Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

Genre rock Publisher Roadrunner External Links Official Nightwish Website Road Runner Records

For a full 18 months, metal fans and gossip sites were caught up in the speculation about who would be selected to replace the publicly fired Tarja Turunen as lead singer for Finnish melodic metal superstars Nightwish, and many eyebrows were raised when it was announced that unknown Swedish singer Anette Olzon got the nod. In direct contrast to Turunen's flamboyant, operatic style, Olzon's approach is much more pop-oriented, but while Dark Passion Play continues Nightwish's steady progression toward a more mainstream metal sound, the symphonic/progressive elements of the past still linger, on what is a lavish bacchanal of metal bombast.

In fact, the band, led by keyboardist/songwriter/producer Tuomas Holopainen, has never sounded as over the top as they do on track number one, the ludicrously narcissistic 14 minute five-part suite, "The Poet and the Pendulum". Complete with a huge orchestra, choir, and boy sopranos, it's almost overwhelming, with a hundred things happening at once, but remarkably, the song settles down when Olzon makes her debut, the central band arrangement (sans orchestra) serving as a terrific showcase for the singer. The pop-fueled "Amaranth" and the pounding "Bye Bye Beautiful" (featuring the fantastic lead vocals of bassist Marco Hietala), while rehashes of 2004 singles "Nemo" and "Wish I Had an Angel" respectively, are bursting with the kind of incessant vocal hooks the band has become renowned for. However, the album truly flexes its muscle during its latter half, tracks like "For the Heart I Once Had", "Sahara", and "7 Days to the Wolves" exhibiting the kind of confidence we can only expect from a veteran band. Actually, the only major speedbumps are the ballads; the maudlin "Eva" is Disney balladry at best, and the astonishingly awful "Meadows of Heaven" stoops so low as to include a gospel choir. Still, for all its imperfections and Holopainen's perpetual self-indulgence, it's nonetheless a strong debut for Olzon, and is sure to be another worldwide smash.