OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY

No, no, not a Led Zeppelin cover. On this EP Nightwish puts forth a couple of new tracks as well as a cover tune and a number of live tracks. Released shortly after the Wishmaster album this full studio-lengthed EP makes for a great supplement to it's studio parent. Of the studio tracks we have an excellent cover of Gary Moore's Over The Hills And Far Away, a tune they likely covered because the lyrical content of the song is so close to something they'd do themselves, and a trio of originals. Well, technically the fourth track is simply a remake of Astral Romance from their first studio album, but whatever.

As far as the songs go they're all quite strong. Over The Hills And Far Away does great justice to the original, with it's powerful drums starting the track and moving into the rest of the song. yes, of course, the song has been given a very Nightwish spin and if you didn't know it was a cover you probably probably think nothing of the tune because it's so close to their style. 10th Man Down is a melancholic (but heavy) tune with that ever present topic of war (well, in the metal scene anyways - this is a first for the band). A heavy riff and some nice vocals make for another standout song. ''Today I killed/he was just a boy...'', very powerful lyrics in this one make it all the better. Of course we're going to need a slow tune in here so Away makes for a slow and sad piece that fits the bill well.

Afterwards we have a wide selection of live tunes with picks from all their 3 albums (at this time), even though most of them come from the most recent (again, at this time) Wishmaster album. All the songs are performed very well and it's great to hear some live energy put behind them. The live tracks are quite a treat too since they band is more likely to put out singles and eps than live albums.

This is a very good ep and to be totally honest over the years it's been one of the more played discs in my collection by the band. Some great stuff here, although not much of it is very progressive, still metal and prog metal fans alike will enjoy tis one, Nightwish fans will be absolutely delighted. 3 men down out of 5, good but not essential. A good way to start with the band if you don't know them though!

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