Music Review - Oceanborn by Nightwish

I heard a track from this CD some time ago on an Internet radio station, I think it was ProgRock.com or it could have been ProgRadio.com. Anyway, I liked the track but I didn't pursue it further until a couple of weeks ago I was chatting to a girl I met who is from Hungary. We got onto the subject of music and I told her I liked metal and progressive metal. I was surprised when she said metal was her favorite too because she is in her late teens and (at least in the US) most girls of her age are into the usual hit-radio dross. She mentioned that one band she liked in particular was Nightwish and that the lead singer is a woman who was trained as an opera singer. I recalled the track I'd heard and decided to check out the album.

Well, I'm glad I did. This is an excellent album which I'd describe as melodic metal; very tuneful and lively. The vocals of Tarja certainly demonstrate her classical training and the keyboards of Tuomas give a nice classical vibe.

The band hails from Finland and I read on their website (Nightwish) that Oceanborn was their first album. If this is their first album then I'm going out to get more because they rock.

NightWish: Oceanborn