Nightwish 'Angels Fall First' review
Release date: 1997
Label(s): Spinefarm
Duration: 57:25
Details
- Elvenpath
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Carpenter
- Astral Romance
- Angels Fall First
- Tutankhamen
- Nymphomaniac Fantasia
- Know Why the Nightingale Sings
- Lappi (Lapland)
- Erämaajärvi
- Witchdrums
- This Moment Is Eternity
- Etiäinen
Review
'Angels Fall First' is Nightwish's debut album, a patchy piece that, while rough around the edges, shows signs of potential greatness while tossing in a few grand moments of its own.
The intended nature of the Nightwish project — "acoustic mood music" — is present on several songs on the album, although it is obvious that the band's sound was changing even as they started out. The production is commendable for a first effort, although it shows its amateur side when compared with the shiny polish of later albums such as 'Century Child' or 'Once'. While it's unfair to judge it based on the band's later work, the point stands that this is not a recommendation to a new Nightwish fan.
The songs themselves vary in quality, from the excellently haunting acoustic title track, to the stunningly bad "The Carpenter," a song in which Tarja and Tuomas attempt a dual-chorus but wind up sounding like one nasally vocalist who can't sing.
This calls to attention one of the lower points of the album, which is to say Tuomas Holopainen's vocals. While not nearly as bad as some critics would have you believe, his voice is very unremarkable and annoying at the times when he attempts a higher note. Comparatively, Tarja's vocals aren't nearly as developed as they would eventually become, but songs such as "Tutankhamen" and "Astral Romance" showcase her talent — as well as the talent of the rest of the band — quite nicely.
The album's closer, a four-piece song about Lapland, is a mostly acoustic epic that showcases the quiet and atmospheric sound that would be seen much less frequently in their later albums, and is in itself an impressive and progressive song.
Mostly the album is made up of pretty good songs, adorably laughable lyrics ("the scent of a woman was not mine" being a particular bane to lyricst Tuomas), and undeveloped but nonetheless impressive musicianship. At the time of its release, Angels Fall First would be a must-buy, but with retrospect firmly in hand and a wide library of later material to choose from, it's hard to recommend the album to anyone who hasn't already experienced and appreciated the band's more recent work.
6/10