I always have been hearing great things about Nightwish many times, but I have been getting into them since last week. I am digging their material and I really enjoy the combination of striking, dramatic and huge symphonic elements with metal. Great video for this segment once again!
Nightwish being my favourite band of all time, I was a bit hesitant to watch this, only because I haven't heard you talk about this band or this style of music before but honestly this was a great video. I think the criticism was fair even if I didn't agree with all of it. I'm so glad you had a really good time going through the albums as well
Wasn't expecting a Reviewing Every Nightwish Album. Nice. Angels Fall First - 2.5/5 Oceanborn - 4.5/5 Wishmaster - 3.5/5 Century Child - 5/5 Once - 4/5 Dark Passion Play - 3/5 Imaginaerum - 4.5/5 Endless Forms Most Beautiful - 4/5 Human :||: Nature - 4/5
Funny story about how I was introduced to Nightwish. Back in 2006, Runescape was the hottest MMO around, but it also had a feature of PVP that you would drop your items when you died for other players to loot. Then came the 06/06/06 Runescape Massacre. There was this huge party event, in which people could duel, but no items would be lost. But then when everybody was suddenly teleported out, the game glitched and allowed for full PVP... except most people couldn't fight back. How does this tie into Nightwish? You can find a video of the Runescape Massacre set to "Planet Hell". That's how I found them, and as such, Once is the album that introduced me to Nightwish. That's why I have a bias towards the clarity of the melodies on that album compared to their earlier work, where Tarja was arguably at her best. I agree that Anette, while an amazing singer, was not a good fit for Nightwish, although considering how much I love Imaginearum, I think it's fair to say she did something right. He more pop-style vocals lends itself well to "I want my tears back" and "Scaretale". Not to mention "Last Ride of the Day" is simple, but SO SO effective. If you really want a good time, look up "Last Ride of the Day" live, with Floor on vocals. She *slays* it, and makes it one of their best live songs, even the best live symphonic metal song out there. The albums with Floor? They haven't quite grabbed me as the earlier Nightwish albums did. "Noise" kinda feels like "OK Boomer" the song, but I will say "How's the Heart" means a lot to me as someone who struggles with mental health. I greatly appreciate you taking this journey, since I know Symphonic Power Metal isn't your particular favoured metal subgenre. You did a great job with balanced, yet still honest conversation starters. Keep up the good work, man :)
Thank you for all the work you put into this video. I’m so glad you enjoyed making it because it was a joy to watch! I know you weren’t the biggest fan of this kind of metal to start with so kudos for giving it so much time and thought. While we differ on some opinions album-to-album (I personally think Once and Dark Passion Play are their joint best), it was cool to see that as a newish unbiased listener, you find their later stuff more or less equally strong as their earlier material. As a longtime fan I feel similarly and always get something great out of a new Nightwish album. Looking forward to your Yesterwynde review 🤘🏻
It does. Is it dated? Sure. But you can say that about a lot of edgy songs/media that tried to juggle both fictional/fantastical and real-life events in the same medium.
Also my current rank 1 Oceanborn 2Century child 3 Angels fall first 4 Once 5 Wishmaster 6 Human nature 7 Dark passion play 8 Imaginarium 9 Endless forms most beautiful 10 Yesterwynde
My current ranking of every Nightwish album: 1. Dark Passion Play 2. Imaginaerum 3. Once 4. Oceanborn 5. Century Child 6. Yesterwynde 7. Wishmaster 8. Human :II: Nature 9. Endless Forms Most Beautiful 10. Angels Fall First Annette Olzen has had (and continues to get) unnecessary hate. She sang very well on the 2 records she was a part of, and I think she helped the band explore some new sonic territories. Yes, Floor is in my opinion the best of both worlds (especially singing songs from the Tarja and Annette eras), but Annette's rock genre voice (with pop sensibilities) suited the music of DPP and Imaginaerum. I listened to Yesterwynde not too long ago, and I can say with confidence that it's my favorite album featuring Floor Jansen. Everyone in the band sounds better musically and the songs are more complex and well thought out. Though I'm somewhat disappointed in the overall production quality of the 3 latest albums: a bit too polished and the overall output seems a little muffled...idk. All in all, Nightwish has had a very interesting evolution in their sound, and that's partly due to having different frontwomen. All eras of Nightwish have spectacular music to offer. Not one bad song! Great review dude! Keep em coming! Please do an Epica full discography review (after their upcoming album is released, which could be early 2025). PEACE!
Anette cursed her own life by her self when she got the already destroyed world left from tarja, in that band. She tasted the hatred from both sides, between the fans and behind the band. Her albums don't work in my ears. But i respect.
Thank you for this review. As for myself: Angels Fall First 3/5 (really love this demo album, interesting ideas) Oceanborn 3.5/5 Wishmaster 4.5/5 Century Child 3.5/5 Once 3.5/5 Dark Passion Play 5/5 (my favourite from them) Imaginaerum 4/5 Endless Forms Most Beautiful 3/5 Human Nature 3.5/5 Yesterwynde 4/5
Not to take out on your opinion, because everyone has the rights to their own, and we both have some opposite opinions on some of the albums (like the way you feel about Once and Endless Forms Most Beautiful are the opposite way I feel about both of those albuns) and that's nice because it's diversity... But I can't help but comment (respectfully to make it clear) on a very bold statement you made. You literally said "There are band that were able to enjoy critical and commercial success with different singers in place of their most iconic singers" implying without saying that the band wouldn't survive with the same critically and commercial success by replacing the strong Tarja's vocals with the more "pop-y" Anette style. The thing is: both Anette's albums are critically acclaimed and I'm pretty sure you KNOW (based on the amount of research you did on the band for this video) that they're both the best selling albums of the band. SO... My pet peeve with your statement is the assumption that the band wouldn't take the change, but actually they did it very well DESPITE the termoil inside the already existing fandom. About the difference between Anette in both albums: Dark Passion Play was composed before Anette joined the band. Imaginaerum is the band doing what you said a band like Nightwish woudln't do: adapting their style to her style - which, talking about her vocals, for me is more folk and hard rock than pop and pop rock, like most people say she is. Also, Floor is an AMAZING vocalist. BUT, I feel like the band became more similar to other symph metal bands with her. IMO Tarja and Anette made the band more original in both their eras. Now having listening to this "National Geographic" trilogy by the band I can argue that the only album with Floor I REALLY like is Human :II: Nature. It's the only one that, to me, captures a little bit of the magic of what I liked about Nightwish back in 2004 when I first listened to them.
When I was a kid, my dad put Amaranth, I Wish I had an Angel and Nemo on to my iPod to surprise me and I really fell in love with the band, so I have a soft spot in my heart for Once, Dark Passion Play and Imaginarium (which was a new release for me as a new fan). I agree that the old material is superior, but seeing those 2/5 really made me wince a bit 😅 great video tho!
You're braver than the troops with your Once & Dark Passion Play reviews, haha. i think a lot of people who got really into this band did so because of that grandiosity that turns you off, but i totally get why you'd prefer the earlier power-metal incarnation of the band. Neat to see some different takes!
It's been a while since I've listened to it, but I'd have to disagree with you on Once. I think that album was brilliant, but it was also my introduction to the band so there could be some bias there. But it all comes down to personal taste. I do remember hearing Dark Passion Play and also feeling like it was a bit too pretentious for its own good. And I like Annette's vocals, but it was such a drastic change from Tarja. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts!
I love this band. Angels Fall First (2/5) Oceanborn (3/5) Wishmaster (2.5/5) Century Child (4/5) Once (3.5/5) Dark Passion Play (4.5/5) - My personal favorite imaginaerum (4/5) Endless Forms Most Beautiful (3.5/5) Human | Nature (3/5)
I also find Dark Passion Play to be their magnum opus. Yeah, sure, it's a big bloated and over the top. But to me, if you're a symphonic metal band, go big or go home. There are exceptions, of course, but I honestly thought the band did a great job accompanying Annette's style with their new sound.
The movie for Imaginaerum was actually pretty good, I saw it in theater years ago and a second time with my girlfriend. Shed a tear at the end, very sad, tragic and way better than I imagined (pun intended). And the music surprisingly fit very well.
I really enjoy your reviews when you're outside your 'comfort zone.' You should do more of that, reviewing other discographies like Angra, Avantasia, Edguy, Shaman, Stratovarius, etc. It would be really cool to watch (and potentially funny 😅).
Having Once and Dark Passion Play at the same score is insane to me. Once is a weaker record than it's predecessors and I recall being somewhat let down by it when it dropped but it's pretty good. Besides the points you made I thought the production had a pretty decent and uniform feel that was a step up for their style. The riffs were still meaty and fun to play, the bass in particular had a nice spot in the mix IMO. The low points for me were the simplicity of a few tracks (looking at you, Nemo) and Tarja dialing her vocals back (don't recall the reason why but in an interview she provided one). Nice vid! Wasn't expecting a Nightwish deepdive here lol.
My suspicion was always that, since Once was the beginning of the "cinematic" Nightwish sound, Tuomas wanted to feature those orchestral elements more and showcase Tarja less. That trend has continued into all of their albums with Floor...
I still wish Thrashin' Jackson would get his own episode. Reviewing his top 5 favorite bands of all time. It would be interesting to see which bands that would be.
Aight Melty whatcha got for me? Pre-watch prediction: Dark Passion Play with the lowest score, and Wishmaster with highest or tied with Oceanborn or Endless Forms. I will return to see how close I was. EDIT: You got the same opinions as me basically. Except I would've bumped Oceanborn up to a 4.5 and I prob would've been harsher on Dark Passion. But yeah Annette was good, but just not a good fit for a band with such a larger than life sound. Floor is a perfect fit. Although Tarja is one of those vocalists that you just can't equal. Not even talking about skill just as far as how iconic she is in the context of those early albums and how she had those killer belts and operatic vocal fireworks
My rankings have these albums in pairs. Angels Fall First & Human :||: Nature 2.5/5 Dark Passion Play & Endless Forms Most Beautiful 3.5/5 Wishmaster & Imaginaerum 4/5 Century Child 4.5/5 Oceanborn & Once 5/5
Great video. I will say that I voted no just because I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. I was a nightwish fan since anout Dark Passion Play and have enjoyed a lot of it on and off but I didn’t think I’d gain as much as I did appreciation of the discography from this video. I knew you’d be fair and everything just didn’t think it was what I wanted to see
Hi being from Ireland I was only able to see Nightwish once live and ironically it was when Annette was the singer and I enjoyed it. Obyously I would have liked to see them with Tarja. I like Annettes voice on her Dark Element stuff too.I kind of left nightwish behind over the years as my tastes got heavier and heavier as i got older. I still have a playlist of nightwish songs in my apple music sub. Thanks for the video.
When I was first getting into metal I really enjoyed Nightwish Then I kind of had a fall off with them But years later I have a new found appreciation for them. Nightwish are awesome.
This has been my arc as well - realized i just have a soft spot for theater-kid melodrama and i have yet to find another metal band that delivers it like these folks
I listen to both harsh sounding metal and I also love clean, more polished metal with clean singing as well. I was listening to Immolation yesterday but then I took the CD out and played Epica instead and had a blast! And Nightwish... how can anyone not like Nightwish? Once is one of my favourite albums of all time.
I seized the opportunity to give oceanborn another couple of listens, I have to confess I belonged to people who liked to mock those kind of bands. Well, I was wrong. Oceanborn is actually pretty good like many others, and like Thy serpent albums are.
Saw them live back in 2003. They weren't bad to be honest but it's just not my cup of tea. I like metal and I like gothic/symphonic music... just not mixed together. Kind of like how I love strawberry cheesecake as much as I like Turkish coffee: I don't like my Turkish coffee to taste like strawberry cheesecake if that makes any sense? Oh yeah I met Floor Jansen a few times as well, she's a lovely person though I gotta say
👍Nice man,honest review, the only thing i want to say/add is; the studio albums with Floor especially are good but in comparison with the live versions,it's just day and night for me, also with Tarja ,live is were Nightwish shines,it's totally the other way around with Anette who is more comfortable at the studio versions.😉🤘 I think the live dvd's are in a way more interesting than their studio albums.That said,we already heard some stuff of the new album (coming up this Friday) and that promisses to be a banger.🤘
What has to be said about Dark Passion Play for a fuller context is that Tarja's exit and the fallout from it was a massive news story in Finland. Perhaps one of the biggest of that year, I'm not exaggerating here. It was dragged out in the front pages of tabloids for months and months. With that said, it feels like The Poet and the Pendulum had extra weight to it. That track (and some others on the album to a lesser extent) was just the band expressing their views with that much more intensity, because I've never seen a band's private affairs more under a magnifying glass than how Nightwish had it here at the time. They had to speak out, in their own way.
Thank you for giving Floor era Nightwish some appreciation. People love to say that Nightwish is wasting her talent. I have no idea how they can say that. Her voice shines through out their catalogue. Even when she sings their older stuff. She breathes new life into their music. You should give their live performances a shot. There's a ton of footage. Floor is amazing live.
I grew up with Nightwish. The 2000s really shaped my musical interest. It started with Linkin Park and Evanescence in 2003 and continued with Exilia and also Nightwish. The first song I heard was "Nemo". I loved it. Your comment about your mom and "I wish I had an angle" made me laugh because: My mom was a singer in a choir and when I showed her Nightwish, she was hooked. I only knew of the album "Once" so we actually sang along songs like "I wish I had an angle" on our rides to IKEA. That was a thing we really enjoyed. It was always like: "I want to go to IKEA, wanna join me?" "And listen to Nightwish? Let’s go!" And we blasted the album throw the crappy speaker of the car. Then Tarja was gone and Anette came and I have to say: Anette Olzon was perfect for the albums "Dark Passion Play" and "Imaginaerum" I enjoyed these records so much. I really didn’t like her live performances when it comes to: her singing older Nightwish material; her interpretations were not my cup of tea. But I loved her era and what came out of it. I’d give the movie a try, btw. It’s nothing revolutionary, it’s cheesy but worth a watch. In my opinion, Floor Jansen combines the best of Tarja and Anette in a way. Tarja sounds like a siren, at least what I imagine a siren would sound like. The sounds are unlike anything you’ve heard, kinda cold and eerie. Just from the voice alone: I couldn’t tell you how old she is. She but she always sounded so mature. Anette on the other hand sounds very playful and so young. I was surprised when I found out that she was already in her mid 30s when she sang for the band. Floor is a really good fit, her voice offers so much variety. Because she is so skilled, there are no boundaries, you could do anything with it. I am excited for the bands future and the work they will put out. We actually have a running gag, due to the outrage that took place, back when Tarja left and Anette became a member. A lot of people said: Tarja sang it better And whenever there is something happening like: someone gets replaced, we say: Tarja did it better It doesn’t even have to do with music, but still: Tarja did it better. A Metal Meltdown Review? Tarja did it better. Obviously.
Human II Nature Released April 2010???😂. Good review, agree with Human. Exhausting, you need a nap afterwards. I'm the type of person listens to the full album. Dark Passion is my favorite. Would be nice to here it with Floor. Last Ride Of The Day from Imaginarium, Floor totally slays that song live.
I understand that you are reviewing albums, not singers, but to not mention Marko even once...? He's the only reason the "Anette era" albums are listenable at all. On a lot of songs, Anette sings the easy, low, slow verse, then Marko says "Hold my birch branches, here's how we sing with POWER!" and does the pre-chorus and the chorus like a proper metal singer. From memory: Bye Bye, Beautiful - Marko carries Anette The Islander - All Marko. I had to listen to it again to check that Anette does some backing vocals. I Want My Tears Back - Marko overshadowing Anette. "Where is the wonder, where's the awe?" "HERE IS THE WONDER, HERE'S THE AWE, little girl!" Seven Days to the Wolves - same Master, Passion, Greed - same That lullaby in Finnish that nobody remembers - Marko. Anette's best song is, IMO, For the Heart I Once Had. If only she did more of them with the same level of energy and feeling. Edit: Oh, yeah, and Sahara is in there. I like the oriental sound and the way she belts out "the philo-so-pher aaaaaand the queeeen" There are a few songs where she sounds OK, but Floor sounds better, and we know this because Floor actually performed them live, like Last Ride of the Day, or Storytime, where Anette needs synth voices but Floor does them herself. And The Poet and the Pendulum ... I don't like that one with either singer. Then there are a few high school dance power ballads that any singer worth her salt should be able to do, like Eva, or that November Rain-like abomination Meadows of Heaven. A couple of instrumentals. Amaranth, which is pop rock dance. And that is it. That is the Anette era albums. What did I miss? Oceanborn and Century Child - 5 Once and Fishmaster :) - 4 DPP and Imagenaerum - 3 for Marko EFMB - 4 Human II Nature is not Nightwish, it's Tuomas telling us that he's better than everybody and we'll listen to whatever he puts out :(
Endless formed most beautiful, was also based off of the book from Richard Dawkins: “the greatest story ever told” which is about the argument for evolution
I luv the five Tarja albums and the three Floor albums, but Anette's two pop ALL STAR opera doesnt works for my ears. But what managed fck my experience playing her era, was that fiendish treatment from the fans and behind the curtains, from the guys on the band
Nice try! Entertaining and thorough work. Well done! I disagree with a lot of it but what do I know? I am just a superfan of this band so it doesn’t matter I guess. AFF 8/10 Oceanborn 9/10 Wishmaster 9/10 Century Child 10/10 Once 10/10 DPP 10/10 Imaginaerum 10/10 EFMB 10/10 H:||:N 8/10
A good and fair review, I've been listening to Nightwish for years and I must say, I have had issues with the songwriting for Floor Jansen-era Nightwish. It has reeked of complete and absolute pretentiousness and honestly has been very much mid. Floor is a tremendous vocalist. Her work for After Forever was awesome. But Tuomas Holopainen's songwriting honestly handcuffs her. Tuomas Holopainen to me, has phoned it in. But it's my opinion. But still. The fact you listen to all these albums to make a complete review for whatever artist you decide to do or was voted for is an awesome feat...keep up the good work.
@@rupbhatt Thank you! This is part of why Romanticide is a top 10 Nightwish song for me, one of the only times from Once onward that Emppu really gets to shine.
I wouldn't exactly call Kinslayer upbeat musically. It's uptempo, but uptempo doesn't mean upbeat. If only Phantom Of the Opera was the Iron Maiden cover. That song is gahbage
@@em0tionalpavu1on It's so weird,after nearly 30 years.People are still going Tar Jaaa and even more irritating is the Tar eee yaaa lol even on major, popular podcasts !
Thanks for an interesting video. Quite much the same as I think. For me the tendency of songwriting has went steadily downwards since Imagenarium. Perhaps its just too high level for me, but I find current Nightwish dull. They seem to have lost all the magig, fantasy or whatever it was there in first era. I suppose its intentional, because it's impossible to achieve with current singer. She might be the most capable singer in the world right now, but she lacks that something Tarja had. Same with the drummer. Troy has pushed Emppu aside and I feel Emppu is now just a regular man in line. Nothing but a rythm guitarist and has lost his spark. Jukka is sick as a basist, but how I miss good male vocals. Troy doesn't deliver what Marco did. I have totally lost interest on them after many disappointments. If they made a reunion consert and dvd somedays, I definitely would be more than happy, but I dont think it could ever happen. As some one commented here, Nightwish once was a great band
The fact that you seriously compared a classic like Dark Passion Play to Chinese Democracy is a taste war crime of epic proportions. Anette was in no way the wrong choice. Yes, she’s not as operatic as Tarja, but she balances against the sound way better and makes for an even greater contrast with Marko’s gruff vocal delivery. Plus, no album with The Poet and the Goddamn Pendulum on it can be in any way be described as “meh”.
Love your video. I enjoy pretty much all of their albums, except for the last 2. Extremely boring, unnecessary too long, the band completely lost its identity ESPECIALLY on yesterwinde, took me 7 hours to finish that album how boring it was. They just should retire, they barely even have a old band members in it, no Yukka, no Tarja, no Marko, no Sammi, its like a tribute band now with 2 original members, and whats worse, their music sucks now.
I always have been hearing great things about Nightwish many times, but I have been getting into them since last week. I am digging their material and I really enjoy the combination of striking, dramatic and huge symphonic elements with metal. Great video for this segment once again!
Nightwish being my favourite band of all time, I was a bit hesitant to watch this, only because I haven't heard you talk about this band or this style of music before but honestly this was a great video. I think the criticism was fair even if I didn't agree with all of it. I'm so glad you had a really good time going through the albums as well
Wasn't expecting a Reviewing Every Nightwish Album. Nice.
Angels Fall First - 2.5/5
Oceanborn - 4.5/5
Wishmaster - 3.5/5
Century Child - 5/5
Once - 4/5
Dark Passion Play - 3/5
Imaginaerum - 4.5/5
Endless Forms Most Beautiful - 4/5
Human :||: Nature - 4/5
Funny story about how I was introduced to Nightwish. Back in 2006, Runescape was the hottest MMO around, but it also had a feature of PVP that you would drop your items when you died for other players to loot.
Then came the 06/06/06 Runescape Massacre. There was this huge party event, in which people could duel, but no items would be lost. But then when everybody was suddenly teleported out, the game glitched and allowed for full PVP... except most people couldn't fight back.
How does this tie into Nightwish? You can find a video of the Runescape Massacre set to "Planet Hell". That's how I found them, and as such, Once is the album that introduced me to Nightwish. That's why I have a bias towards the clarity of the melodies on that album compared to their earlier work, where Tarja was arguably at her best.
I agree that Anette, while an amazing singer, was not a good fit for Nightwish, although considering how much I love Imaginearum, I think it's fair to say she did something right. He more pop-style vocals lends itself well to "I want my tears back" and "Scaretale". Not to mention "Last Ride of the Day" is simple, but SO SO effective.
If you really want a good time, look up "Last Ride of the Day" live, with Floor on vocals. She *slays* it, and makes it one of their best live songs, even the best live symphonic metal song out there.
The albums with Floor? They haven't quite grabbed me as the earlier Nightwish albums did. "Noise" kinda feels like "OK Boomer" the song, but I will say "How's the Heart" means a lot to me as someone who struggles with mental health.
I greatly appreciate you taking this journey, since I know Symphonic Power Metal isn't your particular favoured metal subgenre. You did a great job with balanced, yet still honest conversation starters. Keep up the good work, man :)
Thank you for all the work you put into this video. I’m so glad you enjoyed making it because it was a joy to watch! I know you weren’t the biggest fan of this kind of metal to start with so kudos for giving it so much time and thought.
While we differ on some opinions album-to-album (I personally think Once and Dark Passion Play are their joint best), it was cool to see that as a newish unbiased listener, you find their later stuff more or less equally strong as their earlier material. As a longtime fan I feel similarly and always get something great out of a new Nightwish album. Looking forward to your Yesterwynde review 🤘🏻
Yo, kinslayer slaps my boy
It does. Is it dated? Sure. But you can say that about a lot of edgy songs/media that tried to juggle both fictional/fantastical and real-life events in the same medium.
Here before the army gets here and tears you apart 🤪🤣 Love your channel!
is... is that a legit possibility? If so I'm weirdly pumped lmao
@@themetalmeltdownofficial Oh yeah. There are high possibilities for a drinking game due to the hyper sensitivity of the fan base ;)
oh HELL YES, LETS GOOOO
@@themetalmeltdownofficial definitely prepare your liver if you decide to do a drinking game 👀
It's always prepared 😈🍻
Interesting to hear the post tarja review as I stopped at once .. Great video
Also my current rank
1 Oceanborn
2Century child
3 Angels fall first
4 Once
5 Wishmaster
6 Human nature
7 Dark passion play
8 Imaginarium
9 Endless forms most beautiful
10 Yesterwynde
I still love Nightwish, particularly the Tarja era. Oceanborn has always been my favourite.
My current ranking of every Nightwish album:
1. Dark Passion Play
2. Imaginaerum
3. Once
4. Oceanborn
5. Century Child
6. Yesterwynde
7. Wishmaster
8. Human :II: Nature
9. Endless Forms Most Beautiful
10. Angels Fall First
Annette Olzen has had (and continues to get) unnecessary hate. She sang very well on the 2 records she was a part of, and I think she helped the band explore some new sonic territories. Yes, Floor is in my opinion the best of both worlds (especially singing songs from the Tarja and Annette eras), but Annette's rock genre voice (with pop sensibilities) suited the music of DPP and Imaginaerum.
I listened to Yesterwynde not too long ago, and I can say with confidence that it's my favorite album featuring Floor Jansen. Everyone in the band sounds better musically and the songs are more complex and well thought out. Though I'm somewhat disappointed in the overall production quality of the 3 latest albums: a bit too polished and the overall output seems a little muffled...idk.
All in all, Nightwish has had a very interesting evolution in their sound, and that's partly due to having different frontwomen. All eras of Nightwish have spectacular music to offer. Not one bad song!
Great review dude! Keep em coming! Please do an Epica full discography review (after their upcoming album is released, which could be early 2025). PEACE!
Anette cursed her own life by her self when she got the already destroyed world left from tarja, in that band. She tasted the hatred from both sides, between the fans and behind the band. Her albums don't work in my ears. But i respect.
Thank you for this review. As for myself:
Angels Fall First 3/5 (really love this demo album, interesting ideas)
Oceanborn 3.5/5
Wishmaster 4.5/5
Century Child 3.5/5
Once 3.5/5
Dark Passion Play 5/5 (my favourite from them)
Imaginaerum 4/5
Endless Forms Most Beautiful 3/5
Human Nature 3.5/5
Yesterwynde 4/5
Not to take out on your opinion, because everyone has the rights to their own, and we both have some opposite opinions on some of the albums (like the way you feel about Once and Endless Forms Most Beautiful are the opposite way I feel about both of those albuns) and that's nice because it's diversity...
But I can't help but comment (respectfully to make it clear) on a very bold statement you made. You literally said "There are band that were able to enjoy critical and commercial success with different singers in place of their most iconic singers" implying without saying that the band wouldn't survive with the same critically and commercial success by replacing the strong Tarja's vocals with the more "pop-y" Anette style. The thing is: both Anette's albums are critically acclaimed and I'm pretty sure you KNOW (based on the amount of research you did on the band for this video) that they're both the best selling albums of the band. SO... My pet peeve with your statement is the assumption that the band wouldn't take the change, but actually they did it very well DESPITE the termoil inside the already existing fandom.
About the difference between Anette in both albums: Dark Passion Play was composed before Anette joined the band. Imaginaerum is the band doing what you said a band like Nightwish woudln't do: adapting their style to her style - which, talking about her vocals, for me is more folk and hard rock than pop and pop rock, like most people say she is.
Also, Floor is an AMAZING vocalist. BUT, I feel like the band became more similar to other symph metal bands with her. IMO Tarja and Anette made the band more original in both their eras. Now having listening to this "National Geographic" trilogy by the band I can argue that the only album with Floor I REALLY like is Human :II: Nature. It's the only one that, to me, captures a little bit of the magic of what I liked about Nightwish back in 2004 when I first listened to them.
When I was a kid, my dad put Amaranth, I Wish I had an Angel and Nemo on to my iPod to surprise me and I really fell in love with the band, so I have a soft spot in my heart for Once, Dark Passion Play and Imaginarium (which was a new release for me as a new fan). I agree that the old material is superior, but seeing those 2/5 really made me wince a bit 😅 great video tho!
The new album is killing it !!!
Haven’t heard all their albums, but from what I’ve heard, it’s mostly really good. Oceanborn, Once and imaginearium are bangers.
I was today years old when I realize that 59 was in fact a bigger number than 41. God bless you.
Nightwish is a great band
5 years ago I'd have extremely disagreed but now I'm inclined to agree.
@@themetalmeltdownofficialGlad you gave them a shot. I've been a huge fan of them since 2011 or 2012.
@@themetalmeltdownofficialI was also a Nightwish hater 5 years ago. Floor Jansen changed everything for me.
Awesome review Robert now that you have done nightwish is there any chance you might do a review of every within temptation albums that could be cool
Ehhhh, never say never but the chances are pretty low.
You're braver than the troops with your Once & Dark Passion Play reviews, haha. i think a lot of people who got really into this band did so because of that grandiosity that turns you off, but i totally get why you'd prefer the earlier power-metal incarnation of the band. Neat to see some different takes!
It's been a while since I've listened to it, but I'd have to disagree with you on Once. I think that album was brilliant, but it was also my introduction to the band so there could be some bias there. But it all comes down to personal taste. I do remember hearing Dark Passion Play and also feeling like it was a bit too pretentious for its own good. And I like Annette's vocals, but it was such a drastic change from Tarja. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts!
Great review man
I love this band.
Angels Fall First (2/5)
Oceanborn (3/5)
Wishmaster (2.5/5)
Century Child (4/5)
Once (3.5/5)
Dark Passion Play (4.5/5) - My personal favorite
imaginaerum (4/5)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (3.5/5)
Human | Nature (3/5)
I also find Dark Passion Play to be their magnum opus. Yeah, sure, it's a big bloated and over the top. But to me, if you're a symphonic metal band, go big or go home. There are exceptions, of course, but I honestly thought the band did a great job accompanying Annette's style with their new sound.
Always like the discography reviews. Dream Theater next simply for the chaos.
Heeeeelll nooooo
No way he'd do it, he finds them boring
The movie for Imaginaerum was actually pretty good, I saw it in theater years ago and a second time with my girlfriend. Shed a tear at the end, very sad, tragic and way better than I imagined (pun intended). And the music surprisingly fit very well.
I really enjoy your reviews when you're outside your 'comfort zone.' You should do more of that, reviewing other discographies like Angra, Avantasia, Edguy, Shaman, Stratovarius, etc. It would be really cool to watch (and potentially funny 😅).
Stratovarius in particular would be interesting since they were the most obvious sonic inspiration for earlier Nightwish!
Having Once and Dark Passion Play at the same score is insane to me. Once is a weaker record than it's predecessors and I recall being somewhat let down by it when it dropped but it's pretty good. Besides the points you made I thought the production had a pretty decent and uniform feel that was a step up for their style. The riffs were still meaty and fun to play, the bass in particular had a nice spot in the mix IMO. The low points for me were the simplicity of a few tracks (looking at you, Nemo) and Tarja dialing her vocals back (don't recall the reason why but in an interview she provided one). Nice vid! Wasn't expecting a Nightwish deepdive here lol.
My suspicion was always that, since Once was the beginning of the "cinematic" Nightwish sound, Tuomas wanted to feature those orchestral elements more and showcase Tarja less. That trend has continued into all of their albums with Floor...
I still wish Thrashin' Jackson would get his own episode. Reviewing his top 5 favorite bands of all time. It would be interesting to see which bands that would be.
it'll be his time to shine soon enough...
your Once take is the funniest shit ive ever seen. stone cold classic 5/5 that one, every song is amazing.
Aight Melty whatcha got for me? Pre-watch prediction: Dark Passion Play with the lowest score, and Wishmaster with highest or tied with Oceanborn or Endless Forms. I will return to see how close I was. EDIT: You got the same opinions as me basically. Except I would've bumped Oceanborn up to a 4.5 and I prob would've been harsher on Dark Passion. But yeah Annette was good, but just not a good fit for a band with such a larger than life sound. Floor is a perfect fit. Although Tarja is one of those vocalists that you just can't equal. Not even talking about skill just as far as how iconic she is in the context of those early albums and how she had those killer belts and operatic vocal fireworks
Hahahaha holy fuck when he said “the election is rigged”. I love this shit.
My rankings have these albums in pairs.
Angels Fall First & Human :||: Nature 2.5/5
Dark Passion Play & Endless Forms Most Beautiful 3.5/5
Wishmaster & Imaginaerum 4/5
Century Child 4.5/5
Oceanborn & Once 5/5
Great video. I will say that I voted no just because I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. I was a nightwish fan since anout Dark Passion Play and have enjoyed a lot of it on and off but I didn’t think I’d gain as much as I did appreciation of the discography from this video. I knew you’d be fair and everything just didn’t think it was what I wanted to see
Hi being from Ireland I was only able to see Nightwish once live and ironically it was when Annette was the singer and I enjoyed it. Obyously I would have liked to see them with Tarja. I like Annettes voice on her Dark Element stuff too.I kind of left nightwish behind over the years as my tastes got heavier and heavier as i got older. I still have a playlist of nightwish songs in my apple music sub.
Thanks for the video.
Great video Nice to hear your thoughts on there Albums With 3 Vocalists all a bit different 👍
When I was first getting into metal I really enjoyed Nightwish
Then I kind of had a fall off with them
But years later I have a new found appreciation for them.
Nightwish are awesome.
This has been my arc as well - realized i just have a soft spot for theater-kid melodrama and i have yet to find another metal band that delivers it like these folks
When Nemo single came out I went looking more from their discog and played them alot at a that period.
I listen to both harsh sounding metal and I also love clean, more polished metal with clean singing as well. I was listening to Immolation yesterday but then I took the CD out and played Epica instead and had a blast! And Nightwish... how can anyone not like Nightwish? Once is one of my favourite albums of all time.
I seized the opportunity to give oceanborn another couple of listens, I have to confess I belonged to people who liked to mock those kind of bands. Well, I was wrong. Oceanborn is actually pretty good like many others, and like Thy serpent albums are.
Saw them live back in 2003. They weren't bad to be honest but it's just not my cup of tea. I like metal and I like gothic/symphonic music... just not mixed together. Kind of like how I love strawberry cheesecake as much as I like Turkish coffee: I don't like my Turkish coffee to taste like strawberry cheesecake if that makes any sense? Oh yeah I met Floor Jansen a few times as well, she's a lovely person though I gotta say
👍Nice man,honest review, the only thing i want to say/add is; the studio albums with Floor especially are good but in comparison with the live versions,it's just day and night for me, also with Tarja ,live is were Nightwish shines,it's totally the other way around with Anette who is more comfortable at the studio versions.😉🤘
I think the live dvd's are in a way more interesting than their studio albums.That said,we already heard some stuff of the new album (coming up this Friday) and that promisses to be a banger.🤘
Dark Passion Play is my favourite Nightwish album. By far. I like the rest of their stuff okay, but I don't return to it like I do with DPP.
What has to be said about Dark Passion Play for a fuller context is that Tarja's exit and the fallout from it was a massive news story in Finland. Perhaps one of the biggest of that year, I'm not exaggerating here. It was dragged out in the front pages of tabloids for months and months. With that said, it feels like The Poet and the Pendulum had extra weight to it. That track (and some others on the album to a lesser extent) was just the band expressing their views with that much more intensity, because I've never seen a band's private affairs more under a magnifying glass than how Nightwish had it here at the time. They had to speak out, in their own way.
Wishmaster is my favorite, with Oceanborn 2nd and EFMB in 3rd. I need to listen to Century Child.
But anyway... Did NOT know that about Kinslayer
Thank you for giving Floor era Nightwish some appreciation. People love to say that Nightwish is wasting her talent. I have no idea how they can say that. Her voice shines through out their catalogue. Even when she sings their older stuff. She breathes new life into their music. You should give their live performances a shot. There's a ton of footage. Floor is amazing live.
I grew up with Nightwish.
The 2000s really shaped my musical interest.
It started with Linkin Park and Evanescence in 2003 and continued with Exilia and also Nightwish.
The first song I heard was "Nemo".
I loved it.
Your comment about your mom and "I wish I had an angle" made me laugh because:
My mom was a singer in a choir and when I showed her Nightwish, she was hooked.
I only knew of the album "Once" so we actually sang along songs like "I wish I had an angle" on our rides to IKEA.
That was a thing we really enjoyed.
It was always like:
"I want to go to IKEA, wanna join me?"
"And listen to Nightwish? Let’s go!"
And we blasted the album throw the crappy speaker of the car.
Then Tarja was gone and Anette came and I have to say: Anette Olzon was perfect for the albums "Dark Passion Play" and "Imaginaerum" I enjoyed these records so much.
I really didn’t like her live performances when it comes to: her singing older Nightwish material; her interpretations were not my cup of tea.
But I loved her era and what came out of it.
I’d give the movie a try, btw.
It’s nothing revolutionary, it’s cheesy but worth a watch.
In my opinion, Floor Jansen combines the best of Tarja and Anette in a way.
Tarja sounds like a siren, at least what I imagine a siren would sound like. The sounds are unlike anything you’ve heard, kinda cold and eerie.
Just from the voice alone: I couldn’t tell you how old she is. She but she always sounded so mature.
Anette on the other hand sounds very playful and so young.
I was surprised when I found out that she was already in her mid 30s when she sang for the band.
Floor is a really good fit, her voice offers so much variety. Because she is so skilled, there are no boundaries, you could do anything with it.
I am excited for the bands future and the work they will put out.
We actually have a running gag, due to the outrage that took place, back when Tarja left and Anette became a member.
A lot of people said: Tarja sang it better
And whenever there is something happening like: someone gets replaced, we say: Tarja did it better
It doesn’t even have to do with music, but still: Tarja did it better.
A Metal Meltdown Review?
Tarja did it better. Obviously.
she would definitely do this better I can't even lie
Human II Nature Released April 2010???😂. Good review, agree with Human. Exhausting, you need a nap afterwards. I'm the type of person listens to the full album. Dark Passion is my favorite. Would be nice to here it with Floor. Last Ride Of The Day from Imaginarium, Floor totally slays that song live.
I like your review. I think it's objective just because you are not the fan of Nightwish. You appreciate the music but you see bad and good sides.
Nice. I thought this would be mindless bashing of a popular metal band but it's actually a fair review
I understand that you are reviewing albums, not singers, but to not mention Marko even once...?
He's the only reason the "Anette era" albums are listenable at all.
On a lot of songs, Anette sings the easy, low, slow verse, then Marko says "Hold my birch branches, here's how we sing with POWER!" and does the pre-chorus and the chorus like a proper metal singer.
From memory:
Bye Bye, Beautiful - Marko carries Anette
The Islander - All Marko. I had to listen to it again to check that Anette does some backing vocals.
I Want My Tears Back - Marko overshadowing Anette. "Where is the wonder, where's the awe?" "HERE IS THE WONDER, HERE'S THE AWE, little girl!"
Seven Days to the Wolves - same
Master, Passion, Greed - same
That lullaby in Finnish that nobody remembers - Marko.
Anette's best song is, IMO, For the Heart I Once Had. If only she did more of them with the same level of energy and feeling.
Edit: Oh, yeah, and Sahara is in there. I like the oriental sound and the way she belts out "the philo-so-pher aaaaaand the queeeen"
There are a few songs where she sounds OK, but Floor sounds better, and we know this because Floor actually performed them live, like Last Ride of the Day, or Storytime, where Anette needs synth voices but Floor does them herself. And The Poet and the Pendulum ... I don't like that one with either singer.
Then there are a few high school dance power ballads that any singer worth her salt should be able to do, like Eva, or that November Rain-like abomination Meadows of Heaven.
A couple of instrumentals.
Amaranth, which is pop rock dance.
And that is it. That is the Anette era albums.
What did I miss?
Oceanborn and Century Child - 5
Once and Fishmaster :) - 4
DPP and Imagenaerum - 3 for Marko
EFMB - 4
Human II Nature is not Nightwish, it's Tuomas telling us that he's better than everybody and we'll listen to whatever he puts out :(
Endless formed most beautiful, was also based off of the book from Richard Dawkins: “the greatest story ever told” which is about the argument for evolution
I disagree for the first album, i would not touch the sound a single bit, it is perfect as it is.
I luv the five Tarja albums and the three Floor albums, but Anette's two pop ALL STAR opera doesnt works for my ears. But what managed fck my experience playing her era, was that fiendish treatment from the fans and behind the curtains, from the guys on the band
Harvest sounds like a song people sing in church
You like "D.P.P." more than 'Once". I smell a drinking game in the near future. 🤣
By the way. Love "The Kinslayer". But i see your point. 🤘🏼
Haven't mentioned Marco once in the whole video 😅 blows my mind, but still cool video
Nightwish is now just a band to exploit Tuomas ego
Bro have u even listen to Angels fall first Tutankamen in SUCH A BANGER so is Elvenpath
❤Tarja s era❤The golden era❤
Nice try! Entertaining and thorough work. Well done!
I disagree with a lot of it but what do I know? I am just a superfan of this band so it doesn’t matter I guess.
AFF 8/10
Oceanborn 9/10
Wishmaster 9/10
Century Child 10/10
Once 10/10
DPP 10/10
Imaginaerum 10/10
EFMB 10/10
H:||:N 8/10
I think Endless Forms Most Beautiful is the one I listen to the most❤️
A good and fair review, I've been listening to Nightwish for years and I must say, I have had issues with the songwriting for Floor Jansen-era Nightwish. It has reeked of complete and absolute pretentiousness and honestly has been very much mid. Floor is a tremendous vocalist. Her work for After Forever was awesome. But Tuomas Holopainen's songwriting honestly handcuffs her. Tuomas Holopainen to me, has phoned it in. But it's my opinion. But still. The fact you listen to all these albums to make a complete review for whatever artist you decide to do or was voted for is an awesome feat...keep up the good work.
This ... Also Emppu is wasted.
@@rupbhatt Thank you! This is part of why Romanticide is a top 10 Nightwish song for me, one of the only times from Once onward that Emppu really gets to shine.
I loved "Wish I had an angel" to death back then but now I noticed the 909 kick in the main riff and it sounds so goofy
If an album is too long for you, why don't you just stop and listen the rest later? 😂 Nice review!
I wouldn't exactly call Kinslayer upbeat musically. It's uptempo, but uptempo doesn't mean upbeat.
If only Phantom Of the Opera was the Iron Maiden cover. That song is gahbage
Honestly, I totally forgot that Human.:II:Nature exists 😅
Who? 🤔 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽don’t think I’ve ever heard a Nightwish so I guess this a good place to start.
One of the greatest bands of all time
Great Nightwish studio albums ranking have all their studio albums can’t wait to get the new one on Friday! now make an EPICA album rankings!
i can see why Wasp kicked Unto Others off the tour Unto Others will blow Wasp away so Wasp just kicked them off
Tarja was my favorite era. After Once, I stopped caring.
@@bharper2011 same but I'm intrigued to have a listen ..
You still follow her solo career?
@@Cobrax_x not recently, but I did for a while
I somewhat liked human nature when it came out but listening it this year bore me to tears. It didn't age well at all.
imagine giving that trash Human Nature the same points than Imaginaerum hahahah
Human Nature was perfection
Human Nature is great. Check your ears.
Nightwish was a great band.
*is
@@eaglesandowls was
Correct! Nightwish was a great band and became a phenomenal one!😉
1998-2011
Hahaha the intro. I clicked no and still watching
Expect the "rigged" game to go back to the other side, this time, lol. It's all Fake, of course.
Nightwish is one of those bands that everyone goes to for Operatic Metal. The band is amazing don't get me wrong, just a tad bit overplayed.
it's TARYA not TAR-JA :)
Why do so many pronounce it tar eee yaaa?
@@ericrobertson2024 don't know. you pronounce it simply as it is, tarya
@@em0tionalpavu1on It's so weird,after nearly 30 years.People are still going Tar Jaaa and even more irritating is the Tar eee yaaa lol even on major, popular podcasts !
Lol next😅
Best Nightwish album: Oceanborn.
Worst: A three way tie between Once, EFMB, and Human Nature
Thanks for an interesting video. Quite much the same as I think. For me the tendency of songwriting has went steadily downwards since Imagenarium. Perhaps its just too high level for me, but I find current Nightwish dull. They seem to have lost all the magig, fantasy or whatever it was there in first era. I suppose its intentional, because it's impossible to achieve with current singer.
She might be the most capable singer in the world right now, but she lacks that something Tarja had. Same with the drummer. Troy has pushed Emppu aside and I feel Emppu is now just a regular man in line. Nothing but a rythm guitarist and has lost his spark. Jukka is sick as a basist, but how I miss good male vocals. Troy doesn't deliver what Marco did. I have totally lost interest on them after many disappointments. If they made a reunion consert and dvd somedays, I definitely would be more than happy, but I dont think it could ever happen. As some one commented here, Nightwish once was a great band
The fact that you seriously compared a classic like Dark Passion Play to Chinese Democracy is a taste war crime of epic proportions.
Anette was in no way the wrong choice. Yes, she’s not as operatic as Tarja, but she balances against the sound way better and makes for an even greater contrast with Marko’s gruff vocal delivery.
Plus, no album with The Poet and the Goddamn Pendulum on it can be in any way be described as “meh”.
It really isn't, calm down bud
Unsynced audio... unwatchable lol `¯\_(ツ)_/¯´
?
horrible review
WHY
BECAUSE ITS WHAT YOU VOTED FOR
@@themetalmeltdownofficial NOT MY PRESIDENT
WELL NEXT TIME VOTE HARDER
This is the worst review ever.
🥰
Love your video. I enjoy pretty much all of their albums, except for the last 2. Extremely boring, unnecessary too long, the band completely lost its identity ESPECIALLY on yesterwinde, took me 7 hours to finish that album how boring it was. They just should retire, they barely even have a old band members in it, no Yukka, no Tarja, no Marko, no Sammi, its like a tribute band now with 2 original members, and whats worse, their music sucks now.
Cringe band for posers