Nightwish - Wishmaster

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Century Media
Catalog Number: 8001-2
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:50:00

This has to be one of the most anticipated discs for me this year, and many with me. I really liked the debut and I absolutely loved Oceanborn, hence I had to buy all their singles as well. I guess this Finnish band has reached the point where they need no introduction.

Wishmaster is their third album and it continues in traditional Nightwish style. The riffs are heavy and powerful, with lots of punch. Some of the riffing is perhaps even more complex this time around. The operatic voice of Tarja is brilliant and on some songs she takes advantage of her wide range, which provides more variation to the songs. The keys are great, sounding more atmospheric this time around. Lots of cool keyboard runs and dual solos with guitars are to be found. The bass sounds really good, given the perfect mix, which provides depth and heaviness to the sound. The pounding drum work is of course flawless as well. The rhythm sections sound extremely tight and powerful.

The sound is still majestic, bombastic and explosive power/melodic metal, with classical, operatic, folk and progressive influences. And it's melodic as hell. The song structures are slightly more complex this time around with lots of breaks, time-changes and instrumental runs. The orchestration and arrangements are perfect, and the melody-lines and choruses are really addictive and memorable.

The production is absolutely breathtaking and the CD practically begs for being played LOUD! Out of the 11 songs offered there is not one single bad track, which is really rare these days. One thing though is that it took me more time to fully appreciate these songs than the immediate addiction [I had] to the Oceanborn songs. So be patient, this disc just needs a couple of more spins before the songs really stick to you for good. What can I say, this album is fantastic from beginning to end, and whether it's better than Oceanborn or not, I can't say. All I know is that they seem more mature this time around and that this album is more even, when it comes to the quality of the songs.

Fans of the band will not be disappointed and those new to the band, do yourself a favor and get this CD immediately. You would not want to live without it.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
She Is My Sin (4:46) / The Kinslayer (3:59) / Come Cover Me (4:34) / Wanderlust (4:50) / Two For Tragedy (3:51) / Wishmaster (4:23) / Brace Grace Misery (3:39) / Crownless (4:26) / Deep Silent Complete (3:57) / Dead Boy's Poem (6:47) / FantasMic (8:18)

Musicians:
Tarja Turunen - vocals
Tuomas Holopainen - synthesizers
Jukka Nevalainen - drums and percussion
Emppu Vourinen - guitars
Sami V?nsk? - bass

Guests:

Esa Lehtinen - flute
Sam Hardwick - dead boy's voice (10)
Ike Vil - Kinslayer's voice (2)
Choir: Ville Laaksonen (tenor), Matias Kaila (tenor), Kimmo Kallio (baritone), Riku Salminen (bass), Anssi Honkanen (bass)

Discography:
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Wishmastour 2000 (2000)
Over The Hills And Far Away (ep) (2001)
From Wishes To Eternity (FI only) (2001)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Tales From The Elvenpath (2004)
Bestwishes (2005)
Highest Hopes: The Best Of Nightwish (2005)
End Of An Era (2006)
Dark Passion Play (2007)
The Sound Of Nightwish Reborn (2008)
Made In Hong Kong (2009)
Imaginaerum (2011)
Walking In The Air: The Greatest Ballads (2011)
Imaginaerum: The Score (2012)
Showtime, Storytime (2013)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Vehicle Of Spirit (2016)
Decades (2018)

From Wishes To Eternity (DVD/VID) (2001)
End Of Innocence (DVD) (2003)
End Of An Era (DVD) (2006)
Made In Hong Kong (DVD) (2009) Imaginaerum (DVD/BR) (2011)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)

From Wishes To Eternity (DVD) (2001)
End Of Innocence (2002) (DVD) (2003)
End Of An Era (DVD) (2006)
Made In Hong Kong (DVD) (2009)
Imaginaerum (DVD) (2013)
Showtime, Storytime (DVD/BR) (2013)
Vehicle Of Spirit (DVD/BR) (2016)
Decades - Live In Buenos Aires (DVD/BR) (2019)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin FI

Added: January 17th 2005
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: www.nightwish.com
Hits: 2878
Language: english