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[witchscauldron]

I have let it be well known in the past I don't like Nightwish.

Or, at least, I didn't like Nightwish.

Their new singer? Fantastic! Suits the band 100% better than Tarja's wailing ever did. The male vocals are not destroying themselves trying to keep up with the music or the octave anymore.

I can't really say I'm a fan, yet, and I may never be, but they've really, seriously improved themselves. It's listenable, which is more than I can say from previous encounters.

Comments

[misslynx.livejournal.com]

Alas, we are going to have to differ on this one. I loved Tarja's voice -- the new singer is pretty good, but there's really nothing distinctive about her. She just sounds like Standard Issue Chick Rock Singer to me.

Then again, I was exposed to a lot of opera while growing up, so I probably have a higher standard of tolerance for operatic singing than most people.

I do think the band has been steadily improving musically, though. Some of the songs from the new album are fantastic - "The Poet & the Pendulum" especially.

[morgandria.livejournal.com]

Whereas I felt that Tarja was just a generic operatic soprano, with a huge chip on her shoulder, and that she was nothing special at all. ;) I always felt like I must be missing something - people were always gushing about how great she was, but I really felt like her range was limited, her high octaves were thin, and she was just...trying too hard. I still think you could have put any reasonably trained soprano into their songs, and they would have done as well, if not better than Tarja.

I have no idea if Tarja was actually formally trained or not - but I always want to say no, based on her voice profile. I'm a little bit picky like that - I would have made opera my career, if circumstances had allowed.

The band has certainly improved. Part of that improvement, I feel, is that the male vocalists are not strained and hissing trying to keep up with a female vocalist in a range they're not capable of. They're definetely more of a band now, a balanced group contributing to the songs; I always felt that Tarja's voice relegated the rest of the band to being her backup instrumentalists.

[misslynx.livejournal.com]

I have no idea if Tarja was actually formally trained or not

Yes, she is. She trained at the Sibelius Academy - that's where she met Tuomas - and she's performed with the Finnish National Opera and the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

The band has certainly improved. Part of that improvement, I feel, is that the male vocalists are not strained and hissing trying to keep up with a female vocalist in a range they're not capable of. They're definetely more of a band now, a balanced group contributing to the songs; I always felt that Tarja's voice relegated the rest of the band to being her backup instrumentalists.

That part I do somewhat agree with - she definitely overshadowed the rest of the band, and it was her tendency to treat them as just backup that apparently led to the split. I do think they come across as more of a unit now and less Tarja-and-her-backup-band.