ANGELS FALL FIRST

I was dragged into "Nightwish" by one of my brothers who was dragged into the band by his fourteen years old girl (at the time). She wanted to attend one of their concerts and he went with her. He told me that I should consider this band: some sort of Purple affair with female vocals. So, here I go for my first "Nightwish" review.

As some of you might know, I can't be called a (prog) metal freak. I only very moderately appreciate the genre. The prog attribute being too many times as thin as a sheet of paper.

As soon as the opening number starts, I thought: hey, another "Ayreon". Not too bad: strong composition, bright interpretation and skilled musicians.

It is true that some passages are clearly melodic (some guitar during "Beauty & The Beast") and that the vocal performance of Tarja Turunen adds a special flavour to their music. This is probably my preferred song out here. Fine Oriental feel and aerial vocals.

One of the softer numbers (but not the best one featured) is "The Carpenter" which is showing Tuomas Holopainen on the lead vocals. I have to say that the band loses a lot of its originality only by this factor. While Tarja takes over after half time, it sounds immediately better. Nice and melodic finale to be honest (just as during "Astral Romance" and "Know Why the Nightingale Sings").

"Angels Fall First" starts as a symphonic prog tune: fine keyboards, nice acoustic guitar and very high pitched vocals by the lady in charge. It is indeed somewhat different from all those (prog) metal bands out there. Beautiful and soft fluting are extremely pleasant and the vocal performance is again captivating. This album is getting better and better.

The Middle-East influences are back again with "Tutankhamen" (no wonder with such a title?). Actually, this feel is shared during several tracks and it brings some fine touches to the music. Vocals are maybe a bit pompous though.

The closing mini-epic (just over nine minutes) is another interesting song: diverse and fully tolerable by my old ears. Fine acoustic intro, nice keyboards and surprising Finnish vocals: this part is full of delicacy should I say. But I have to admit that the whole of "Lappi" is fully symphonic prog. The highlight for a symphonic prog lover as I am.

In terms of rating, I would liked to give seven out of ten, but I upgrade it to four stars thanks to "Lappi". Not too bad a recommandation, dear brother (not John, but Jean-Luc).