NIGHTWISH — Oceanborn (review)

NIGHTWISH — Oceanborn album cover Album · 1998 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
martindavey87
‘Oceanborn’ is the second studio album by symphonic metal legends Nightwish. Released in 1998, it comes just one year after their debut, but already there’s a marked improvement in every aspect of the band and their music.

For starters, everything is more polished. The compositions flow a lot better and don’t seem as disjointed as before. The interplay between all the musicians, in particular, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is fantastic. Full of exciting melodies and energetic performances, the music sounds much more vibrant and alive on this release. There are also more varied influences on this album, such as ‘Swanheart’ with its folk influence, ‘Moondance’ with its exotic flavour, and a wide use of neoclassical runs used throughout. It makes for a much more refreshing album.

Then there’s the production. Wow! A huge improvement! While ‘Angels Fall First’ always sounded raw and, in my opinion, a little flat, ‘Oceanborn’, again, sounds much more alive. Everything is clear and well balanced and it suits the music perfectly.

However, despite all the praise, there are still a few filler songs, and in general, a lack of that “big” sound that Nightwish would develop more over the years. But it’s not really a criticism, as this is a really good release. And songs like ‘The Riddler’, ‘Gethsemane’, ‘Passion and the Opera’, ‘ Stargazers’, ‘Sacrament of Wilderness’ and their amazing rendition of the classic ‘Walking in the Air’ are all great signs that this band are developing and maturing at a fast rate, and are definitely destined for bigger things.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

… And the Universe Keeps Silent Death Metal
MAERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Le bannissement Atmospheric Black Metal
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
God Damned You To Hell Traditional Doom Metal
FRIENDS OF HELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Absence Melodic Death Metal
THE ABSENCE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 8 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 8 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 8 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 11 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 11 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed