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Review: Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

Written by Pacdan

Even though this has already been reviewed a million times (regardless of the fact that it hasn’t even been released yet ), I thought I should contribute my thought on the new Nightwish album.

First up, The Poet and the Pendulum. I was really excited when I first heard that this was going to be the big, epic orchestral track of the album. With that high of an expectation, I suppose it will come as no surprise that I was disappointed when I first actually heard it. The choir boy parts were annoying at first but I eventually got used to them. I really found that I enjoyed the song more after I had read the lyrics, since they are very well written and often indecipherable when heard. There’s a lot of subtle things to be noticed about the song, and as I listened to it a few more times, it quickly became one of my favorites. Though it may seem arrogant at first for Tuomas to have written a song about himself, I can see why it had to be done and, in the end, The Poet and the Pendulum is a masterwork. 9.5/10

The second track, Bye Bye Beautiful, I honestly expected to hate, since it was being compared to Wish I Had An Angel, a song which I truly hate. After hearing the song, however, my initial expectations were proved entirely wrong. The song is not entirely traditional Nightwish, being mostly unorchestrated in favor of more traditional instrumentation and Marco’s screaming of “bye bye beautiful,” but this sound works perfectly for the angrier feel of the song, and fans of the old Nightwish will immediately be able to find the meaning of the lyrics. Very enjoyable. 8/10

Next up is Amaranth, the second single from Dark Passion Play. As expected this song is fairly catchy with pop overtones, but it still maintains a suitable Nightwish feel, with respectable use of orchestration. Catchy and an enjoyable song in itself. 7/10

The fourth track, Cadence of Her Last Breath, is very reminiscent of an Evanescence song in some ways, though much better. Many will be offended by the more gothic rock/metal feel of this song, but those willing to look beneath the surface will find a solid, well written song with nice melody and lyrics. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is one of my favorites. 9/10

Master Passion Greed, is probably the most unexpected song on the album. This sounds more like classic Metallica than Nightwish. Even though it is by no means traditional for Nightwish, Master Passion Greed is a good song for what it is. This song was written about former singer Tarja Turunen’s husband, who was not well liked by the band, especially Tuomas, so there is a lot of anger in this song. It has already been stated that the band will not perform this song live, since they no longer feel the anger that was put into it. That’s a shame since it’s quite a good song. 8/10

The next song, Eva, was the first single from the album. I really appreciated the songs soft emotional feel. It’s a great demonstration of Annette’s voice, with a very sad story in the lyrics. I love this song, it’s very light until the end but extremely beautiful and sad. 9/10

Sahara seems like a throwback to the theme of Nightwish classic Tutankhamen, but musically it’s a fairly traditional song that is good in all respects, but astonishes in none of them. An enjoyable song, but not one the most memorable track on the album. I find that this is something that I’ll listen to if it comes up, but wouldn’t go out of my way to play specifically, at least not often. 8/10

Whoever Brings The Night, composed by guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, is by far my least favorite song on the album. The guitar parts are fine, but the rest of the song is highly uninspired with vocal distortions, a very simple melody and uninteresting lyrics. 5/10

For The Heart I Once Had is an enjoyable song, with beautiful singing from Annette and mostly simple instrumentation that suits the style of the song. The lyrics are good, although not a standout compared to the brilliance of some of the other songs. It’s a lighter side of Nightwish, though not as much so as the next song, and a very enjoyable song. 8/10

Now we have gotten to the absolute best track on the album, and my second favorite Nightwish song ever. The Islander is no less than perfect in all respects. The song, written by bassist/singer Marco Hietala, is almost entirely acoustic, with a breathtaking vocal performance from Hietala, confirming that he is both an incredible metal singer and an incredible traditional singer. The lyrics are interesting, perfectly suited to the song, and, somewhat unusually, can actually be understood just by listening to the song. The song seems much more like folk-rock, than traditional Nightwish power metal, but it works perfectly to create what is by far the best musical tapestry on Dark Passion Play. 11/10

Surprisingly, the next track, Last of the Wilds, is almost able to live up to the amazing track before it. While not as good as The Islander, the instrumental Last of the Wilds is a definite standout of this album and a near perfect song. The last time Nightwish did an instrument was Moondance on Oceanborn, and I really think they should try it more often because this song is an absolute musical masterpiece. 10/10

I’m really torn about 7 Days to the Wolves. Although it didn’t live up to my expectations after hearing the first clip of it, it’s still a very good song. The lyrics are good, but Annette’s vocal performance is only just average. The song has a nice sound but it’s just a bit, I don’t know, simple compared to what it could of been. I still enjoy the song, I just think that, in some ways, it could have been better. 7.5/10

The closing track of the album is another Holopainen masterpiece. Written about the home of his youth, Meadows of Heaven, is an absolutely beautiful song with a stunning vocal performance from Annette, beautiful lyrics, and flawless instrumentation. 10/10

Overall, Dark Passion Play is an incredible album which completely lives up to the Nightwish standard and is even better than their previous album, Once. While they may never be able to beat out Century Child as their best album, Dark Passion Play comes close at times. This is certainly a great new direction for Nightwish, and an excellent album overall. 9.5/10