From an AMERICAN perspective, the most widely known and loved of the symphonic and other variations of Progressive music practitioners from EUROPE, is Finnish band, Nightwish

Born in 1997 in Kitee, Finland, Nightwish was the brainchild of Tiomas Holopainen. Initially an acoustic format was planned, however after adding the inimitable operatic style vocalist, Tarja Turunen a new direction was needed. He decided on following in the footsteps of the Gathering and Lacuna Coil (goth-influenced "symphonic" metal bands with female vocalists) and soon added full metal-band instrumentation in the persons of guitarist Emppo Vuorinen, bassist Sami Vänskä, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen.

This has turned out to be a recipe for success and fame as Nightwish quickly turned out four 5 star albums; Angels Fall First, Oceanborn, Wishmaster and Century Child

SONG / TRACK LIST
1. Bless the Child - 6:12
2. End of All Hope - 3:55
3. Dead to the World - 4:19
4. Ever Dream - 4:43
5. Slaying the Dreamer - 4:31
6. Forever Yours - 3:50
7. Ocean Soul - 4:14
8. Feel for You - 3:55
9. The Phantom of the Opera - 4:10
10. Beauty of the Beast - 10:21

"Bless The Child"

"I was born amidst the purple waterfalls.
I was weak, yet not unblessed.
Dead to the world. Alive for the journey.
One night I dreamt a white rose withering,
a newborn drowning a lifetime loneliness.
I dreamt all my future. Relived my past.
And witnessed the beauty of the beast"

"Bless the Child", 6:12, Very symphonic and orchestral, along with crunchy guitars and Tarja's powerful vocals , the structure of the song is difficult to put into words, atmospheric, symphonic, heavy, melodic, fabulous, majestic.

"End Of All Hope"

"It is the end of all hope
To lose the child, the faith
To end all the innocence
To be someone like me
This is the birth of all hope
To have what I once had
This life unforgiven
It will end with a birth"

"End of all Hope", 3:55, is a typical NIGHTWISH-track, symphonic and Power Metallic, similar to music on Wishmaster or Oceanborn

"Dead To The World", 4:19, the first song with Marco Hietala's voice. Takes a little to get used to, but Marco has a very pleasing voice, rather mid-pitched, contrasting and complimenting with the voice of Tarja. The music on this song is lush orchestral, grandiose, and complex.

"Ever Dream", 4:44, begins with Nightwishe's patented intro and refrain. reminds one of songs on previous albums but they were good, so this is good

"Slaying The Dreamer"

"I'm a priest for the poorest sacrifice
I'm but a raft in a sea of sorrow and greed
You bathed in my wine
Drank from my cup, mocked my rhyme
Your slit tongues licked my aching wounds"

"Slaying the Dreamer", 4:31, for the first thity seconds you'd think you were listening to Megadeth. Even when Tarja starts singing the similarities remain. This is heavy metal with symphonic passages, very, very interesting.

"Forever Yours"

"Fare thee well, little broken heart
Downcast eyes, lifetime loneliness

Whatever walks in my heart will walk alone

Constant longing for the perfect soul
Unwashed scenery forever gone

No love left in me
No eyes to see the heaven beside me
My time is yet to come
So I'll be forever yours"

"Forever Yours", 3:50, is a pretty ballad that many people would like but I found, soupy.

"Ocean Soul"

"One more night
To bear this nightmare
What more do I have to say

Crying for me was never worth a tear
My lonely soul is only filled with fear"

"Ocean Soul", 4:14, picks up the pace a little but I'm afraid not the interest level much.

"Feel For You"

"You were my first love
The earth moving under me
Bedroom scent, beauty ardent
Distant shiver, heaven sent"

"Feel For You", 3:54, a medium to medium slow number with a great Nightwish feel and dramatic structure, with brilliant vocals of Tarja and Marco, excellent orchestration, exceptional!

"Phantom of the Opera", 4:10, a very nice version of "Phantom Of The Opera". If Nightwish was going to do a cover, this is a great choice, for this song almost seems to have been written for this band, Tarja and Marco duel themselves vocally that it is pure ecstasy.


"Beauty Of The Beast"

"Long Lost Love

Trees have dropped their leaves,
Clouds their waters
All this burden is killing me

Distance is covering your way,
Tears your memory
All this beauty is killing me"

"Beauty and the Beast", 10:21, oh, how I like long epic songs and this is a dandy. This song is highly bombastic and symphonic, with lush orchestration, just a grandiose masterpiece!

Band Members

Steve Hardwick - Vocals, Voices
Tapio "Mongo" Aaltonen - Orchestral Percussion
Tuomas Holopainen - Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards,
Tarja Turunen - Vocals
Emppo Vuorinen - Guitar
Jukka Nevalainen - Percussion, Drums
Marco Hietala - Bass, Vocals

Other Reviewers like Nightwish too

"Holy symphonics batman ! This newest offering from Finland´s NIGHTWISH is outstanding ! The beautiful operatic vocals of Tarja are skillfully backed by solid, heavy riffing, tons of harmonics and orchestrational arrangements."

""Century Child" contains very moving, beautiful music and probably is my favourite NIGHTWISH release to date."

"Altogether a truly impressive album with which NIGHTWISH show that they do not only rely on what had brought them to the top in the past, but also dare some experiments, which mostly have truly hit the mark"

"I have read several reviews of this, Nightwish's fourth full-length album, saying it's a let-down: that it isn't as good as "Oceanborn", that the vocals aren't as strong, and there's a guy singing on here, and baah baah baah. Those people are a bunch of retards. "Century Child" is the culmination of everything Nightwish are about. Every promise this band ever showed is fulfilled here, in spades."

"Simply put, "Century Child" is 2002's best album, and the best yet from Nightwish............it won't be easy for anyone, even Nightwish themselves, to equal or top "Century Child".

Conclusion

Nightwish is probably the most well known and loved femme fronted symphonic metal band in America, despite the fact they are from Finland. Although they are not my ultimate personal favorite in this Sub-genre, there is no dispute in my mind that this group is the top such group around. They are a prodigious and prolific talent that I cannot help but admire.

If you enjoy any form of progressive rock / metal including Gothique, you must give them a try. Also if you enjoy. Enya, Yanni, Loreena McKennitt, I would recommend Nightwish.

Similar Artists

Therion, Within Temptation, Edenbridge, Visions of Atlantis, Artrosis

Author's Note

If your wondering where the Killer Vees of my title came from, it was derived from the first letters of Voxpoptart and Vanwarp, two of my colleagues and Cyberfriends, with whom I seem to share a commonality of musical tastes and who also have written glowing reviews on Nightwish.

I know it's corny and a stretch but I never said I couldn't be corny.





Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Romancing