Album Review: Imaginaerum by Nightwish

Hey there! It's been a long time coming, really. I've been meaning to do this review after I first heard it but that would be biased. After listening to Nightwish's latest studio album for at least 100 hours I think I'm ready to write this review =)

UPDATE: I've burnt through 150 hours already so I'm ready for an follow-up review.

In this review, I'll cover the overall listening experience and then we'll do a song-by-song review, shall we? :D

Let's start by saying that this album is a big improvement over their previous album which was 80% bad. There are some songs in this album that are worth noting but there are those that are still crap. Orchestration plays a huge role in this album (thanks, Pip Williams!). When I say a huge role I mean in some bad tracks (that are unbearable to listen to) the orchestra really comes into play to *cover* up the mess Nightwish has done. A fact that a lot of Nightwish listeners don't know is the fact that Pip does the arrangement but Tuomas does the composing, a fact people often misunderstand. We'll talk more on that in the individual song review. Anette has been *harassed* by hardcore Nightwish (READ: TARJA) fans for a long time after the release of Dark Passion Play (2007) because of her poppy vocals that doesn't define Nightwish. I'm happy to say that her vocals here are a major improvement though not that great. However, she doesn't perform that well in big songs such as 'Song of Myself' where I think she sounded like rat squeals. Marco (bassist) did a lot of vocals in this album too but sadly enough his voice was terrible in a majority of the songs. At one point through the burning in process I skipped any part with him singing because I couldn't stand the noise he made. Anyways, the point of Nightwish (IMO) is to listen to Thomas' work and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He did a phenomenal job in creating this eerie yet fun theme for this album although the idea of 'a poet yearning his childhood' thing kinda reminds me of a certain individual who thought he's still a kid... (think hard, readers).

Song by Song Analysis

1. Taikatalvi: Nothing much to talk about this short song. It's a nice track to kick off this album indicating something epic is coming (if you're hearing it for the first time). Music is soothing though I've no understanding of the Finnish lyrics. My only problem in this song is Marco's vocals is a bit too harsh for the ballad-like theme. Still a nice song to listen to nonetheless.
(Score: 4/5)

2. Storytime: This song was revealed even before the album was out. It sounded very radio-ish and catchy which is both positive and negative. Guitars didn't really give that much of an impact but remember what I said about the orchestra covering the bad parts? This is one of those moment. After listening to this song (the radio edit, not studio version) I immediately said that Anette's vocals are definitely different and better. I've actually managed to play this song on piano a week after listening to this. My favourite part of the song has to be the intermission's choir. Overall, I like this song (meaning I can repeatedly listen to this) but it isn't the strongest song nor my favourite.
(Score: 4/5)

3. Ghost River: After listening to this over and over again I can only conclude this as an average song. I don't like the guitars and the bridge (before chorus). Marco's voice is definitely bad and the music sounded extremely radio-ish. Choir comes to play after the second chorus which definitely saved this song so again: credits to Pip Williams for arranging the orchestration superbly. Other than that it's a song I would skip when it plays.
(Score: 2/5)

4. Slow, Love, Slow: This song received mixed review and it isn't hard to see why. It's like listening to an 80's soft classical ballad with a eerie twist to it. It's my 2nd favourite song, if you're wondering. I like how Anette blends in with the jazzy music and Marco's voice isn't that bad in this song (you can't really hear him anyways). The absence of any *metal* in this music gives you the idea that this album has diversity. After the 2nd chorus I usually end up skipping.
(Score: 4/5)

5. I Want My Tears Back: Back to metal, lol. I definitely love this song and was an instant favourite (before hearing #11). Nothing much to complain about this track 'cuz they did a bang up job, really. Where's the wonder, where's the awe? Right here.
(Score: 4/5)

6. Scaretale: After 150 hours of listening to this album, I still find myself skipping this song. I'm trying to not do that but the song is BAD in a lot of ways. Anyways, I hate the intro. It's creepy. Biased? Not really. Stating the obvious as a lot of my friends had similar thoughts. Honestly, I don't really like this song due to bad vocals and bad guitars. Don't even think the orchestration can save this one. Just don't listen to it.
(Score: 1/5)

7. Arabesque: a 3 minute instrumental track that I really enjoy though the final track (also instrumental) is much stronger than this. Kinda has an middle-eastern theme. I thought I was watching Aladdin when I first heard it. Mixed feelings. Good or bad? You decide.
(Score: 3/5)

8. Turn Loose the Mermaids: What is it with me and these slow Nightwish songs? I'm not sure but I can tell you that this is another favourite of mine. I like Anette's subtle vocals in this song. Nope, Tarja would never manage to do it like Anette did. Anyway, good job Nightwish.
(Score: 4/5)

9. Rest Calm: Mixed feelings, again. I don't like Marco's vocals at all. There's no strength to it. The music, on the other hand, is catchy for it being the 3rd song I managed to play on piano after listening to it. The choir at the intermission is (once again) the song saviour.
(Score: 3/5)

10. The Crow, the Owl and the Dove: On the 11/1/12 Nightwish announced that this was going to be the 2nd single. It's a bad move, really. A really pop-ish song but not a bad one. The music is brilliant and the vocals doesn't cause bleeding ears so it's okay to listen to this over and over again. Problem: the middle part of the song (after the 2nd chorus) sounds very radio material-like. What was Thomas thinking? I'll say that the radio material makes this song very addictive so that should be a good thing.
(Score: 3/5)

11. Last Ride of the Day: Okay I might be too bias last time. This song is still my favourite after listening to it repeatedly. There's nothing to not like about this song. Highly recommended.
(Score: 4.5/5)

12. Song of Myself: Thomas promised there'll be an epic song in this album a few months before it was released. I love all the epic songs by Nightwish (Ghost Love Score, Poet and the Pendulum, etc) so I expected big things from this song. To start off, the orchestral arrangements and choir (Imagineers) are simply EPIC. Anette could have done better in the vocal department as she totally let her poppy voice loose in this one. A major drawback but epic song nonetheless...that is until you reach the final half of the song. During my first review I (and a majority of their listeners) mentioned that the poem recitation is bloody pain to listen to but that isn't the case now. When I listen to the entire album this is the part I looked forward to ALL THE TIME. It's soothing and the melody: spot on.
(Score: 4.5/5)

13. Imaginaerum: Another favourite of mine.Yes, it may be a medley of all the songs in the album but it's still a great listen.
(Score: 4.5/5)

There you have it. Those are my thought's on Nightwish's Imaginaerum. It's a little biased 'cause it's my 2nd favourite band (next to Dark Tranquillity) so haters can hate. Don't start on the Tarja should have never been fired. I moved on, why can't you? I know non of the songs scored a perfect 5 because none of the songs had my mind blown but songs #8, #11, #12 and #13 are strong tracks that might have just saved this album.  This is entirely my opinion and you're free to comment if you disagree.

OH! If any of you readers are audiophiles or semi-audiophiles I would like you to recommend good studio headphones that caters to metal listening. Thanks for your help and thanks for reading =)

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