N i g h t w i s h

[Holymagica]

NIGHTWISH has been confirmed as the headliner of the On A Dark Winter's Night festivals, set to take place in Austria and Germany on December 28 and 29 respectively. The details are as follows:

Dec. 28 - Arena – Salzburg, Austria
Dec. 29 - König-Pilsener-Arena - Oberhausen, GER

For a list of upcoming NIGHTWISH dates, click here.
http://nightwish.com/en/band/tour

[Magica Dragon]

Finnish/Swedish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH has set "Dark Passion Play" as the title of its new album, due on September 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (most of Europe), September 26 via Spinefarm Records/Universal (Finland) and September 28 via Roadrunner Records (USA). The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. The Poet And The Pendulum
02. Bye Bye Beautiful
03. Amaranth
04. Cadence Of Her Last Breath
05. Master Passion Greed
06. Eva
07. Sahara
08. Whoever Brings The Night
09. For The Heart I Once Had
10. The Islander
11. Last Of The Wilds
12. 7 Days To The Wolves
13. Meadows Of Heaven

Check out the cover artwork at:
http://www.nightwish.com/images/news/cover_dpp.jpg

A single, "Amaranth", will precede the album on August 24 (Nuclear Blast) and August 22 (Spinefarm/Universal). It will be available in several different versions, the details of which will be announced later.

To see the "Amaranth" cover artwork, click here:
http://www.nightwish.com/images/news/cover_amaranth.jpg

"Dark Passion Play" will be NIGHTWISH's first album to feature 35-year-old Swedish singer Anette Olzon (a.k.a. Anette Blyckert), who replaced the group's original vocalist Tarja Turunen.

[thecoop]

What's up with the song titles?????? If they go EMO I WILL stop listening immediately......
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Along Came A Spider.....

[Magica Dragon]

Behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the new NIGHTWISH video, "Amaranth", has been posted at http://fanblog.nightwish.com/main.site?action=siteupdate/view&id=2

[Holymagica]

NIGHTWISH have scheduled the following dates in U.K./Ireland:

Mar. 25 - Astoria - London, UK
Mar. 29 - Carling Academy - Birmingham, UK
Mar. 30 - Carling Academy - Newcastle, UK
Mar. 31 - ABC1 - Glasgow, Scotland
Apr. 02 - Mandela Hall - Belfast, Ireland
Apr. 03 - Vicar Street - Dublin, Ireland
Apr. 04 - Academy 2 - Manchester, UK


Scottish fans....tickets not on sale at Ticketmaster for scottish date...use Ticketweb.
Tickets are on sale now.
And selling fast

[thecoop]

Notice the smaller venues this time around. Hmmm. Maybe they're not expecting such a turnout - personally, I'm not going until I've heard the new album. I want to feel like I can go no worries - but I think they've made a mistake with their choice of singer. I hope I eat these words when I hear the album (which incidentally I will be buying - I won't be listening to someone else's copy! I give them a good chance! )
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[Magica Dragon]

You don't like the new singer that much then coop?
I think she's great........no Tarja but she has a different style to her which is a good thing.

[thecoop]

There's just nothing unique about her voice from what I've heard - she sounds like every other frontwoman for these symphonic/goth metal bands (i.e. Nightwish clones). Basically they've started sounding like those who copied them in the first place! If there's one thing I love in a singer, it's them being instantly identifiable and having something special in their voice - maybe not in ability terms, but they sound like themselves and no-one else. Hence much of my music collection. Anyone who knows what it contains will know exactly what I mean. (Ben )
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[Magica Dragon]

Get what you mean totally although I'm just glad the band didn't choose someone who was anything like Tarja........now that would've ruined them. Also I think that her voice suits the more commercial and gothic music they've been making since Century Child.
Anyway I think the album's great (heard the leak) and I'll be buying it as soon as it's out. Typically England has the latest release date
Also I'm really excited about seeing them next March especially since last night they played Sacrament Of The Wilderness........can't wait to hear that one live.

[thecoop]

Interms of seeing them, I'm going to wait until I've heard the new album. I saw them with Tarja a couple of years ago, and I don't want to go again and not like it.

Your comment about the more commercial stuff since Century Child is interesting - Century Child is possibly my favourite Nightwish album, then Oceanborn. Although I don't like Tarja's vocals particularly, as they are much less operatic than previously, the songs on CC are amazing. Once is much more hit and miss, and her vocals are way to poppy. I was very happy to see her sing 'properly' live. So I think this new album will live or die by the quality of the songs to be honest. But if they are bad, the vocals will irritate me. I can see it coming - I know how my mind works. If they are as good as those on CC, then it should be OK. But the titles sound to me much more Once than CC, unfortunately. But then, I'm strange
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[Magica Dragon]

First off you're damn lucky seeing them with Tarja, although I kind of prfer Anette's voice at the moment.
Anyway, don't get me wrong their stuff from Century Child and Once is great. I think CC was a turning point although it wasn't quite as 'pop' as Once and yeah I know what you mean about her voice on that one. End Of An Era sounded a thousand times better. CC sort of bridged the operatic stuff with the more commercial stuff. While I don't own it anything with Ever Dream, End Of All Hope and Bless The Child must be pure class.
What do you think of Amaranth and Bye Bye Beatiful or haven't you heard them?

[thecoop]

I've heard Bye Bye Beautiful, and a couple of other samples yesterday. I must say I was surprised by Annette's vocals. I really liked her voice and it fits well. The problem is the song - Bye Bye Beautiful to me sounds nothing like Nightwish. And this is a shame because the change in sound (if indeed there is one) is not due to Annette's arival, seeing as the songs were written before she joined. I'll reserve full judgement until I hear the album though. It should be delivered Wednesday. I hope I like it - I want to, but poor songs are poor songs.

On a side note, the samples from Tarja's new album sound far better - not only because of the vocals, which are great because she is not singing in the commercial way she did on most of Once (or at least from what I've heard), but because the songs sound very strong too. That is due out in about 5 or 6 weeks I think (but don't quote me). Should be fun seeing how the 2 compare!!
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[Holymagica]

[Magica Dragon]

Here's Tarja's album cover



The samples sound good I might buy it when it's released.
Still waiting on DPP right now though. Hopefully get it today

[thecoop]

As it turned out I got it yesterday afterall. So my thoughts.

It's not bad. The first track, The Poet and the Pendulum is fantastic. When it started I thought that all my fears were for nothing and we would be in for a Nightwish album of old. Unfortunately, the majority of rest of the album goes in a somewhat different direction. It is mostly forgettable.

Gone are the days of soaring verses with guitar chords or melody backing up the lyrics. The songs are heavy and most of the verses have a chugging, plodding guitar during the verse. Most of the choruses do fare a lot better though, and it does sound more like Nightwish. There is a lesser focus on melody too it seems.

It's not all bad news though!! Amaranth is another track which sounds a bit more like they used to. Eva is very nice, as is Meadows of Heaven. They recall the Nightwish we love! Other songs have moments which sound like they will be in a similar direction but then it falls away and we get a chugging, tuneless backing. Shame.

The other thing about this album is that it sounds like Tuomas is going through the motions a lot of the time - I exect that's why the verses are forgettable. Many of the lines sound VERY similar to previous lyrics he has used. This even creeps in to the parts the band plays. The start of Master Passion Greed sounds like Pharoh Sails To Orion, just without the Piano. The start of Sahara reminds me of Dark Chest Of Wonders, and the verses remind me of Tutankhamen. There's a song in there somewhere with a part sounding very like The Siren.

I wonder if this is because he wasn't ready to write a new album as such, but wrote one becuse they said Nightwish would continue. Perhaps it was written for the wrong reasons.

One other point I want to make is that there is one thing which I really miss, and that's the bombast. It doesn't appear as much as it used to, and I loved that in the earlier stuff! Hell we even had whole songs created by that dramatic, punhy bombast, namely Wishmaster and End Of All Hope. The album sounds full, because of the orchestra and choir, but not 'big' and powerful like the earlier stuff, which had a 'thinner' sound.

But it isn't all bad - this sounds rather negative. I'm listening now, and there are parts which are catchy, hummable, powerful, beautiful - just not as much as there used to be.

Anette sounds good. I was wrong to question her as a replacement, I think she fits the sound well. In fact there are places where she sounds just like Tarja in her pop voice.

I think Dark Passion Play (hate the title by the way) shows that Nightwish have still got it. It shows they can still be the band we, or at least I want them to be. If future albums are written simply because Tuomas wants to with the feeling he put into the early stuff, they are going to be able to go from strength to strength. But, if the newer, chuggy sound continues, and spreads so that all songs are like this, it will be a shame, because then they will sound like many many other bands, many of whom were influenced by Nightwish.

So - overall, I'd say maybe 2/3rds of the album is good or very good - it's the 1/3rd - the occasionally dull, less tunefull verses which pull it down. In a way it's a continuation of what started to happen on Once. There are more songs like Dead Gardens on Dark Passion Play, and that is my least favourite track on Once. I am liking Dark Passion Play more and more each time I listen to it - but it could be better in places. I think 4/5 is about right.

What does everyone else think?
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