This might be one of the most long-awaited Nightwish albums ever, if only because of the soap opera that has surrounded the band ever since the unceremonious firing of frontwoman Tarja Turunen. Nightwish's power metal formula has always hinged to an enormous degree on Turunen's powerful, operatic vocals, which lent the band a ridiculously overblown and melodramatic sound that listeners generally found either unintentionally hilarious or just plain fun — or sometimes both.From the start, it's clear that new vocalist Annette Olzon brings a completely new sound to the band. Olzon's voice is much more mainstream-friendly, a high, pretty croon that lacks Turunen's range and emotiveness, but gives Nightwish a much more down-to-earth feel. Of course, this is tempered by massive orchestral arrangements and epic compositions all around, but for the most part the new Nightwish is more mallcore than power metal — heavy mainstream rock with chugging guitars and metal-oriented drumming. The single "Amaranth" is a perfect example, a simple verse-chorus workout whose main strength is a ridiculously catchy refrain. This is basically a big dumb pop song, but at least it's a good one. "For the Heart I Once Had" is cut in the same mold but doesn't fare quite as well; Olzon's vocals are dripping with radio-friendly sugar, but the chorus isn't quite up to the same standard as that of "Amaranth."
On the more metal side of things, Dark Passion Play kicks off with its best material. The 14-minute "Poet and the Pendulum" is full of signature Nightwish moves, namely overwhelming bombast (both musical and lyrical) and tons of orchestral flourishes. "Bye Bye Beautiful" is a straightforward rocker whose lyrics are an acidic (some would say classless) final jab at Turunen. "Master Passion Greed" is another heavy one that reaches into the same reserve of kinetic energy that fueled some of Nightwish's classic songs. Unfortunately, the other heavy pieces on the album become tiresome quickly, resorting to too many repeated choruses and pedestrian riffs.
Elsewhere are two surprising Celtic-influenced pieces that sound almost like a slower, more orchestrated Skyclad and are actually pretty enjoyable, and two ballads that are absolutely awful. "Eve" is dull and repetitive, yet was inexplicably made a single and probably scared off legions of potential fans. "Meadows of Heaven" is even worse, drowning in saccharine, although Olzon does stretch out her vocals a bit towards the end in an unexpected soul-influenced performance.
It seems that Dark Passion Play has been getting almost universally good reviews from the metal and prog-metal press, which to me is explicable only if you choose to believe that said review outlets are inclined to give favorable reviews to everything. Sure, this album is catchy in places, and might end up being Nightwish's biggest album, but even if its bloated 76 minutes were condensed down to 45, it still wouldn't be consistently good — even if you're resigned to Nightwish no longer being an operatic power metal band and instead beginning a transformation into a hard rock band with a hot vocalist.
review by Brandon Wu — 11-11-07 —
