Tag Archives: Nightwish

Epica – Design Your Universe (2009) – Review

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Well, is it better than the other records or is it not? After Consign to Oblivion I grew a bit wary of what I was going to find in this Pandora’s box that this band usually delivers. Much to my relief, Epica‘s fourth studio album Design Your Universe is probably one of the better records – previous and past. It kind of sounds like a mix between Delain, Within Temptation and Nightwish fueled by top quality vitamins. They actually quite shamelessly erred on the latter’s territory.

But seriously, this is probably one of the most authentic and complex albums this side of The Phantom Agony.… [...] Click to raid more!

Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015) – Review

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Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Album Cover

They kept their brand alive, yet again. My fears that this time we would be faced with something entirely different did not materialize. But this very same and familiar style is presented with an added edge to boot.

The album is darker and more direct, a tad louder than before. You will also find a distinct or – shall we say – pretty heavy use of symphonic and folk elements. Which is yet another hallmark of their 8th full-length studio album Endless Forms Most Beautiful. So, this is undeniably Nightwish, but refreshingly different from their last record Imaginaerum… [...] Click to raid more!

Epica – The Phantom Agony (2003) – Review

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Ah, I am relieved! Just listening to Epica and their June 2003 debut concoction The Phantom Agony. This is a surprising quality and depth for a band so young. Especially after just having reviewed their 2014 Little Booklet of Night Horrors The Quantum Enigma, which was kind of out of control. A real pity by the way. Frankly, I was a little fearful to find something very similar in this record.  

Usually, I am not too fond of operatic productions. Most of the time, them bands just serve you with too much pretentious and bombastic bullshit to keep a … [...] Click to raid more!

Tuomas Holopainen – The Life and Times of Scrooge (2014) – Review

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No, it is not Metal. And it is not Nightwish – for sure, whereas there are similarities as described further down below. Tuomas Holopainen‘s 2014 solo project The Life and Times of Scrooge is nothing more (and nothing less) than a soundtrack for a story. A graphic novel – that never quite became a film – kind of in waiting for a film project to emerge. And it is a great story, by the way.

When I first learned about The Life and Times of Scrooge way back last year, I thought this was just a crazy idea (I … [...] Click to raid more!