Since the band’s formation in 1996, Nightwish has been one of the most consistently popular and influential symphonic metal bands in the world. With their trademark sound of heavy guitars mixed with operatic vocals, orchestration and numerous keyboard parts, Nightwish became immensely popular among metalheads across the world, particularly in their native Finland.

          In 2005, however, their singer Tarja Turunen left the band and their future became much less certain. They replaced Turunen with Swedish vocalist Anette Olzon and in 2007 released the album “Dark Passion Play,” but it did not live up to the expectations of many fans.

          Because of this, as hype started to build for their album “Imaginaerum,” I was skeptical to say the least. While I liked “Dark Passion Play,” it was certainly a hit-or-miss album with many weak moments in addition to its good ones, and I assumed this one would be at least as weak if not more so. I am very glad to say, dear readers, that I was one hundred percent wrong.

          The album starts off with the track “Taikatalvi,” a quiet acoustic song sung entirely in Finnish by male singer and bassist Marco Hietala. This is one of the first moments that I noticed that we’re dealing with a more refined Nightwish here. This is the first introduction of this kind the band has done, and it sounds nothing like any of their previous work. It sets the atmosphere for the album with its very soundtrack-like use of orchestration and choirs in the background supporting the singer, and builds fantastically into the album’s title track.

          “Imaginaerum” takes the momentum built up by the first track and runs with it at an energetic and tense pace with a chorus you’ll have stuck in your head in no time. Lyrically, this song, like many of the others on the album, deals with the idea of innocence and the importance of imagination with many allusions to literary characters such as Peter Pan or Alice from “Alice in Wonderland.”

          This is also one of the many tracks on the album that shows why Nightwish is frequently referred to as “soundtrack metal.” While many symphonic metal bands are clearly taking their influence from composers such as Mozart or Beethoven, Nightwish’s primary songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is clearly taking his from modern movie composers such as Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. This gives their music a uniquely epic feel.

          “Imaginaerum” is also without a doubt the creepiest album that Nightwish has done to date. Songs like “Ghost River” and the delightfully nightmarish “Scaretale” would both be right at home in a Tim Burton movie, feature Olzon doing her craziest vocals yet and use a children’s chorus just for that extra dose of creepy.

          While I could go on naming great things about various songs, from the Celtic-influenced “I Want My Tears Back” or the doom metal-inspired “Rest Calm,” one song sticks out in particular, the monumentally surprising “Slow Love Slow.” This song, which is almost entirely non-metal, is done in the style of a 1930s-era American lounge song. It shouldn’t work in theory, but for some reason it does. The slow, dark stand-up bass line, reserved use of guitar and somehow ominous vocal melodies show that these guys can take on any musical style and make it their own, and do so exceedingly well. If you only listen to one song from this album, make it “Slow Love Slow.”

          That’s right, the metal reviewer’s favorite song on the album is the lounge track. Sue me. For anyone who likes metal or even anyone who likes movie soundtracks by composers like Danny Elfman, I cannot recommend this album highly enough. If Nightwish continues in this direction, then their reign in the heavy metal world will continue for many years to come.


Four and a Half Stars

            Power metal as a genre tends to be somewhat stuck in its ways. The traditional formula of an operatic male vocalist, somewhat neoclassical lead guitar parts, and machine-gun rhythm guitar riffs have served it well and many bands still play the traditional style without altering the formula much. That said, with their new album “Soulless Child,” Italian power metal band Ancient Bards have taken a unique approach to metal’s most epic subgenre, and by just making a few slight alterations to the formula, they've made an album which truly stands out.
            One of the first things that set Ancient Bards apart from their peers is that their singer, Sara Squadrani, is female. While this is by no means unheard of in power metal, the approach which she takes to singing these songs is definitely not the norm for female power metal vocalists.
            Generally, there have been two main archetypes which female power metal singers have followed, that being either singing in an extremely classical operatic style (e.g. Simone Simmons of Epica, Tarja Turunen formerly of Nightwish) or to basically sing like a pop singer. Sara, on the other hand, takes an approach more comparable to her male counterparts, channeling a great deal of power and aggression into the vocals without relying on an overly operatic style.
            Another thing which makes the band unique is their bassist Martino Garattoni. In a genre which since its inception has been full of simplistic bass parts which don’t add anything but support to the songs, Martino stands out. As soon as I heard the tapped bass solo in “To the Master of Darkness” (my favorite song on the album, for the record), I knew that this band was different. The technical complexity of the bass parts on this record is almost unheard of in the power metal genre and is a big part of what makes this album great.
            I’m sure what you’re wondering now is how the more traditional keyboard and guitar parts play into this. As this is power metal, one gets the usual movie score-type orchestral keyboard parts along with incredibly fast palm-muted guitar parts. While these are some of their less innovative elements, they’re done extremely well and it should be noted that their keyboard melodies do seem a bit more musically complex than those of many of their peers.
            While the rhythm guitar parts are adequate (nothing to write home about), it should be mentioned that the guitar solos on this album are some of the best I've heard on a power metal record in a while. Claudio Pietronik switches flawlessly from tapping to sweep-picking to full-on face-melting shred solos without skipping a beat in solos that would put many of his peers from more virtuosic subgenres to shame.
Some of the best moments on this album come from songs like the title track which feature outstanding guitar solos leading in to a keyboard solo, then back into guitar, wonderfully displaying just how proficient this band is at their chosen craft.
            If you enjoy symphonic metal or power metal of any kind, this is definitely an album you need to pick up ASAP. The musicianship displayed on “Soulless Child” is nothing short of masterful and anyone who loves lots of super-complex solos bouncing off one another is going to get a huge kick out of it. Although this is only their second album, I think it’s safe to say that Ancient Bards have a bright future ahead of them, and it will be very interesting to see what they come up with next.

Four out of Five Stars

         What are the first things that come to mind when you think about heavy metal music? I’ll give you a moment to consider. Are you done? Good. If you happened to come up with “Romania,” “Catholicism” “and “werewolves” as your answers, which I’m sure most of you did, then you’ll probably be intrigued by the band I’m reviewing this week: Powerwolf.
         Powerwolf has been around since 2003 spreading their unique brand of mildly gothic power metal. Their most recent album, “Blood of the Saints,” is possibly their best one yet, or at the very least the catchiest.
The album starts off the way anyone would expect a band like Powerwolf to begin an album — some good old-fashioned bombastic Latin chanting mixed with orchestral keys, pipe organ and militaristic drums. This leads into the awesome and hilariously titled “Sanctified with Dynamite.” The riffing on this song and on the album as a whole is kind of fantastic, and the tone of the guitars is really good.
         They also do a good job in this song and a few others of using the old, reliable “loud-quiet-loud” dynamic (in the case of this song: loud verse, quiet pre-chorus, loud chorus). This adds to the overall epic feel of their music which, combined with ridiculously catchy choruses, makes for a really fun listening experience.
         Powerwolf has gotten the whole catchy chorus thing down to a science, with each one being memorable and fun to sing along to. After a couple of listens, there’s no doubt that you’ll find yourself humming the choruses to “We Drink Your Blood” and “Murder at Midnight” whether you like it or not. The musicianship is good as well, with some great riffs, a couple of memorable guitar solos, and adequate drumming. But what really make this band unique are the keys and the vocals.
         The pipe organ-style keyboards throughout the album are done exceedingly well and add that extra layer of creepiness to every song. The vocals are mostly interesting because the singer has a rather gruff baritone voice as opposed to the usual high tenor voices with lots of falsetto that you generally find in power metal.
         Stylistically, the album is very power metal but with their usual gothic twinge. It feels sort of like if you mixed Sabaton with Cradle of Filth and then threw in some Iron Maiden riffs every now and then just to even things out. A few of their songs definitely rely on the gothic metal aspect a bit more. “Night of the Werewolves” has a Type O Negative vibe to it which adds a bit of variety to their usual style. The lyrics are their usual fare of werewolf lore mixed with bits of Catholic religious stuff here and there.
         It’s been questioned a lot whether the band is satanic or Catholic; the answer seems to be basically neither, as the various members of the band have equally varied religious beliefs. They mostly cover the Catholic aspect because they find it interesting and it makes for good lyrics rather than because of any direct support or opposition to the religion itself.
         This is probably the best work the band has put forth yet, and if you’re a fan of gothic metal, power metal, metal in general, or just want some good Halloween music, I’d definitely recommend them. One could question how they can keep this very peculiar thematic gimmick going much longer but they don’t seem to be deterred or out of ideas for awesomely cheesy werewolf-related lyrics, so I think it’s safe to say that Powerwolf is here to stay.

Four Out of Five Stars