Once (Limited Edition)
Nightwish
(Nuclear Blast)

The latest release from Nightwish is a cracking slab of power/operatic/symphonic metal. Rather than the normal bloke doing his best-Bruce (Dickinson), this band features a bloke doing that and a female singer providing a wonderful counterweight. (Think Evanescence without the goth and rap overtones.) Nightwish strikes me as a bit like Therion for the slightly less intense. While Therion overwhelm the sense with their operatic massed chorus bombast, Nightwish can be a bit more subtle. The single female/male voice combination makes the music much easier to get into and not as intimidating. Nightwish have been working their way up to this release over their past few albums. While 'Wish I had an Angel' is certainly the stand-out track on here, that does not detract from the rest of it. Nightwish are nearing Opeth levels of excellence. This is definetely a candidate for power-metal release of the year.

Rating: 4.8/5