Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

Prelude

Nightwish was my hope of metal rebitrh. During early 2000's power metal was rising. The top scene consisted then of bands like Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, Hammerfall which were descendants of European bands like Helloween and Iron Maiden. But than it happened...

I was hearing a rumors of a finnish band with opera singer that sounded really good. First song that i've heard was "Tenth man down" from "Over the hills and fire away". I was blown away. Band sounded symphonic yet powerfull, guitars were perfect and that vocal. Tarja Turunen. Unlike Liv Kristine and Vibeke Stene she's got rhythm and dynamics  It was the best female voice that i've heard in metal ever.
Then Marko Heitala and roadrunner happened to band. Most beautiful female vocal versus screams of a constipated male character dying to get the shit outside. Than Tarja's departure...
And then they came to Serbia castrated, without Tarja. Now I hate them more.
So ladies and gentleman, first symptoms of decease from now dying band Nightwish. Their first album since Tarja's departure "Dark Passion Play".

Tracklist

1. The Poet and the Pendulum		13:54
	- White lands of ephatica
	- Home
	- The Pacific
	- Dark Passion Play
2. Bye bye beautiful		4:14
3. Amaranth		3:51
4. Cadence of her last night		4:14
5. Master Passion Play		6:02
6. Eva		4:24
7. Sahara		5:47
8. Whoever Bring the Night		4:17
9. For the heart I once had		3:55
10. The Islander		5:05
11. Last of the wilds		5:40

Review

This is one interesting album! I am suprised, but this, this is Nightwish. I always wanted to hate any vocals in Nightwish that isn't Tarja, but ms Anette Olzon really does incorporate quite well. I am listening this album for the second time i am quite enjoying this. Her voice is beyond comparison to Tarja's but it is very pleasant  child like. Hietala's voice is still like he recorded it in the bathroom during serious constipation. I really don't like this ICS Vortex wannabe, first his voice isn't good enough to sing duet with Tarja, second his fighter's/alcoholic appearance doesn't fit the style of one romantic band such as Nightwish. Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica was perfect secondary vocal for Tarja. Anyway this is not about mr. Hietala.
Also "Bye,bye beautiful" is quite unsubtle song to be among singles. Tuomas made his anger towards Tarja public. Fuck me if they didn't have some fuck-buddy relationship before she got married. Also he maybe wanted to get media attention characterizing the band as the potential victim towards Tarja's greed and disinterest. Still, I think it's the the Fuck-buddy thing.    

As far as female vocal I admire the courage of ms. Olzon to sing after a singer who had set some standards in female metal singing. She is far from Tarja, let me say, oposite. Her vocal is suitable for Pop music but it fits surprisingly well. Some parts of some songs are beyond her vocal range and it sounds like she is suffocating(Cadence of last nigth). Cadence of the last night resembles "Bring me back to life" from Evanescence. Think that Nightwish sounds like a copy of Evanescence really grinds my gears knowing that the Evanescence was pale american attempt to copy Nighwish. They are Monkees to the Beatles. Also there is a lot of rapping by mr. Hietala, which is really weird considered that it is an European Metal Band.

As far as the music goes it was classic Nightwish, but it is that "Century child" Nightwish more than my favorite "Wishmaster" Nightwish but it is still good. Also I noticed that all songs have really pretentious titles. It sounded like the band wanted to make something big but effect was that that it sounded forced.

All in all, album sounded good, not the best but still good. I wish they disbanded after Tarja's departure and made a new band with ms. Olzon. With Nightwish label this album sounds weak. Not because it is bad, but because Tarja set our standards too high, and nobody can sound like her.  

But nevertheless it exceeded my expectations. Also, I admire the courage.

Appendix 

Floor Jansens band, After Forever

Ms. Olzon was departed from band, and current singer is Floor Jansen!!! She is one of the best female vocals alongside Tarja. She's got that operesque voice but also in some "Doro" 80's passion. She sounds, if I may say, even better than Tarja. I hope that they will keep her.

Grade: 6.1 

Cradle of Filth - Thornography

"Oh my sweet Satan!!! He sings... badly" - my reaction hearing 2006 single "Foetus of a new day kicking".
Cradle of Filth was one of the greatest if not the greatest extreme metal bands. Their music was fusion of Gothic influence and Black metal, but you are probably aware of that. Lyrics screamed (purposely I say screamed, not singed) by Dani Filth set standards for today's gothic scene. After the masterpiece and a peak of CoF career "Midian", they kicked their best musician Gian Pyres leaving quite mediocre guitarist Paul Allender as lead. They recorded unnoticed album "Damnation and a day" which neither smelled or stinked. I didn't hear "Nyphetamine" so i cannot judge but I will write a review of something, that is by CoF fans, the lowest bottom that CoF ever reached. I am off course, speaking of "Thornography", ladies and gentlemen.

Tracklist
1. "Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan" 1:40
2. "Dirge Inferno" 4:53
3. "Tonight in Flames" 5:55
4. "Libertina Grimm" 5:51
5. "The Byronic Man" (featuring Ville Valo of HIM) 5:03
6. "I Am the Thorn" 7:06
7. "Cemetery and Sundown" 5:37
8. "Lovesick for Mina" 7:00
9. "The Foetus of a New Day Kicking" 3:43
10. "Rise of the Pentagram" 7:02
11. "Under Huntress Moon" 6:58
12. "Temptation" (Heaven 17 cover, featuring Dirty Harry) 3:47

Total length: 64:44

Review

After a predictable but promising "Under Pregnant Skies..." into,  comes something so raw and Americanized that resembled Pantera more than Cradle of Filth. Third song comes with some nu-metal staring riff, but  create some classic CoF, but then... fucking singing. Like fucking Disturbed or some of the nu metal stuff.

"C'mon everybody sing with me!!! Tonight in flames ooooo"

...Tonight I want to see this album in flames. Also the song are very look alike. Starting riffs are punk alike and it sounds like when my brother takes the guitar and he never played before. Also songs so far are very predictable. I've came to the fourth song and i am bored. The guitar parts are boring, keyboard is only in the backgound (they don't carry a melody), too raw for CoF. Fifty times repetitive I hear Libertina Grimm. Monotonous and repetitive. This isn't the Cradle of Filth that I've loved. Also Ville Valo cameo is pure shit! Valo voice was so unfitting with the concept of CoF. It sounded like he sung it acapela (w/o music) on his cassette player and they just glued it to the mix although off tune.
"I am Thorn" sounded good for a change. That song sounded like modernized CoF but Cradle of Filth. Not Pantera.
I've heard CoF rip offs that sounded more like CoF than Dani on "Thornografy". Arrangemens are weak, melodies are unworthy, keyboards(the main concept of CoF) not existing.

(Anthelion - Bloody Matrimony (A CoF ripoff))

It wasn't as bad as I expected when i saw two chick half naked on the tank and Dani singing. Album was weak, raw and uninspiring. Also made for US market, which made it distant to European audience with new Disturbed wanna be riffs.
Also my girlfriend, who is eight years younger than me, likes the "Thornography". So, my dislike towards "Thornography" is maybe caused by generation gap. Nevertheless, great bands don't change their sound every time the trend changes.
But in their defence, the new stuff sounds good(f.i "Honey and Sulphur", "Lilith Immaculate"). So there is hope that they still could produce the new "Midian".

Grade 3.1

Covenant - Nexus Polaris(1998)

Tracklist

"The Sulphur Feast" – 4:10
"Bizarre Cosmic Industries" – 5:51
"Planetarium" – 4:02
"The Last of Dragons" – 6:29
"Bringer of the Sixth Sun" – 6:32
"Dragonheart" – 4:52
"Planetary Black Elements" – 5:49
"Chariots of Thunder" – 5:48
"New World Order (Clubmix by Matt Sinner)" – 4:26 (re-release bonus track)
"New World Order (Metalmix by Matt Sinner)" – 3:53 (re-release bonus track)

Review

This is one of the masterpiece responsible for my interest in black metal. Before Nexus Polaris i thought that Black Metal is badly played and poorly produced ugly side of metal. This album got me one step closer to extreme genres. It was the last symphonic black metal album from that band, the next album, Animatronic, was also great, but they had changed their subgenre to industrial black metal. Back vocals on Nexus Polaris were Sara Jezebel Deva, and drums being played by Hellhamer, two key people deserving for many great black metal bands and projects. You can hear the impact of Cradle of Filth and Arcturus as well as Dimmu Borgir, but only Cradle of Filth came close to this masterpiece with "Midian". Came close!
So, album begins with a big bang, with a song "Sulphur Feast" and continues with my personal favorite Bizzare Cosmic Idnustries. During the album you can feel that neo classical stench provided with the strong keyboard arrangements. Also some of the melodies are far too ecstatic, pushing you instantly into the sphere of distant space. Guitar arrangements are very well embedded with keyboards creating that symphonic polyphony that can be achieved by grand orchestras. If I ever experienced catharsis, it was while listening to Nexus Polaris. The weaker part an album are the harsh vocals, which are quite unenergic and monotonous. Even though vocals do not improve sound, they do not make it a little bit worse.
My favorite song is "Bizzare cosmic industries" but i prefer listening the whole album at once.  Only then I can experience the full musical atmosphere given.
I recommend it mostly for progressive/power metal skeptics as I was one when i've heard this album. It changed my perception of metal and music overall. Masterpiece!

Grade 9.9  

Charon - Songs for Sinners(2005)

Tracklist

1. Colder

2. Deep Water

3. Bullet

4. Rain

5. Air

6. She Hates

7. Ride on Tears

8. Gray

9. Rust

10. House of the Silent

Review

As of my concern Charon is the Omega of the story that HIM started a long time ago. Bu unlike HIM Charon does not have a cheesy songs made for teen girls who got off the Disney channel yesterday. Charon always had a more serious tone and their songs were not that catchy on first listening but it gets better every time you listen to it...
Charon disbanded some time ago, leaving Finnish "Love metal" scene castrated and low on quality bands. This review is postmortem archive review. So, album starts with the hit song Colder and finishes with a power ballad House of the silent. Every song on this album is remarkable masterpiece, but somehow conceptually connected to previous song, giving album a dark melancholic tone. My personal favorite is Deep Water and Rain, but from the point of view of average listener hit songs on album are Ride on Tears and Colder.
Production on this album is better than anything that I've hear in this genre (with an exception of Tiamat-Pray). Guitars are very well played, pretty much, if I can say progressive, which is different than the most of the other goth oriented band(Let's face it, Goth Metal songs consist mostly of three chords). Vocals can be described with only one word - DIVINE.
Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto has one of the most beautiful voices in the genre and far far beyond. And vocal arrangements on this albums were simply perfect. Every length of every note, every vibrato, every backing vocal are nothing less than astounding.
This album only flaw is that is a for house listening, except maybe for Ride on Tears which is a high tempo song. Aside for being perfect all track are in slow/mid tempo which makes it impossible to dance to. But, after all this is metal it isn't for dancing. Too bad that the band disbanded. But i presume that they couldn't made anything better and newer that Songs for Sinners

 Grade: 9.8