Nightwish's Rock Opera Imaginaerum

The Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish is back with their most daring release to date. Imaginaerum is an album written around the premise of a movie, a type of rock opera of sorts. It’s a brave move for a band to make take such a bold step and really says a great deal about their artistic integrity. They aren’t happy with playing it safe; they want to push the proverbial envelope of creativity.

It’s been a little over four years since we have heard from the band. Their last release, Dark Passion Play, marked the vocal debut of Anette Olzon who replaced longtime vocalist Tarja Turunen. The album was a big success for the band and they seemed poised for worldwide domination. This brave and bold step at such a pivotal point in their career will be interesting to see how it plays out with their fans. Let’s dissect this “concept” album and see if it’s worthy of elevating this very talented band to a higher level.

The album opens with an odd music box and piano lullaby sung in Finnish. It is almost as if you are sitting in an opera house as the first act is about to begin. I can imagine the lights going dark and the curtain opening. This leads us into the first single “Storytime”, which is familiar Nightwing ground. It has that symphonic and metal sound that blend together so well, plus an added background choir. This is probably the most commercial sounding track on the album and a great choice for lead-off single. Anette’s vocals on this track are hypnotic and smooth and you can’t help but to be drawn toward them.

Up next is “Ghost River”, with it’s almost Van Halenesque guitar intro. Listen to it and tell me that you don’t immediately drift off to “Ain’t Talking About Love”! I think song has a somewhat similar vibe as “Storytime” as it’s heavily orchestrated and very catchy, but the chorus is a bit heavier with the guitars amped up. The tempo slows down on “Slow, Love, Slow”. The simple arrangement of piano and a slow bass line that weaves throughout the song gives it a bit of an old school jazz feel to it. If you close our eyes, you can imagine Anette in a smoke filled bar against a baby grand singing this song.

“Scaretale” is a wild ride of a song as the intro sounds like something out of a horror movie, complete with little kids chanting “ring around the rosies”. The lyrics are also somewhat bizarre as it speaks of the bride eating the innocence of people. There’s also a killer riff worked in there to headband along to. “Arabesque” is an instrumental piece that just doesn’t work for me when I listen to it. Maybe it will make more sense when the movie is released, but for now, it just seems like filler.

The use of dual vocalists, especially one male and one female, doesn’t always work out on a single track or mesh well together. “Rest Calm” shows that when it does work, it takes the song to another level. Marco’s vocals are powerful and commanding, yet Anette’s vocals are too, but in a totally different delivery. She really shines on the chorus as she turns beast to beauty in her delivery.

“The Crow, The Owl and the Dove” is a beautiful song and a standout on the album. All the elements really come together and complement each other on this track. The lyrics are moving and powerful and the vocal delivery adds to the emotional element of the song. “Song of Myself” is a bit of a puzzler for me. It clocks in at just over 13 minutes and about 7 of those minutes are spoken word. It just seems a bit too long for me and maybe trimming it down would have helped it in its effectiveness. The album closes with the instrumental title track.

So, does this rock opera work without the aid of the forthcoming movie? I say yes, but not 100%, especially with the instrumentals. The album is diverse and has a little bit of everything on it. I think Anette really shines on here and shows that she was a worthy candidate to replace Tarja. The guitar work of Emppu Vuorinen and Jukka Nevalainen runs the gauntlet. The acoustic work is a very sharp contrast to the shredding guitars and solos, but its delivery on the songs is just as powerful.

I think Imaginaerum will please longtime fans of Nightwish as well as be a good jumping on point for new fans as well. The movie for this album should prove to be interesting as we wait to see if it propels this piece of art to another level or not. In the meantime, sit back and crank this up and allow yourself to be taken on a journey with Nightwish.

Dreamkiller: Conceptual Rock Is Not Dead

Strong, assertive women have found their way into the pages or music royalty. Throughout the years we have had such icons as Billie Holliday, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Pat Benatar, Madonna and so many more that I cannot list them all. All of these women had several things in common, but they all had a strong work ethics and the drive to succeed. I recently met a woman who wants to follow in their footsteps. Her name is Christy Johnson and she fronts the band Dreamkiller.

Christy's resume reads like an entry into Who's who! She graduated from UNCG with both an MA and BA. She was Miss Jr. Greensboro in 2003. She has several big screen credits including Tobe Hooper's Mortuary and Leatherheads, among others. Her small screen credits include MTV's Road To The VMAs and MTV Making The Video Madina Lake and more. She is definitely a versatile woman who is very headstrong about being a success in the music industry. I had a chance to talk to her after a recent show in Greensboro,NC at the Greene Street Club.

"It seems like I have always been performing. My mom put me in all types of pageants at an early age. I remember trying out for my first play in the sixth grade. I actually got the lead part in it and it was Heidi. We had a band before this called the Arrival and it was more punk influenced. We actually released one cd. I then reformed the band under our new name Dreamkiller and I would say that our sound is more alternative/rock now," said Christy.

Finding the right pieces to the puzzle can be hard when forming a band. Finding the right chemistry and individuals with the same dedication can be hard, but it looks like things are falling into place. The band played its' first show since 2006 and its first with the new lineup at the Greene Street club in Greensboro, NC in late January. The band, consisting of David Lanning on drums, Erny Galvan on bass and Tian Garcia on guitar, performed a very tight set that night. It was really hard to tell that it was there first show live together.

Christy is every bit the flamboyant front person with her flashing and sexy outfits, but don't judge the book by its cover. This girl has some serious chops and has a vision in mind for this band. "Dreamkiller actually has a concept line with characters and a storyline. Kind of a throw back to rock opera. We have alot of ideas in store and hopefully it would all come to light on our new cd which we hope will be this year. We have one song already recorded called "RAGNAROK" which was used for the Superpower documentary."

I had a chance to catch both the show at the Greene Street Club and their headlining spot at the 2009 Winterfest on 02-14 at the Somewhere Else Tavern in Greensboro. The band is a very tight and cohesive unit. Tian is a beast on lead guitar and his harmonizing abilities bring a great element to the band. Although Tian appears to be a little subdued on stage, his guitar work screams volumes. Erny seems to like to cut up with the crowd more and his pounding bass lines combined with David's bashing of the skins seems to have molded into a powerful unit.

The band plans plenty of live shows planned for the future around North Carolina and into Virginia. It may take a little time for the average fan to pick up on the concept line of story and its main characters, but if you just want to rock out to some great rock/alternative music Dreamkiller is well worth the ticket price. I enjoyed the show so much that I actually felt undercharged. Check them out, you won't be disappointed.