Oceanborn

First listen - what is this Iron Maiden sound doing next to this weird nordic operatic voice? What is walking in the air doing as a rock anthem? Why am I giggling sometimes but starting to tap my toes and lightly head bang! WHY?????Second listen - a band so obviously influenced by the likes of Sabbath and Maiden - but incredibly as a huge fan of theirs I have to put my hand up - by the end of the 2nd listen I was loving it and thinking this is a great Finnish band who take that kind of sound somewhere a bit different, a bit weirder, and all in their own way.Third listen (the next day) - had to put it on on my commute - needed to hear it - played Wishmaster (other album) straight after. Noticing some of the more immense riffs now - Passion and the Opera - oh my gosh - just have a listen and try not nodding to that - very hard.To summise - I have listened 3 albums of Nightwish in one week and scrolled through the rest lightly - Oceanborn is a masterpiece and I NEVER thought Id see heavy metal being treated this way - but Im so pleased and thankful as a huge metal fan that some one has.Maiden and Sabbath have that innate Britishness in their music which gives it that revealing element of cheesyness - heavyness - political angle - brilliant riffing and song structure/ writing. Nightwish take that and bring their own identity and originality and approach and move heavy metal forwards brilliantly too. This album is a brilliant treat and very addictive listening as all great metal albums are.....I cant believe I missed it by nearly 10 years since it came out. Gobsmacked. Truely gobsmacked.

Can't believe I am saying this but I am 63 yrs old and have only just discovered Nightwish.Their music is fantastic.I only wish I was 30 yrs younger so I could see them live.All the albums I have are brilliant.

If you are looking for a band that follows a similar path to the likes of ‘Cain’s Offering’ Ensiferum, ‘Korpiklaani’, ‘Sonata Arctica’, ‘Stratovarius’, Taurisas, Thunderstone or even ‘WinterSun’, for example, then this isn’t for you. This is even more operatic than when ‘Freddie Mercury, sang with ‘Monsterrat Carbootsale’! If you liked that you might like this, except of course you don’t have the advantage of ‘Freddie’s’ voice. If you are looking for straight-ahead hard rock or metal, then this is not for you; it is modern opera, and they even sing a long version of ‘Walking in the Air’, a song made famous by the then boy chorister ‘Aled Jones’!Did you rush out and buy Aled’s song when it first came out? Would you rush out and buy it now if were reissued? If the answer to both questions is no, then do you really want to buy this? Playing time 72 ¾ mins.

When I try to work out what my favourite Nightwish album I always struggle but this is right up there with them. Stargazers and Gethsemane alone bring quality to this album and in fact it only took the first few seconds of Stargazers to sell me the album. This is the height of the Tarja era and as usual the Brilliant writing by Tuomas elevates the album above many others in it's class.

Excellent album! Great songs & arrangements, top notch musicianship and a crystal clear production. The much missed Tarja really pushes her operatic lungs to bursting point on this 1998 release - before adapting more standard 'power metal' vocals on later releases (and sadly losing the Scandinavian accent, so wonderfully present here!). Solid guitar and bass work adds bite with powerful drumming. And special mention of the sterling keyboard work which creates a majestic and symphonic atmosphere.Highlight tracks:Gethsemane, Devil And The Deep Dark Ocean, Riddler, Pharaoh Sails To Orion.Also The cover of Walking In The Air is 100% Nightwish