I love the old albums with tarja,watched them live.
This new stuff is too mainstream for me.

I think regardless of what Nightwish releases, the Once album is always going to be my favorite. It was the first album I heard from them, and the fact that it continues to impress me speaks volumes.

This song especially is one that I really really love.



Tarja sounds absolutely beautiful throughout the entire song and album.

Third rate power metal with an opera singer thrown in as a gimmick. Okay to listen to, but nothing special. The only song of the later Tarja years I've heard was "Nemo", but it at least showed that they were willing to throw the laughable power metal bits away and make music that suited Tarja's voice a bit more.

Laughable? In what ways are they laughable?

Tarja's voice isn't really a gimmick, it's actually an original concept that not many bands can pull off.

I like Nightwish.

I much prefer Annete to Tarja.

The power metal bits aren't that good. That's why they're laughable. If they had a male non-opera singer, no one on Earth would have ever heard of Nightwish.

Is it an original concept to use an opera singer on a power metal band? Yeah. Is it still used as a gimmick? Yeah, cause it only really works on a superficial level (as far as I'm concerned, anyways). The two elements don't clash, but the metal bits don't really complement the vocals in a way that lifts them above gimmick status.

Note: Since I've never heard Once or Century Child, I'm only talking about their first three albums. I'm aware that those albums were a shift from the power metal of the first three.

I think if they had a male non opera singer, they'd still be noticeable and people would still find them appealing, just not as unique and interesting.

You do make good points on the first part of this post, however I strongly strongly suggest you check out the Once album. It's in my opinion their best work with Tarja. Some songs are hit and miss, but overall, it's a great album.

This, for example is amazing, it's a bonus track on that album:



The way it starts, to the way it ends, it's very subtle and very well done.

Perfectly fun song, but it didn't really change my opinion of them. Still cheesy and gimmicky.

I was mostly posting it for reference, changing your opinion would be a much more difficult task, because you are entitled to it. I will however say that it is the first time i've heard someone call them fun and gimmicky. In some ways, I can see where you're coming from, especially not being too exposed to the band in general. If you find this stuff fun and gimmicky however, perhaps maybe you'll like their album they releases with Annette Olzon.



A lot of people don't like the albums they've released with her. I don't think Annette has a bad voice at all, but going from Tarja to her is a very difficult thing to get used to, but maybe you might like it for the fact that it isn't an opera singer.

Well, I do like Nightwish, but they just don't have enough going for them to make me actually care. I have their Wishmaster album, and ever now and again I'll pull it out, but generally it's only once in a full moon, and only for a half spin before I'm bored.

I tried listening to Dark, Passion, Play, but I was just bored. Don't really have an educated opinion on their new stuff, since I got bored and listened to something else pretty quick. Not really a fan of the whole "Goth metal with a chick singing" thing. Nightwish are the only one that every really made me care even slightly.