Nightwish - Imaginaerum

Artist:

Nightwish

UPC:

016861766627

Description:

Never one to do things by halves, Finnish symphonic rock purveyors Nightwish team up with a 53-piece orchestra for their seventh studio album, Imaginaerum, a concept album based on a dying man`s recollection of his youth which also doubles as the soundtrack to their forthcoming Stobe Harju-directed film of the same name. Bassist Marco Hietala`s claims that it`s inspired by the works of Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman, and Salvador Dali suggest a score chock-full of gothic fantasy-style arrangements, but although the Palladio-esque breakdown on the crunching metal of lead single "Storytime," the Omen-esque choral backing vocals, ominous piano chords, and theatrical sea shanties on the schizophrenic "Scaretale," and the stirring war march instrumental "Arabesque" all bear the hallmarks of a big screen mythical epic, the band have thankfully avoided simply following the Danny Elfman rulebook down to a T. Opener "Taikatalvi" is a haunting, Middle Eastern-tinged folk number underpinned by a twinkling, music box backing and a rare Finnish-language melody, the frenetic Riverdance-goes-metal of "I Want My Tears Back," and the medieval campfire balladry of "Turn Loose the Mermaids" showcase their passion for traditional Celtic music, while the biggest twist appears courtesy of "Slow, Love, Slow," an unexpected but convincing foray into 1930s jazz-lounge territory, which proves Anette Olzon is as adept a torch singer as she is rock goddess. The doom-laden bombastics of "Rest Calm" and "Last Ride of the Day" are basically Nightwish on autopilot, while the meandering "Song of Myself" overstays its welcome long before its closing six-minute recital of Tuomas Holopainen`s poem of the same name (influenced by the Walt Whitman poem) kicks in. But if its accompanying full-length feature is even half as ambitious as its soundtrack, then fantasy fans are in for quite a spectacle. ~ Jon O`Brien

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Taikatalvi
2. Storytime
3. Ghost River
4. Slow, Love, Slow
5. I Want My Tears Back
6. Scaretale
7. Arabesque
8. Turn Loose the Mermaids
9. Rest Calm
10. Crow, the Owl and the Dove, The
11. Last Ride of the Day
12. Song of Myself: From a Dusty Bokshelf/All That Great Heart Lying Still/Piano Black/Love
13. Imaginaerum

Album Information

Release Date:

01/10/2012

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Heavy Metal

Subgenre:

Progressive Metal

Label:

Roadrunner Records

Producer:

Tuomas Holopainen

Catalog Number:

176662

Original Release Year:

2011

# of Discs:

1

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

74 : 50

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