Dark Passion Play

Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Studio album by Nightwish
Released 26 September 2007
Recorded 2006-2007 in London, Hollola, Kerava and Helsinki
Genre Symphonic metal, power metal
Length 75:43
Label Nuclear Blast, Spinefarm & Roadrunner
Producer Tuomas Holopainen, Co-Produced by Tero Kinnunen & Mikko Karmila
Nightwish chronology
Once
(2004)		 Dark Passion Play
(2007)		 Imaginaerum
(2011)
Singles from Dark Passion Play
  1. "Eva"
    Released: 25 May 2007
    (Radio/Digital download only)
  2. "Amaranth"
    Released: 22 Aug 2007
  3. "Erämaan Viimeinen/Last of the Wilds"
    Released: 5 Dec 2007 (Finland only)
  4. "Bye Bye Beautiful"
    Released: 15 Feb 2008
  5. "The Islander"
    Released: 21 May 2008

Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album not featuring former vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was fired in 2005. Lead songwriter Tuomas Holopainen has referred to it as the "album that saved his life".[1]

The first single, "Eva", was leaked on the Internet six days before its official release, prompting the band to release the single earlier to boost downloads. Several other versions of the song were posted on YouTube and torrent sites a month later; the entire album with record label voiceovers had been leaked on the Internet by 2 August. The full album (without voiceovers) was leaked on 21 September 2007, as a result of several stores in Mexico selling the retail album much prior to the worldwide release date.

During the first week of its release, the album entered the European charts as number one in 6 different countries, selling over 100,000 copies in Finland alone, where was certified with 3 Platinum Discs. In February 2008, the album received its 4th Platinum Disc in Finland, after having sold over 130,000 copies.[2] Worldwide, Dark Passion Play has sold over 2 million copies since its release, being Nightwish's most successful album to date.

Contents

Background and production

Anette Olzon (pictured), joined Nightwish replacing Tarja Turunen.

On 21 October 2005, after the Once Upon a Tour, the band's lead singer Tarja Turunen was dismissed via an open letter. In search of a replacement, the band conducted auditions from 17 March 2006 to 15 January 2007, receiving over 2000 demo tapes in the process.[3] Amidst much speculation the new singer was officially announced on 24 May 2007 to be Anette Olzon, previously the singer for the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue. In an interview, Holopainen said they had made the decision in January 2007 based on the impression she made while performing the song "Ever Dream" from the album Century Child.[4]

“ Of course it's gonna be a huge task for the singer — she will always be compared to Tarja but I'm pretty confident that she'll do well.
-Tuomas Holopainen regarding Anette Olzon's ability[4]		 ”

The recording process started in the spring 2006 in different studios across Europe; the drums were recorded by Nevalainen in Hollola, Finland, at the Petrax Studios, Emppu Vuorinen recorded the guitars in Kerava, Finland, were also record the keyboards by Holopainen and the bass parts by Marco Hietala.[5] Hietala is also the band's male singer, and in 2006 Hietala sung some of the new songs to record the demo versions as a base for the final recordings, with definitve vocals being recorded by Olzon at the Petrax in march 2007, immediately after being chosen to replace Tarja Turunen, and nearly two months before her name was given to the media and the fans.[5]

When the drummer Jukka Nevalainen was asked about the overall cost of the new album, he was quoted as saying “Roughly half a million... We don’t know the exact sum down to the euros and cents as yet.”[5] Half of this cost was incurred in London, over an expensive eight days at the Abbey Road Studios in London, UK, during which time the London Session Orchestra, the Metro Voices Choir, a gospel choir and two Irish musicians recorded their parts at the studio.[5]

The orchestral line-up featured 66 members from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, 32 singers from The Metro Voices and twelve gospel singers.[5] The final mixing process spent more than 75 days at the Finnvox Studios in Kitee, Finland, the same place where Nightwish recorded all their previous albums.[5]

Music description

Before the album's release, band leader Tuomas Holopainen said in an interview that the album would have a lot in common with the previous album Once. For example, the band have kept the new kind of heavier songs, such as "Master Passion Greed", "Whoever brings the night", "7 Days to the Wolves", and "Bye Bye Beautiful", but additionally there are softer ballads, such as "Meadows of Heaven", "Eva", and "The Islander". This album includes lots of guest musicians and orchestral parts, just like Once, but with a bigger level.

Just like the album Once, Nightwish included many new influences and experimentations in several tracks. On Once, much inspiration came from Native American music, especially "Creek Mary's Blood", which featured Lakota Indian musician John Two-Hawks. However, on Dark Passion Play, much inspiration comes from Finnish and Irish culture and music, which can be clearly heard on "Last of the Wilds". Songs like "Master Passion Greed" included thrash metal elements as well, displaying the newer, more modern sound of the band.

Holopainen also said that there are darker pieces reminiscent of the album Century Child, such as "The Poet and the Pendulum", and some others. It will be a dark album, both musically and lyrically. Even though the album is much more upbeat than Century Child. Songs that reflect this mood are for example the second single "Amaranth" and "Bye Bye Beautiful"'s B-side "Escapist."

“ The extremes are there more than ever before. So it's not going to be like Century Child 2. There is more hope in some of the new songs.
-Tuomas Holopainen, band leader, keyboardist, and main composer.		 ”

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com 4/5 stars[6]
Allmusic 3/5 stars[7]
Metal Storm 7.5/10 stars[8]
Sea of Tranquility 4.5/5 stars[9]
The Metal Circus 8/10 stars[10]
Lords of Metal 9.5/10 stars[11]
RockReviews 9/10 stars[12]

The album has sold more than 130,000 copies in Finland to date, placing 26th on the list of best-selling Finnish albums ever released,[13] which has granted it a platinum certification four times. "Dark Passion Play" has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.[4] It has been certified as 2x platinum in Switzerland, Platinum in Hungary[14] and Gold in Germany,[15] Sweden,[16] Austria[17] and Poland;[18] Dark Passion Play is also the most successful Nightwish album in UK and USA.[19]

As of January 2008, the album has topped the album charts in six countries; the singles, "Amaranth" and "Erämaan Viimeinen" have both reached the first position on Finnish charts.[20] According to Last.fm, "Dark Passion Play" is their most played album, and its successful single "Amaranth" has as of February 2009 been holding the position of most played song since its release.[20]

The album was also critically acclaimed in most reviews. Allmusic called the album a "sort of opera aria" and praised "Bye Bye Beautiful", on a track pic and "Eva", that they say it focus on the new vocalist vocal abilities.[7] Metal Storm said of "The Poet And The Pendulum" as "not just a statement to anyone who may have questioned the future of the band, but is also if you will, the title track with the pendulum on the front cover of the album and is also the epitome of the whole album to come", and called the album a "very much a Nightwish album is one of the most adventurous outings of the band's history."[8]

The album was also given a positive review by Blabbermouth's Keith Bergman, who gave the album a 7.5 out of 10 and stated that it "may not be a masterpiece throughout, but it's got enough moments of symphonic metal bliss to warrant a high recommendation.[21] About.com writer, Chad Bowar, gave the album a score of 4 out of 5 stars, calling Dark Passion Play "an excellent album that's right up there with the best the band has done."[6]

Promotion

Main article: Dark Passion Play World Tour
Nightwish ending a concert in Melbourne, Australia, on January 31, 2008.

To promote the release of the album, Nightwish played the Dark Passion Play World Tour, that took place from 2007 to 2009.

On 22 September 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn, Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called "Nachtwasser".[22] Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv, Israel on 6 October 2007.[23] The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia.[24][25] In 2008, the band played over 100 shows, with dates in Oceania, Europe and Asia. In November, the band played in South America, and before this leg they took a 3 months break; Nightwish start the third leg in 2009, with dates in North America and Europe, and also playing in several summer metal festivals, including Graspop Metal Meeting and Masters of Rock. The last show was played in Helsinki, Finland, in front of 10 thousand people.[4]

The support bands were changing throughout the tour. The frequent acts were the Finnish pop rock female group Indica, Swedish metal band Sonic Syndicate and the Swedish industrial metal band Pain. The USA tour was supported by Gothic metal band Paradise Lost.[26] In the last concert, the opening band was the Finnish act Apocalyptica. On 11 March 2009, was released an EP/DVD, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), with 8 live tracks recorded during the tour in various concerts; the DVD contains three music videos as well as a documentary featuring material from Israel to South America, directed by Ville Lipiäinen.[4]

Track listing

Main article: List of Dark Passion Play editions
Standard Edition
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Poet and the Pendulum"   Tuomas Holopainen 13:54
2. "Bye Bye Beautiful" (third single) Holopainen 4:14
3. "Amaranth" (second single) Holopainen 3:51
4. "Cadence of Her Last Breath"   Holopainen 4:14
5. "Master Passion Greed" (sung by Marco Hietala) Holopainen 6:02
6. "Eva" (first single) Holopainen 4:24
7. "Sahara"   Holopainen 5:47
8. "Whoever Brings the Night"   Holopainen & Emppu Vuorinen 4:17
9. "For the Heart I Once Had"   Holopainen 3:55
10. "The Islander" (lead vocals by Marco Hietala) Holopainen & Marco Hietala 5:05
11. "Last of the Wilds" (instrumental) Holopainen 5:40
12. "7 Days to the Wolves"   Holopainen & Hietala 7:03
13. "Meadows of Heaven"   Holopainen 7:10

Charts, sales and procession

Charts

Chart
(2007–2009)		 Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[27] 42
Austrian Top 75 Albums[28] 5
Belgian Ultratop (Flanders)[29] 17
Belgian Ultratop (Wallonia)[29] 18
Canadian Albums Chart[30] 24
Croatian Albums Chart[31] 1
Czech Albums Chart[32] 1
Danish Albums Chart[33] 18
Dutch MegaCharts[34] 5
European Top 100 Albums[35] 4
Finnish Albums Chart[20] 1
French Albums Chart[36] 6
German Albums Chart[37] 1
Greek Albums Charts[18] 3
Hungarian Albums Chart[38] 1
Irish Albums Chart[18] 62
Italian Albums Chart[39] 14
Japanese International Albums Chart[40] 52
Mexican Albums Chart[41] 22
Norwegian Albums Chart[42] 7
Polish Albums Chart[18] 6
Spanish Albums Charts[43] 33
Swedish Albums Chart[44] 4
Swiss Top 100 Albums[45] 1
UK Albums Chart[18] 25
UK Rock Chart[18] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums[35] 7
US Top Rock Albums[35] 23
US Billboard Top 200[35] 84

Year-end

End of year chart (2007) Position
German Albums Chart[46] 56

Sales and certifications

Country Certification
(sales thresholds)
Austria Gold[17]
Croatia Silver[31]
Finland 4x Platinum[2]
Germany Platinum[15]
Hungary Platinum[14]
Poland Gold[47]
Sweden Gold[16]
Switzerland 2x Platinum[48]
United Kingdom Silver[18]

Personnel

Main article: List of Nightwish band members

Credits for Dark Passion Play adapted from liner notes.[49]

The band

Main crew

  • Tero Kinnunen- sound engineer
  • Mikko Karmila - mixing
  • Mika Jussila - mastering engineer
  • James Shearman - choir conducting
  • Pip Williams - orchestral arrangements

Guest musicians

References

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  2. ^ a b "Tilastot: Nightwish". IFPI Finland. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/nightwish. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
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  12. ^ "Music Review for Dark Passion Play". RockReviews.org. 2007-09-25. http://www.rockreviews.org/reviewpage.php?ID=606. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  13. ^ Statistics by IFPI Retrieved on 2009-03-17
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  34. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
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  38. ^ "Archive: Nightwish". Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  39. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  40. ^ "Billboard-Japan Hot 100". Billboard & Global Media. http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/hot100/. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  41. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://mexicancharts.com/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  42. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  43. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://spanishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=dark+passion+play. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  44. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien & eMedia Jungen. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  45. ^ "Extended Search: Dark Passion Play". Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=dark+passion+play&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  46. ^ "German- End of Year Charts". MTV Germany. http://www.mtv.de/charts/Album_Jahrescharts_2007. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  47. ^ "Ouro CD- 2007". ZPAV. http://www.zpav.pl/rankingi/wyroznienia/zlote/index.php. Retrieved 2010-06-07. 
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External links

v · d · eNightwish
Studio albums
Angels Fall First · Oceanborn · Wishmaster · Century Child · Once · Dark Passion Play · Imaginaerum
Live albums
From Wishes to Eternity · End of an Era · Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
EPs
Demos
Nightwish Demo · Angels Fall First (demo)
Compilations
Wishmastour 2000 · The Golden Wishes · Wishbox · Nightwish 1997-2001 · Memory Box · Tales from the Elvenpath · Bestwishes · Highest Hopes · The Sound Of Nightwish Reborn · Lokikirja · Walking in the Air: The Greatest Ballads
Singles
Songs
Tours
The First Tour of the Angels · Summer of Wilderness · Oceanborn Europe Tour · Wishmaster World Tour · World Tour of the Century · Once Upon a Tour · Dark Passion Play World Tour · Imaginaerum World Tour
Related acts
Related articles
Awards and nominations · Discography · Members · Once Upon a Nightwish · Imaginaerum (film)
Wikipedia book Book:Nightwish · Category Category:Nightwish · Portal Portal:Heavy metal


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