appreciate that the split with
Tarja must have been painful but the song is littered with such examples of narcissistic and clichéd self-pity. It a shame because apart from this aspect, it's an excellent opener and could have gone down as one of
Nightwish's finest songs.
It saddens me to say that the lyrics let the album down on two further occasions. Both the second track
Bye Bye Beautiful and the fifth track
Master Passion Greed deal with Turunen's exit from the band.
Bye Bye Beautiful in particular is horrid and juvenile as its crass lyrics seem to be taunting their ex-bandmate. The chorus begins with the lines:
"Did you ever hear what I told you?
Did you ever read what I wrote you?
Did you ever listen to what we played?"
And then continues in this vein to put the boot into
Tarja. It really does seem like a case of kicking somebody when they are down since she had already been ejected from the band in the most humiliating way possible. Again it to a certain extent spoils what it a good song as the keyboard driven melody really moves the song along into the (musically) fine chorus
Next song
Amaranth is the lead single off the album and it's a rather obvious choice as it's clearly been written with the previous success of "Nemo" in mind. Just like that song it begins with a keyboard intro before bursting into a very, very melodic guitar part. Sadly unlike "Nemo" this song seems to lack emotional conviction and to all intents and purposes is just a pop song with some chugging guitars underneath.
To a certain extent the perceived lack of feeling in this and other parts of the album is due to Anette's voice. While being in no way a bad singer her voice just lacks that special quality which her predecessor possessed. Obviously I agree that there was no point of bringing in a
Tarja clone but I cannot accept that Anette is the best choice for the job as there are points on the album which call for a more sombre tone that she seems unable or unwilling to deliver.
After the pop single we then reach the true nadir of the album,
Cadence of Her Last Breath. This song is everything that I had feared the album would turn out to be. It begins with some unpleasant down tuned guitars which sound like they could have been on the last Lacuna Coil release then goes straight into a groove-laden bass line which sounds like it could have been on the last Lacu...well you get the idea.
Seriously this song is awful; it even has Marco doing some "shouty" backing vocals in the later choruses which brings to mind Evanesance or that rotten
Within Temptation single released earlier this year. And just in case you are reading this thinking I'm enjoying ripping this song apart, I am deeply disappointed to have to cry sell-out at a band I have much respect for but in this instance I have no other choice.
Things get a bit better with
Master Passion Greed, which is without doubt the heaviest, most thrash influenced song that
Nightwish have ever written. Special mention must go to the brass section at the end of this song which is brilliantly executed and help the song build to a startling crescendo.
Eva, which was released as a comeback single of sorts is a half decent ballad which defiantly works better in the context of the album but still pales in comparison to the bands earlier work. Even the solo section betrays a lack of imagination as it's based around the idea of following the melody, which is ground the band have already covered in
"Sleeping Sun" almost 10 years ago.
The album continues in this entirely listenable, if slightly bland and re-hashed direction for a few songs and then the most unexpected thing happens. It becomes rather good!
Out of nowhere a flute appears backed by some understated drumming and an acoustic guitar. You wait for the orchestra to kick in but no! All of a sudden Marco starts singing a delicious folk song. It's just so completely different from what has gone before that it really takes you by surprise. It's a highlight of the album and it's a timely reminder that you don't need a 100 piece orchestra, a choir and 10 guitar tracks to make a memorable, moving song.
Continuing the folk theme is the instrumental
Last of the Wilds which sounds like the best of old and new
Nightwish coming together. It's reminiscent of "Moondance" from Oceanborn but with a much more complex structure and varied instrumentation. It's a superb piece of music which is unfettered by some of the dodgy lyrics or commercial influences that weigh down other parts of the album.
Thankfully the run of great songs doesn't stop there as the next
song 7 Days to the Wolves is again inventive and thrilling. It begins with a stirring keyboard/string part which and has an excellent chorus with some evocative lyrics. Anette and Marco's vocals really seem to mix well and it also contains the first real solo by Emppu which adds a welcome bit of variety as most of the solos up until this point are short and buried under layers of orchestra. The imposing outro to this song is one of the most impressive parts on this album and highlights what can be created when band and orchestra come together perfectly.
The album is rounded off by another ballad
Meadows of Heaven. Thankfully it doesn't suffer from the same problems that plague
Eva and is fairly original with the orchestra put to full effect on its chorus. It does however contain the most bizarre moment on an already strange release as Anette is joined in the end section by some Soul singers. I honestly didn't see that coming and I'm not entirely convinced that it works.
Dark Passion Play as a whole is an unsatisfying experience. At times its uplifting, rewarding and beautiful. At others its frustrating, poorly thought out and overly commercial. I hope that
Nightwish can pull their talents together and all move in the right direction in time for future releases as it would be a shame to see such a great band continue put out such uneven material.
Written by
Stuart Monday, November 12, 2007
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