Nightwish is a Finnish metal group that has just appeared in the US. Oceanborn, their second album, was released in the US in March 2001, with the first and third albums being released a month later. Not many people know about them over here yet, but they are bound to make a huge splash soon. A friend of mine played their cds for me and it was less than a week before I had my own copies.
Nightwish's lead singer, Tarja Turunen, is an operatically trained singer, and her voice stands out as the signature of the group's music. Not many female singers have the vocal strength to lead heavy metal, but Tarja dominates the sound with seeming effortlessness.
The music itself reminds me of a cross between Metallica and Queen, and would translate beautifully to orchestral adaptation (a la Symphonic Metallica and Symphonic Pink Floyd). Hard, driving, and powerful without degenerating to noise and screaming, this is the epitome of what I think metal should be. The lyrics are filled with classical references; Biblical, Greek, and Egyptian mythology.
They have mp3 samples of their songs on their website, http://www.nightwish.com; from this album I particularly recommend Stargazers and Walking in the Air. Listen and see if you can resist.
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