Not So Famous…

The Holliday family from my church introduced me to some stellar goth/symphonic metal bands, and Gabe introduced me to some more. Out of all the bands to which they have introduced me, my favorite BY FAR is Within Temptation. I really enjoy the singer’s voice, and the music really suits her style of singing. (Especially on Memories…phenomenal song, really.)

Nightwish is another of the bands they’ve gotten me listening to, and I really like them as well.  They have a much harder sound than Within Temptation or Evanescence.  Their old lead vocalist was Tarja Turunen, who was a classically-trained opera singer. Her voice is unmistakable, for sure; sadly, that is the best thing I can say about it.

I like the music of Nightwish. I like the songs they have composed. I don’t much like Tarja’s voice. In fact, if I had to say that there was something that kept Nightwish out of my top 5 bands of all time, I’d have to say that it’s Tarja’s voice. I don’t like opera, and I can definitely hear the operatic influences in her vocal lines, and to be honest, I always found it a little annoying. Her voice is not what I would normally call “pretty”.  When she is singing softly, it’s very pretty, but when she is singing full-out, her voice is edgy and annoying.  The only reason I’ve been able to listen for long at all is because I find the vocal line to be only a small thread in the entire tapestry that is a Nightwish song. Their symphonic elements, their rocking metal elements, and the sound that is generated when these two elements are combined is far greater than the sum of its parts. Tarja’s voice only detracted from my enjoyment of Nightwish.

I was pretty happy to find, then, that the band fired Tarja.  However, it was through an open letter on their website, which is pretty sad. While I think that getting rid of Tarja was a great idea, personally, I don’t think that an open letter is a very classy way to do it, I don’t care how bad the person has pissed you off. I see their reasons for getting rid of her, her voice aside, but an open letter is a pretty messed up way to do it.

Anyway, I have heard some of the new singer, Anette Olzon, and I really like her voice. It’s definitely less operatic than Tarja’s, but I’d consider that a step up…big time. Many fans liked Tarja’s voice, and that’s ok. I’m not saying it’s not likable…it’s just not to my taste. I’m very happy with the switch to Anette, and I wish Tarja the best.  I’m glad Nightwish is still around.

I read something somewhere where a blogger was saying that the new album wasn’t bad, but that it wasn’t Nightwish. How arrogant are you to tell a band that they are no longer themselves? Tarja was not Nightwish. Tarja didn’t even participate in songwriting sessions or even rehearse with the band before they went into the studio. Listen to Tarja’s new solo song and notice the difference.  Nightwish is not Tarja and vice-versa. Nightwish’s sound is their own…the songs they write are Nightwish. It’s a different sound, but from what I’ve heard so far, it’s distinctly Nightwish. Tarja was just one instrument in the band, and one I feel they are better off without.