Nightwish...

[aprilethereal]

Once is by far my favorite. The best songwriting, decent  lyrics and no filler.
Btw, anyone else seeing them with Amorphis in December?

[Fiery Winds]

No, but I'm seeing them in SF in April! 

[cramx3]

And I am seeing them in April as well in NYC, with Delain and Sabaton.

[Ben_Jamin]

Am I alone in enjoying the original version of Sleeping Sun?

[CrimsonSunrise]

Just released by the band......  Intro track, "Shudder before the Beautiful"    Sounding good!  I'm assuming that's Richard Dawkins on the narrative?


https://www.hs.fi/mainos/advertoriaali/nightwish/

[Mister Gold]

Just released by the band......  Intro track, "Shudder before the Beautiful"    Sounding good!  I'm assuming that's Richard Dawkins on the narrative?

https://www.hs.fi/mainos/advertoriaali/nightwish/

From what I've heard, yeah, that's Dawkins narrating at the start of the song.

Anywho... this song is infinitely better than Elan. This is what I envisioned the band would sound like with Floor at the helm. She's still showing some restraint at parts, but you can hear her voice building and escalating through out the song, rather than not pushing her at all until the very last part of the song. I also love how proggy this song is too!

[CrimsonSunrise]

From what I've heard, yeah, that's Dawkins narrating at the start of the song.

Anywho... this song is infinitely better than Elan. This is what I envisioned the band would sound like with Floor at the helm. She's still showing some restraint at parts, but you can hear her voice building and escalating through out the song, rather than not pushing her at all until the very last part of the song. I also love how proggy this song is too!

  I can see this being a great live tune for Floor, in the last 30 seconds or so her voice builds to an awesome crescendo.  Live, has a lot of potential for her to really shine.  This song has a real hard edge too.  Along with some great symphonics and Kai shows his stuff to me more than Elan.  I'm starting to get excited for the 31st!

[lonestar]

No, but I'm seeing them in SF in April! 

Awwwww yeah!!!!!!! 

[bosk1]

Just released by the band......  Intro track, "Shudder before the Beautiful"    Sounding good!  I'm assuming that's Richard Dawkins on the narrative?


https://www.hs.fi/mainos/advertoriaali/nightwish/

Someone needs to photoshop oranges into Floor's hands in that pic.

[adace]

Great song. I like Elan a lot but I still prefer hearing those heavy riffs.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Ok that's more like!!! Epic and powerful and yes that's definitely Dawkins. Love the heavy riff section at 3:36.

[cramx3]

Fuck yea! This song is awesome and I love this quote from Tuomas:

The core of "Shudder Before The Beautiful" lies in moments such as gazing at The Milky Way on a cold winter`s night, seeing a photo of our Planet Earth, "a pale blue dot" taken by Voyager 1 as a tiny oasis in the unfathomable vastness of space, or when listening to music which momentarily takes away all woe and time.
And sharing those moments with people you love

[Cyclopssss]

I like. Ordered.

[YtseJamittaja]

Great song. I like hearing those heavy riffs.

FTFM.


By the way, I think Kai Hahto does his work well in this record. Sounds just like Jukka. Maybe a little bit too much though, Kai is much better drummer than those really easy fills shows.

[aprilethereal]

Wow, I did not expect that! Sounded really good, and reminded me of Once,  which is a good sign

[Zook]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

[Buddyhunter1]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

Yeah, I noticed that too. It's like Storytime and Dark Chest Of Wonders mixed together.

[CrimsonSunrise]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

I heard that too....  Not a bad thing

[Zook]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

I heard that too....  Not a bad thing

It kind of is.

[cramx3]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

I heard that too....  Not a bad thing

It kind of is.

Not IMO either.  They took things that worked in the past and added to it.  It certainly sounds like a NW opener but has its own rythm and feel to it even if the riff is similar.

[abydos]

I enjoyed the music for the most part, especially the ending. But the majority of the vocal melodies seemed meh on first listen.

[Syzzle]

After listening to Shudder Before The Beautiful and Your's Is An Empty Hope I'm beyond hyped for this album.

[yorost]

Is it just me or does Elan and (at least the beginning of) Shudder sound rather passionless/mechanical? At least Shudder gets better, but I'm not looking forward to this album any longer.

[cramx3]

Is it just me or does Elan and (at least the beginning of) Shudder sound rather passionless/mechanical? At least Shudder gets better, but I'm not looking forward to this album any longer.

I think the vocals are a little low in the mix and Floor's voice doesnt come off as emotional or passion filled.  But otherwise, no I dont feel that.

[yorost]

...nothing to do with Floor.

[Syzzle]

Well it appears the album has already leaked going to have to wait till I get home from work to listen to it though going to be the longest 8 hours ever lol (Better than 2 more weeks though )

[73109]

Listening to it. Unsurprisingly not liking it very much. Tarja fans will probably like this one though. It just lacks the melody, scope, and beauty of the past two albums with Annette. Ah well...so it goes.

[adace]

The album's definitely a grower. I do like it, but there's nothing here that can compete with my favorite NW tracks. I love the concept behind the album, but it lacks the diversity that the last two had.

Floor is a really good singer but here she sounds a bit too restrained and generic. Anette put a lot of passion into her delivery and made herself stand out, which is why I miss her in the band.

The good news is that Dawkins' parts are mercifully short and actually pretty tasteful, unlike the droning on Song of Myself.

Overall, I wouldn't call this essential Nightwish material, but it's definitely enjoyable.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Please tell me that there's no more 7+ minutes of spoken poetry.

[Zook]

Actually, Dawkins raps on The Greatest Show on Earth.

[lonestar]

 

[Zook]

That riff is almost identical to Storytime's, only sped up.

I heard that too....  Not a bad thing

It kind of is.

Not IMO either.  They took things that worked in the past and added to it.  It certainly sounds like a NW opener but has its own rythm and feel to it even if the riff is similar.

It shows a severe lack of originality. I'm a big Iced Earth fan, but I'll never deny that Jon Schaffer uses the same triplet riff over an over. It's kind of hilarious and sad.

I haven't listened to the whole album yet, but my current favorite is Weak Fantasy. That song is bad ass. The ballad is lackluster though.

For those who are complaining that Floor is restrained, do you want her to over sing? I don't understand that criticism. Just because a singer can belt it out doesn't mean they should. It still has to work within the song. I was kind of disappointed when Matt Barlow didn't wail in ever song on Pyramaze's Immortal, but he didn't have to. He did what was necessary.

[adace]

This album's grown on me a lot. Absolutely love it now!

The ending to TGSOE is beautiful, it conjures up images of the Planet Earth and Cosmos series.

[Mister Gold]

This album's grown on me a lot. Absolutely love it now!

The ending to TGSOE is beautiful, it conjures up images of the Planet Earth and Cosmos series.

I'm only just finishing my first listen now, but I'm already really, really loving it. Can't wait to see what all I'll pick up on in the repeated listens!

Dare I say that TGSOE might be Nightwish's magnum opus?

[Evermind]

I'm not going to listen until I get my earbook, so to avoid future spoilers, I think I'll be staying away from this thread for two weeks or so. Glad to see you guys are mostly enjoying it so far though.