Six months ago music like this was completely unknown to me. For fifty years my listening enjoyment was based on that offered by American radio - rock, pop, jazz, classical, country. During most of the past half century, it provided the emotional experiences wanted from music. But during the last few years, the emotion was slipping away, so much so that I considered turning it all off, which was not a happy thought. Then someone (one more time - thanks Jeff) gave me this CD. Unless you have experienced something similar to my 50 year musical history, you cannot imagine the shock of hearing something so powerful, so different, so beautiful for the first time. All of the reviews I have done here (except The Irish Volunteer), and all that I will do, are a result of listening to this one amazing work of art, which opened the doors to an amazing new world of listening pleasure.
Being the first "new" music experienced may have something to do with it being in my top five list, but there is no doubt the music itself deserves the rating. Of all the other similar groups, only Tarja seems to have the true operatic sound. Every selection is excellent in all ways, making it difficult to pick a favorite; however my ear deems Dead to the World as having a slight edge over the others. Marco, who has a very appealing voice, provides a perfect contrast to Tarja in this song. He adds a whole new, and positive, dimension to a group that already had more dimensions than most. In fact, their version of Phantom of the Opera on this CD is by far the best I've heard, which leaves me wishing they would get back together to record the whole sound track. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)
Oh majestic album, how i worship thee. I worship thine complex layers of orchestral and heavy denseness and thine inlay with thine beautiful artwork, especially Tuomas, you glorious Keyboard Fingers and composer extrordinaire.
As you have probably guessed, I think this album ROCKS! It's different, original. Extremely pompous but accessable too. it sounds like the soundtrack to an epic film (and a couple of the songs, E.G. End Of All Hope have been used in films.)
This album covers many emotions from utter dispair to love to hate. Its inspiring, relaxing and thought provoking.
Tarja has toned down her operatic voice a little since Wishmaster but her trademark sound is still there. The addition of new vocalist/bassist, Marco Hietala, adds something new and exciting to the music. And, contrary to what some people say, he is rather spectacular in the cover of Phantom Of The Opera.
I really could rave on forever about how great this album is (especially the last, and my favourite, track, Beauty of the Beast, a ten minute epic), but I shall refrain.
It is almost painful for me to give this album such an "awful" review. I love Nightwish -- They are one of my favorite bands and I listen to every one of their CDs fanatically. However, unlike most of their other albums, I had to delete some tracks when I copied this to my computer using iTunes. This simply isn't one of their better albums, and it's a shame, because it easily could be.
This is the album where Nightwish started to get darker, harder, and faster (Faster Harder Nightwish, anyone?). That's perfectly okay, but this album is the transition point, and thus mediocre. It has some great songs, but it also has ones -- the ballades, mainly -- that fall flat. Some of the lyrics aren't up to par with other works; some the songs don't sound as good; some are just out-right boring. The others are absolutely beautiful, but as a result, make the other ones sound that much worse.
Like my Once review, I will now go into a song-by-song review, before summarizing my thoughts. If you don't care about the songs individually, you may of course skip through it.
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Bless the Child (4/5) - A wonderful way to start off the album. The lyrics are excellent, the song itself is beautiful, and it leads perfectly into the next song. The only reason it isn't 5/5 is because it gets dull. The song is six minutes long, but unlike some of Nightwish's song, after a while one begins to notice how long it is and get a little bored with it. For the occasional listen, however, it sounds lovely.
End of All Hope (4/5) - This song is almost half the length of Bless the Child, not to mention heavier and more "metal". I don't think it needs to be said that the lyrics are a tad cheesy -- just look at the title -- but it doesn't detract from the song; there is some decent imagery in it if one ignores how obvious the meaning is. The melody and Tarja's singing match perfectly, making up for the so-so lyrics and making it one of my favorite songs on the album.
Dead to the World (4/5) - The lyrics to this song are positively beautiful, and some of the keyboard pieces are insanely awesome. However, I am not fond of Marco's voice, and seeing as he sings most of this song, that detracts from the track in my opinion. The fast tempo and melody are brilliant, however, and Tarja's voice makes the song more tolerable. I just couldn't give this song below 4/5, all things considered.
Ever Dream (5/5) - I don't know what it is about this song, but one day I feel in love with it, and have listened obsessively to it since. The lyrics aren't that great, but the song itself is gorgeous. It's one of Nightwish's heavier "ballades", with a piano and strings complementing the guitars very well and producing a gorgeous melody. Tarja sounds heavenly, and the last minute or so of the song is chilling in how gorgeous it sounds. I normally don't like a song that has mediocre lyrics, but this is wonderful enough to make an exception.
Slaying the Dreamer (4/5) - One of those standard heavy songs that you have to love. The lyrics are strangely interesting, and it took me a lot longer than it should have to figure out what they're about; that's normally a good thing for me. Marco, when he appears for a brief moment, sounds better than he did before, and adds to the song. The melody itself is standard metal -- crazy guitar riffs and the works -- but it fits the song, so it's all good.
Forever Yours (2/5) - Nightwish can produce some great ballades. This is not one of them. It's very slow, but the melody is dull, the lyrics are uninteresting, and Tarja doesn't sound nearly as beautiful as she usually does. Also, I prefer heavy metal to wake me up, not put me to sleep. I have listened to this song so little that I can't say much more than that.
Ocean Soul (3/5) - It's better than Forever Yours, at least, but that may only be because it's heavier. I used to love this song, and indeed the beginning is rather pretty. However, the melody and Tarja sound standard, and the lyrics don't help it, being they are too dry and, well, standard. It's not bad, but there is nothing that stands out, dropping its rating.
Feel for You (2/5) - A Forever Yours clone, except with better lyrics. The only problem is that they're about very similar, if not identical, topics. So while Feel for You does have pretty imagery, it feels as if one has heard it before.
The Phantom of the Opera (3/5) - Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. It's like Ocean Soul; nothing in particular stands out. Tarja sounds good and hits the high notes as expected, Marco actually sounds pretty decent, and the melody is what I imagine a heavier version of the Broadway song sounds like. However, like Bless the Child, it gets dull after a while, and is only good for the occasional listen.
Beauty of the Beast (4/5) - The middle part of this song is the best, shortly followed by the third. The first part is pretty, but a tad slow, and generally it's not a good idea to start a ten-minute song off slowly. However, once beyond that part, one forgets it's so long because it turns fast and spectacular. I love the lyrics and many times have been tempted to sing them down the hallway of my high school to see what happens.
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Overall, six of the ten songs are a good listen, which is a little lower than normal Nightwish quality, but not bad. Here are some of its main flaws:
Variety: Once has the same issue; for some reason, Nightwish's modern albums have variety problems. The two ballades on the album sound nearly identical. Bless the Child and Beauty of the Beast are somewhat similar, and some of the faster tracks also sound rather similar, or even "standard" for metal. The only song I can think of that stands on its own is Ever Dream (I'm not counting Phantom of the Opera seeing as it isn't theirs).
Lyrics: One of my favorite aspects of Nightwish is their lyrics; even when they about something as pointless as a bad day they still sound wonderful. However, in this album, many of the lyrics aren't very poetic, and in some cases are just dry and dull. Lyrics are very important for me in a band; a band or song has to be just plain brilliant for me to even remotely consider listening to them if they have cheap lyrics. Some of the songs on this album don't have that brilliance to counteract the lyrics.
That is it for glaring flaws; I also mentioned minor ones before and during the song reviews. As for the positive aspects? Tarja and Marco sing very well in this album. The band itself sounds wonderful in many of the songs, complementing the orchestra. I'm fairly certain this is the first album of Nightwish's to feature an orchestra, so they did well on the first try. Speaking of first tries, considering how different this is from their other albums, Nightwish did very well making it sound great without losing their style.
It is, in the end, not an awful album. It has its great songs that one may listen to obsessively, and it is a pretty good transition point to a different Nightwish style. If it weren't for those few songs that detract from it, I would happily give the album four stars, but alas, I am a perfectionist and those few songs lower the rating.
I would recommend the album to people who are already familiar with Nightwish, but Oceanborn or Wishmaster may be better for people who are just trying out the band.
Thank you for reading, and happy listening!
I cannot believe the negative things I have heard about Century Child. A band decides they don't want to do the same thing over and over again and all of a sudden they're being blasphemed? What is everyone's problem? AAAAGGHHHHH!!!
Sorry, just needed to let my frustration out. Anyways, here we have it, Nightwish's fourth masterpiece. And a masterpiece it is. I consider Century Child to be one of Nightwish's best works so far (my second favorite actually, just under Oceanborn which was slightly more diverse). Rather than cloning 2000's Wishmaster (which in my honest opinion fell a bit flat), the band decided to lessen the use of Tarja's high-pitched singing, slow down their songs to a more laid-back tempo, and just continue to do what they do best: make beautiful music.
Personally, I prefer Tarja's "clean" singing over the operatic alternative - both are great, and contrast each other well, but there's something about her calmer vocals that really send chills down my spine. Tuomas Holopainen, mastermind and keyboardist behind Nightwish, once again strikes gold with his newest collection of songs. New member Marco Hietala (ex-Sinergy/Tarot) camouflages himself into the band quite well, adding some bass lines that pack a punch and some decent vocals too. Emppu slows things down a bit, offering heavier riffs, that aren't quite downtuned, but considerably close. His work on "Slaying the Dreamer" eerily reminds me of Metallica. Of course, Jukka's always been an excellent drummer, and here he's no different.
Highlights for me include the beautiful opener "Bless the Child", the fast 'n' heavy "End of All Hope", the beautiful single "Ever Dream", the tender ballad "Forever Yours", the catchy-as-hell "Ocean Soul" and the epic cover of "the Phantom of the Opera".
Just a great album. Buy it if you have any musical taste whatsoever - you'll love it!
10/10
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