Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

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rikkertje
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Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by rikkertje » Tue Mar 17, 2015 10:17 pm

So. I just listened to Nightwish' Endless Forms Most Beautiful for the first time. And OMG WOW WTF. This sounds like the album the band should've made after Once. Preordered it right away.

Will post some more thoughts after I've listened some more. Has anyone else heard it already?

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by rikkertje » Wed Mar 18, 2015 3:23 pm

Listened to it a few more times today. Here's my two cents.

Shudder Before The Beautiful - 10/10
This song is a PERFECT album opener. A very short spoken intro leads straight into orchestral bombast. Then the guitars join and the song straight away feels complete. Floor sounds really good and shows of the different vocal approaches that will be utilised more later on. The songs' chorus and the choral middle part remind me of the Dark Chest of Wonder-style Nightwish, while the guitar/keys solo-duel reminds the listener of the Oceanborn-era.

Weak Fantasy - 9,5/10
The album continues with another bombastic tune. A bit slower in comparison to the previous song, Weak Fantasy gives me a Planet Hell-like feeling. The use of a bouzouki in the verses is very surprising and gives the song a folky feel. The orchestration in this song is very haunting and Floor uses a quite aggressive singing style in the verses. This song also marks the first time we hear Marco singing. While he sounds great in the choruses I find the vocal production of his little solo part a bit lacklustre. He sounds distant and canned.

Élan - 8/10
Here it is, the first single of the album. While the band harkens back to the bombastic and heavier songs of the Once-era in the first two songs, this mellow song sounds like the Nightwish we know since Dark Passion Play and Imaginaerum. Lots of folk influences thanks to Troy and his pipes. While I was somewhat hesitant when I first heard the single it becomes better when you hear it in its place with the rest of the album. Nice melodies and subtle orchestrations. Love Marco's backing vocals in the chorus. Still feel Floor isn't giving her all on this song.

Yours is an Empty Hope - 10/10
Wow. After the quite mellow and calm Élan, the album continues the bombastic road paved with the first two songs. Add some more heaviness and this describes Yours is an Empty Hope perfectly. Starting off with heavy orchestrations we're led into a nice and fat riff that instantly gives this song its heavy feeling. Excellent choral work backs an aggressive singing Floor and Marco. The haunting chorus even sounds like it has a growl somewhere in the background. While one may feel that the song has reached its aggressive peak already you'll be surprised to hear and explosion of heaviness following the relatively mellow orchestral middle part. Excellent song.

Our Decades in The Sun - 8/10
Time to calm down with a nice semi-ballad. Danny Elfman-like choirs and mellow orchestra accompany Floors' beautiful vocal delivery. She really shines on this song. After a while guitars kick in and the song drifts away from the balladry for a while. The ending part feels a bit stretched but other than that, a very decent ballad.

My Walden - 7/10
The song starts off with some Welsh singing by Troy, followed by his pipes. The intro and the chorus' melodies remind of the Imaginaerum-era immediately. There's a surprising change of pace in the middle part that brings back the bouzouki we heard in Weak Fantasy. It's a decent song. Nothing special though.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful - 8/10
For me, this is the I Wish I Had an Angel of this album. A straightforward, mid-paced heavy song with airy verses, heavy choruses containing melodies that get stuck in your head immediately. I kind of expected more of this, mainly because it's the title track. Still a decent song that brings back more of the pre-2007 Nightwish. Could've been a more logical single instead of Élan.

Edema Ruh - 6,5/10
The twinkling synthesizer in the intro reminds me of the Wishmaster-era. As does the rest of the song. While it is a decent song, it kind of feels like a filler to me. The verses with their drum-machine rythm kind of drag on. The chorus is nice though and contains lovely backing vocals.

Aplenglow 7/10
Another kind of filler. Nothing we haven't heard before of these guys and gal. Sounds like something that could be found on Dark Passion Play. There's fun in the weirdly haunting pre-chorus though.

The Eyes of Sharbat Gula - 9/10
Aside from some choirs and chanting this song is completely instrumental. While a six minute instrumental may seem a tad too long, this song is perfect. Close your eyes and try to picture the famous National Geographic picture this song is about. The use of different instruments from all parts of the world gives this piece of music a really soundtrack-like feeling. The piece is a perfect intro to what's coming next. The Greatest Show on Earth...

The Greatest Show on Earth 10/10
...and what a show it is. Starting off with a haunting piano/cello melody the listener is being pulled into this song. All of a sudden the band and orchestra give the listener a few huge explosions of sound that lead into a soundtrack-like orchestral piece. After this the song goes back to the piano-driven melody of the intro, only this time accompanied by Floor who uses her operatic voice for the first time on the album. It sounds absolutely magical. Close your eyes and be ready for goose bumps.
Troy joins in with his pipes. This is also where Richard Dawkins comes in for the first narrated part of the song, after which the band explodes into a folky pipe-melody. This part quickly develops into something much more heavy in which Floor gives some quite creepy narration and verses, before this part of the song explodes into a mighty chorus. This is the new line-up basking in all its glory. Soaring vocals, bombastic orchestras, everything is there.
Eleven minutes into the song the listener suddenly finds himself in the middle of a jungle. Eerie orchestra and vocals accompany all kinds of animal noises. The noises steadily become more threatening and eventually end in a big roar before the next part of the song kicks in. This is where Marco has another solo part. This time he sounds much better and his and Floors’ voice merge together perfectly in the following moments. The last moments of this part, where Floor, Marco and a big choir repeat the sentence ‘we were here!’ are simply musical magic again.
After a huge explosion there’s a sudden calm in the form of a beautiful piano-driven melody. When the rest of the band joins, there’s Richard Dawkins again. This time he delivers a very nice quote which I’ll post at the end of this review. After this the song ends with a huge orchestra that builds up, leading to a last narration by Richard Dawkins, following which the listener disappears into the sea, deeper and deeper, until all sounds of life disappear and there’s only silence.

This album is, as said after my first listen, the album that IMO should’ve been released after Once. While I liked the last two albums I did have difficulties with getting into them and really feeling them. This album gets under my skin without any effort. It’s just marvellous. Yes there are flaws, most notably in the form of Edema Ruh and Alpenglow, but even these flaws are quite enjoyable.
Concluding, giving it a 9,5/10, I absolutely think Nightwish hit the nail on the head with this release. If you’ve enjoyed the band in the past, this will most definitely please you.

And here’s the quote narrated by Richard Dawkins in the last song. I love it and I wish more people would take it to heart.

“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?” ― Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by R.F. » Wed Mar 18, 2015 3:46 pm

Wow, you did an amazing job here)) I'm only in process of listening now and will probably write down my thoughts later. But at the moment I can officially declare I'm totally floored by EFMB)

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by R.F. » Fri Mar 20, 2015 4:39 am

So, here are two cents more.

There's been a lot of discussion about the album, even before it leaked in its entirety. People were mainly complaining about Floor's "weak" vocals on Elan. I honestly cannot understand such claims, perhaps because I've long become indifferent to all kinds of headbanging stuff. As much as I can judge, Floor's singing is expressive and quite diverse. The emphasis on the softer side is not a surprise, after all it is Nightwish.

The general mood of the album is stunning. I joined the Nightwish fandom some time right after Century Child and I still remember how weird was that change from more or less underground fantasy metal to soundtrack/mainstream thing in Once. EFMB marks another change in the band's direction of a similar scale.

After Imaginaerum sort of summed up all the previous themes of Nightwish (progressing from childlike inspired worldview to teenage crisis) the Endless Forms Most Beautiful is clearly a new page. There is no more exaggerated teenage drama. Take Elan, for instance. I think I haven't heard that uplifting a song in years. And it is neither a bombastic hit, nor a power ballad. It is just a very simple song with an extremely powerful and intricate message and without any need for blatant heavy metal tricks. I really admire Tuomas as composer and probably as a person too. Although he has some peculiarities (lose that hat already, dude!), still, compare him, for instance, with Tolkki, who has been writing songs for 16-year-olds even in his forties.

Shudder Before The Beautiful - 10/10
At first I was baffled by the beginning (is this Storytime?), but only for a moment. This song is like a bulldozer slowly coming your way. It is becoming wider and wider, really easy to miss the beginning of the first chorus, but in the end it turns out to be one of the best on the album. There are some more moments reminding about other Nightwish songs there, like Master Passion Greed and even Sahara, but here it doesn't spoil the song at all. By the way, in the choir part I also keep hearing something from Strato's Elements =)

Weak Fantasy - 9/10
Another awesome track. The percussion and the bass line give me goosebumps.

Elan - 10/10
I've talked about this one above. For me, it is perfect.

Yours is an Empty Hope - 7/10
This one I do not like so much. No, I don't mind the Dark Chest of Wonders riff, but in contrast with the rest of the album this track sounds somewhat blunt. Seems to be another iteration of Tuomas' "I hate truly you all" song, although I got to look into lyrics. Floor's singing is definetely a highlight, but Marco's bleating... I have to say I do not miss his solo parts on EFMB, which were significantly reduced.

Our Decades in The Sun - 8/10
The only ballad on the album. It is still a bit hard to get into for me. After a couple of listenings I can definitely say it keeps growing on me.

My Walden - 7/10
Another song I really didn't get into. There seems to be a change in the general formula, but I am not sure it is successful with that rather abrupt stop in the middle of the song. Still, it is fun to hear so much singing from Troy on this album.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful - 8/10
Pip Williams said on his twitter that this song features the largest orchestra on the album. I have a trouble hearing it, in fact =) Perhaps, I only have to listen to it in a better quality when my CD arrives. A very nice upbeat track anyway.

Edema Ruh - 8/10
Maybe it was a good idea to not go with this song as the first single. But I do not see it as a filler, as well as Alpenglow. After all, many Nightwish so-called fillers are way too underrated treasures. For The Heart I Once Had among first things that come to mind.

Alpenglow - 9/10
My favorite at the moment. Slightly reminds of Bye Bye Beautiful, but, just like Elan, it is a very positive song without redundant bombast.

The Eyes of Sharbat Gula - 8/10
Latest Nightwish instrumentals have been quite intense. This one could easily appear on Tuomas' solo album. very beautiful, but I am not sure if it was a good decision to put it right before Greatest Show on Earth. With this placement the main dish has two rather long appetizers instead of one.

The Greatest Show on Earth - 9/10
The intro may appear a little bit long, but the rest is just amazing. After two listenings the structure of the whole piece became clear to me, and I have to say it is much better than Song of Myself and is just as consistent as Ghost Love Score.[/b]

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by robocop656 » Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:31 am

It doesn't sound like Kai hahto does any blastbeats on this album. :cry:

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Empathica1928 » Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:12 pm

Shit album.

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by fuck » Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:55 am

Why everytime they come out with a new album people are always like, wow best album ever. :lol:

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Rage1979 » Thu May 14, 2015 5:31 pm

I Believe it's their weekest album but Floor is without any doubt their best singer!

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by SentineLEX » Sat May 16, 2015 5:27 am

I actually like Imaginaerum best of the albums with DPP in second, but the epic on that one was probably one of the weakest in the discography. This one, the middle is a bit iffy but the beginning three and last three songs are beautiful. And the title track!

I'll have to see how Tuomas tries to go from here. Possibly Endless Forms Most Beautiful Pt. 2 which actually sounds like Century Child with all songs 4-6 minutes in length, followed by Tuomas creating a scandal, making Kai the permanent and replacing Floor with a dude?

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Stratowarius 3.0 » Sat May 16, 2015 9:43 pm

Empathica1928 wrote:Shit album.
I agree totally. :twisted:

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Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Linnette Gray » Mon May 18, 2015 8:16 am

I absolutely agree. First time to hear about Nightwish and their latest from the album, "Most Beautiful". It sounds great!:o

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Dave » Wed Oct 07, 2015 7:34 pm

Needed to give it some time but now I love it!
Spamming is serious business!

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by fuck » Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:37 pm

Look at your post count. Look back at me. Look at your post count again. Look back at me. See anything strange? :lol:

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by Alicja » Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:29 pm

Good album and Floor is definitely a big advantage here. My favourite songs are "My Walden" and "Alpenglow" I think. After listening to the album for like 6 months I finally got bored :lol: Now I have Strato, one true love :twisted:
Love is only beautiful when it bleeds.

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Re: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Post by doc_holliday » Fri Oct 16, 2015 6:00 pm

why does he have 16777035? does it have any relation with 24 bits? cause 24 bits can contain 16777216

edit: btw, i know he actually doesn't have that many posts

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