(Nuclear Blast / Roadrunner)
Rating: 8.0
In some ways, this is the most important record of the Finns’ career. Even more so than Dark Passion Play, which had the natural intrigue of Annete Olzon coming aboard, replacing operatic singer Tarja Turunen, while the band was predominately a European phenomenon prior to that album, Nightwish is now an international headliner.
Over two years of touring and the constant Anette vs. Tarja debate played out in the media and countless online metal forums, seemingly everyone now has an opinion on the band, regardless of how many Tuomas Holopainen penned albums they own. They could have taken the money and run, released an overly commercial disc, full of pop songs and ballads and watched their bank accounts swell.
That has never been Holopainen’s motivation. A visionary concerned with artistic integrity, at the expense of financial sanity, thankfully (for him) there are millions who enjoy his unique craft and will pay for it, enabling him to continue on what some may see as flights of fancy.
Case in point, Imaginaerum, not just the latest Nightwish platter, but also the soundtrack to a full-length feature film of the same name. Truthfully, when initially proposed, I had thoughts of grandiose and pomposity. Should have had more faith in my friend Tuomas!
What we get are a baker’s dozen, mostly tasty confections that sample the band’s back catalog (even back to Century Child), and one or two new flavors that are a little hard to digest, at first.
All the classic elements are there: Olzon’s occasional ABBA tinged pop vocals juxtaposed with bassist Marco Hietala’s gruffness, symphonic instrumentation (“Scaretale”, concluding, all-instrumental title cut), Highland pipes (“I Want My Tears Back”), children’s choir (“Ghost River”, “Rest Calm”).
What we haven’t heard before is the sultry, cabaret/jazz club ballad “Slow Love Slow”, complete with trumpet accents. The ticking of the clock (wound to start the album, leading into “Taikatalvi” opener) crops up periodically throughout the disc, but what fans truly want is the upbeat, bombastic keyboard driven anthems, the style that launched (too?) many imitations, and there are a few: first single “Storytime” and “I Want My Tears Back” most notably, but this is not a throw-away, “one-listen and it’s done” album.
“Arabesque” is a drum heavy instrumental, like a sirocco wind tearing across the desert. “Turn Loose The Mermaids” could be a lost Blackmore’s Night ballad. Three songs eclipse six minutes.
The massive “Song Of Myself” (13:37) not only features classical instruments and full operatic chorus, but several spoken word sections, by different individuals, sort of a sonic equivalent to life flashing before your eyes.
Closing the disc is the title track, which weaves musical themes from the entire album into one cohesive instrumental. This must certainly be used to roll the film’s final credits.
Remains to be seen how the movie plays out, but regardless, the album stands on its own (considerable) merits. An expanded edition features instrumental versions of all 13 tracks.
Source: bravewords.com
