Nightwish

More than a week ago, on Monday, I listened to the latest album by my favorite band Nightwish - Imaginaerum, which I had been putting off for two and a half months because I wasn't in the mood to listen to it. And I don't want to listen to music that might become very dear to me without being in the right mood. I promised myself that I would finish writing and post this, so here it is, finished and posted :) First impressions are more important than all other impressions.

I only listened to it completely once, but afterwards I played some of the songs separately several times.
At first, I was going to write brief comments about each song individually, but I decided that wasn't necessary; I'll just describe my overall impression. And my overall impression is positive. However, the pop sound that appeared on the previous album and seemed specifically designed for Anette's vocals remains. I was also a little worried about the children's choir – before this, I had heard it on two songs by different bands, and I didn't like it. But everything turned out fine; the children's choir harmonizes perfectly with the music, making it unusual and interesting. What else? I liked Anette's vocals more than on the previous album; she has changed her singing style somewhat. Just a little bit, maybe not noticeable at all for some :) Well, and of course, I enjoyed the guitar solos; I love them, they are one of my favorite elements of the band's work, their signature style. Give me a solo, and I can tell if Tuomas wrote it or not :) I headbanged fiercely to them.

I especially want to highlight the song Scaretale. The intro immediately blew me away: the chorus of children's voices sounds like a curse being read aloud. Then comes the orchestral part with the children's choir, brilliant Nightwish-style arrangements as always. And then Anette's "witchy" vocals. The word "witchy" is used here in a positive sense - it evokes images of witches, and the vocal part itself is performed excellently. And then comes the most brilliant part of the song. I won't try to describe it, but I will say that it evoked associations with old children's cartoons, when some kind of villain appears and starts cheerfully singing his dark songs. Imaginaerum works, indeed. Scaretale! A scary tale! In short, a masterpiece.

Among the other songs, I would mention Ghost River, I Want My Tears Back (a cheerful folk tune with an Irish bagpipe), Turn Loose The Mermaids (it reminded me of Blackmore's Night: a pleasant, fairytale-like, good folk song).


Guys, what do you think of this album?