I tried giving them a listen not that long ago but it really wasn't doing anything for me. The music reminds me of Rhapsody if they had Tarja singing for them.
I gave it a sampling. Big improvement over the last one, but I'm just not into those operatic vocals anymore. I started to like Nightwish better when Tarja started singing more naturally on Once.
I thought operatic vocals were really cool in the early Nightwish days, but now the novelty has worn off for me.
I did too. Respected the talent, even if it wasn't my kind of thing, but I REALLY liked "Once", and have zero problems listening to the current lineup.
I always wanted to hear her sing differently, she (Tarja) has a great voice, but it needed some more dimension to it. "Once" delivered that, at least for me (& you)
You really need a generous budget to make this kind of music sound good. I loved Wishmaster and Oceanborn, but after hearing Once and Dark Passion Play it's hard for me to go back and listen to those albums
Symphonic metal can just not be done right on a shoestring budget.
Amberian Dawn released their 3rd CD titled "End Of Eden" through Spinefarm Records on Oct 20 2010.
Amberian Dawn - "Arctica" official video
Production of "End Of Eden" has improved when compared to previous releases and there is also a noticeable development in songwriting without compromizing their own symphonic powermetal style. Especially the numerous neoclassically influenced guitar and kb solos stand out on this CD, not to mention Heidi's clean and beautiful classical vocals.
Definitely their best release yet and not really a Nightwish dead ringer - if they ever have been...