Century Child [Extra tracks]

In many respects this is the strongest Nightwish release to date.The production has improved and the songs are more subtle.It is also stylistically different in many ways.Both the lyrics and sound are more Melancholic than before.Apparently this is largely due to songwriter Tuomas having a bad year.

This is the first album to use bassist Marco in place of Sami.He also sings in a couple of songs (Dead to the World and Feel for you).I like his vocals though Tony from Sonata Arctica may have been even better,as was intended at one point.Especially on the cover of Phantom of the Opera,which somehow does not suit Marco's voice.

Standout tracks include Bless the Child,Slaying the Dreamer and Everdream.However by far the best song is the closer `Beauty of the Beast`.A brilliant ten minuite epic in three parts.This is my faviroute Nightwish track,as well as my faviroute song of 2002.The first part `Long lost Love` was composed by Marco.It shows that he is a gifted songwriter,maybe as good as Tuomas.The second part `One more night to live` contains the climax of the song between about five and eight minuites in.Cristabel,the last part,is the repition of a theme with some narration before fading out and gives the song symmetry as it is a similar tempo to the first part.

`Forever yours` is the ballad of the album.Certain similarities with `My heart will go on` are obvious.However it is by no means a rip off of that song.This song has,in my opinion,the best lyrics on this album.

Although there are no weak tracks `Ocean Soul` and `Feel for You` are not quite as good as the others.There is nothing wrong with them,they just fail to keep my attention as much as the others.Phantom of the Opera is not quite as good as it could be.As I mentioned previously Marco's vocals could be better.In particular in the last minuite.

If you are new to Nightwish,although this is an excellent album I reccomend Wishmaster or Oceanborn first.These are the most consistent and have more immediate effect than this one.

To put it simply this album is truly sublime. I've listened to all of Nightwish's albums many times over, and Century Child is the one that really captured me. For those who don't know, Nightwish are bassically Operatic Metal. If that sounds odd, it's because it is, but hey, it works! For those who do know Nightwish, and are wondering which album to buy, I'd say that Century Child really does stand out as the best. From the beautiful flute accompianaments of Forever Yours to the full speed keyboard and guitar driven audio assault that is Dead To The World, this album is filled with powerful, emotionally evocative music that is, consistantly, beautifully executed. The vocals are spot on, both male and female, and the lyrics are as intriguing and exciting as always. However it's the music that really takes this one a step above Nightwish's other works, with some truly magnificent song arrangements. And of course Nightwish's famous hallmark, the 'strange but intriguing choice of cover song' is fully present and corrent in the form of 'La Triviata' from Phantom Of The Opera.

Century child is the 4th studio album from the mighty Nightwish. It is a dark album which, Tuomas described in interviews at the time `as the album that saved his life'. He was going through depression at the time, which is quite evident in the music you will hear. If you have listened to all of the Nightwish albums thus far you will hear the progression of the band, as each album they release all the way up to DPP is musically more epic and powerful than all the previous releases. Tuomas had not yet got to work with a proper orchestra yet however was able to work with the Joensuu city orchestra on 5 tracks meaning there are an extra 32 musicians at work. This album is another glimpse of the greatness that will come...

During the recording of the album there was a line up change where original bassist Sami Vanska, who worked with them on the Oceanborn and Wishmaster albums, was asked to leave the band. Tuomas said that they wanted to get a more proficient bassist and a male vocalist to add more depth to the music. This is how they came to hire Marco Hietala who was well known in the Finnish music scene for his powerful vocals with his band Tarot, he was also a great bass player and so they could by hiring him "kill to birds with one stone" a quote Tuomas gave at the time.

The album itself is in my opinion at least is an amazing creation with 3 of their best ever songs, and many others that are great as well.

1) Bless the Child- A great song that starts with a spoken introduction by Sam Hardwick, the same boy who spoke the final verse of the song dead boy's poem from the Wishmaster album. I has a nice vocal melody and a good guitar beat that is backed by a nice symphonic sound. A good opening track. 8.4/10

2) End of All Hope- A good song that has a good beat but not the most creative chorus in the world. Has a nice guitar solo if you can call it that, it's just too small, needed to be prolonged. 7.6/10

3) Dead to the World- A decent song that is radio friendly and has some nice lyrics and is also the first time you hear Marco on the album. His vocal style somehow works with Tarja even though she is clearly the better vocalist. 7.5/10

4) Ever Dream- One of the best tracks on the album and has some beautiful lyrics to accompany the beautiful music. Nice guitar riff and synth sounds, as well as well as spine tingling backing vocals from Marco. 9.1/10

5) Slaying the Dreamer- This is an angry song that utilizes Marco's Powerful voice to express this. My interpretation of this song is that it's about greed and the evils of money hence the lines
"You bastards tainted my tool,
Raped my words played me fool,
Gather your precious glitter
And leave me be"

There is also reference to vampires,
"Put a stake through my heart!
And drag me into sunlight,
So awake your greed
As your slaying the dreamer".

A great song and one of my favorites off the album, with a great beat that leads into Marco's vocals, a definite head banger at live shows and at home by yourself. 8.9/10

6) Forever Yours- A beautiful soft song that is the ballad of the album. Nice lyrics and slow soft music that compliment the song and that has a surprising amount of power. 7.7/10

7) Ocean Soul- A good song that somehow feels like an album filler. Don't get me wrong its good just not the best Nightwish have ever done. One of the more forgettable tracks but doesn't bring down the overall quality of the album. 6.3/10

8) Feel For You- Like ocean soul its good just not amazing, the best thing about this are Marco's vocals that are strong and are accompanied by a decent beat. 6.4/10

9) Phantom of the Opera- The best musical song of all time that has the amazing- don... don don don don don (sorry couldn't help it). Nightwish do a good job but the vocals in the end when Marco screams "sing for me, my angel of music"; seem underdone as Tarja voice just doesn't resonate from the speakers as you would expect. Listen to their version on End of an Era (9/10) much more powerful and overall a better performance. This version only, 7.4/10

10) Beauty of the Beast- This is the epic track from the album and the best song for it, and at a length of 10:22 is split into 3 different parts. The vocals are beautiful and the lyrics amazing. The music is jaw dropping and at the time their most orchestral song. The melodical changes in the vocals and the music are fantastic and will give you the hairs and back thing. It has since been outdone by the musical scores on Once and Dark Passion Play, but is still epically gorgeous. 10/10

Bonus Tracks:

11) Lagoon- A decent enough track that has a nice vocal melody from Tarja. 7.2/10

12) The Wayfarer- Another decent track. This is the faster of the two bonus tracks. 7/10

Overall Rating 7.25

A beautiful album that is well worth the price. You won't be disappointed if you buy it and if you're a Nightwish fan will find some of your favorite Nightwish songs so far. If you are new to the band I recommend you start with Angels Fall First or at the very least Oceanborn and work up album by album as you can hear the progression and evolution of the band. Another Masterpiece from one of the greatest music writers since the classical giants and a possible Hans Zimmer of the future. Tuomas I have no doubt could one day write a film score, I for one would love to see him working with Hans Zimmer on Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in the near future.

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