Tag Archives: tuomas holopainen

Music, Reviews

“Over The Hills And Far Away” (remaster) by Nightwish

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Artist: Nightwish
Title: “Over The Hills And Far Away” (remaster)
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 11/30/2004
Genre: Symphonic Operatic Metal
Rating: 4/5

“Over The Hills And Far Away” is the first and currently only EP that Nightwish has ever released over the course of their very productive career. The title of the CD is the same as that of the bands cover of the Gary Moore classic bearing the same name and if you ever wondered how a Symphonic Operatic Metal band would fare with a rendition of a Bluesy Metal classic then seek no further and be ready to be impressed. Tuomas’ keyboard riffs bring new life to the main feel of the song while Tarja’s passionate and powerful voice propels it into the stratosphere. The video for this track was what originally led me to them as a band and when this was combined with the song “The Kinslayer”, I was hooked for good. There are very few times when a cover surpasses that of the original and I think as far as this number goes it is a strong contender for being an upgrade from top to bottom. The rest of the recording is a mix of other originals and some live stuff and continues with “10th Man Down”, a song about war that features Finntroll’s Tapio Wilska as the deep male vocal. It’s one of those songs that demonstrate the rich and lustrous composition that Nightwish is capable of. “Away” is a ballad that is second to none and should be considered as one of the most beautiful songs that the band has ever recorded. The original material closes with a remake of “Astral Romance” and it showcases the vocals of Sonata Arctica’s Tony Kakko as well. The fans of Sonata will enjoy hearing Tony in a slightly different aspect from what they are used to and as far as redo’s of a bands own tunes are concerned this one is a winner.
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Events, Reviews

Nightwish @ Nokia Theatre Times Square (10/18/2007)

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It might spark some of you readers interests because my whole adventure into writing and photography actually began with the band Nightwish and as result they always hold a special place in my media guy heart. The band was back with new music and a new singer and hitting the Nokia and I was on point to bring you the larger than life scoop. If you want to learn more just scroll past the logo below; It was truly the beginning of a new era.

Logo - Nightwish

Artist: Nightwish
Venue: Nokia Theatre (New York, NY)
Opener: Paradise Lost
Date: 10-18-2007
Label: Roadrunner Records

It’s been a little over two years since the United States last had the chance to enjoy the music of Nightwish on the concert stage but now all those who had hoped for it to happen again would get their wish as the group was armed and ready for a triumphant return with not only new material but a new lead singer as well. The blockbuster show would be at the NokiaTheatre, a perfect venue for this kind of show, and they would be supported by Paradise Lost. I had been a fan of Nightwish since around 2002 and was quite excited about this show as hey were the first band that I had ever written about. The whole experience was going to be quite the “full circle” sort of vibe when it came down to it. Friends had gathered in nearby pubs and all around the discussion was on how the group would do without Tarja fronting them. As a fan I admit that I wasnt worried at all as the new album “Dark Passion Play” didn’t disppoint me in the least with the band sounding as vibrant as ever,only with a fresh new voice.

Paradise Lost: I only knew so much about Paradise Lost before this show and despite their being well-known eaders inthe Gothic Metal realm, they were a band that I very simply had never followed before. The Century Media Records artists had just released a new album entitled “In Reqiuem” and tonight their set would pay attention to it as well as present some of their older material. This was a smart choice for this very high profile gig, because even though they have been at this for awhile they had not yet toured this region and been able to reach this market as far as fans were concerned. The group was tight and this was to be expected and my observation found them going over well, yet despite this the audience was too charged up for Nightwish for it to have them make any great impact. I did feel that a whole new crowd was able to enjoy them tonight and perhaps will even be looking a little deeper into the music that they bring to the table going forward. Now it was time for Nightwish to hit the stage and like the two thousand plus in the Nokia Theatre joining me – I couldn’t wait to see them.
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Music, Reviews

“Dark Passion Play” by Nightwish

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Artist: Nightwish
Title: “Dark Passion Play”
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: 9/28/2007
Genre: Symphonic Operatic Metal
Rating: 4.5/5

If you have missed the story so far here is where we stand; Tarja Turunen is no longer singing for Nightwish, the band held a world wide audition and presses on with a new member and new music – let the new Era begin. Attention Metal legions for it is my pleasure to introduce you to the beautiful Annette Olzon, who truly had some big shoes to fill and scores of fans to impress with her talents based on their loyalty to the former singer. “Dark Passion Play” is the long awaited return of Nightwish and what a return it is. Musically there has been no dramatic shift in the way of things because when it came to the composing end, it was always the task of bandleader/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen. While Tuomas penned the music and lyrics for a good 85% of the release there are a couple of songs that have the talents of bassist Marco and guitarist Emppu as the creative force. Yet even with the added contributions from them the core sound is very simply the Nightwish that you had missed and longed for the return of. It opens with an epic number called “The Poet And The Pendulum” and I was surprised to find such a song as the introduction of Olzon. Broken into three distinct movements, the song demonstrates that Annette can handle all the varied aspects of Symphonic Metal that Nightwish delivers on a regular basis.
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Music, Reviews

“Amaranth” (Single) by Nightwish

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Artist: Nightwish
Title: “Amaranth” (Single)
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: 8/22/2007
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Rating: 5/5

The world is just about a month away from the release of “Dark Passion Play”, the brand-new album from Finland’s Nightwish. It’s the groups sixth overall release and the first with their new singer Anette Olzon. Back in May I scoped out a single called “Eva” (seen HERE if you missed it) and while I liked the track, will admit that it was a tad slower than I had expected of them in terms of a debut. Now the band has unleased an additional track in “Amaranth” and I’ve a few thoughts about it in comparison.
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Reviews, Videos

“The End Of An Era” [DVD] by Nightwish

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Artist: Nightwish
Title: “The End Of An Era”
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 6/19/2007
Style: Symphonic Operatic Metal
Rating: 5/5

There are good live concert DVD’s and then there are absolutely incredible ones and this my fellow Metal heads is the one that you will not easily forget, turn off or be left the same after watching. The Symphonic Operatic Metal fanatics know full well that Nightwish is one of the superpowers in this genre and had held the banner high after numerous releases of note. The concert was filmed in the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland back in October of 2005 as the band supported their latest release “Once”. It was a show that found the band on top of their game and raising the bar ever higher as far as both live performance and musical content were concerned. From start to finish the film keeps your attention as they explode upon the stage with their opener “Dark Chest Of Wonders” from the moment it begins and when lead singer Tarja Turunen walks out the crowd is absolutely ecstatic. Since this was the final night of touring for the “Once” album they were treated like returning heroes and admired legends. Those that had luckily witnessed a Nightwish concert in the past can attest to how exciting they are on stage musically and how tight the delivery of their songs comes across. Tarja herself has an incredible voice and while she seems able to break down walls with it at times there are other moments were she is as soft and subtle as a whisper. The show itself primarily focuses on the last release as well as touching upon some music from “Century Child” and while it features some of their classics in the mix for good measure you will need to purchase “From Wishes To Eternity” if you wanted the very old stuff. With this being a hometown closing show I had expected and hoped to find more of these in the set but it would not be the case.
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