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Dark Passion Play 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Label: Roadrunner Records Catalog: Music Release date: 2007-10-02 Media: Audio CD discs number: 2 Format: Special Edition, Extra tracks Ean: 0016861797027 Upc: 168617970274  Tip: compare prices with similar music CDsArtist:
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| Professional Review: |
| Although it is their sixth studio album,Dark Passion Play marks the beginning of a new era for Finnish symphonic metal masters Nightwish. With new vocalist Annette Olzon onboard, Nightwish returns with their most accessible material to date. Firmly rooted in their trademark symphonic sounds featuring elaborate keyboard and guitar parts blended seamlessly with intricate string and choir sections, Olzon’s vocals have more pop sensibility as they are far less operatic than those of her predecessor. This is perfectly exemplified in the vocal melodies in Amaranth, Eva and the scorching duet with bassist Marco Hietala titled Bye Bye Beautiful. Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards) not only wrote all the lyrics and all but two songs on the album, but also helmed the project as one of the producers along with T.C. Kinnunen and Mikko Karmila, who also mixed the album. Dark Passion Play has already made history as Finland’s most expensive recording project to date with massive string sections and choirs and it is clearly evident in the impeccable production. Nightwish have taken the symphonic elements of their prior works and infused them with a new voice to create a sound representative of the album title: dark, playful and, most of all, passionate. |
| User Reviews: |
 Written on May 23, 2008 Summary: Nightwish's best and most diverse album I got Nightwish's previous album "Once" a year or two ago as a gift and have been picking up more of their albums since. I really liked that one, and when I got "Dark Passion Play" was dismayed to find they had replaced Tarja's operatic vocals (which, to me, was a big part of their unique sound) with a quite different style of singer - more pop/rock/metal than operatic. However, after several listens (and there've been many more listens since) I realized that regardless of the difference in style, Anette was also an excellent vocalist and, what's more, the band had produced some of their best, and certainly their most varied music. I felt "Once" had been a step away from the Euro/Power metal of their earlier albums - more metal maybe, but with lush classical orchestrations, and this continues that direction. This album has a wider range of styles than previous ones (like the epic opening track, the catchy "Amaranth", and the folky acoustic "Islander") which keeps it interesting for it's whole length (my main complaint with earlier Nightwish being that the songs tended to sound pretty similar, maybe due to an overly distinct sound throughout!). The use of more male vocals than on previous albums adds to the variety. This should appeal to fans of melodic music, lush classically-influenced pop, and high-energy heavy metal. It's just wonderful. One note, though - I got the edition with the bonus disc of orchestral versions, but the orchestral versions have the rock band, too - just no vocals, so they're just as high-energy as the regular album, and I don't know when I'd want to listen to that version when I could just listen to the vocal version - so anyone like me would probably just do fine with the 1-disc version. Written on May 21, 2008 Summary: An amazing find. I can pretty much sum up this album in one word: amazing. But even that doesn't do it justice. In some ways this album defies and transcends description by words. Nonetheless, here I am, trying to review it. Well, that's how it goes. Let me start by saying that this was my first experience with Nightwish. One of my best buds had played a couple of the songs off the single disc version while we were goofing around in halo 3, and it sounded intriguing, but I wasn't paying attention to it so I didn't give it the credit it so truly deserved. When I bought this extended version online a couple months later, I was astounded to discover what I had listened to was merely the tip of the iceberg for a true masterpiece. Truly, all the words that have been used to describe this brilliant meshing of metal and symphonic orchestra, such as epic, bombastic, brilliant and more are all to be believed. I also didn't know there was a huge contoversy over the album because they had ditched their long time leading lady Tarja. I discovered this while trying to find out more about the band later on, figuring that if this album was so good the rest of them must be as well. Well, I'm here to tell you that assumption was wrong. Don't misunderstand me, I can see (or I suppose in this case, hear) the appeal to their music prior to Dark Passion Play. All of the same basic elements are there, making its predecessors as brilliant a foray into symphonic metal. There's really just one difference. For my money, Anette's vocals are worlds apart and far better than Tarja's. I'm sure I'll get called down by some long time fans for sacrilege, but as a new guy on the Nightwish scene I feel I can get away with this. After I listened to DPP for the umpteenth time (it really still hasn't lost its luster, and I must be on something insane like play number one hundred fifty since I bought it a little less than two months ago) I thought it might be nice to diversify my Nightwish playlist with some of their older stuff. I downloaded several songs that I was told online were representative of their sound prior to DPP. After about three or so plays each to make sure it wasn't just acclimating to the different voice, I summarily deleted them. I found that Tarja's vocals, while good in their own right, didn't blend well with the rest of the band. In fact, several times I had the feeling that the band was forced to accommodate her, instead of fully exploring their own unique style. The operatic style she is so well known for was stifling, and I had to stop listening just to catch some air; I felt vaguely like she was suffocating me. Anette is quite the opposite. As far as I can tell, she has a wider vocal range, and her voice is much crisper. Her voice reverberates in your ear, much the way a well-made bell will continue to ring out long after it is struck. She sounds much more authentic and sincere than Tarja ever did, and she blends flawlessly with the band, perfectly complementing the sound and never preventing the others from finding their own unique sonic imprint. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Tuomas had most of the songs already written long before she was hired on, but I can only hope that her influence continues to mesh so well with the rest of the sound. Now, why four stars instead of five for such a glowing review? Well, the answer is that while this album truly is a masterpiece, it is also not without its flaws. My complaints are small, in truth, and if I could have given a four and three fourths I would have. Basically, my main complaint is Marco. He is an accomplished bassist, and vocalist, but sometimes his vocals just go too far. Specifically, in Master Passion Greed, he sounds far too angry and pompous. I understand that this is intentional, but it gets in the way of the wonderful musical journey going on beneath him at times. You can tell in the instrumental version that it is a truly complex sonic playground all its own; sometimes this is quashed by his vocals. Also, I have to say that I am glad that Reach stayed as a demo version of Amaranth. The finished product is much better and had Reach been all there was it would have been a detriment to the entire album. Primarily, again, due to Marco's vocals. He takes the gritty demonic stereotype of male vocals in metal to ridiculous extremes; sometimes he is so out of tune it makes my ears want to bleed. However, he is brilliant in Bye Bye Beautiful, where his gritty, grinding sound is appropriate, and so melodic in the Islander that I still have a hard time believing it is even the same guy. One last thing stands against this extended version: The instrumental versions. While in some cases the instrumental disc is an amazing showcase of the orchestration behind the vocals, many times it falls flat on its proverbial face. Many of the songs on this album rely on the vocals for the melodies, so removing them leaves only the accompaniment which is often repetative. It is obvious that the brilliance of Nightwish isn't in its blazing technicality but in the way it all comes together to provide an overall mindblowing musical experience. The Instrumentals do provide wonderful background music for reading or playing video games, but if you aren't looking for that I'd say you are better off to simply buy the regular cut, especially since it's much cheaper. To sum up this admittedly long winded review, newcomers to Nightwish will absolutely love this album, people who were turned off to Nightwish by the vocals in prior releases should give them another shot, and for long time fans, the basic essence of the band is preserved, even though it is obvious they are moving in new directions. Written on May 16, 2008 Summary: Perfect! This is hands down the band's best work to date. The New singer makes the new material really stand out. I wish in fact that they would re-record some of the old stuff. I have heard a couple concert recordings and she absolutely blows the old singer way on "Wish I had an Angel" and "Everdream". In the end this disc is where the band has been trying to get for a few years now. They Got there and the pay off is huge! Written on May 9, 2008 Summary: The Beginning of a New Era I for one, never believed that Tarja "was" Nightwish. Honestly, I always felt that there was a certain sense of ... arrogance, even through the music, in the last few albums. While her style is different, I think this might be one of my favorite Nightwish albums to date. I like Annette -- her voice is suited for faster, more energetic songs: and to me, that's what comes across the most in her singing: fun. Fun and spirit.  Written on April 29, 2008 Summary: Nightwish - Dark Passion Play (Special Edition) "Dark Passion Play" (2007) is female-fronted symphonic metal band Nightwish's sixth full-length release, and first with new vocalist Anette Olzon. It builds on the epic, orchestrated style of "Once" (2004). The Special Edition includes a second disc featuring instrumental versions of every song. Tuomas Holopainen, Nightwish's keyboard player, does the vast majority of the band's songwriting, and deserves more credit than anyone (including Tarja Turunen) for the band's success. He has written innumerable fantastic songs. On "Dark Passion Play", however, it seems like he and the band got carried away with the orchestration (which is quite good) and forgot to write good songs. Previous Nightwish releases were filled were filled with catchy melodies. Here, beyond "Amaranth" and one or two others, we really don't have that, and while Nightwish's musicianship continues to be top-notch, there are quite a few songs here that aren't particularly interesting. Olzon is a thoroughly competent singer, but sometimes her vocals don't work with Nightwish's style. However the switch to her is hardly the disaster some claim. Marko Hietala does more singing on this album, which is fine - his voice fits Nightwish's more aggressive songs well. Nightwish got a little too fancy here, and all in all, this album is just okay. This doesn't mean the good times are over - Nightwish has enough talent to get it together and turn it around. It begins with the songwriting. |
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| Price comparison |
 Dark Passion Play |
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| Our price | $17.99 | $13.99 | $13.99 | $13.99 | $13.99 | - |
| List price | $21.98 | $18.98 | $15.98 | $15.98 | $17.98 | $15.98 |
| Lowest used price | $13.97 | $9.65 | $8.98 | $10.25 | $6.97 | $10.48 |
| Lowest new price | $14.49 | $10.98 | $10.36 | $10.59 | $8.67 | $19.95 |
| Collectible price | - | - | - | $15.98 | - | - |
| Catalog | Music | Music | Music | Music | Music | Music |
| Release date | 2007-10-02 | 2004-10-05 | 2003-09-23 | 2007-08-28 | 2007-07-24 | 2001-03-06 |
| Media | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD | Audio CD |
| discs number | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Format | Special Edition, Extra tracks | Extra tracks | - | - | Enhanced | - |
| Ean | 0016861797027 | 0016861821722 | 0727701818924 | 0727361195625 | 0016861802127 | 0727701802725 |
| Upc | 168617970274 | 016861821722 | 727701818924 | 727361195625 | 016861802127 | 727701802725 |
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