Dark Passion Play

When people ask me what kind of music I listen to, my standard response is "Christian contemporary and European metal". Most American know the Christian contemporary music scene well enough, even if they don't partake in it. Artists like Skillet and Switchfoot have achieved mainstream success, and big names like Casting Crowns or Steven Curtis Chapman headline Christian music festivals so often it's hard not to know of them, at least. However, it's likely that not many in the states have heard of even relatively mainstream "European metal" bands like Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, or In Flames. The reality is that "European metal" is about as broad a descriptor as "American rock music" and considerably less well-known around here. So, after being inspired by my friend's blog on all things J-pop, this blog has a mission: to raise awareness of the awesomeness of European metal. (Not that I won't talk about other stuff, of course) So, up first is one of my favorite albums of all time, the latest offering from Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish: Dark Passion Play.

As the "symphonic" part suggests, Nightwish's instrumentation extends beyond the usual guitar-bass-drums. Their songwriter, Tuomas Holopainen, often performs with several keyboards at once, and on their latest few albums they've gotten to record with a full choir and orchestra. The symphonic and metal parts of the band take turns sharing the melodic spotlight, or work together to produce pure awesomeness. There's something about the densely layered sound created by a metal band, orchestra, and choir working together that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. More than any other, this album basically serves as my definition for what "epic" music sounds like.

The 14-minute opening track, "The Poet and the Pendulum", clearly shows Holopainen's influence by movie soundtracks. It starts off quietly before exploding into a whirlwind of strings and horns, which is soon joined by the whole band. This part actually bears little resemblance to a movie soundtrack because no movie ever made can possibly justify being accompanied by music so epically awesome. The lyrics are obscure, but are supposedly Holopainen's life story. The rest of the song is a multi-segmented odyssey traversing the breadth of Nightwish's bombastic style.

The rest of the album doesn't quite maintain the epic scale of "The Poet and the Pendulum", but this isn't saying much. The next two songs are clear-cut singles; "Bye Bye Beautiful" toys with industrial sounds and deals with the dismissal of the band's old vocalist, while "Amaranth" is more pop-friendly and focuses on the band's new vocalist, Anette Olzon. On the other hand, "Master Passion Greed" is one of the band's heaviest songs, sung entirely by bassist Marco Hietala. "Cadence of her Last Breath" and "Whoever Brings the Night" are pretty standard Nightwish fare; both are epic, thrilling tunes.

Other songs like "Sahara" and "Seven Days to the Wolves" have fantasy-themed lyrics; the outro of "Seven Days to the Wolves" ranks as one of the most epic parts of any song I have ever heard. Other standout tracks are the relatively quiet interlude "The Islander" and instrumental "Last of the Wilds", wherein Nightwish displays their earlier folk influences. "Eva" and "Meadows of Heaven" are slower, more orchestral ballads; the latter slowly builds to a huge choir-driven climax that is a great album closer.

So Nightwish is one of the best examples of the "European metal" I enjoy. The only other band that can rival their epic-ness is Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. Oh, and just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they're underground; Nightwish is the most successful band in Finland. If you're looking to broaden your musical horizons across the Atlantic, definitely give Nightwish a look.

Addendum 5/12/2012: I was exaggerating just a bit; Nightwish is in fact the second most successful band from Finland, after HIM.

This... Is... OCTAVARIUM!!!

Well, I've been back from summer project for over a week now (see my other blog if you somehow missed it despite following this one), so I guess I should get back to the writing about music. I've kind of been focusing on my other blog and I'm a bit short on ideas, so I'll simply write about one of my favorite Dream Theater albums (it's a toss-up between this one and Awake)

Octavarium is filled with numerical symbolism and other cool stuff. The musical octave has eight natural notes and five accidentals; this was Dream Theater's eighth studio album and they had released five live albums at the time. Each of the eight songs is in a different key (only a band with musicians as crazy as Dream Theater's would come up with this); to emphasize their conceptual link, they all transition into each other with ambient sound effects. The album also concludes Dream Theater's tradition of each album ending the same way the next one begins; this one ends with the same note that their last one, Train of Thought, ended with, but the band found this to be confining and escaped from the tradition by having the ending of the last song match the beginning of the first song. The concept of Octavarium was obviously well planned-out and it's really cool to see it come together.

Musically, the album was intended as a "classic Dream Theater album", a return to their roots after experimenting with other subjects on their last few albums. It shows their old prog rock influences while showing a more modern style that they would develop more in their next album. Basically, it's the quintessential Dream Theater album.

"The Root of All Evil" is the third part in Mike Portnoy's twelve-step suite. The quiet intro recalls the distinctive rhythm used by the last part before building up to metallic awesomeness. Like the rest of the suite, it's introspective, expressing a sincere readiness to change and be rid of your demons (in this case, alcoholism). As is typical of Dream Theater's longer songs, it has an extended solo with the guitar and keyboard trading off the melody and trying to outdo each other's musicianship.

"The Answer Lies Within" is a quieter, piano-based song that has the rest of the band slowly build up into the song, along with a string quartet. It's more of a power ballad; I don't find it too exciting and it's my least favorite one on the album.

"These Walls" begins with guitar so distorted as to be a sound effect, chugging its way into a keyboard explosion, a dense sound that gives the song an epic feel (especially in the outro). The guitar remains in the background most of the time, providing a heavy atmosphere to the drums and keyboard. Lyrically, the song is about overcoming barriers to communication.

"I Walk Beside You" is without doubt the single most poppy thing Dream Theater has ever done...and it is glorious! Boasting no solos of any kind, it's a break from the excess of the rest of the album, but absolutely beautiful to listen to; proof that Dream Theater can do more with less. Lyrically, it's one of the few songs above love that I enjoy listening to; not the sad "I-need-you-I-can't-live-without-you" love that shows up in so much popular music but real love that walks beside the beloved through every difficulty, never gives up, always puts its own desires second. But if I wrote any more it would have to be on my other blog.

"Panic Attack" is basically exactly what the name suggests: a musical version of a panic attack. It's largely based around a multirhythmic guitar riff which is tons of fun to play on Rock Band. Drummer Mike Portnoy is basically showing off on this song, cranking his usual skill and precision up to 11; there's not a simple rock beat to be found anywhere in the song. The whole thing has more time changes than I can count (perhaps someone who knows the basics of music theory could, however), especially in the bridge and solos. Awesome song.

"Never Enough" is Mike Portnoy's response to ungrateful fans who refuse to be satisfied by his awesomeness.    It alternates a rapid rhythm and the slower, more "majestic" chorus. As usual, there are awesome guitar-and-keyboard solos.

"Sacrificed Sons" is about the tragedy of September 11th. It starts with a chorus of voices speaking foreign languages, which gives way to samples from the news and then a tender piano intro to the actual song. AT over 10 minutes, it starts off at a slow, solemn, pace before an extended solo. Like "In The Name of God" on their last album, it's critical of religious fanaticism.

The title track is...glorious. At 24 minutes, it's Dream Theater's longest song that isn't split into multiple parts. As is typical of their epics, its has an extended instrumental intro featuring spacey keyboards, acoustic guitars, and a flute before the vocals finally come in at about 5:30. It's absolutely brilliant and a better description of all the hidden stuff in it that I can provide is found here. In the end the song is about the cyclical nature of things; coming back full circle to where you started; fittingly, it ends the same way the first song began, turning the whole album into a big cycle. Glorious. If you're interested in Dream Theater (which you should be if you know me), I highly recommend checking out this album first.