Although it is their sixth studio album,Dark Passion Play marks the
beginning of a new era for Finnish symphonic metal masters Nightwish.
With new vocalist Annette Olzon onboard, Nightwish returns with their
most accessible material to date. Firmly rooted in their trademark
symphonic sounds featuring elaborate keyboard and guitar parts blended
seamlessly with intricate string and choir sections, Olzon's vocals have
more pop sensibility as they are far less operatic than those of her
predecessor. This is perfectly exemplified in the vocal melodies in
Amaranth, Eva and the scorching duet with bassist Marco Hietala titled
Bye Bye Beautiful. Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards)
not only wrote all the lyrics and all but two songs on the album, but
also helmed the project as one of the producers along with T.C. Kinnunen
and Mikko Karmila, who also mixed the album. Dark Passion Play has
already made history as Finland's most expensive recording project to
date with massive string sections and choirs and it is clearly evident
in the impeccable production. Nightwish have taken the symphonic
elements of their prior works and infused them with a new voice to
create a sound representative of the album title: dark, playful and,
most of all, passionate.
