First impressions are everything. For Nightwish – one of the most heralded acts to ever emerge from Finland – their debut album Angels Fall First was famously considered an “extended demo” by bandleader Tuomas Holopainen. Of course, at this point and time the band was a fledgling, yet promising power metal band from Scandinavia – and on 1998’s sophomore album Oceanborn, it’s clear the band’s ambition and scope were destined to plot a course for similar, yet disparate gothic and symphonic acts to follow.
Of course when you’re armed with the powerhouse, three octave (!!!) vocal range of one Tarja Turunen, forging your own path to stardom is much easier. Even more so when you’re surrounding by a plethora of talented musicians, especially the impressive keyboard work of Tuomas Holopainen. When you consider the guitars (which are stunning and epic in their own right) sometimes feel pushed to the backburner on some of the tracks, you really start to gain an appreciation for how Nightwish operate as songwriters.
It’s hard not to feel inspired and enthralled when hearing Oceanborn’s centerpiece, “Passion Of The Opera”, which sees the guitars being pushed up to 11, battling with Tarja Turunen’s dynamic vocals. It’s also hard not to feel the neat trick Nightwish pull off on album closer “Sleeping Sun”, cramming what could easily be a 7+ epic finale into something that’s barely half that.
Probably one of the biggest and most understated qualities of Oceanborn is how it propelled both Nightwish and other burgeoning stars to arguably more successful careers than would have been previously thought. Within 5 years of the album’s release, similar bands like Lacuna Coil (Comalies), Within Temptation (The Silent Force), and even Evanescence (Fallen) all hit major mainstream success in their native countries (and beyond) with a similar flair that Nightwish paved here. That’s not to say the nu-metal inflected “Bring Me To Life” has all that much similarity to, say, “Passion Of The Opera”, but it’s worth noting nonetheless as Nightwish’s success encouraged major labels (especially Century Media) to take chances on bands like Lacuna Coil – in different genres, of course. And while it’s true that bands like The Gathering had also emerged during this time, Nightwish’s Oceanborn was one of the first major power metal bands to add a strong classical and symphonic element to their music, too.
Anyone with an appreciation of classic, operatic, and progressive/power metal can certainly admire what Nightwish accomplished here. Oceanborn is a classic album for the symphonic power metal genre, and there are legitimately sections of the record that will blow you away. Full of grandiose musicianship that also knows when to take a step back (see the gorgeous “Swanheart for a great example of Nightwish dailing things back), Oceanborn is a modern classic that’s aged increibly well.
