The 8th milestone ...

And once again I'm really overwhelmed by this magnum opus and had it though from the first note excited - listen over and over and can be set in order to grasp the emotions and impressions into words can.

Nightwish has never been light fare, despite the compared to other representatives of the genre quite catchy melodies; for this is their song structures, arrangements, rhythm changes, the lyrics and moods they create to complex and multifaceted. They also polarize like no other band of their genre, because it is hard to define and can be categorized and querbeet move by genre: Metal, rock, folk and pop, accompanied by opulent orchestral sound and choral elements. The severity of each item is different from album to album, resulting in the individual fan groups to disappointment: The Metal Group wants to see the metal elements is more prominent and condemned all Catchy-Jazzy, the fans beautiful symphonic sounds want more orchestral bombast, the friends are classical singing since 2007 at the time bitching and now gets the Folk Group more food, which in turn reject the other ... etc., etc. ... Everyone wants northwest presses in his preferred drawer and the works not exactly ..
Unimpressed, Tuomas consistently follows his path and does whatever he just feels like without crawling the fans afterwards; He has the skill, but also the courage, every time to reinvent themselves, to jump between the drawers back and forth and to surprise his listeners.

On EFMB now takes back whatever Nightwish embody .... and the music fan must now sort and to reorient again; while the happy one if his drawer seems to be represented, the other is disappointed because he expected something else ...

The new line up the expectations of the fans was equally high as split: The Floor Group has a vocal fireworks with classical soprano mixed with rocking Geröhre expected, while fans of Anette's soulful and warm voice had hoped for something similar and floors vote total Find powerful and cold (I know some of them ...).
What makes Tuomas? He finds this a good balance and leaves Floor predominantly sound gentle and soulful, but in the more aggressive songs she must leave her body loose and tubes and growl, like mad but everything in moderation. The classic song comes here (for my taste), unfortunately too short, but you can not have everything. ;)
Perhaps Tuomas wanted to deliberately give rise to a homogeneous band structure: neither stands out any of the instruments, nor the voice - even the orchestra is fit very homogeneously and complacent. That's it, I think what was meant in the interviews in advance with "bandorientiertem" album.

For each song has been received already in full detail and in detail by previous speakers so I will be brief in this respect;):

My favorites are the dark "Weak Fantasy" (could this infinite press Replay), the massive "Shudder ....", the aggressive "Yours is to ...." and the classic northwest anthems Endless Forms ... and Alpenglow. Especially in Weak Fantasy and Alpenglow I find Floors voice used very well, unlike previously used by it.
Very touching is the only ballad of the album "Our Decades in the Sun, where I also find Floors breathy vocals very appealing and appropriate.

The Instrumental The Eyes of ... is very atmospheric, but also depending on mood, but fits in my opinion very well into the overall concept.

"Elan", "My Walden" and "Edema Ruh" are for me the weaker pieces, without that I would describe it as bad; they fall off on halt's oeuvre in relation towards the other songs a bit, but are still well audible and well inserted into the album.

And now for the monumental work The Greatest Show ..:. This is not just another song on the album but a small album per se why I cling it out consciously and consider it a small, stand-up for work with incredible atmospheric density. A gem that has earned for me a special position within Tuomas' works. A gorgeous piece of music that every time you hear frisson down my spine and touched me emotionally, like no other piece of music before. Just WOW! Many thanks and compliment this to the Maestro! :)

My conclusion: Where Nightwish draufsteht also Nightwish's in it! And nothing I wished for!