Tag: Nightwish

Words cannot really describe how much I love this album. But for the benefit of this review, I’ll give it my best shot. I know many will likely disagree but, to me at least, this album represents Nightwish at its very best. The peak of the band’s career, if you will. And I say that in an artistic sense, as naturally their biggest commercial success came much later.

Why do I love this album so much? And hold it in higher regard than their other work? A big part of the reason lies with Tarja. At the risk of sounding entirely subjective, I found her vocals really came into their own on this album. She has always sounded great, but here in particular her operatic singing rings of perfection. More polished than they were on Angels Fall First and Oceanborn. Furthermore, Tarja has yet to start incorporating her more playful, pop-oriented (head-voice) style. We only have the epic and bombastic side of her voice, which was always more appealing to me as a listener, and one of the main things that struck me about this band when I first heard them. The Finnish accent which sometimes affects pronunciation is a non-issue here too (Let’s face it, how often do you understand the words when listening to an opera anyway?).

Of course, there are other reasons as well. For instance, how about the fact that Emppu spends a lot more time playing lead guitar on Wishmaster? It’s an undisputed fact that when Nightwish started recording albums with the London Symphony orchestra and placed more importance on the symphonic elements of their sound, it came at the expense of the individual talents of certain band members. Emppu has had fewer moments to truly shine since Once. The riffs are heavier, but at the same time less complex and intricate. It’s as though Emppu morphed into a rhythm guitarist before our very eyes. Tuomas and Emppu exchanging solos with each other is another thing which is prominent here (and sorely missed on later albums).

With Wishmaster, Nightwish is still very much a power metal band. Symphonic power metal, certainly, but still power metal at its very heart. They have not yet taken the leap to becoming a full-blown symphonic metal band. And given the choice, I would take this incarnation every time. Despite the lack of an orchestra, it still manages to be the most epic sounding album in their career. And each member sounds like they are performing well beyond mortal capabilities. Indeed, Tarja’s voice sounds almost angelic on opening track “She Is My Sin“. The song is also blessed with one of the catchiest guitar hooks ever written. That is, of course, until you hear the next song “The Kinslayer“, which somehow has an even more addictive riff. Male vocals make an appearance on this tune, adding to the theatrical atmosphere and familiar “Beauty and the Beast” motif. While “Come Cover Me” starts with a sparkly keyboard intro and wistful flute before slapping you in the face with a powerful mid-tempo rhythm section. There is a steady momentum, and features plenty of nuanced guitar work. A trend which carries over into the fast whirlpool of notes and frenetic playing that is “Wanderlust“.

The album then introduces “Two for Tragedy“, a simple ballad akin to “Sleeping Sun“, but like the latter, still packs a lot of depth and emotion. Before hitting you right between the eyes with “Wishmaster“, its powerful and staccato intro quickly giving way to a rumbling rollercoaster of a song, with neo-classical instrumentation aplenty courtesy of Tuomas and Emppu. Of course, one should not downplay the importance of Jukka on drums either, who does a stellar job even without much double bass on “Bare Grace Misery“, a song which has a nearly seductive quality. And then it’s off to the races again with the galloping “Crownless“, a track that is relentless in its instrumental sophistication and interplay between keyboard and guitar. The next song, “Deep Silent Complete” starts with the gentle and sweeping sounds of Tarja’s voice washing over you, much like a Siren’s call. But in a similar vein to “Come Cover Me” before it, the band soon kick into gear, hitting you with a wall of sound that can potentially take the unprepared by surprise. “Dead Boy’s Poem” is also heavy on the drama, coming across like the musical equivalent of a Shakespearean play, or at the very least the soundtrack to a major blockbuster movie. And like any good actor, Tarja delivers her lines with true conviction.

Lastly, “FantasMic” is an epic album closer, in every sense of the word. With this song, Tuomas leans into his Disney fandom with opening lines:

Wish upon a star
Take a step enter the land
Walk through the air
Take my hand

How the band manages to deliver these lyrics without sounding the least bit corny or cheesy is a mystery, but somehow they pull it off easily. The song is broken into three different parts. Tarja almost performs at a superhuman level on Part 3. If you still need any proof of just how much Tarja pushes herself on this album, then please look no further.

If your first exposure to Nightwish was through “Once” (or an even later album), then I’m probably not going to convince you that this severely underrated album is in fact their best work. And that’s fine. But for me this is when the band was firing all on all pistons – both creatively and performatively. Nightwish at their very best. Like lightning in a bottle. And nothing anyone says will ever change that opinion.

Verdict: An underappreciated classic that embodies everything that is Nightwish in a single body of work. Powerful, moving, and of course, epic. The absolute benchmark for symphonic power metal.