Nightwish - Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
by Kevin Wierzbicki
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Finnish prog-rockers Nightwish have been around for over a decade and they are the best selling act ever to come out of Finland; yes, even more popular than Lordi. For most of their history the band was fronted by female vocalist Tarja Turunen but she was fired a couple years back and replaced with a very similar voice in Swedish import Anette Olzon. Olzon has only been on board for one studio album, Dark Passion Play, so it makes sense that all but two of these 8 live cuts come from that album. Nightwish has a very big sound that belies the fact that they are only five (although there is some orchestral embellishment here) and their metal-infused prog-rock would be quite a challenge to keep up with for most girl singers. Olzon however embraces the opportunity, fluidly drawing out high notes like Renaissance's Annie Haslam on "The Poet and the Pendulum" as easily as she chants and whispers like Otep Shamaya on the heavier stuff. Nightwish may touch on subject matter that is bleak but it is never hopelessly dark so Olzon doesn't have to force her voice into any demonic contortions. To say that this music is "pretty" is not only a compliment but it is probably also the reason why Nightwish has achieved mainstream success in Europe; without Olzon (or Tarja before her) this music would not resonate with the masses. Two studio B-sides and a demo of "Cadence of Her Last Breath" are appended to the live material and a bonus DVD follows the band on their A Dark Passion Play World Tour from which Made in Hong Kong's music was culled.
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Nightwish - Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)
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