HUMAN. :ǁ: NATURE.

First up,this release will divide Nightwish fans.Those expecting Epica,Within Temptation heaviness may be disappointed,but this is a band in Progression,not just recreating past glories for the sake of it.Personally I love it.2 tracks 4 and 5 are OK ,but the rest are great music.

HUMAN :II: NATURE - Nightwish

2020 Release from Finland band Nightwish. Much anticipated release and as it turns out very marmite for Nightwish Fans

1.Music : Ominous strings begin the album,kicking in with tribal drums at 1.25,heavenly choral at 2.29 -a big sound! Floor Jansen comes in around 3.08 and rocks out around 4.47 - great chorus.Classic Nightwish !

2.Noise : This track was previewed before the release and is all you'd expect from Nightwish -heavy,choral,fast,orchestral - fantastic,catchy chorus at 1.08 - one of their best ever.

3. Shoemaker : On first listen this was my favourite track.So second play: wow,that choral at 3.49 from Floor is majestic,and all too short -wish we had more of this.

4.Harvest : previewed before release.Male vocal to a simple,jolly,folky song - OK filler and a pleasant chorus.Kicks in heavier 2.45 for the middle - a kind of a heavy jig track.

5. Pan :Kind of light Phantom of the Opera,with heavy guitar interludes,very operatic around 3.20.OK track -bit stop start ,but OK

6.How's the Heart : New single -again the pan pipe sound intros -pleasant vocal - no overstretch -then a catchy chorus - pipes then repeat.Good,easy radio play - Floor at 2-48 stretches out a bit -nothing like Shoemaker -but the intent is there.Decent single -OK

7.Procession: Nice synth intro from Thomas -this is more like it -great vocals from Floor -kicks on at 3.10 -this is classic Nightwish after 2 lighter tracks.With the first 3 - another highlight. Could have been longer....

8.Tribal:Love the vocal over the tribal drum backdrop.Heavier vocals on this one.Great metal guitar and heavy - more tribal drums at 3.00 and then gets faster ,but oh so short...

9:Endlessness: Final-track on CD1 -just over 7 minutes in length. Great guitar intro then choral keys.Male vocals,then duet- like this one - very operatic in structure.It is a slow track so chance to develop a bit.Grand ending to CD1..

Top tracks 1,2,3,7.9. CD1 rating 9/10

CD2 All the Works of Human Nature Adorn the World:

Not one for metal heads ! Very classical in composition Vista -very Ennio Morricone like Blue -has some Floor female backing Green: Pleasant with recurring Themes Moors: A bit heavier than the previous parts-some tribal drums-,but again a lovely recurring theme,you'll recognise from CD1 Aurorae:Harp and choir -then very orchestral - like this one ! Quiet as the Snow:Piano,harp,orchestra -quite relaxing -then reprises general theme choral wise - kind of very Arabian nights.. Anthropocene : Strings begin this one.harp and nice violin part -again reprising the theme.Cello joins in to a crescendo leading to final part Ad Astra: Final segment of this CD2.Quiet intro,then a spoken narrative ,a rousing finish with some backing vocals to finish this amazing album.

CD2 Rating 9/10

"Human. :II: Nature" shows a maturity and musical quality much better than the previous album, "Endless forms most beautiful". This album  is more "experimental" and it's a double album. The second disc, which is essentially an orchestral score with a film-like soundtrack feel to it. Since 2004's Once, the Finns have worked closely with the London Session Orchestra. The intro grabs your full attention immediately. This seminal the album is a concept album. vocals of Floor Jansen - this is a rare talent, able to sing with power, emotion and in a number of different styles. The vocal situation is made even more entertaining thanks to the Troy Donockley. And I cannot help but admire their incredible musical constructs. Nightwish have always been boisterously and riotously untamed, in both scale and sound. Nightwish bearers have just made the most ambitious record of their career and it may well be their very best, too. I have been playing this album many times and everytime I play, I always play it in its entirety. Amazing album, and 5 stars without hesitation.

Finnish symphonic metal superstars NIGHTWISH are like the uncle we all remember from extended family gatherings, the one whom nobody knew exactly by what thread he claimed membership, the one who always insisted on paying for group meals more for ego than generosity, the one with the over the top, larger than life yarns that always centered his touted heroics within their solipsistic frame, the one who smoked cigars continuously and blew the smoke in your face like it was a blessing, the one that everyone trash talked to each other, the one who elevated every such gathering from the unctuous familial ooze into a celebration of how grand life could be. That is NIGHTWISH, the band we love, only in private, of course, until now.

"Human.:II:Nature is the first NIGHTWISH studio release since the fabulous "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" in 2015, and it was worth the wait. Following a not dissimilar and equally grandiose concept, the premise seems to be that, if humanity is to survive, it must embrace nature, not as separate from it, as the biblical stewards if you will, but as an essential part of it, with an appreciation of the potential of our destructive nature to unravel its glorious and chaotic order. As usual it's a double CD, but this time the second disk is a symphony rather than a repeat of the first without the vocal tracks. For 30+ minutes, not even a distant snarl, riff, or disruptive moment is discernible, just stately melodies, strings, choirs, and a little narration to guide us along a somber soundscape relative to prior excursions. It serves notice that NIGHTWISH won't be confined by past conscription.

Disk 1 won't disappoint most long time fans, though the metal quotient continues to gradually boil off, seemingly at the expense of the Celtic overtones, augmented by the wonderful Troy Donockley and his pipes, particularly on the pub friendly "Harvest", the anthemic "How's The Heart", and the genre busting "Procession" and "Shoemaker". Whether it's the expected radiance of main vocalist Floor Jansen or the targeted precision of Marco Hietala, the personnel of NIGHTWISH have once again sacrificed individual recognition for commitment to something bigger than themselves and their fans, indeed all of them combined. It's no wonder that, even more than prog rock, NIGHTWISH counts film music as one of their bedrock influences, a realm where descriptions like too grandiose, pretentious, or excessive are devalued and mocked currency. That's why we need NIGHTWISH.

2020 has seen Nightwish with what to my ears is their finest work to date, as the individuals within the group combine to produce the album I had hoped and expected with 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful'. Here the bombast has purpose, real purpose, Troy's pipes have become integral, both he and Marko have a much bigger role with the vocals, and then at the front there is Floor. No longer is she the quick replacement who learned the set on a commercial airplane, no longer the third singer, now she stands astride the band like a colossus, prepared and more than ready to deal with anything thrown at her by Tuomas. With this album, the band have finally mastered their craft, and possibly created yet another subgenre, progressive symphonic folk metal anyone?

The music swoops, drives, demanding supreme performance from everyone, with Floor in particular being asked to sing in multiple styles, from the commerciality of Olzon and the soprano heights of Turunen through metallic gymnastics in a manner which neither of her predecessors managed. One of the major delights of this album is that although there is plenty of the bombast which one expects from the band, it can also quickly disappear as on 'Shoemaker' where the guitars stop to allow simple harmony vocals to take place instead. Towards the end of that particular song Floor is at her most operatic, lifting that trained voice above the maelstrom and bringing back memories of how the band sounded 15 years or more ago. Emppu Vuorinen has always reminded me of Tony Clarkin in that he has an unusual role as guitarist, very rarely taking a musical lead but instead there to provide force and presence, and here he delivers dramatically. Kai Hahto at the rear is also no longer the new boy, as he has been blooded on the road, and now is making the seat his own and has a quite different style to Jukka Nevalainen which works well with the new form of Nightwish being crafted by Holopainen.

Contrast all this to 'Harvest', a Celtic-style song where Troy is given the lead vocal role. Here we get some bodhran- style drumming, acoustic guitar, and even a stunning a capella chorus. I can guarantee anyone playing this will be reminded more of Iona than Nightwish, and it is an absolute delight. But not to be outshone, Marko has the lead on 'Endlessness' where his growls and attack are far more metallic. As if all this was not enough, there is a second disc which features "All the Works of Nature which Adorn the World". This is a symphonic orchestral piece in eight connected but far ranging movements which Tuomas describes as his love letter to our world. This isn't the first time they have had orchestral interpretations, but this time the music is totally different from the first disc, allowing the listener to understand that here is a composer of many different talents, and a band who are still reaching for new heights nearly 25 years on from the beginning. This is a simply stunning release from the band.

Economists and social scientists of all stripes utilize various metrics to try to determine the overall health and well-being of a society. And while we can all agree on the importance of GDP per capita and life expectancy as indicators of a society's overall well-being, no one seems to have considered looking at the extent to which progressive metal dominates a society's pop-music landscape as a possible metric. Certainly, a country like Finland that has swapped "Bieber-fever" for Nightwish's glorious symphonic metal has its priorities straight!

Despite relishing the fact that Nightwish is Finland's most commercially successful musical export, I find myself quite a bit less enthusiastic about the group's latest release HUMAN. :II: NATURE.. The album is chock-full of pomp but still manages to feel kind of bland. And while the first disk has enough likeable standard symphonic metal songs for me to have rated this album a 3 out of 5, the second disk's suite of purely symphonic music is underwhelming, to say the least. I would have expected Tuomas Holopainen, Nightwish's keyboardist and songwriter, to be a bit more musically self-aware and avoid producing a mere fantasy-movie- soundtrack-rip-off.

Eighty-one minutes of intricately composed and performed music that, unfortunately, I feel I've all heard before. I mean, to my ears, there is never any doubt in my mind, no matter where I "drop the needle," that I'm listening to Nightwish. I love that they think that they're trying to push the boundaries on what they've already done but, in the end, it's still just variations on exactly that: stuff they've already done. This release generated a lot of excitement in the prog and metal communities. To me, it sounds like Nightwish being . . . Nightwish! Tight, even virtuosic performances of strong compositions, it's just that I don't hear anything new or innovative. Even the all-orchestrated second disc is not anything that the band hasn't done before. Maybe it's more polished and concise this time (at 31 minutes) but it was fresher the first time. Floor is amazing. Tuomas is amazing. Emppu is amazing. Troy Donockley is amazing. Marco and Kai are amazing. But these people are always amazing--doing exactly the same thing that their doing here. I think it's time they pull a "Remain in Light" and all do a musical chairs instrument-switch. Then let's see what comes out of Nightwish! Excellent and amazing but I'm tired and old . . . I need something fresh and unusual to pique my interest. But of course, I can't help but recommend it to you--for you to make your own judgments. It probably deserves four stars, so . . .

I've known about NIGHTWISH at some fleeting capacity for over a decade now. My ears pricked by some of their music, but low on my list of musical journey priorities so to speak. I distinctly remember a high school buddy and band mate, who was a straight metal-head (not a prog nerd like me) a fan of In Flames and Children of Bodom, making fun of this weird lame band called NIGHTWISH and scoffing at the idea of a vocally female lead operatic metal group. That is about the time they got on my radar, but I didn't consider them much at the time. That conversation was back in 2005 or so. This week NIGHTWISH founds its' way into my rotating playlist once again, and my god do they sound good lately! So many bands seem to lose steam over the years, which is a shame and frankly unacceptable, when like any professional a band should be improving their craft over time! Clearly NIGHTWISH have had the support of their home country to improve upon not only their musicianship, but their production values, and pump some of those fan dollars into the overall quality of their brand. With this latest album, I've become a fan of NIGHTWISH, there is a clear evolution of their sound and fine tuning. Although NIGHTWISH had some really catchy and fun symphonic music before, it is with this album (and the previous) that show they aren't just a one trick. Not too technically impressive, not really all too progressive, but this is just a wonderful piece of musical art with direction and purpose. Now, yes, this album clearly takes an approach and inspiration from orchestrated movie scores. I don't find that a detractor at all, in fact, it elevates this music from a production standpoint to a tier far beyond most of the competition. For a band with home country absolutely in love with them, it is great to see that NIGHTWISH move in a musical direction that pays homage to the sounds of their homeland. At least that's what I think of what I hear the instrumentation used. Most importantly, we hear not one note out of place. I've been, possibly, overly critical of music where-as the fat was not cut where it should have been. Sure, I like a good jam session like the rest, but without direction and thematic purpose a meandering 8 minute jerk-off with no rhyme or reason doesn't cut it for me as a final product. This is one of the biggest problems I have with progressive music in general, the temptation for bands to play overlong unnecessary self-congratulating pieces and ruin the 'flow' of the artistic vision they've created. Not here, this is a piece of musical art with purpose. I'm not going to be the one to argue if this is progressive rock or not. I really don't care anyway. Musically concise, high quality production, and a value and respect for the time and dedication that their fans have given them over the years, that is what I hear with this latest 2020 album from NIGHTWISH.