Nightwish live footage with Annette

[TBJ]

Just gotta say, I fucking LOVE how she sings Ever Dream!! I'm getting this happy vibe from her voice that I am really digging for some strange reason.

I usually hate happy.

Check it out here!

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=81698

 

[J-Man]

All I gotta say is WOW!!!!!! and WOOOOOHOOOOOO the songs actually sound better with her singing them as if they were made for her.

 

[Braxil]

Sleeping Sun was just painful.

 

[nailz]

I have to say, (i hate the youtube shit quality) that this was absolutely fucking amazing. I LOVE her voice when it comes to the newer nightwish stuff. I miss the fullness of Tarja's voice, be sure, but Annette definitely MAKES these songs her own, and I LOVE that about her.

 

[rms]

Sleeping Sun was just painful.

And Slaying the Dreamer, not impressed but i'd rather see them live for my final opinion

 

[nailz]

Sleeping Sun was just painful.

It isn't great. They should definitely retire this one, this is DEFINITELY a Tarja song.

 

[MetalOperaChick]

Wow. So she's basically screaming those vocals. She has Chest voice, and Mid but NO head voice whatsoever. Just the classic pop nasal placement is as close as she gets to that. Kristen Chenoweth long ago perfected the transition between chest to head voice and even Simone does that beautifully... but this makes her range seem dull...except for while she pop-slides all over the place trying to make it interesting. She just slaughtered Sleeping Sun and Sacrament of Wilderness. I give her props on even reaching those notes in a belting style meant for an operatic voice though...but it's not cutting it. She should stick to the new songs that are made for her. She sounded good in those...just not my cup of tea. End of an Era was a very fitting title indeed.


*ducks out of the way of the mud being slung in her direction* Don't hate meee i just have a strong opinion.

 

[Magius]

It'll do. This is what we have left, so we'll have to adjust. Still glad I was at PPUSA IV.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Wow. So she's basically screaming those vocals. She has Chest voice, and Mid but NO head voice whatsoever. Just the classic pop nasal placement is as close as she gets to that. Kristen Chenoweth long ago perfected the transition between chest to head voice and even Simone does that beautifully... but this makes her range seem dull...except for while she pop-slides all over the place trying to make it interesting. She just slaughtered Sleeping Sun and Sacrament of Wilderness. I give her props on even reaching those notes in a belting style meant for an operatic voice though...but it's not cutting it. She should stick to the new songs that are made for her. She sounded good in those...just not my cup of tea. End of an Era was a very fitting title indeed.


*ducks out of the way of the mud being slung in her direction* Don't hate meee i just have a strong opinion.

Babe, I'm right there with ya! Being a trained vocalist (I know you are, and I've studied and performed classic and pop vocals for over 13 years) really turns me off to a lot of singers. I've been called a vocal snob, but I'm very critical of some performers because I can tell what they're doing right and wrong... just like anyone who's studied an instrument or a craft, I guess. I like Annette's voice a lot but it seems the older material is well-beyond her range. Like you basically said, just because someone can hit a note, doesn't mean it sounds good. So far, I've heard one song that I've enjoyed, "Amaranth," and despite Annette's ridiculous pop-appeal, I really enjoyed the video too. It's the only thing saving me from completely turning off anything relating to the future of this band. I'll give a listen to more as it's released, but I think I've heard enough.

 

[nailz]

I dunno.. It may not be beyond her range, but she doesn't have the "smoothness" tarja brought to the songs, I think. maybe it's the same thing? I dunno.

 

[Jurakan]

I will agree this sounds not like what we Nightwish die-hards are used to, but I am willing to cut them some slack.

It is true they do not "sound" like what we were used to, as Sleeping Sun (one of my all time favorites) seems an altogether different song less than a minute into it. Still, Youtube is not the best audio quality out there. Not only does the voice sounds different, the whole music does!!!!

I still need a live performance without the limitations of recording/reproducing equipment before I render a final decision. I just hope I have a job after this ProgPower to be able to afford going to Orlando to see Nightwish live. Then and there I will rend a final (and fair) judgement. (I'm going to PP under threats of getting fired, the likes of which I've never heard, which leads me to believe my boss is being quite serious this time.)

 

[MetalOperaChick]

Your boss is threatening to fire you because you're going to PP? Damn. Where the hell do you work? That sucks! I give you mad props on dedication to metal though haha

 

[Magius]

Your boss is threatening to fire you because you're going to PP? Damn. Where the hell do you work? That sucks! I give you mad props on dedication to metal though haha

+1

 

[nailz]

it's obviously not a job that couldn't be easily replaced if you're

a: actually still going to go after being threatened with termination
b: actually being threatened with termination.

 

[pollution]

It is true they do not "sound" like what we were used to, as Sleeping Sun (one of my all time favorites) seems an altogether different song less than a minute into it. Still, Youtube is not the best audio quality out there. Not only does the voice sounds different, the whole music does!!!!

I was at the show where these clips were recorded at. For sure these digicam/cell phone videos do not make justice for her. I thought she did a great job especially with Ever Dream, Sleeping Sun and Sacrament of Wilderness. When you were there, her voice really filled the whole venue even when she seemed to taking it more easily and not pushing her voice to the limits. Naturally she did a very good job with the new songs too and sounded pretty much the same as on the album, although maybe not sounding as nasal on some stuff (the album was recorded months ago so I guess it could make a difference).

So yeah, of course with a different range she has to do some of the old stuff differently and they have re-recorded the backup stuff to fit her voice better too. For me, on most of the old songs it worked very well and I am now looking forward to see them again with her more than I did during the last couple of years of Tarja era. She seems to be more human on stage too (as in not performing as "robotic" as Tarja did every show, not that I didn't like her live though). Also, seeing how the guys love to play with her makes it feel like more of a band now and not "Nightwish featuring Tarja". Pretty sure most people will be impressed when actually seeing her live on the US tour even if they didn't exactly love the youtube vids. Beginning of a new excellent era, if you ask me.

 

[J-Man]

I was at the show where these clips were recorded at. For sure these digicam/cell phone videos do not make justice for her. I thought she did a great job especially with Ever Dream, Sleeping Sun and Sacrament of Wilderness. When you were there, her voice really filled the whole venue even when she seemed to taking it more easily and not pushing her voice to the limits. Naturally she did a very good job with the new songs too and sounded pretty much the same as on the album, although maybe not sounding as nasal on some stuff (the album was recorded months ago so I guess it could make a difference).

So yeah, of course with a different range she has to do some of the old stuff differently and they have re-recorded the backup stuff to fit her voice better too. For me, on most of the old songs it worked very well and I am now looking forward to see them again with her more than I did during the last couple of years of Tarja era. She seems to be more human on stage too (as in not performing as "robotic" as Tarja did every show, not that I didn't like her live though). Also, seeing how the guys love to play with her makes it feel like more of a band now and not "Nightwish featuring Tarja". Pretty sure most people will be impressed when actually seeing her live on the US tour even if they didn't exactly love the youtube vids. Beginning of a new excellent era, if you ask me.

If you ask me, this is what was needed, someone with good taste in music who was acrually there at the show to write a short review on their impression of the show, Thanks Aki, this solidifies what i have always thought about NIGHTWISH with the new singer, everything is going to be OKAY!!!!!

 

[RiffDaemon]

Can't say I enjoy the occasional pop "noodling" all that much, and her screaming during the intense moment in Slaying the Dreamer didn't do it for me (that's Marco's job!! ); but other than that, these videos make me far, far less skeptical about Annette. I can't wait to hear it all live ... instead of in mono and garbled, hehe

 

[AMBR]

I was at the show where these clips were recorded at. For sure these digicam/cell phone videos do not make justice for her. I thought she did a great job especially with Ever Dream, Sleeping Sun and Sacrament of Wilderness. When you were there, her voice really filled the whole venue even when she seemed to taking it more easily and not pushing her voice to the limits. Naturally she did a very good job with the new songs too and sounded pretty much the same as on the album, although maybe not sounding as nasal on some stuff (the album was recorded months ago so I guess it could make a difference).

So yeah, of course with a different range she has to do some of the old stuff differently and they have re-recorded the backup stuff to fit her voice better too. For me, on most of the old songs it worked very well and I am now looking forward to see them again with her more than I did during the last couple of years of Tarja era. She seems to be more human on stage too (as in not performing as "robotic" as Tarja did every show, not that I didn't like her live though). Also, seeing how the guys love to play with her makes it feel like more of a band now and not "Nightwish featuring Tarja". Pretty sure most people will be impressed when actually seeing her live on the US tour even if they didn't exactly love the youtube vids. Beginning of a new excellent era, if you ask me.

Thanks for the excellent review, Aki! That really gives a good impression of what to expect. I'm really looking forward to hearing them live and seeing them interact on stage. I wasn't really enjoying Tarja's live performances the last couple of times. I guess the tension was showing; she seemed so removed from the guys as well as the audience. Almost like she was performing for a camera, not people. Her interpretations of some of the songs changed too. Seemed like she was using some of them more as a vehicle for her voice and not really getting into them. Not all, she still got pretty emotional and into some of them, like "Sleeping Sun" at the Hartwell Show - I'll never forget THAT performance.

 

[Jurakan]

Your boss is threatening to fire you because you're going to PP? Damn. Where the hell do you work? That sucks! I give you mad props on dedication to metal though haha

Well yes, and no. It is not as much as going to PP as the fact that I will miss 2 days of work. We are behind schedule on a hot project where I am the main "executor", if you will. My boss's exact words were more in the line of "you better be damn sure you're here on Monday" (after PP). I had to negotiate to be able to pull it off. I will show up for work Wednesday morning and head out at noon. My workplace is around a hour and a half to two hour drive to the airport and I head out to Orlando Wednesday afternoon. Then it's road trip to Atlanta with the rest of Caribbean Devastation. We have to drive back to Orlando on Sunday morning for me to make it back to the airport on time to catch the flight to San Juan (so I had to scrap plans to see Sonata Arctica again Sunday night in Orlando). Then I have the same hour and a half drive to work on Monday morning. I'm already tired just thinking about it. I may not even be able to see Nightwish in Orlando on November for the same reason.

But hey, Helloween said it best, Heavy Metal is the Law!!! Thanks to all metalheads for cheering me on on my PP pilgrimage.

(Please let me know of any engineering job openings in your local area, just in case...)

 

[Chai]

An interesting new sound for sure. I was ready to write Nightwish off after Tarja left and an Annette track was leaked. But after listening to these live versions and the new album a bit, I'm ready to give them a full on shot. I'll definitely be seeing them in GA, and I'm thinking they may even win me over to this new sound . (BTW, I liked her version of Sleeping Sun *runs off to avoid flying objects*)