Nightwish + maturity = Century Child
mysanthropyk_overlord | USA | 09/13/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was originally deterred from buying this gem because of all the "Nightwish fell off" comments being posted on this website, but thanks to the harsh criticism dealt out by many "fans" on here, it astonished me and I'd easily label it Nightwish's best effort to date. So Tarja isn't using the opera pitch the entire time. THAT'S A GOOD THING!!! She's got a quite lovely voice, but all too often it went against the direction of the music, or was just way too overdone. This time around, it's not so intrusive, and while there are a few parts that signal that her opera days have scraped all the power out of her throat, the vocals fit the music much better, and she can still hit the high notes flawlessly most of the time. However, Sinergy's Marco Hietala (Sinergy and Nightwish just don't seem to mix; Nightwish has too much character) was a BAD idea on vocals. He's worse than Timo Kotipelto. Fortunately, he doesn't get much mic time. For some reason, Nightwish has never had much luck with male vocals.What is it about this album that makes it better than previous releases? Well, if you've read through my reviews, I've made it clear that I do not care for Wishmaster at all. It's too commercial-sounding and there's not enough variation between the songs. I think this one took many fans by surprise, as there's much more synthesizer use and the guitar doesn't stand out as much. But Emppu was really never a major force behind the band, and I think Jukka's drumming stands out more than anything instrumentally. Being a sucker for good drummers, this pleased me very much. Also, Century Child sounds less like power metal, taking Nightwish's sound from being similar to Sonata Arctica with female vocals to being closer to something you might expect from a recent Lacuna Coil album, albeit a little more upbeat. Starting with the opener, "Bless The Child," this disc is going to hold your attention. From the beautiful but powerful opener, it goes into the high-energy "End of All Hope." "Dead To The World" is rather dull, as, like I've mentioned, Marco's voice is pitiful, but the next track, "Ever Dream," is a glorious combination of mellow piano/acoustic guitar parts with an upbeat chorus and synth/electric guitar segment. "Slaying The Dreamer" is good until Marco attempts extreme vocals, as he sounds less like a death/black metal vocalist and more like someone off of Sesame Street, but the guitar work is some of the best Emppu ever did. "Forever Yours" is a relaxing ballad, one of their better ones, and "Ocean Soul" could've been excellent had they not put in that annoying ringing/chiming sound, but it's pretty good. Then you get "Feel For You," which has a nice sound but gets extremely repetitive. "Phantom of the Opera" seemed like a great experiment for the band, but once you hear Marco, you start to question their ethics in making such a slaughter, although Tarja shines like the angel she... well... sorta is. It all ends with "Beauty of the Beast," the ten-minute, three-part closer, which starts out very nicely but gets annoying after the change in music.Overall, a good work by Nightwish that really doesn't deserve all the negative criticism it gets. In fact, the only thing I can find wrong with it is that they repeat the choruses too much at the end of many of the songs. Be open-minded; the Wishmaster/Oceanborn days are over, and Nightwish has matured. Either accept them for what they choose to do with their music, or find another band. I don't see how anyone could not at least enjoy Century Child."
Sorry, but this is far from a mandatory purchase
Ilya Malafeyev | Russia | 01/20/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I fell in love with Nightwish's "Oceanborn", and naturally bought their latest opus, "Century Child". Contrary to what some of the revieweres here wrote, I liked it the first time around, and liked it during several successive spins. But about half a year later when I returned to it, it struck me how plain and unoriginal this record is.Basically, there's only one major change to Nightwish's sound, and that is an introduction of a male singer backing up Tarja Turunen's incredible performance. His voice is high-pitched, and is a mixed affair, working in some tracks, and disturbing in other. Beside that, nothing really changed much, and you won't hear anything you haven't heard on "Oceanborn". Except that the songwriting on that album is by far better than on "Century Child". Only the remake of a famous "Phantom of the Opera" saves this CD from mediocrity."
Better each time
Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 01/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From an AMERICAN perspective, the most widely known and loved of the symphonic and other variations of Progressive music practitioners from EUROPE, is Finnish band, Nightwish
Born in 1997 in Kitee, Finland, Nightwish was the brainchild of Tiomas Holopainen. Initially an acoustic format was planned, however after adding the inimitable operatic style vocalist, Tarja Turunen a new direction was needed. He decided on following in the footsteps of the Gathering and Lacuna Coil (goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands with female vocalists) and soon added full metal-band instrumentation in the persons of guitarist Emppo Vuorinen, bassist Sami Vänskä, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen.
This has turned out to be a recipe for success and fame as Nightwish quickly turned out four 5 star albums; Angels Fall First, Oceanborn, Wishmaster and Century Child
Conclusion
Nightwish is probably the most well known and loved femme fronted symphonic metal band in America, despite the fact they are from Finland. Although they are not my ultimate personal favorite in this Sub-genre, there is no dispute in my mind that this group is the top such group around. They are a prodigious and prolific talent that I cannot help but admire.
If you enjoy any form of progressive rock / metal including Gothique, you must give them a try. Also if you enjoy. Enya, Yanni, Loreena McKennitt, I would recommend Nightwish.
Similar Artists
Therion, Within Temptation, Edenbridge, Visions of Atlantis, Artrosis"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1