I enjoy reflecting upon the way the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish danced its way into my life. A random purchase of Once made over two years ago quickly morphed into a lasting obsession. I find it interesting how I navigated through the Nightwish discography almost entirely backwards, though I don't regret getting any of their albums. Not even Angels Fall First.

This 1997 release is the recipient of very strong, and very mixed reactions among devoted Nightwish fans. I've come across a number of people that hail it as the Finns' finest, hands down. But many people feel that it's simplistic, repetitive, and that it's likely to come as a major disappointment to those impressed by Nightwish's later works. I subscribe to that belief only to a certain degree: Angels Fall First may be not be as consistent as what I usually expect from Nightwish, but it contains some of the band's absolute finest songs. No major disappointment here, though after hearing Nightwish at their best, it's understandable why so many are left wanting more.

Opener "Elvenpath" begins with an intriguing spoken passage from former vocalist Tarja Turunen before morphing into a journey characterized equally by crisp, precise guitar attacks and Turunen's lovely operatic vocals. The ominous guitar tone is sure to entice metal fans, while Turunen's smooth, melodic vocal performance is likely to enchant even those who may have never even dabbled in the heavier side of music.

From an instrumental perspective, "Beauty and the Beast" is great. It is sweeping, epic, and places plenty of emphasis on the beautiful keyboards. However, it also introduces the main problem that plagues Angels Fall First: keyboardist/main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen's vocals. Yes, indeed, Holopainen "helped" Turunen out on vox on this debut. As talented of a lyricist and keyboardist Holopainen certainly is, singing is not something he should do. Ever. His voice is shrill, nasally, and quite frankly, it ruins this otherwise great song. Thankfully, "Tutankhamen" soon saves the day. Its Arabic flair and crushing electric guitars help it to maintain its spot on my list of the best Nightwish songs of all time. Turunen's performance is dazzling as well. Her range is outstanding.

Opening with an exotic array of acoustic guitars and flutes, but soon evolving into so much more, "Nymphomaniac Fantasia" is dark, heavy, and contains exceptionally written lyrics that focus on the dangers of lust: "Rip off this lace that keeps me imprisoned / but beware the enchantment / for my eroticism is your oblivion..." Adventurous and full of crunchy riffs, the very 'power-metal' "Know Why The Nightingale Sings" has this insane groove that leads me to believe it would fit right in on Wishmaster. It is a definite highlight, and like "Tutankhamen," remains one of my favorite Nightwish songs ever.

I would recommend Angels Fall First to all Nightwish fans, though I would caution all against using it as an introduction to Nightwish. It's not like the band has went through numerous drastic changes in style -- you can always count on aggressive symphonic metal with this band -- but Angels Fall First simply doesn't have as many wonderful songs as most Nightwish albums do. Instead, there are a few songs hindered by the vocal performances of Tuomas Holopainen, and yes, some tracks do come off as a bit "samey." A better starting point would be Wishmaster, a work of art I humbly bow down to and deem without hesitance the best Nightwish release to date. Once the symphonic metal audience gets their respective feet wet, it becomes safer to dive into Angels Fall First, an album that is rightfully deserving of a certain amount of praise, but falls uncomfortably short of perfection.





Recommended: Yes