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Nightwish "Imaginaerum" album

- Release date : December 2011 -

Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on November 30, 2011. The album is a concept album telling the story of an old composer on his deathbed, reminiscing of his youth. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish's "The Islander" music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story. The first single off the album, "Storytime" was released on November 9, and quickly topped the Finnish single charts. Imaginaerum was certified 2x Platinum in Finland on the day of its release, with more than 50.000 copies sold.

"Imaginaerum" album tracks and lyrics

"Imaginaerum" album reviews

Seventh album Imaginaerum is the band's second with new singer Anette, and comes with the added twist of an accompanying feature-length film next year. Nightwish who have always been at the forefront of symphonic metal, provide this latest addition to the catalogue with good intentions. Although presented as a stand-alone album, it perhaps pushes the line between creative indulgence and focused musicianship too far.

Imaginaerum sounds like all of Tuomas' influences, efforts and life's work culminated into one fairytale-like fantasy. The attention to detail, the emotion and care that has so obviously gone into this work is almost tangible, Imaginaerum is his most extravagant and imaginative project thus far.

More so than before, Nightwish take their brand of symphonic metal even further with hints of jazz and folk influence, and an even stronger desire for theatrics. "Storytime" might not open the album in the most adventurous of ways, but the catchy "Ghost River" is soon the first hit. The rest of the album is pieced together surprisingly well for the variety on offer; no two songs are the same like chapters in a book, as symphonic metal meets a selection of other styles. The band sound liberated, as if Dark Passion Play was the trial run and this is the real thing.

Imaginaerum has some great moments, from the up-beat and folky "I Want My Tears Back" to the stomping power metal "Last Ride Of The Day" and even Anette does a great, creepy performance on the fanciful "Scaretale". The album is far from perfect however, with some songs failing to register such as "Rest Calm", but perhaps the biggest flaw is that the whole thing just feels too much like a film soundtrack than an actual music-focused album.

All the detail, the effort and work that has gone into polishing this album doesn't salvage the fact that Imaginaerum was created with a film in mind, rather than a solid standalone album. Some songs included here are great, but they, along with the rest of the album feel almost like a by-product of a greater project.

The diversity on Imaginaerum is like no other Nightwish album. Although it is masterfully produced and put together, the cost of this diversity is the sometimes disjointed and chaptered feeling that a free-flowing album shouldn't have. Imaginaerum is a softer but more adventurous album than the previous, but it may leave a few scratching their head.

*** Metalstorm ***

Finnish symphonic metal giants Nightwish released their highly, highly anticipated 7th studio album entitled "Imaginaerum" on 30 November 2011. The record succeeds the fantastic 2007 album “Dark Passion Play”, where the band discovered a new sound and atmosphere with vocalist Anette Olzon, after having said Bye Bye to Beautiful Tarja Turunen.

“Imaginaerum” is a concept album produced alongside a movie of the same name that will naturally feature music from the album, and the same theme. The film is due out in 2012, and that’'s enough said about the film.

"Imaginaerum" is a complicated album; more complicated than "Dark Passion Play" and features a great multitude of spine tingling instruments skilfully employed to evoke a wide range of dark and melancholic emotions. Parts of the record have a strong Phantom of the Opera / Tim Burton creepy feel to it (e.g. on "Ghost River"). The record also features a dark and sweet cabaret / jazz song entitled "Slow, Love Slow". The rest of the record is packed with phenomenal songs with the same powerful captivating elements that made "Dark Passion Play" and 2004 release "Once" such stunning records.

The opening intro track “Taikatalvi” features the mesmerising voice of Marco Hietala accompanied by a spellbinding flute and a whole host of other acoustic instruments. This is followed by one of the best tracks on the record “Storytime”, which is up there with the best songs that Nightwish has ever released. In fact, the album features a further 3 tracks; “Last Ride Of The Day” , “I Want My Tears Back”, and the epic “Song Of Myself” that are among the best that Nightwish has recorded to date.

It is true perhaps that the record has a very similar feel to "Dark Passion Play", except maybe that "Imaginaerum" is a lot more technical and has the Phantom of the Opera elements that surfaces every now and then. Even the cover art has a very similar colour and ambience to that of "Dark Passion Play". This is far from being a bad thing, and "Imaginaerum" is a perfect follow on to "Dark Passion Play" with Annette Olzon’s vocals clearly inspiring and having an influence on Holopainen’s song writing. It would be very interesting to see, however, what Nighwish does with the next record as another record in the same style would not nearly have the same impact. No doubt, however, Nightwish will continue to come up with fresh and exciting music as Holopainen, like Andrew Lloyd Webber, apparently has an endless fountain of melody inside him. Excellent record. 8.6 / 10.

*** The Metal Critic ***