Definitely the Century Child/DPP sound. Century Child to me is the best Nightwish album. So I'm definitely more in that era then Oceanborn. I really love Oceanborn as it was the first Nightwish album I heard, but Century Child just connected with me musically. I felt Once was really good at first, but going back and listening to it - I find it hasn't held up as well. DPP though - love the album, and it definitely has staying power for me.
If I had to rank them:
1) Century Child
2) DPP
3) Oceanborn
4) Once
5) Wishmaster (Too much like an Oceanborn Pt 2)
6) Angels...
It's probably not a unique pick - but Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer. Tuomas's sound in Nightwish comes so much from Zimmmer IMO. Listen to The Rock/Crimson Tide and its like a precursor to the staccato keyboards in Century Child. Nightwish covered the theme song for Crimson Tide on their live DVD/CD - and it literally felt natural for their sound.
Other favorites are Jerry Goldmith, John Williams, Klaus Badelt, and then lots of the other composers who are too numerous to list. I agree on Alan Menken too. People might think less of him because of the genre he writes, but I can't think of many people that have come up with so many different memorable and timeless songs. 100 years from now, most of our metal bands won't even be names people remember. But Alan Menken - his stuff will be played till the end of time probably. The man just knows how to write good songs.
Century Child was the album that broke me into NW--I had heard songs off of Once, but only GLS did anything for me, but CC just...that's the album that made me fall in love with the band. Ever Dream was the song that really caught me, and then the whole album after that...each song is a personal favorite on it.
I used to not like the Oceanborn/Wishmaster era at all when I first got into them, but Dead Boy's Poem, Gethsemane, and Sleeping Sun made me fall in love with it after awhile. Gethsemane is still definitely a favorite from Oceanborn.
Wishmaster was likeable for me, though. It wasn't the most original music, and I actually recognized some of the melody lines as being ripped off Oceanborn, haha, but I felt it was a very flowing album. The lyrics weren't personal and the music wasn't technical, but you could feel the band was having a good, non-stressful time when playing, which was nice.
Angels isn't a favorite album, but I do love the tracks where Tuomas sings! He may think he sings like a mule, but at least he sings like a very cute mule!
Nymphomaniac Fantasia is a track I like to forget about.
When I first heard FWTE's live show, I thought that Crimson Tide/Deep Blue Sea WAS a NW song, lol! So I completely agree, that song was very natural for them, and Tuomas has repeatedly said Zimmer is a huge influence for him.
I think more of Alan Menken for the genre he writes, haha. I'm a Disney fanatic. In fact my eighteenth birthday is this Friday, and guess what party-theme I'm having for my day of reaching adulthood?
Disney Princess.
His broadway work is great, too.
Speaking of NW, have you heard their version of Sibelius's "Finlandia"? It's really beautiful and moving, better than any other version of it I've heard (and I've loved and listened to that song for a long while). Tuomas certainly knows how to not just make a song his own, but get into the spirit of the music itself and express it as it was meant to be.
I love how daring NW is with their music.
What are your favorite tracks from DPP?
