Review: Nightwish — Oceanborn (1998)
A masterpiece born from the northern cold
Oceanborn went platinum in Finland and even made an impact on the German charts. One of its most popular singles was “Sleeping Sun”, which was released in 1999 during the album's reissue to coincide with a total solar eclipse. Since then, “Sleeping Sun” has been included in all editions of the record. In 2017, Loudwire ranked Oceanborn among the top ten power metal albums of all time.
In a 2008 interview with Kerrang, band founder Tuomas Holopainen recalled that the band became truly ambitious after the release of their debut album, which was never originally intended to be a full-length record. According to him, that happened almost by accident, which motivated Nightwish to put all their effort into making Oceanborn truly spectacular.
Holopainen explained to Kerrang that they were all amateurs when it came to recording. He noted that they did not really know what they were doing, so they simply experimented with many different things. He recalled that they even invited a string trio that turned out to be terrible, followed by another violin, and then another.
In a 2008 interview with Kerrang, band founder Tuomas Holopainen recalled that the band became truly ambitious after the release of their debut album, which was never originally intended to be a full-length record. According to him, that happened almost by accident, which motivated Nightwish to put all their effort into making Oceanborn truly spectacular.
Holopainen explained to Kerrang that they were all amateurs when it came to recording. He noted that they did not really know what they were doing, so they simply experimented with many different things. He recalled that they even invited a string trio that turned out to be terrible, followed by another violin, and then another.
Consequently, they ended up with “Moondance”, which featured twenty violin tracks simply because they had never done it before and lacked experience. He stated that while it was a rather dense album, he also considered it one of their best because listeners could hear their excitement over trying so many new things. He found it strange that the album became a breakthrough since the music at the time was so amusing and genuinely operatic.
Tuomas also added that despite the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall, Oceanborn was actually recorded in a Finnish school.
The musical style generally remained the same as on the band's debut album, Angels Fall First: fast and melodic power metal with elements of symphonic metal, heavy use of synthesizer leads, and Tarja Turunen's classical soprano. However, the production quality of the album improved, and the guitar riffs became less heavy compared to their debut. The tracks “The Pharaoh Sails to Orion” and “Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean” featured harsh male growls and a beauty and the beast vocal duo. As Mape Ollila noted in the band's biography, along with Therion's Theli, this album became known as one of the cornerstones of the emerging symphonic metal genre.
The lyrics on the album became more fantasy-oriented compared to its predecessor. Fantasy themes are prominent in tracks such as “Swanheart”, “Walking in the Air”, “Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean”, and “The Pharaoh Sails to Orion”. “Passion and the Opera” and “Gethsemane” focus on religion, while “Stargazers”, “Sacrament of Wilderness”, and “Sleeping Sun” are dedicated to nature.
Tuomas also added that despite the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall, Oceanborn was actually recorded in a Finnish school.
The musical style generally remained the same as on the band's debut album, Angels Fall First: fast and melodic power metal with elements of symphonic metal, heavy use of synthesizer leads, and Tarja Turunen's classical soprano. However, the production quality of the album improved, and the guitar riffs became less heavy compared to their debut. The tracks “The Pharaoh Sails to Orion” and “Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean” featured harsh male growls and a beauty and the beast vocal duo. As Mape Ollila noted in the band's biography, along with Therion's Theli, this album became known as one of the cornerstones of the emerging symphonic metal genre.
The lyrics on the album became more fantasy-oriented compared to its predecessor. Fantasy themes are prominent in tracks such as “Swanheart”, “Walking in the Air”, “Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean”, and “The Pharaoh Sails to Orion”. “Passion and the Opera” and “Gethsemane” focus on religion, while “Stargazers”, “Sacrament of Wilderness”, and “Sleeping Sun” are dedicated to nature.
Rating: 10/10
- Tuuli TalvinenFounder & Editor-in-ChiefInterviewer