ANGELS FALL FIRST

It seems strange to find one of my favorite bands here on a prog metal site, as Nightwish is more symphonic power metal than prog. However, it's great to be able to review this album here. What really makes this band special is the voice of Tarja Turunen. Really few bands have a singer like Tarja, and I fear that without her, it won't be the same again.

The music is classic power metal in the vein of Helloween or Blind Guardian, with the addition of synth. I tend to like the pure power metal songs less ("Elvenpath", "Astral Romance", "Nymphomaniac Fantasia", "Know Why The Nightingale Sings"), compared to the beautiful operatic songs. "Beauty And The Beast" is maybe the most prog song on the album: it starts with power metal tempo with a duet Tarja/Tuomas and then the rhythm changes - the ending part (breath cutting) is pure symphonic opera. "The Carpenter" is a mellow song with religious lyrics. "Angels Fall First" is a beautiful acoustic ballad. "Tutankhamen" is again a nice mid-paced song with an egyptian feeling. "Lappi (Lapland)" is mindblowing: very epic semi-instrumental ("Witchdrums" and "Etiäinen") semi-sung in Finnish ("Erämaajärvi") and English ("This Moment Is Eternity"). The album ends with "Once Upon A Troubadour", an acoustic track (bonus track).

Rating: 90/100