OCEANBORN

Apart from the lack of flagrant prog here (that would come later), "Oceanborn" imprints the NIGHTWISH sound in a way that their debut did not. This is far more bombastic than "Angels Fall First"; it's their first romp, the first where they are clearly having fun and want to pound that fun into us. It even kicks off the tendency to start slow. After all one doesn't lead off with the crescendo else where would one go from there? The opener is fine but compared to the sequence that begins with Tarja's vocalise in "Passion and the Opera" and ends with "Sleeping Sun" via the Cossack thriller "Moondance" and the spine tingling "Walking in the Air" , it's nothing but a warmup act. Yes at times the assault is a challenge to these delicate wizened ears but well worth it in this NIGHTWISH rebirth.