Nightwish Album: “Oceanborn”

Oceanborn, the second album from Finnish symphonic/Goth metal/power prog band Nightwish is distinctly different from other bands in this B&B (Beauty & Beast) genre.

It still boasts occasional riffing and drum beats in triple time. And there are still the odd growling male vocals (only on a couple of tracks, however). And the de rigueur juxtaposition of metal guitars with orchestration and synths accompanied by a crystal-clear operatic female vocal (from Tarja Turunen) is still the banner under which Nightwish proudly marches.

But whereas other Beauty & Beast/Goth metal bands (such as the dismal The Sins of Thy Beloved, or the aptly named Theater of Tragedy) wallow in the mire of doom and gloom, Nightwish takes the high road. Most of the songs are extremely upbeat, lively and seem to be full of -- dare I say it? -- joy.

Another difference is the presence of guitar solos. Many bands in this genre (even my beloved After Forever) eschew guitar solos for one reason or another, but Nightwish sprinkles their bombastic songs with an occasional fretboard flurry that ratchets up the excitment level a notch or two. Tastefully done.

The CD starts with a bang -- "Stargazers" -- and takes the listener on a brisk, but enjoyable, ride. This track has more in common with progressive rock's grandeur and majesty than it does with European Goth/symphonic metal. This is a great song, the perfect album opener. Lots of power and Dream Theater-like fast guitar/keyboard runs. (I love that synth change-up at 3:20 into the song!)

Some songs on Oceanborn are slower than others, and a flute plays a key role in a few (the beautiful "Swanheart," for one). But all are nicely done and worthy of repeated listenings.

"Gethsemane," for example (track two) sounds like Baroque meets Metal -- in a Trans-Siberian Orchestra sort of fashion. Lots of piano tinkling and syncopation. This song features a nice flute melody dancing lightly over the top of the crunching guitars -- with a suitably neoclassical break at 3:04 into the song.

The first track to feature the growling male vocals (unfortunately) so common to this genre is track three: "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean" (although this is more of a rap-tinged, talk-sing vocal than a flat-out growling vocal).

Track four ("Sacrament of Wilderness") begins with a cool guitar/drum/synth combination that gives way to a neoclassical burst of notes and driving beat that propels the song forward.

"Passion at the Opera" (track five) begins as a straightforward hard rock riff -- but with an operatic female vocal rather than what would be (in America, at least) a male vocal.

The aforementioned "Swanheart" (track six) is a slow-paced, emotional, piano and flute composition that sounds like it could be sung in church on Sunday morning. Even when the drums pound in at 2:20 and the guitars enter at 2:44 (hey, Stryper did it, didn't they?) it still sounds like a power ballad you'd be pleased to hear played on a sleepy Sunday morning. Nightwish truly know how to craft a song, and "Swanheart" is audible proof.

"Moondance" (track seven) is pure life and joy. It's a Russian dance beat that begins slowly, almost sadly, then bursts upon the scene as a song you can picture in your mind as being the backdrop to a line of guys, crouching with their arms folded, kicking out first one leg and then the other, yelling "Hey!" This instrumental track is brilliant. A lot of fun. And much too short at 3:30.

"The Riddler" (track eight) is a Eurythmics-sounding song that you'd swear was sung by Annie Lennox. Tarja Turunen's voice reminds me of Lennox's, anyway, but on this song the similarity is striking.

"The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" (track nine) is a scorcher. It's 6:15 of hard-driving, twisting and turning rock music that builds to a wonderful crescendo.

The album begins to wind down with "Walking in the Air" (track 10), a much-needed breather after "Pharaoh." The slower "Walking in the Air" leaves a pleasant taste in one's mouth. In fact, it leaves one wanting more.

And the "more" comes in the form of the CD's final track ("Sleeping Sun") an ambient, Enya-like track with a wistful, melancholy quality to it.

Oceanborn shows the world that Nightwish are not your typical Goth metal band. They have solid songwriting abilities, a firm grasp of melody and a desire to be known as a group that rises above the norm. Their songs are much lighter, much happier and much easier to listen to -- a far cry from most other bands in this genre that usually leave their listeners bruised, bloodied, broken and depressed to the point of suicide after their sonic onslaughts.

I wholeheartedly recommend Oceanborn ....

I borrowed this CD from a friend of mine at work. I normally don't listen to his type of metal (he's into the hardcore gothic and death stuff). Anyway, he had a note on it labelleing it "Operatic Metal". Decided to take a chance. Boy, was I glad I did - this thing is spectacular! Decided to pick it up immediately!

I don't know how to describe it other than some intelligent stuff, well written, catchy, and definitely NOT your standard stuff that falls under the label of "metal".

I normally listen to stuff like Black Sabbath (I run black-sabbath.com), and stuff that falls under the category of 70's metal; the only metal to come out of the 80's that I truly liked was Queensryche & Metallica. This is the first new thing in a long time that I've had this kind of positive reaction to!

Highly recommended!

As on any Nightwish CD, there is very little sense of a journey or a progression as the tracks go by. Instead, expect a collection of high quality songs that sound somewhat like a 'Best of' release, since there is so much individual quality. The tracks are in some cases brilliant (Walking in the Air, Phantom and the Opera, The Riddler) and in all cases very good. I would single out 'Walking in the Air,' as the highlight of the whole album, a ballad of massive proportions that goes from slow to fast seamlessly and will have you humming the melody for days. Not far behind this masterpiece is my second favorite, 'The Phantom and the Opera' which is similar but faster and a little heavier with the catchiest chorus you'll ever hear.

Perhaps the best part of the album though, and what makes it their best release, is that all of the songs are good. Even in Wishmaster (their second best CD) and definitely in Century Child and Once, there are songs you just wish were not on the CD. Not on Oceanborn. Every track seems unique and there is very little repetition of themes and motifs from song to song. The album does not feel forced like the aforementioned releases do at times, and perhaps it should come as no surprise that Oceanborn is the most heavily featured album on Bestwishes, their real 'Best of' collection.

Bottom line: if you want to buy a full length Nightwish album, this is the place to start.

This is the third Nightwish album I bought (the first one was 'Once' and the second one 'Wishmaster'), and this album is okay. It's definitely good in comparison to their next album, Wishmaster. The line-up in Nightwish had been, at the time, Tarja Turunen (vocals), Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards, piano, and synthesizers), Emppu Vuorinen (guitars), Jukka Nevalainen (drums), and bassist Sami Vaska (who was replaced in 2002 by Marco Hietala).

On this album there are not many male vocals at all, which is good, because although I think that Tapio Wilska is okay for the two songs he sang in, I don't think I'd be able to tolerate his voice being used more often.

1. Stargazers-It's a very energetic song, talking about the stars, the moon, and the galaxy. Tarja does a very good job in the chorus.

2. Gethsemane-I think this is the weakest song on the album. It's a song about Jesus and his time spent in the Garden of Gethsemane. There's just something about this song that doesn't hold my attention like other songs on this album do.

3. Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean-This is the first song with Wilska's vocals. I actually really like this song, it's very energetic. The lyrics were also excellent. The only thing that makes me cringe is that part where Tarja is singing 'Leave me be, leave me be, leave me...bee.eeeee', that just sounds rather strange.

4. Sacrament of Wilderness-This is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. There is an awesome opener. I love the continuing theme of snow angels in this.

5. Passion and the Opera- It takes a while to really be able to appreciate this song, but it's good. Awesome cellos.

6. Swanheart-This is the first ballad. The lyrics are really nice, and soft. I think Nightwish has made better ballads but the song is still wonderful.

7. Moondance- This is an instrumental, for the most part. It's very bouncy, and it sounds like it has Russian (musical) influences.

8. The Riddler-I actually like this song quite a bit, it poses some very interesting questions. It's very fast-paced, even though it's very long.

9. The Pharaoh Sails To Orion-This is another song featuring Wilska's voice. I like this song a lot better than the other song he's in. The lyrics are really fascinating, especially if you're into Ancient Egypt.

10. Walking In The Air- This is a cover of the theme from 'The Snowman'. The song really does make you want to walk in the air. It's a soft song.

11. Sleeping Sun-This was written for the solar eclipse that was occurring in Germany. Even if you weren't there to see the eclipse, or if you didn't even know that there was an eclipse, you can still appreciate this song. It's slow, but it holds your attention. It's a great closing song.

All in all, I would reccomend getting this album, there are more good songs than bad, but I would suggest getting one of their other albums first, because if you buy this album first you might not form a very good impression of Nightwish.

"Oceanborn" pretty much is the essential Nightwish CD, and if you want to start to listen to and get into Nightwish's music, this is the CD to start with.

Not a bad song on the whole CD. One of those types of CDs that you could listen to a million times in a row and never get tired of.

You really don't even know that there are other songs on this CD, because you listen to the first 4 or 5 songs so much.

(Yep, I am a die-hard Nightwish fan).

Awesome piano and keyboard playing from Tumoas.

Awesome double bass kick drumming from Jukka.

Awesome guitar playing skills from Emppu.

This was before Marco came in the band, but the bassist before Marco came is really good.

Ms. Tarja, as always, is heavenly and beautiful with the opera-style singing on this CD.

Enya put to Metal music that is SO powerful and driving = Nightwish.

I can't actually say that there is a best song on this CD.

No bad songs to begin with.

European Metal at its best.