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Imaginaerum, the seventh album from Finnish symphonic metal act Nightwish, is not, in any way, an easy album to review. Somewhere in this album I’m pretty confident that a masterpiece, a work of art even, is just waiting to be found. Unfortunately finding it really is the trick here. This is not an album that can really be judged fairly from a single or even a few listens. During my early listens I have to say I thought this album was the worst thing the band had ever done, and the next couple didn’t make it seem any better either. In fact, three listens down the road I actually started writing a very different review than this one for the album, one that would have seen Imaginaerum ranked alongside the very worst releases I’ve reviewed from 2011. But this is an album by Nightwish, and that means it isn’t something I write off lightly. Nightwish was one of the very first metal bands I discovered, and one whom I stuck by even when they did the unthinkable and fired their stunning vocalist Tarja Turunen. I felt I owed it to myself perhaps most of all to keep trying Imaginaerum in an attempt to get it to click. Finally, after about half a dozen listens, the album started to give up the goods.
I think that in one way Nightwish deliberately tried to mislead their audience in the build up to the release of Imaginaerum. I’m talking of course about its lead single, Storytime, a track that is so much the most typical Nightwish track on offer that it gave me a strong sense of ‘I’ve heard this all before’ when listening to it. Still does for that matter but read on. It’s most certainly a safe bet for the first single, and anyone who liked the band’s last couple of albums Once (2004) and Dark Passion Play (2007) are likely to lap this track up. The fact of the matter is though that this really is the most typical Nightwish track on Imaginaerum, and the rest of the album reveals surprise after surprise. This is still mostly a symphonic metal album, although Nightwish’s power metal inclinations have been largely dropped on this one, to be replaced by a whole host of other things including a healthy dose of Celtic folk, along with more moderate doses of folk metal, jazz, and even avant-garde metal stuff. You could I guess even consider it somewhat cabaret.
Imaginaerum is a release that just promised to be grandiose. To a point it is, but for me, even though now I’ve got into the album, I find it to be something of a disappointment. The burning question really is what happened to the twenty minute track that was spoken of in some interviews while the album was in production. While artists saying things before their albums are out and changing their minds during production isn’t uncommon, I can’t help but feel some kind of sadness for the total absence of this idea. Nightwish leader Tuomas Holopainen is a great symphonic metal composer. He proved that extremely well with Dark Passion Play’s epic opener The Poet and the Pendulum, which was and still arguably is the band’s crowning achievement. The idea of an even more epic twenty minute track had a lot of appeal for me, as I’m sure it did for many others as well. The closest we get is Song of Myself, which in comparison to what was expected comes as a kick in the teeth really. It’s good enough I suppose, but deep down is really only half a song, since the second half of it is given over to a recital of a poem that inspired the track. It fits into the album pretty well, being the second from last track when things are starting to reach a conclusion, but given what was originally spoken of, it’s a kick in the teeth all the same, mostly because in context of all the tracks, it’s not really an album highlight. Given that even with the poem this is ‘the epic one’ of the album, and ignoring the above which you may argue is personal bias on my part, this is still the most disappointing thing about Imaginaerum. There’s nothing that relives the glory of Nightwish’s past epics.
That is not to say that Imaginaerum is without any highlights. The highlights here are just to be found in shorter tracks such as the semi folk metal infused piece I Want My Tears Back, or one of the few power metal influenced numbers, Last Ride of the Day. I must say that I’ve become extremely partial to Scaretale above all others though, a seven and half minute track that on the face of it may seem another typical Nightwish track with epic symphonic parts, but is also an excursion into the weird and wonderful realm of the avant-garde, mostly in the vocal department. This is a real wacky song and totally unexpected, though perhaps not as much so as Slow, Love, Slow, a jazz track inspired by American 1930’s nightclub music. That isn’t really a favourite of mine in any way, but they pull it off pretty well. It works with the album, although along the lines of Imaginaerum taking a while to reveal its secrets, this one did seem very boring at first.
Slow, Love, Slow is just one of a few ballad tracks. The opening Taikatalvi, a Finnish language track sung by Marco Hietala alone, while more of an introduction than anything also falls into this category, as does Turn Loose The Mermaids and The Crow, The Owl and The Dove. Of those latter two I would consider Turn Loose the Mermaids to number amongst Imaginaerum’s very best tracks. This is very Celtic folk flavoured, and a beautiful song. The Crow, The Owl and the Dove is pretty much in the same vein, but just doesn’t hold as much charm as Turn Loose the Mermaids, which has quite addictive lyrics. Normally for a metal album I might criticise this amount of balladry, but since its symphonic metal, a style that doesn’t shy away from commercial ideas, it gets away with it, although this is also because that Turn Loose the Mermaids, along with Scaretale, represents the very best of what Imaginaerum has to offer. You might argue that it’s a problem that ballads are better than the metal tracks in a metal album, but somehow that doesn’t really matter with Imaginaerum. Imaginaerum may be primarily a symphonic metal album, but it’s very clear that it isn’t intended to be tied down to a single genre. I really like that about it, although it really did throw me off a bit during those early listens. Prior to this you might have, not unjustly in my opinion, have said that Nightwish was becoming a predictable band. Then along comes Imaginaerum to slap you in the face; you’re stunned for a moment, but it’s now got your attention. In this case you’ll realise that Nightwish isn’t quite as stagnant as you may have thought.
There’s also some instrumental stuff on the album, in the form of the interlude Arabesque, and the closing title track, which reprises all the main themes from the other songs on the album, with the intent of forming an ending credits style piece. As you’re likely aware, the album Imaginaerum is to be accompanied by a movie of the same name, to be released during 2012. It seems that these tracks are designed more for the film than the album, but they work well enough. I actually quite like the reprises at the end as they give a feeling of closing to the musical journey that is Imaginaerum.
A Nightwish review probably wouldn’t be complete without some mention of the vocals, since new vocalist Anette Olzon attracted much criticism with her first outing with the band, though I think it is fair to say that much of this was because she wasn’t Tarja Turunen II. Mind you knowing people like I do, she’d likely have got just as much criticism if she had sounded exactly like Tarja. Regardless I am impressed with her vocals more on Imaginaerum than I was on Dark Passion Play. She sounds like she belongs here now, more so because of Nightwish breaking their mould with Imaginaerum. Much of Dark Passion Play’s material seemed to scream for Tarja’s abilities, but Imaginaerum seems much more tailored for Anette. Marco Hietala’s vocals work well as always, ranging from melodic to some more gruffer stuff, as used in Ghost River, which is another quite weird track, albeit not up to the weirdness level of Scaretale.
Coming full circle with my opening paragraph, I’m very sure that there’s a masterpiece hidden in Imaginaerum somewhere, but ultimately I’m yet to find it even though I really enjoy the release now and have listened to it several times prior to writing this review. Maybe many listens down the track I may feel the need to revisit this review, but for now the album does ultimately stand as just a generally positive experience, but nothing more. It is still a disappointment in some aspects, and to be honest this isn’t really significantly better or worse than the last couple of albums by the band, but I do feel that it is a step in the right direction for the band given the decision to go with a lead singer so drastically different from her predecessor. This is a Nightwish whose music doesn’t need the operatic vocal. This is a Nightwish who prove that they can still make a symphonic metal album that isn’t overly commercial. This is a Nightwish who, disappointments aside, have awakened my interest in them anew. Now I’m just left hoping they don’t leave it so long between albums again. In the meantime there’s the accompanying film to look forward to, which if it’s any bit as mad as the album, promises to be one wild ride in itself.
8.3/10
(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)