I would rather say that this album was expected. For me, anyway. I will not hide from you that Nightwish is one of my favorite bands. None of the band’s albums disappointed me so far. And four years between the release of“Dark Passion Play” and this one is a long time. It goes without saying that the following is the review of a fan of the group first. But I will try to remain objective. I said “try”!

Line-up:

• Anette Olzon - vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards, piano
• Emppu Vuorinen - guitars
• Marco Hietala - bass, vocals
• Jukka Nevalainen - drums, percussion

Tracklist:

1. Taikatalvi
2. Storytime
3. Ghost River
4. Slow, Love, Slow
5. I Want My Tears Back
6. Scaretale
7. Arabesque
8. Turn Loose The Mermaids
9. Rest Calm
10. The Crow, The Owl And The Dove
11. Last Ride Of The Day
12. Song Of Myself
13. Imaginaerum

Let’s go back to“Dark Passion Play”, a transition album which was poorly received by some fringe of the public (not majority, though), because of course, it was the first album recorded without the iconicTarja Turunen. Despite the absence of this wonderful diva, it showed that the compositions were still great. Not surprising since Tarja never composed for the group, and for a transition album, it was still quite successful.
With“Imaginaerum”,Nightwishrestarts on a sound basis.
The first big difference is that“Dark Passion Play”, whenTuomas Holopainenwrote the tracks for this new album; he did not know who would sing it. They have not been written specifically for the voice ofAnette Olzon. This time, the compositions have been written with a view to be sung by Anette, which makes a big difference. His performance on“Dark Passion Play”was not bad. But there…
The album begins with the sound of a music box mechanism that we go back. The music starts.Marco Hietala’svoice appears and orchestrations arrive, very discreet. A little Celtic-sounding break. This little piece gently sung in Finnish, plunges us into the dream world of Tuomas and promises another great trip.
“Storytime” is the first single from the album that everyone knows now. Well a catchy track with a chorus that goes in the head in less time than it takes to write it, some children’s choirs and symphonic break of high caliber. We retrieve the Nightwish’s style (with rhythm already heard on"Master Passion Greed“ break). No disorientation.
The next song, ”Ghost River“, is the first duo on the album. Marco singing mingles with the one of Anette on the pre-chorus and he sings lead in the chorus. The two singing mixed do a little theatrical. This is a song with a rhythm disjointed. You can still find a children’s choir on the break. Nice piece. In any case, an album beginning that we will qualify for rather classic from Nightwish. No real genius but with expertise at the composition already well above all pretenders to the throne.

”Slow Love Slow“changesthe game and shows the band in a new light. The atmosphere is very jazzy; it’s like a smoky piano bar of the thirties: the bass sounds like a double bass,Jukka Nevalainen(drums) played in a record unusual and we hear some brass. Anette shows that her vocal range is wider than on“Dark Passion Play”. On the refrain, Marco, while restraint, comes along. A pretty amazing piece for Nightwish, even the guitar solo ofEmppu Vuorinen, he’s in an unusual register. The piece comes alive at the end. For the latter, we can’t say that this is reheated.
With ”I Want My Tears Back“, we’re back with folks Celtic ambiences that I had enjoyed on“Dark Passion Play”.It would seem thatTroy Donockley(Celtic instruments) became the sixth member of the group. It’s a more direct track, a duet with a quite simple refrain and a melody really efficient.
”Scaretale“ my first blow of heart, it gives pride to the orchestrations, huge on this piece. Choirs everywhere. The singing happens after two and a half minutes. Anette sings with an amazing voice, barely recognizable. It also shows all the critics/fans of Tarja (may need to move on, guys…) it is not just the ‘replacement’ for Tarja. The central part of the song is a huge delirium. We enter a world where the circus meets a cartoon of Tim Burton. Unique.
”Arabesque“ is a symphonic interlude with a passage folk, slightly Arabist this time, before attacking the second part of the album, the most exciting in my opinion.
It starts Celtic’s mode with ”Turn Loose the Mermaids“, superb sounding folk ballad. The middle of the song will flirt with the world of Ennio Morricone. Tuomas Holopainen has even surpassed us to offer tittles with superb melodies. But where does he get all this?
”Rest Calm“ starts on a fairly heavy rhythm. Marco is launching hostilities, which makes the title even heavier. The chorus, sung by Anette is quieter. A children’s choir on the chorus comes in the middle of the title and adds a unique dimension. As at the end of the song, where the chorus is repeated 'wild’ way with orchestrations rising powers is just great. These two pieces, one after another, are real gems.
”The Crow, The Owl And The Dove“ is another ballad duet. On a quiet pace but with a good Celtic atmosphere, this piece works very well. Certainly, their song “The Islander” made babies!
The next song, ”Last Ride Of The Day“is … I can’t find qualifiers without repetitions. Beautiful melody, chorus fatally good. Great song.
”Song of Myself“ is a big piece of the album. Thirteen minutes. The orchestrations are enormous. Anette takes the helm. The chorus is well done. The first part is excellent. But after seven minutes, the atmosphere became calm. Then you will hear words spoken by relatives of the band, each one saying a sentence until the end of the song. The music that accompanies them is close to a BO. Finally, the piece is less impressive than could be ”The Poet And The Pendulum“ of“Dark Passion Play”.Small disappointment. I must say that so far, it was nearly flawless, so I probably expected something huge.
For symphonic arrangements, Nightwish is the undisputed leader in the field. So yes, we can say that they have more resources than other groups of the style and it’s not false. But hey, the result is there. And for us listeners, it’s awesome. We take the full measure of the quality of the orchestrations on the last track, ”Imaginaerum“, symphonic solely, which incorporates musical themes of the whole album. A real BO … Moreover, it is worth remembering that a movie accompanies this masterpiece. (Which I advise everyone to watch.)

So it is probably not the best album of Nightwish, but they are so far above the fray just that a very good album from them is one of the best for the year, it is no doubt. Nightwish simply confirms that they are the masters of Symphonic Metal. I told you I would try to remain objective… I could finally just say: essential album in the genre, go for it!

Highlights: Scaretale, Turn Loose the Mermaids, The Crow,The Owl And The Dove