Dark Passion Play (Limited Digipack)

The music is as always great, but the singer is not at the same level. Tarja is an other planet.

I was a great fan when Tarja was the lead singer and when I first listened to this album I wasnt to sure of Anette Olzons voice.

However I must admit that I love this album now and cant stop listening to it. My favorite tracks are The Poet And The Pendulum and Bye Bye Beautiful, they rock!

Looking forward to seeing them in Brixton :0)

Having never heard a Nightwish album before I didn't have the apprehension that existing fans would given that this is the first album without Tarja. But I don't think I would have anything to worry about as this is simply amazing. I am a long time fan of the brilliant Within Temptation and had been recommended Nightwish and they certainly don't disappoint. Annette's vocals are, IMO superb and are perfectly suited to Nightwish's metal/orchestral music.

The opening track ,The Poet And The Pendulum, is an epic 14 minutes long and to me is the best. It has everything.... metal, Riverdance style music, amazing orchestral/choir and endings with a moving melodic theme. Truly stunning. However I can honestly say I love every track (ok, possibly not Whoever Brings The Night) and the whole album amazingly improves with every listening.

I will never tire of this album!

When i first heard that nightwish and tarja broke up their music relationship i was extremely dissapointed(because every nightwish fan thinks of them as one and not as 2 different things) and afraid at the same time(because i never thought that the band could keep it up to their previous work)...and guess what!not only they kept it up,they went on an completely another level keeping their excelent sound and fantastic music.thats adaptation!
i miss tarja as everyone does...but the fact is that dark passion play in an album that fits anette"s voice so much!i mean,people that have no knowledge of the nightwish asked me to give them the album after hearing it once!that says a lot!

truth:best money i have spent on play.com!seriously! BUY IT!

There's been much arguing on the internet over this album, and whether Nightwish made a good choice with their new vocalist, but to me it's somewhat pointless to compare this to early Nightwish material. The band has clearly taken this as an opportunity to change gear and (in my opinion) further refine the sound that they've been working on for the last decade.

Dark Passion Play is a collection of songs packed with Tuomas' trademark creativity and determination to be both different and exciting at the same time. Similar to all Nightwish albums, the quality of material varies significantly, but as with their last effort "Once" there's enough weight, enthusiasm and polished production to successfully cover any cracks.

The new singer has a less operatic but very pretty voice, and some of the songs have clearly been tuned to work with her sound, which I think is a better approach than trying to force her to fit the music. General album highlights are Sahara and Eva, but they pale next to the opening track.

The Poet and the Pendulum is a fantastic tune. It's very long, hugely powerful, and is a perfect showcase for how orchestral and metal music can be integrated to their mutual benefit. Opening an album with such a monster is a potentially risky step, but it's such a good track that I can't see this as a problem. (The only other album I can think of which starts with a massive tune is Meatloaf's "Bat out of Hell 2", and that's also an excellent album!)

The only problem with opening on this note is that the rest of the album feels almost watered down, and never quite regains the highs of its initial song.

So in summary, I would say that Nightwish are still improving, and changing their lead vocalist has not harmed their development. There's still some adjustment for them to do, but Dark Passion Play nevertheless takes it's place as one of their best efforts, and given all the upheaval, that's a grand achievement in itself.

Ever since they started out way back, Tarja has been the cornerstone of Nightwish, her vocals were stunning. Now with new singer Anette Olzon, the powering dramatic opera vocals have gone, instead you have an Evansecence type singer. Yes, all the atmospeheric dark music is still there which I really like, but with a dissapointing voice. I am or was a big Nightwish fan, but it seems they have lost their way now, unforutnately.

Unfortunately its not that good.
Theres no way of escaping it, Anette will always be compared to Tarja. The main problem is that Anette's voice just doesn't compare to Tarja's and this album is just Once: Part 2 but it lacks the power of vocals that Tarja had.
There aren't any tracks on this album that jump out, grab you and make you think "Yeah this is really good". They all come and go without leaving any lasting memory.
The only real highlights of the album being Amaranth, The Islander and 7 Days To The Wolves.
Then theres the 2nd cd where, perhaps, Toumas ego shine's through as it is an instrumental version of the entire album. As ok as some of the tracks are, the full album instrumentally can be a pain to listen through. The album lacked any real hooks when you could the vocals without them, its just too repetitive.
If you've never heard Nightwish before this is as good a place as any to start (what with the change of singer). If you're a big fan of Tarja's then avoid this like a swarn of angry bees.

Nightwish used to be THE operatic, female fronted metal band. However, with the dissmisal of Tarja in 2005, Nightwish ended one glorious era, to dive back into a second.

The opening track, The Poem and The Pendulum, is quite epic. Similar to Epica's title song on the album "The Divine Conspiracy", it is 14mins long. And during those 14 mins, nearly every emotion is played through the strings of one instrument or the vocals of the lead boy soprano or Anette herself.

The second track ( and my favourite ) Bye Bye Beautiful, about the departure of Tarja, is pretty awsome. For a start, Marco sings well throughout the whole piece and, around 2/3 of the way thorugh the song, there is a dramatic break. In which, the sentence "How blind can you be? Can't you see me?" is echoed / whispered.

The third, and second single, track is Amaranth, which is comparable to Nemo in many ways. It starts with a memorable piano (which has a layered synth sound) intro, followed by an orchestral / metal outburst. This song has the "repeat" factor.

The next track, sounding, and seems to be, fairly gothic. Cadence of Her Last Breath. The starting seconds is someone's heavy breathing, then into a heavier metal, I wont go into this song as I think it will ruin the surprise of how good it is...

Master Passion Greed, allegedly, and obviously is Nightwish at their heaviest yet! With growls (not in death metal style though) and Marco's rugged voice, its truly going to get you cranking the volume up and head-banging along!

I will skip Eva, as I don't think words can justify it...it is just to heavenly.

Sahara and Whoever Brings The Night, are again, quite heavy. They are examples of the new Nightwish era, and what is in store for the next album (presuming there will be one!). Featuring recurring rifts and Anette's vocals, these are true stunning additions to the album.

For The Heart I Once Had, is a slower song (as are 3 of 4 of the last tracks!) but is still good. It helps to demonstrate Anette's vocal range and moreover challenges the emotion of the listener, especially over the small instrumental break; where by Anette sings "Time will not heal the dead boy's scars, time will kill".

The Islander, written and sung by Marco, is a more traditional piece of their native Finland, featuring various instruments of Finland and sung in a truly stunning style, completely opposite to Seven Days To The Wolves.

Last of the Wilds, an instrumental piece, should defiantly be added to your play-list. Starting with a Irish/Finnish violin being then emphasised by guitars, is stunning. I listened to this about 5 times in a row!

7 Days To The Wolves, conviniantly only just over 7 minutes long, is stunning, this is one of the most publicised tracks, thus, I shall not go into it, besides, you'll find out for yourselves what it is like...

Meadows Of Heaven, with its gospel choir and stunning vocals by Anette. Is truly emotional, you should be in tears by the end of this song!

Dont compare them to what they were with Tarja. Think of it as a new band, and you will grow to love them once more!

5/5, well done
Anette Blyckert.

I will admit, that I for one did enjoy the more classical voice of Tarja. However I do not think that this album will split Nightwish fans too much. Yes its different, and yes, I would say that the old era can beat it.
However, take this cd and listen to it and you will know it it Nightwish. The music is as good as ever and the variation of songs is superb. Anette's voice may not be the same as Tarja's but it still has power and range. And of course you get the mail vocals from Marco, which add a great dimension to the songs.
If you doubt the album still, then just give 'The Poet And The Pendulum' a listen. I would say it is the best on the album, such an epic song.
The digipack itself is also beautifully put together. A double cardboard CD case with beautiful artwork. The lyrics booklet also has a different picture to represent each song. And then you have a bonus disc with EVERY song in instrumental. This really is a great product.

im a huge nightwish fan old era . its ok but not great there is only about 4 songs i like .rest is crap .