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.
I’ve been debating over whether or not I want to say I “wholeheartedly” agree. lol.
I have to confess. I loved Tarja, in many ways. I distinctly dislike opera as well, and there were a few of the old songs that I didn’t enjoy because Tarja’s voice got too operatic, but overall, I really did love her voice. She’s an excessively talented vocalist, and her sound is truly unique.
All that said, however, I also have to say that I LOVE Anette. When I first heard “Eva” (the first single they released before the new album came out), I was not impressed. Her voice seemed too rough, and I didn’t think it sounded like she could possibly have the vocal range to sing some of the more demanding songs. But I’ve now discovered that she really is a powerhouse vocalist. She’s not light and soft when she sings high, certainly. She really just screams it out. But I see now that that style really does actually fit the music better than Tarja’s voice ever did. There are a few songs on the new album that Megan and I just crack up trying to imagine Tarja singing. =P
What really makes the difference, and the reason why Nightwish is still Nightwish, is that Tuomas Holopainen is still writing their songs. Tarja never wrote. Tarja only sang. Take Tarja away, and you’ll get a bit of a different sound, but as long as Tuomas is still writing, it’s still gonna be Nightwish. The new album is definitely still Nightwish. Once again, one can only come to one conclusion: Tuomas is a freaking musical genius.
It’s brilliant, by the way. The new album. Have you heard it yet???
Don’t even get me started on Nightwish, though. I could go on and on and on. As I’ve already demonstrated…
=D
GO CHRIS!!!!!!!!!
*ahem*
You are a breath of fresh air. It seems like everybody who has heard of Nightwish LOVED Tarja, and are now furious that she’s gone. They also devote all their time to bashing Anette, which frustrates me to no end. (I have to say that my brother is an exception to this. He never liked Tarja, and does not bash Anette.)
I must admit that I never hated Tarja. I thought the idea of having a operatic vocalist coupled with a metal band was truly unique, and, although her voice bugged me on occasion, I loved her voice in combination with Tuomas’ brilliant compositions.
However! Now that Dark Passion Play has been released and I have heard twelve tracks of Anette’s voice coupled with Tuomas’ brilliant compositions, I must say that I prefer Anette to Tarja. Certainly, she is not able to hit the high notes with the same ease that Tarja did… But, to be honest, her voice fits the music more then Tarja’s ever did.
Unfortunately, this is one of the main reasons that people bash Anette. “It was Tarja’s opera voice that made Nightwish unique!! Now Nightwish is just one in a million other metal bands, and they are going to fade into oblivion…”
It’s those people who make my head hurt. It was NOT Tarja’s voice that made Nightwish unique. It is Tuomas Holopainen’s genius that makes Nightwish unique. As long as he continues writing, Nightwish will continue to be unique. There is no doubt about it.
And that is the reason why Nightwish’s popularity is still going up, while Tarja’s… well, I don’t seem to remember any of Tarja’s CDs selling double-platinum in two days. Maybe I just failed to see that, but…
::koff::
And now I’m going to stop. I am far too passionate about this topic, I think. :P Suffice it to say that I agree wholeheartedly with you, Chris.
Nightwish and Within Temptation are both fantastic bands!!
I’m glad you both agree.
I can’t ever remember Holopainen’s name, but if I recall correctly, he is the keyboardist? Anyway. the MUSIC is what is so awesome about Nightwish, for sure, and Holopainen’s writing is what rocks about Nightwish. If they thought Tarja’s voice was what made Nightwish unique, then they must have thought that crappy dialogue made Ghost Rider a truly awesome movie…lol.
Tarja’s voice was unique, sure. But what makes Nightwish a good band is the amazing orchestral sound…same as what makes much of Symphony X so rad.
And no, I have not heard all of the new album yet, but I have ordered the 2 disc special edition from Amazon, and am merely waiting for it to arrive. :)
Excuse me Megan, ever sense I heard the 30 seconds of Eva I knew Anette was ftw. So, you saying that Chris is a breath of fresh air is a load of crap. I’ve been saying exactly what he’s been saying. so, just to clarify. :P
But yeah, Anette > Tarja. No question. Good post.
I think what she was trying to say, Shawn, was that I said it all so much more eloquently, intelligently, and cogently than you could ever have hoped to. So while you MAY have been saying Anette was “FTW” for awhile now, my extremely insightful, logical, and coherent blog post put it all so much more clearly than she’s been getting it from you.
However, we all know Megan is far too nice to say all of that to you. So she said what she said. ;)
(Just kidding, buddy.)
no, your probably right. Megan has stated many times her goal in life is to kill me. This isn’t too far out of her way. She just ignores what I say. :P
Yup, Tuomas Holopainen is the keyboardist. And he writes all the lyrics and music. Excepting ‘The Islander’ on the new album, which Marco (the bassist and male vocalist) wrote the lyrics for. Incidentally, that is an awesome song!!
Oooooh, the two-disc album is amazing!! You are going to love the orchestral CD. I guarantee it. =D
And yes, that is exactly what I meant, Chris. Your extremely insightful, logical, and coherent blog post put it all so much more clearly than what I’d been getting from Shawn.
::koff::
And yes, I know, Shawn. But as I told you, most of my friends have the intelligence to see that Anette is better then Tarja, so I wasn’t counting my friends. I was talking about the Nightwish fans in general.
…and btw, Shawn? It’s a 38 second clip of Eva. Not 30.
*angelic grin*
And guess what? I was the one who told you about that clip.
*another angelic grin*
LOL. I was only ribbing Shawn. I harbor no delusions regarding my incoherency. I know that my posts are nothing if not incoherent. :-D
ROFL. Somehow I knew the comments on this post were going to skyrocket once Shawn saw it. ::grin:: You guys crack me up. How awesome to come see all this after an excruciating final exam and have a reason to laugh. =D
Oooooh, you are going to LOVE the new album, Chris. It is seriously brilliant. The first song (“The Poet and the Pendulum”) is a musical masterpiece. As is “Meadows of Heaven.” And “7 Days to the Wolves.” And… well, pretty much the whole darned CD. =D You’ll love it. I can’t wait to hear what you think. And the orchestral CD… O_O. Oh my word, talk about amazing. The orchestral background (which you hardly even hear a lot of the time in the actual song!!) could be a movie soundtrack! It’s that awesome.
But I don’t want to talk it up too much. You’ll see for yourself soon. =D
And basically? The only way there will be a problem with Nightwish no longer being Nightwish is if Tuomas suddenly leaves or something. THAT would be a problem. But that’s not gonna happen. So I think we’re pretty safe. ::grin::
Oh! I remembered what else I was going to ask!
What albums have you been listening to as far as the old songs???
The only albums I have are Once and Tales from the Elvenpath. I like them a lot, except for Tarja’s voice, of course. ;)
ahhhh, I see Megan. Chris isn’t a friend of your’s? ;)