Bye Bye Beautiful
I got into Nightwish not very long before the End of an Era firing of vocalist Tarja Turunen. I had not really been following the band all that much, and beyond the actual songs I knew very little about it. I associated Nightwish with the vocalist, and not with music being written by Tuomas Holopainen. So I was shocked that they were going to replace what I thought was the defining aspect of the band.
And so I was eager and excited to hear that Turunen was going to be releasing a solo album. By this time I had begun to appreciate the actual music beyond the voice, and was excited to be having a new Nightwish album and a new Tarja album in the same year.
Dark Passion Play, with its new singer Anette Olzon quickly became my most-played album ever; it started off slow and finally built up to me absolutely adoring it. Even the song Master Passion Greed, sung solely by bass player Marco Hietala became a favourite (along with his song The Islander) helping me move beyond my refusal to listen to anything other than female-fronted metal.
All was good, and My Winter Storm was on its way. I Walk Alone was already receiving playtime on my iTunes. I just couldn’t wait for My Winter Storm.
But when it finally came out, and I heard it for the first time, all I could think was Bye Bye Beautiful.
It’s bland. It’s boring. The lyrics are cheesy. And I have to force myself to listen to it. I tried to listen to it while writing this entry and only managed to get to the tenth track before switching over to Dark Passion Play. After talking to a friend about MWS, I’m now listening to Epica and am refusing to go back to MWS.
The album has its moments, but they are few and far between. Without the vocals several would make for excellent background music, but that’s not what you want to say about a person “renowned” for their vocals and their debut album. My Winter Storm lacks spark and personality, and offers nothing for someone like me - someone who is not a Tarja-devotee. Unless Tarja really steps up with her next offering, I will just have to say this:
Bye bye beautiful.