Nightwish preview

Nightwish
House Of Blues, Chicago
Saturday, October 27, 2007

Fans probably thought Finland symphonic metalers Nightwish were nuttier than squirrel turds for dumping their vocalist right after their most popular record. A stonesy move, for sure, but with it Nightwish proved a band can actually downgrade the singer position while upgrading the group.

Original Nightwish frontwoman Tarja Turunen was a good singer. Too good, actually. The term “operatic vocals” is used a lot in heavy metal, but never as literally as it was when referring to Nightwish: Turunen was actually a trained opera singer. Though the band, who released their first record in 1998, were very popular in their home country and broke into the American market with their 2004 Roadrunner debut, Once, they were also super duper cheesy. She may have co-founded the group, but Turunen’s style never fit – she sounded like a stiff opera singer trying to sing heavy metal, never like a heavy metal singer who also happened to love opera.

Nightwish are still plenty over the top on Dark Passion Play, it is symphonic metal, after all, but new singer Anette Olzon at least sounds like she has heard a Maiden or Priest record before. More importantly, she’s damn good — good enough to for an established metal act – but never so good you wonder ‘what the hell is this woman doing in a rock group?’

Paradise Lost open.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Nightwish’s “Amaranth.” http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/mp3/?=Amaranth

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly