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Track Listings
| 1. The Poet And the Pendulum |
| 2. Bye Bye Beautiful |
| 3. Amaranth |
| 4. Cadence Of Her Last Breath |
| 5. Master Passion Greed |
| 6. Eva |
| 7. Sahara |
| 8. Whoever Brings the Night |
| 9. For the Heart I Once Had |
| 10. The Islander |
| 11. Last Of the Wilds |
| 12. 7 Days To the Wolves |
| 13. Meadows Of Heaven |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Nightwish returns with an ambitious epic metal opus that begins promisingly enough but quickly devolves into another formulaic power rock affair. The band's at its most powerful and convincing on the opening "The Poet and the Pendulum" (all 14 minutes of it), the dynamic "Bye Bye Beautiful," and the infectious pop-inflected "Amaranth." But mid-album tracks such as "Sahara," "For the Heart I Once Had," and the limpid closer, "Meadows of Heaven," retread familiar ground that reminds us of epic metal's more disappointing tendencies--faux pop, bombastic bombast, anemic anthems, and a penchant for the maudlin. With new vocalist Annette Olzon in the ranks, the Finnish outfit stands poised to make a thoroughly convincing and wholehearted classic (listen to "The Islander" for further proof) but falls short, delivering a decent but distracted recording. It's too ambitious, too scattered, and, simply, too long--and that's too bad. --Jedd Beaudoin
Product Description
Although it is their sixth studio album,Dark Passion Play marks the beginning of a new era for Finnish symphonic metal masters Nightwish. With new vocalist Annette Olzon onboard, Nightwish returns with their most accessible material to date. Firmly rooted in their trademark symphonic sounds featuring elaborate keyboard and guitar parts blended seamlessly with intricate string and choir sections, Olzon's vocals have more pop sensibility as they are far less operatic than those of her predecessor. This is perfectly exemplified in the vocal melodies in Amaranth, Eva and the scorching duet with bassist Marco Hietala titled Bye Bye Beautiful. Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards) not only wrote all the lyrics and all but two songs on the album, but also helmed the project as one of the producers along with T.C. Kinnunen and Mikko Karmila, who also mixed the album. Dark Passion Play has already made history as Finland's most expensive recording project to date with massive string sections and choirs and it is clearly evident in the impeccable production. Nightwish have taken the symphonic elements of their prior works and infused them with a new voice to create a sound representative of the album title: dark, playful and, most of all, passionate.
Customer Reviews
“ I hope that old school Nightwish fans (like myself) will read this and understand that Nightwish has taken a new direction in their music, and that it isn't a bad one. ”
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Time for one more daring dream...lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway"
September 20, 2007
By J. Koo
Format:Audio CD
"The end, the songwriter's dead..." begins the first track of the album. Despite the presentation of these chilling words, they are far from the truth concerning Dark Passion Play and Nightwish. Nightwish, replaced former vocalist Tarja Turunen with Anette Olzon, have released their sixth studio album and the first in three years. As the thousands of Nightwish fans groaned when Tarja was fired, we all wondered whether the new vocalist could fill Tarja's shoes and if Nightwish could live up to what it had become, one of the world's best symphonic metal albums fronted by one of the best female metal vocalists.
Well most of the jury is still out, but this one says there is absolutely nothing to worry about; Dark Passion Play is my new favorite Nightwish album. Oceanborn and Once were my favorites before, but no longer. And astonishingly enough, one of the reasons may in fact be the vocals. So really there are three reasons why I enjoy DPP more than all of the other Nightwish albums: Anette Olzon, more epic, and the Poet and the Pendulum.
Beginning with Anette. Anette is...not Tarja. For me, in a very good way (though I will concede that many will take this in a very negative way). She is a completely different vocalist and I look forward to hearing her sing the old songs live. For one, she is an alto rather than a soprano, uses very little vibrato, and sounds like a rock singer rather than an operatic vocalist. That is not to say I don't like the operatic vocals that Tarja utilized so admirably--far from it, as groups like Epica are still among my favorites and Tarja is one of the greatest female metal vocalists of all time. Perhaps one of the reasons I like Anette so much is that she is a change from the operatic-soprano vocals that are very often found in symphonic and gothic metal bands (which I listen to a lot of). Her voice, I find, is much better at conveying emotion than Tarja's was (again, personal preference). Ultimately, each person will decide on the vocals and that will make or break the album for them because really, the rest of the band has not changed unexpectedly. The band continues on the deviation that began with Century Child from the symphonic metal "standard" that they set with Oceanborn. Each album has grown steadily more progressive and DPP is no exception.
More epic...My favorite Nightwish songs have been pieces like Ghost Love Score, Beauty of the Beast, Creek Mary's Blood, and Dead Boy's Poem. For the same reason I like groups like Rhapsody of Fire, I love songs like these for the epic feel. With Once and the addition of a full, large-scale orchestra and choir as an everpresent force, the epic feel has grown larger and larger. The album has five tracks that are nearly six minutes long, it starts and ends with two massive works, and the most epic-feeling song ever written by Nightwish is in this album in the form of The Poet and the Pendulum.
My track-by-track analysis of the album:
1) The Poet and the Pendulum: Reason 3 for why DPP is the best of the Nightwish albums. 14 minutes of London Session Orchestra + Anette + Nightwish + Full Choir + A Boy Soprano (or two). I could write a whole review/analysis on this song alone, but since it's part of an album, I cannot. As the longest ever written and the Tuomas' favorite, the song is divided into five parts, changes pace many times, and includes basically everything you could imagine could fit into a song. It begins with the wailing vocals of a boy soprano, reading off an obituary of "the songwriter." The tension already present in this introduction suddenly bursts when the full orchestra explodes into action, followed shortly by the heavy metal guitars of the rest of the band. It subsides a bit when Anette begins the first verse, singing from what sounds like Tuomas' perspective. With the powerful, awe-inspiring chorus, the orchestra, choir, and band erupt once again. Part two continues in this way, bombastic and epic until it truly subsides into the same feel the introduction had with the boy soprano returning. When Anette joins in, it is clear that the soprano vocals of Tarja are gone with Anette singing in a lower octave. Then the brass sounds and ominous words are whispered loudly before switching gears immediately into Marco howling. Anette returns, however, and the chorus is played for the last time before Tuomas' obituary is completed. The fifth part is truly beautiful, sounding almost like a whole new song (almost three minutes long) and all traces of the violence and power played previously are gone. The lyrics are for all intents and purposes Tuomas writing his death (and resurrection in part five) into a song. They are profound and powerful and though, obviously, he is not dead, he was feeling immense sadness and was heavily weighed down as he wrote the album. This is truly the heart and soul of DPP and is one of my favorite Nightwish songs ever written. 10/10
2) Bye Bye Beautiful: Bye Bye Beautiful is, as many would guess, a musical farewell to Tarja. It is not an offensive or hate-filled farewell but is more of a sad and bittersweet farewell. For Tuomas, it was a song that "needed to be done" and he says it sounds much more aggressive than the meaning behind it actually is. There are many references to the grievances that the band listed in the open letter that announced Tarja's firing. Musically, it is an aggressive track with Anette singing the verses and Marco singing the powerful chorus. It feels completely different from The Poet and the Pendulum, but knowing what had happened to the band, it does not come unexpected. 8.5/10
3) Amaranth: Amaranth itself is, as Tuomas and the band have said, very catchy and has a nearly-pop-sounding chorus, very much an ideal song for a single. Anette is the sole vocalist on the track and most of her vocals are accompanied with a strong drumbeat with the orchestra playing lightly in the background for most of the song. The chorus is basically the song, very catchy with Anette's vocals layered on top of each other for a very nice-sounding harmony. A fun song, much lighter than the two previous songs and is much more easily accessible than the rest of DPP. 9/10
4) Cadence of Her Last Breath: One of Anette's favorite songs (and one of Tuomas' least favorite), Cadence begins with burdened breathing, soon followed by guitar riffs and keyboards. For me, Cadence's verses and development are very powerful and there is a short, but sweet guitar solo, but the chorus never really did it for me, almost as though it went away from the phrases that get built up by the verses. Anette sings this song with Marco shouting "Run away" in the chorus. 8/10
5) Master Passion Greed: The hardest song Nightwish has ever written is about the other half of Tarja's dismissal, her husband Marcelo Cabuli. Unlike Bye Bye Beautiful, this is not a bittersweet song, but a bitter song since the band believes the business-first attitude of Marcelo is what brought about the break between Tarja and the rest of the band. It is sung entirely by Marco (who also shares writing credits) and there is a good amount of screaming, thrash guitar, and growling (by Tuomas?). One of the longer songs and much heavier than anything ever done before by Nightwish, it is an interesting song that, like Bye Bye Beautiful, does not come unexpected and is a definite change of pace. 8.5/10
6) Eva: The first single released from DPP and the first song released featuring Anette's vocals, it is also the first ballad on the album. It is a beautiful and primarily orchestral piece. The lyrics are something to note as well. They are exquisite and very well-written, even for Tuomas's work. Mix in a strong guitar solo and backing vocals by a gospel choir (which will be heard much more later) and you get a very solid ballad. 9/10
7) Sahara: Sahara is a breakaway piece written with an exotic African/Egyptian sound. A bit reminiscent of Creek Mary's Blood from Once, it is a diverse track, utilizing Anette's vocals in many different ways. The riffs are heavy and the orchestra and choir play a major role as well. It is an epic and powerful song and is another change of pace from the rest of the album. It is one of my favorites from the album. 10/10
8) Whoever Brings the Night: Written by Emppu (lyrics by Tuomas), this very much sounds like a guitarist's song. The intro kicks in with heavy guitars, the riffs are dominant and powerful, and there is a lengthy guitar solo. The vocals are much less pronounced and the vocals speak of deceptive love and falsehood. Not one of my favorites, but it adds to the diversity of the overall album. 8.5/10
9) For the Heart I Once Had: A sad and mournful song, Anette's vocals are the feature of this song. At times it seems that the notes of the song are at the edge of her range, but she carries the song admirably. She puts a huge amount of emotion into her voice for this piece, which would otherwise be a bit flat. 8.5/10
10) The Islander: Yet another change of pace. A Celtic ballad written by Marco and sung primarily by him, the Islander is all very folkish and serene. Sung very much like something out of Ireland, it is a well-written piece and very different from the rest of the album so far. There are a wide variety of instruments, from bodhran drums to flutes to fiddles to uileann pipes. 9/10
11) Last of the Wilds: The only all-instrumental piece on the album, Last of the Wilds is a treat to the ears. It is basically a duel between Finnish and Celtic instruments joined in by the electric guitars and drums of the band. It is an awesome piece with instruments diverging everywhere from the main melody. Read more ›
Well most of the jury is still out, but this one says there is absolutely nothing to worry about; Dark Passion Play is my new favorite Nightwish album. Oceanborn and Once were my favorites before, but no longer. And astonishingly enough, one of the reasons may in fact be the vocals. So really there are three reasons why I enjoy DPP more than all of the other Nightwish albums: Anette Olzon, more epic, and the Poet and the Pendulum.
Beginning with Anette. Anette is...not Tarja. For me, in a very good way (though I will concede that many will take this in a very negative way). She is a completely different vocalist and I look forward to hearing her sing the old songs live. For one, she is an alto rather than a soprano, uses very little vibrato, and sounds like a rock singer rather than an operatic vocalist. That is not to say I don't like the operatic vocals that Tarja utilized so admirably--far from it, as groups like Epica are still among my favorites and Tarja is one of the greatest female metal vocalists of all time. Perhaps one of the reasons I like Anette so much is that she is a change from the operatic-soprano vocals that are very often found in symphonic and gothic metal bands (which I listen to a lot of). Her voice, I find, is much better at conveying emotion than Tarja's was (again, personal preference). Ultimately, each person will decide on the vocals and that will make or break the album for them because really, the rest of the band has not changed unexpectedly. The band continues on the deviation that began with Century Child from the symphonic metal "standard" that they set with Oceanborn. Each album has grown steadily more progressive and DPP is no exception.
More epic...My favorite Nightwish songs have been pieces like Ghost Love Score, Beauty of the Beast, Creek Mary's Blood, and Dead Boy's Poem. For the same reason I like groups like Rhapsody of Fire, I love songs like these for the epic feel. With Once and the addition of a full, large-scale orchestra and choir as an everpresent force, the epic feel has grown larger and larger. The album has five tracks that are nearly six minutes long, it starts and ends with two massive works, and the most epic-feeling song ever written by Nightwish is in this album in the form of The Poet and the Pendulum.
My track-by-track analysis of the album:
1) The Poet and the Pendulum: Reason 3 for why DPP is the best of the Nightwish albums. 14 minutes of London Session Orchestra + Anette + Nightwish + Full Choir + A Boy Soprano (or two). I could write a whole review/analysis on this song alone, but since it's part of an album, I cannot. As the longest ever written and the Tuomas' favorite, the song is divided into five parts, changes pace many times, and includes basically everything you could imagine could fit into a song. It begins with the wailing vocals of a boy soprano, reading off an obituary of "the songwriter." The tension already present in this introduction suddenly bursts when the full orchestra explodes into action, followed shortly by the heavy metal guitars of the rest of the band. It subsides a bit when Anette begins the first verse, singing from what sounds like Tuomas' perspective. With the powerful, awe-inspiring chorus, the orchestra, choir, and band erupt once again. Part two continues in this way, bombastic and epic until it truly subsides into the same feel the introduction had with the boy soprano returning. When Anette joins in, it is clear that the soprano vocals of Tarja are gone with Anette singing in a lower octave. Then the brass sounds and ominous words are whispered loudly before switching gears immediately into Marco howling. Anette returns, however, and the chorus is played for the last time before Tuomas' obituary is completed. The fifth part is truly beautiful, sounding almost like a whole new song (almost three minutes long) and all traces of the violence and power played previously are gone. The lyrics are for all intents and purposes Tuomas writing his death (and resurrection in part five) into a song. They are profound and powerful and though, obviously, he is not dead, he was feeling immense sadness and was heavily weighed down as he wrote the album. This is truly the heart and soul of DPP and is one of my favorite Nightwish songs ever written. 10/10
2) Bye Bye Beautiful: Bye Bye Beautiful is, as many would guess, a musical farewell to Tarja. It is not an offensive or hate-filled farewell but is more of a sad and bittersweet farewell. For Tuomas, it was a song that "needed to be done" and he says it sounds much more aggressive than the meaning behind it actually is. There are many references to the grievances that the band listed in the open letter that announced Tarja's firing. Musically, it is an aggressive track with Anette singing the verses and Marco singing the powerful chorus. It feels completely different from The Poet and the Pendulum, but knowing what had happened to the band, it does not come unexpected. 8.5/10
3) Amaranth: Amaranth itself is, as Tuomas and the band have said, very catchy and has a nearly-pop-sounding chorus, very much an ideal song for a single. Anette is the sole vocalist on the track and most of her vocals are accompanied with a strong drumbeat with the orchestra playing lightly in the background for most of the song. The chorus is basically the song, very catchy with Anette's vocals layered on top of each other for a very nice-sounding harmony. A fun song, much lighter than the two previous songs and is much more easily accessible than the rest of DPP. 9/10
4) Cadence of Her Last Breath: One of Anette's favorite songs (and one of Tuomas' least favorite), Cadence begins with burdened breathing, soon followed by guitar riffs and keyboards. For me, Cadence's verses and development are very powerful and there is a short, but sweet guitar solo, but the chorus never really did it for me, almost as though it went away from the phrases that get built up by the verses. Anette sings this song with Marco shouting "Run away" in the chorus. 8/10
5) Master Passion Greed: The hardest song Nightwish has ever written is about the other half of Tarja's dismissal, her husband Marcelo Cabuli. Unlike Bye Bye Beautiful, this is not a bittersweet song, but a bitter song since the band believes the business-first attitude of Marcelo is what brought about the break between Tarja and the rest of the band. It is sung entirely by Marco (who also shares writing credits) and there is a good amount of screaming, thrash guitar, and growling (by Tuomas?). One of the longer songs and much heavier than anything ever done before by Nightwish, it is an interesting song that, like Bye Bye Beautiful, does not come unexpected and is a definite change of pace. 8.5/10
6) Eva: The first single released from DPP and the first song released featuring Anette's vocals, it is also the first ballad on the album. It is a beautiful and primarily orchestral piece. The lyrics are something to note as well. They are exquisite and very well-written, even for Tuomas's work. Mix in a strong guitar solo and backing vocals by a gospel choir (which will be heard much more later) and you get a very solid ballad. 9/10
7) Sahara: Sahara is a breakaway piece written with an exotic African/Egyptian sound. A bit reminiscent of Creek Mary's Blood from Once, it is a diverse track, utilizing Anette's vocals in many different ways. The riffs are heavy and the orchestra and choir play a major role as well. It is an epic and powerful song and is another change of pace from the rest of the album. It is one of my favorites from the album. 10/10
8) Whoever Brings the Night: Written by Emppu (lyrics by Tuomas), this very much sounds like a guitarist's song. The intro kicks in with heavy guitars, the riffs are dominant and powerful, and there is a lengthy guitar solo. The vocals are much less pronounced and the vocals speak of deceptive love and falsehood. Not one of my favorites, but it adds to the diversity of the overall album. 8.5/10
9) For the Heart I Once Had: A sad and mournful song, Anette's vocals are the feature of this song. At times it seems that the notes of the song are at the edge of her range, but she carries the song admirably. She puts a huge amount of emotion into her voice for this piece, which would otherwise be a bit flat. 8.5/10
10) The Islander: Yet another change of pace. A Celtic ballad written by Marco and sung primarily by him, the Islander is all very folkish and serene. Sung very much like something out of Ireland, it is a well-written piece and very different from the rest of the album so far. There are a wide variety of instruments, from bodhran drums to flutes to fiddles to uileann pipes. 9/10
11) Last of the Wilds: The only all-instrumental piece on the album, Last of the Wilds is a treat to the ears. It is basically a duel between Finnish and Celtic instruments joined in by the electric guitars and drums of the band. It is an awesome piece with instruments diverging everywhere from the main melody. Read more ›
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By B. Forrester
Format:Audio CD
So here we are at the first post-Tarja Nightwish album. My take on the Tarja vs. Annette debate is simply that Annette works. She's not as good a vocalist as Tarja...or even the likes of Sharon Den Adel or Floor Jansen for that matter, BUT she is good and doesn't sound at all out of place with this band. Also, Marcos sounds so much better on this album because his voice doesn't sound so drastically different to Annette's.
The best thing about this album is just how good it is musically. Since the Toumas and the rest of the band were now free from being labeled "Tarja's back-up band" the guys go all out with fantastic results. The work Toumas and crew prove to anyone who didn't already know he's the brainchild of this band.
Here's my track-by-track breakdown:
1.) The Poet And the Pendulum - Awesome. Utterly blew my mind. 5/5
2.) Bye Bye Beautiful - Bye bye Tarja, a hard hitting catchy song with Annette trading vocals with Marcos. The only fault the song has is that the lyrics are more somber and sad while the song sounds a lot more pissed off than it should, which is misleading. But it's irrelevant in the end because its such a damn good song 5/5
3.) Amaranth - OMG theez guyz wnt n totlee sold out!!!!111 DIz iz pop muzic! Shut up, you know you've had this song stuck in your head ever since you heard it and you love it. If you don't that's why there is a skip button on your CD player. And I thought "Nemo" was an addictive song! 5/5
4.) Cadence Of Her Last Breath - Musically this track is awesome but I just find the chorus kind of dull in comparison. I love the guitar solo though. - 4/5
5.) Master Passion Greed - Surgeon General's Warning: This song may cause involuntary moshing and headbanging which may result in neck injury or destruction of property. Eat it Marcelo Cabuli! 5/5
6.) Eva - It would be impossible for me to hate this song, it's just so damned beautiful and catchy. Nice work Annette. 5/5
7.) Sahara - One of the lesser tracks on the album. Catchy yes...but it just goes at this snail's pace and never really changes tempo or does anything interesting for that matter. 3/5
8.) Whoever Brings the Night - One of the few tracks I could hear Tarja singing. Damn good musically but the lyrics make me scratch my head. "You one-night butterfly"...? Something tells me some of the lyrics got lost in translation from Finnish to English. 4/5
9.) For the Heart I Once Had - The only thing that sticks out for me on this track is the poppy lighthearted melody in which Annette sings the verses. I dig that because it's unconventional. Other than that the song really doesn't gel for me. 2/5
10.) The Islander - The best Celtic sea shanty that Alice in Chains never did. One of the surprises of the album, the song that starts and makes you go "WTF is this?" and by the end of it you're singing along with it like nothing ever happened. A ballsy attempt at a folk song that pays off big time. 5/5
11.) Last Of the Wilds - Oh hell yes! I have been waiting for Nightwish to do an instrumental track since "Moondance" became one of my favorite tracks from this band. Easily one of the best and most unique tracks on the album - 5/5
12.) 7 Days To the Wolves - One of those songs that just doesn't work. Musically it sounds like an earlier Within Temptation song, and the chorus doesn't really work with the rest of the song. It's just a strange juxtaposition that never really takes off...even when the band tries to pick up the pace at the end of the song. 2/5
13.) Meadows of Heaven - Ugh....I really really wish they had omitted this track. This is how you do a ballad all wrong. First off, it's boring. Second, the chorus is just Annette saying "Meadows of heaven" over and over. If that wasn't bad enough they end the song with individuals in the chorus pulling that annoying Christina Aguilera style singing where you just vocalize all over the map and sound like a warbling cat. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in all music. Bad way to end this album 1/5
14.) Reach (Amaranth Demo Version) - Not a great track but it is an interesting view into the process in which they developed the songs on this album. Has a completely different chorus and feel to the song since Marcos is singing. And it is neat to hear this band sound raw and unpolished - 3/5
To sum up the album overall it has some duds but the majority of it is really impressive. I look forward to seeing how they advance with Annette, and hope they have as much luck with experimentation as they do on this album.
Dark Passion Play (Instrumental Version); 5 / 5. It's a major surprise to me and a great testament to the band how good this is. I'm also surprised at how much of a different dynamic tracks like Amaranth and Bye Bye Beautiful are without vocals. Even the track I hate "Meadows of Heaven" is a lot more beautiful without the boring vocals. Definitely made this Special Edition worth the money I paid for it.
The best thing about this album is just how good it is musically. Since the Toumas and the rest of the band were now free from being labeled "Tarja's back-up band" the guys go all out with fantastic results. The work Toumas and crew prove to anyone who didn't already know he's the brainchild of this band.
Here's my track-by-track breakdown:
1.) The Poet And the Pendulum - Awesome. Utterly blew my mind. 5/5
2.) Bye Bye Beautiful - Bye bye Tarja, a hard hitting catchy song with Annette trading vocals with Marcos. The only fault the song has is that the lyrics are more somber and sad while the song sounds a lot more pissed off than it should, which is misleading. But it's irrelevant in the end because its such a damn good song 5/5
3.) Amaranth - OMG theez guyz wnt n totlee sold out!!!!111 DIz iz pop muzic! Shut up, you know you've had this song stuck in your head ever since you heard it and you love it. If you don't that's why there is a skip button on your CD player. And I thought "Nemo" was an addictive song! 5/5
4.) Cadence Of Her Last Breath - Musically this track is awesome but I just find the chorus kind of dull in comparison. I love the guitar solo though. - 4/5
5.) Master Passion Greed - Surgeon General's Warning: This song may cause involuntary moshing and headbanging which may result in neck injury or destruction of property. Eat it Marcelo Cabuli! 5/5
6.) Eva - It would be impossible for me to hate this song, it's just so damned beautiful and catchy. Nice work Annette. 5/5
7.) Sahara - One of the lesser tracks on the album. Catchy yes...but it just goes at this snail's pace and never really changes tempo or does anything interesting for that matter. 3/5
8.) Whoever Brings the Night - One of the few tracks I could hear Tarja singing. Damn good musically but the lyrics make me scratch my head. "You one-night butterfly"...? Something tells me some of the lyrics got lost in translation from Finnish to English. 4/5
9.) For the Heart I Once Had - The only thing that sticks out for me on this track is the poppy lighthearted melody in which Annette sings the verses. I dig that because it's unconventional. Other than that the song really doesn't gel for me. 2/5
10.) The Islander - The best Celtic sea shanty that Alice in Chains never did. One of the surprises of the album, the song that starts and makes you go "WTF is this?" and by the end of it you're singing along with it like nothing ever happened. A ballsy attempt at a folk song that pays off big time. 5/5
11.) Last Of the Wilds - Oh hell yes! I have been waiting for Nightwish to do an instrumental track since "Moondance" became one of my favorite tracks from this band. Easily one of the best and most unique tracks on the album - 5/5
12.) 7 Days To the Wolves - One of those songs that just doesn't work. Musically it sounds like an earlier Within Temptation song, and the chorus doesn't really work with the rest of the song. It's just a strange juxtaposition that never really takes off...even when the band tries to pick up the pace at the end of the song. 2/5
13.) Meadows of Heaven - Ugh....I really really wish they had omitted this track. This is how you do a ballad all wrong. First off, it's boring. Second, the chorus is just Annette saying "Meadows of heaven" over and over. If that wasn't bad enough they end the song with individuals in the chorus pulling that annoying Christina Aguilera style singing where you just vocalize all over the map and sound like a warbling cat. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in all music. Bad way to end this album 1/5
14.) Reach (Amaranth Demo Version) - Not a great track but it is an interesting view into the process in which they developed the songs on this album. Has a completely different chorus and feel to the song since Marcos is singing. And it is neat to hear this band sound raw and unpolished - 3/5
To sum up the album overall it has some duds but the majority of it is really impressive. I look forward to seeing how they advance with Annette, and hope they have as much luck with experimentation as they do on this album.
Dark Passion Play (Instrumental Version); 5 / 5. It's a major surprise to me and a great testament to the band how good this is. I'm also surprised at how much of a different dynamic tracks like Amaranth and Bye Bye Beautiful are without vocals. Even the track I hate "Meadows of Heaven" is a lot more beautiful without the boring vocals. Definitely made this Special Edition worth the money I paid for it.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By J. C Cheek
Format:Audio CD
As everyone knows by now Nightwish kicked out their iconic and much adored vocalist at the height of their fame, plummeting them into mire of cynicism, childish dismissal from Tarja fans and abandonment from the press who had clamoured to interview and promote them in the Once days. Rather than disband to rest on their past laurels or try to resurrect their old glory by imitating it, they have resurfaced with an album so very different yet full of the melody, passion, creativity and emotion that has long made Nightwish so adored. The new singer Annette Olzon is certainly not Tarja Mark 2. Whilst Tarja's voice was heartbreakingly sad, coldly distant and overwhelmingly majestic, Annette's is warm, open and full of happiness and enthusiasm; even the ballads are never sad, instead full of hope and love. Of course not everyone will like this change, but Annette's talent in undeniable and her range and power is unquestionable.
The most striking thing about this new album is the level of creativity and difference between the songs, in many ways it is reminiscent of the melodic side of avant-garde metal such as Arcturus and Diablo Swing Orchestra. The vast majority of metal bands with outside influences either use them so little that they're insignificant or milk them as their only gimmick. This album does neither, taking vast amounts of very diverse influence, making excellent use of each but relying on none.
Power metal - though Nightwish's power metal side has been in decline since Wishmaster there's somewhat of a return to form with DPP. First of all the vocals are enthusiastic, bright, high pitched and expressive. It sounds nothing like Tarja, but a lot like a female equivalent to most male power metal singers. As well as Emppu's perfectly composed and passionately played solos there are some wonderful power metal riffs in here, more so than any other `femme metal' band around. For one example listen to 7:37 in the massive Poet and the Pendulum; I almost cried with joy. And that's only one part of Nightwish's longest and most sophisticated song.
Thrash metal - Marco's impassioned old-style thrash yelps and screeches make the `beauty and the beast' pseudo-death metal growlers of most bands sound pathetic. Master Passion Greed is an excellent thrash power song reminiscent of a more complex Morgana Lefay, entirely sung by Marco. The thrash influence is also evident in some excellent riffs throughout the album.
Symphony - There's no classical and no opera: the `symphonic' side of Nightwish clearly draws almost entirely on film scores, which is no bad thing, the more immediately dramatic and overwhelming sound fits with the bombast and speed of power metal perfectly. No other band blends metal with symphony so clearly, neither side ever compete with the other for space as is the case with most similar bands, the guitars and drums know when to silence to allow the orchestra to shine and there's more than enough room for awesome riffs and solos. The utterly flawless orchestration and production is a large part of this as well as the composition. This is present throughout the album but best displayed in the vast epics Poet and the Pendulum and Seven Days to Wolves.
Folk Music - The Islander is based around a Native American sounding melody with acoustic guitar and Marco's newly found beautiful clean voice. It creates a unique feel that I can only describe as being somewhere between serene and `piratey'. The instrumental Last of the Wilds is a straight up cheery Celtic piece, thankfully given a decent length unlike the paltry instrumental intros to most metal albums.
Eastern Music -Every metal album seems to have an obligatory `eastern sounding song' and Sahara so obviously fitted this bracket I almost laughed when I heard it. Though the instrumental influence is present but not massive, just listen to the crazy Arabic sounding singing towards the end and tell me you don't love Annette.
Pop music - Yep, Annette used to be in an ABBA tribute band and it's blatantly obvious in the infectiously catchy very straightforward Amaranth. The album is full of the wonderful vocal melodies that have always been a Nightwish signature.
Musicals - The very soft ballad Eva which made a rather uninspiring single works so much better between the bombast and drama of the other songs around it. It is a song about love and devotion, not tragedy, hence makes a very different sort of song to most metal ballads. The line `the good in her will be my sunflower field' is one of the most touching lines I have ever heard.
Gospel - The very end of the album, towards the close of the lengthy ballad `Meadows of Heaven' explodes with a Gospel Choir in duet with Annette. Yes. It sounds like those Ladies and Gentlemen in churches wailing their hearts out with their love for Jesus. Sounds stupid doesn't it? Surprisingly not, it's the most original and inspiring way to end a metal album I have ever heard.
Influences that are thankfully definitely NOT present in Dark Passion Play:
Gothic music - I doubt I was alone in fearing Nightwish would jump on a faggoth bandwagon of some sort in their future direction. This album is almost never depressive or tragic and not a moment of goth rock or even gothic metal sound is to be heard.
Industrial - This album has no `Wish I Had an Angel' sound-alikes, everything is very flowing and natural with no electronic beats whatsoever.
Nu Metal - Nightwish's huge popularity with many alt-rockers has led to accusations of being `mallcore', but these are as entirely unfounded as ever, there's not a trace of it here. Yes there are power chords, but there are power chords in every metal band. There are more 'metal' riffs here than on a ManOwaR album for example.
The lyrics sadly are not as poetic or emotional as before. Usualy they're uninteresting, occasionaly too much more of Tuomas's self-pitying silliness and two songs dedicated to slating Tarja and her husband Marcelo. The artwork is simple but perfect, with the sense of wonder and excitement that fills the music. The digipack comes with the whole album as orchestral intrumentals. Enjoyable and worth having but not as engaging as the real thing as the gaps where the vocals are meant to fill are too obvious.
Many Tarja fans will not be won over because Annette is so different and of course people who hate bombastic, melodic, sensitive or feminine metal will still hate Nightwish. For most fans of female fronted symphonic metal, the importance of any Nightwish album is given but the absence of semi-operatic warbling, which was the ultimate in love-hate vocals, will open Nightwish up for people who didn't enjoy Tarja's style. The new areas this album covers; its immense diversity and increased complexity will hold a lot of appeal to people who find most symphonic and power metal too repetitive, predictable and straight forward.
The most striking thing about this new album is the level of creativity and difference between the songs, in many ways it is reminiscent of the melodic side of avant-garde metal such as Arcturus and Diablo Swing Orchestra. The vast majority of metal bands with outside influences either use them so little that they're insignificant or milk them as their only gimmick. This album does neither, taking vast amounts of very diverse influence, making excellent use of each but relying on none.
Power metal - though Nightwish's power metal side has been in decline since Wishmaster there's somewhat of a return to form with DPP. First of all the vocals are enthusiastic, bright, high pitched and expressive. It sounds nothing like Tarja, but a lot like a female equivalent to most male power metal singers. As well as Emppu's perfectly composed and passionately played solos there are some wonderful power metal riffs in here, more so than any other `femme metal' band around. For one example listen to 7:37 in the massive Poet and the Pendulum; I almost cried with joy. And that's only one part of Nightwish's longest and most sophisticated song.
Thrash metal - Marco's impassioned old-style thrash yelps and screeches make the `beauty and the beast' pseudo-death metal growlers of most bands sound pathetic. Master Passion Greed is an excellent thrash power song reminiscent of a more complex Morgana Lefay, entirely sung by Marco. The thrash influence is also evident in some excellent riffs throughout the album.
Symphony - There's no classical and no opera: the `symphonic' side of Nightwish clearly draws almost entirely on film scores, which is no bad thing, the more immediately dramatic and overwhelming sound fits with the bombast and speed of power metal perfectly. No other band blends metal with symphony so clearly, neither side ever compete with the other for space as is the case with most similar bands, the guitars and drums know when to silence to allow the orchestra to shine and there's more than enough room for awesome riffs and solos. The utterly flawless orchestration and production is a large part of this as well as the composition. This is present throughout the album but best displayed in the vast epics Poet and the Pendulum and Seven Days to Wolves.
Folk Music - The Islander is based around a Native American sounding melody with acoustic guitar and Marco's newly found beautiful clean voice. It creates a unique feel that I can only describe as being somewhere between serene and `piratey'. The instrumental Last of the Wilds is a straight up cheery Celtic piece, thankfully given a decent length unlike the paltry instrumental intros to most metal albums.
Eastern Music -Every metal album seems to have an obligatory `eastern sounding song' and Sahara so obviously fitted this bracket I almost laughed when I heard it. Though the instrumental influence is present but not massive, just listen to the crazy Arabic sounding singing towards the end and tell me you don't love Annette.
Pop music - Yep, Annette used to be in an ABBA tribute band and it's blatantly obvious in the infectiously catchy very straightforward Amaranth. The album is full of the wonderful vocal melodies that have always been a Nightwish signature.
Musicals - The very soft ballad Eva which made a rather uninspiring single works so much better between the bombast and drama of the other songs around it. It is a song about love and devotion, not tragedy, hence makes a very different sort of song to most metal ballads. The line `the good in her will be my sunflower field' is one of the most touching lines I have ever heard.
Gospel - The very end of the album, towards the close of the lengthy ballad `Meadows of Heaven' explodes with a Gospel Choir in duet with Annette. Yes. It sounds like those Ladies and Gentlemen in churches wailing their hearts out with their love for Jesus. Sounds stupid doesn't it? Surprisingly not, it's the most original and inspiring way to end a metal album I have ever heard.
Influences that are thankfully definitely NOT present in Dark Passion Play:
Gothic music - I doubt I was alone in fearing Nightwish would jump on a faggoth bandwagon of some sort in their future direction. This album is almost never depressive or tragic and not a moment of goth rock or even gothic metal sound is to be heard.
Industrial - This album has no `Wish I Had an Angel' sound-alikes, everything is very flowing and natural with no electronic beats whatsoever.
Nu Metal - Nightwish's huge popularity with many alt-rockers has led to accusations of being `mallcore', but these are as entirely unfounded as ever, there's not a trace of it here. Yes there are power chords, but there are power chords in every metal band. There are more 'metal' riffs here than on a ManOwaR album for example.
The lyrics sadly are not as poetic or emotional as before. Usualy they're uninteresting, occasionaly too much more of Tuomas's self-pitying silliness and two songs dedicated to slating Tarja and her husband Marcelo. The artwork is simple but perfect, with the sense of wonder and excitement that fills the music. The digipack comes with the whole album as orchestral intrumentals. Enjoyable and worth having but not as engaging as the real thing as the gaps where the vocals are meant to fill are too obvious.
Many Tarja fans will not be won over because Annette is so different and of course people who hate bombastic, melodic, sensitive or feminine metal will still hate Nightwish. For most fans of female fronted symphonic metal, the importance of any Nightwish album is given but the absence of semi-operatic warbling, which was the ultimate in love-hate vocals, will open Nightwish up for people who didn't enjoy Tarja's style. The new areas this album covers; its immense diversity and increased complexity will hold a lot of appeal to people who find most symphonic and power metal too repetitive, predictable and straight forward.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally worth it
I'm talking about the instrumental version, I never tire of listen to it. The normal CD (with vocals) it's ok I guess
Published 2 days ago by Warren
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bye Bye Beautiful . . . Hello Anette
I remember the much anticapation release for this album, without the great, beautiful Tarja Turunen. How the new sound will be with new front-woman Anette Olzon. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aria Araya
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite CD.
I also have Nightwish's 'Imaginaerum' CD, and this 'Dark Passion Play' is head and shoulders above that album IMO. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Liberalismiscommunismbythedrink
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nightwish Dark Passion Play
Nightwish is such a wonderful band. They are amazing live just like their CDs. If you like folk music with a twist you will love this.
Published 3 months ago by mickelle zender
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Though I am a hardcore Tarja fan, Dark Passion Play still did not disappoint me. This album is great from start to finish, with plenty of representations of Thomas' creativity and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Eric Fuller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome album.
Love the music. I have some confusion that a booklet did not download. Maybe I misses a link or something
Published 4 months ago by Kenneth Barkman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Power Metal!!
Nightwish is amazing. For anyone not familiar with them get this album! I would say the band sounds similar to Evanescence but with heavier guitar riffs and more melodic/operatic... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chick Hearn
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was skeptical
I listened to a live version of Amaranth & was not impressed. However, a few years later the Last of the Wilds track came to my notice & I gave the album a second chance. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Logan J. Neal
1.0 out of 5 stars
First 3 songs were not given to me on purchase
I bought the CD, I love the original CD, but the digital CD on my phone, only provides songs 4+ songs 1. 2. 3. are not included as it says in the description.
Published 6 months ago by Crl123
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great album, but a small stumble.
I have loved Nightwish for a long time and was sad to see Taraj go. Annette came along and made the band sound more poppy than goth or doom metal. Read more
Published 7 months ago by chaosisthename
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