Oceanborn

正式ベーシストとして Sami を迎えて制作された1998年リリースのアルバム第2作品。前作"Angels Fall First"とは打って変わったダイナミックなヘヴィ・メタルのサウンドとなったのは、やはりフィニッシュ・メタル界と言えば必ず名前が出てくる Mikko Karmila がミキシングに携わったせいもあるだろう。Stratovarius や Metallica らから爽快に疾走するリズムや重厚なグルーヴを取り入れ、さらに前作でも既に現れていた複雑でありながらキャッチーな曲展開などを発展させ、ここに Nightwish が完成、と言える作品になった。また、Tuomas 自身「本当の意味でのデビュー作品」と語る傑作でもある。

First of all, Oceanborn is a huge step when thinking about Nightwish's debut album, Angels Fall First. All the elements of folk music and ambience are forgotten, and instead Nightwish have concentrated on using Tarja Turunen's wide voice and playing pure heavy metal. Or, well, another description could be opera metal. Drama and a variety of melodies are used and effective, but overrule all expectations. Songs are catchy, but they have a long lifetime. Also, the whole band does great work: even though they seem like another Dream Theater-wannabe, Holopainen and Vuorinen use their instruments with patience and don't slope into unneeded tricking. So everything seems to be alright, but the album as a whole lacks a little bit of diversity, and sometimes falls into repeating itself. The songs are, however, very strong, and the album as a whole works great. Oceanborn is, so far, Nightwish's most successful album. ~ Antti J. Ravelin