Reviews' Journal

sabrichan @ 6:43pm: Nightwish- Once review.
Now, this is a strange thing. I have read all of the reviews on Amazon. Half of the reviewers LOVE this album, half of them DESPISE it. However, the ones who hate it never really go into detail, and one of them even suggested *snicker* to listen to "real metal music like *coughcoughhack* Slipknot" XD

But now for my take, and a short summary:

This is my FAVORITE Nightwish album to date. Many of the songs had heavier guitars and just an overall heavier feel, however it was also a lot more symphonic and had more of an overall 'fantasy' feel to it. Also, Tarja does not simply sing in only an operatic manner. If you liked that and think you cannot stand her just singing, then you're out of luck, but her voice is beautiful no matter how she sings.

Let me go through the songs in the order they are currently on my playlist.

1. Dark Chest of Wonders- Not a bad piece. Nice and fast, some choral elements that I really liked. Some of the lyrics were a bit silly, as you can tell by the song title, but it's a good piece to turn up loudly and lose yourself in. Tarja sounds a bit stressed and quavering at some points, but the overall fantastic feel holds through, It sounds almost like a movie score, and everything works together well-- which happens in all Nightwish songs, to my delight. It's rather upbeat, too. Keeping to their old fantasy theme. =)

2. Romanticide- It's got a nice undertone, though quite heavier feel to it. Those of you who like ballads will not like it. The chorus is a bit odd, and it feels a bit more 'angsty' than the others. But it has a wonderful heavy tone and is really good for losing yourself in-- like all Nightwish songs. Dark and throbbing is the only way to put it. =)

3. Creek Mary's Blood- This song mad me cry. It's about the Native Americans and how they were moved from their homeland, etc.. It starts out with some lovely singing in a native language, it sounds like, and some rainstick things, with a much softer feel than the previous songs. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking ballad. Not heavy at all. It still sends shivers up my spine. It all works together, including the pieces of singing in another language. "Wandering on horizon broad, following the trail of tears. Once we were here where we have been since time begun..." Some lovely flute work, too. The instrumental in the middle is lovely and seems to fit with the rest, though it has rather harsh guitars.

4. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan- Finally, they sing in Finnish. This song is beautiful. I can't really listen to it much because it's so soft and I tend to go for something heavier, but it's beautiful for when I feel peaceful. I can't comment on the lyrics, but Tarja's non-operatic voice is at its best.

5. The Siren- I couldn't finish this song. The vocals at the beginning REALLY turn me off. The little "ah ah ah ahs" after some stuff I don't really like. However, the whole feel is different from anything they've ever done. It's very different, the chorus just being Tarja singing with no words.

6. Nemo- This has to be the best of their sound engineering, having a completely different feel from ANYTHING. Of course, all of this album is completely different from everything they've ever done. This has great soft vocals, a very 'pretty' sound to it, and drums and guitars that back everything up nicely. My only complaint is that it seems a bit angsty, but the beauty of the song (ahhh, keyboards are lovely!) and the fact that it isn't whiny can let me get over the few lines like, "Touch me with your love and reveal to me my true name." For the strangest reason, everyone who I have made listen to this song likes it, no matter how much they hate anything else Nightwish has done. Deliberate and rather slow. It's unfortunately not a good song to lose yourself in or to just close your eyes and listen to.

7. Wish I Had an Angel- Now, before any of you who have heard this song scream "Male vocals, EWWW!" I actually think they fit in this song nicely. I do not think this for any other song of theirs, however. This is a very fast song, and I like the beat and lyrics. The overall sound is LOVELY, and I love the chorus line: "I'm in love with my lust/burning angel wings to dust". I love this song to death and have listened to it over and over again for a while. Another GREAT song to lose yourself in. The middle portion with the creepyish vocals from Tarja just... works. One of my favorite songs of all time.

8. Ghost Love Score- I must admit I'm really biased in favor of this song because it fits some of my roleplaying in every shape, way, and form. This is a gorgeous song. LOVELY. Very sweeping and fantasyish. Its chorus,
"My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I`ll bleed forever"
Could be angsty and whiny in the hands of someone like Evanescence or Linkin Park, but Nightwish does it reverently without missing a beat. It's a wonderful long song during which the style changes several times. Tarja's vocals, admittedly, seem weak at points, though whether that's what she intended or not cannot be determined. Slow and sad at points, upbeat and racing at others, this is a BEAUTIFUL song.

9. Dead Gardens- Here's a weak point, and a major one. It doesn't pull the listener in. At all. It loses all of the atmospherics of any other piece. I can FORGET I'm listening to it. Badness. Pretty bland, it really doesn't stand out.

10. Higher than Hope- It's a mediocre piece. The chorus does not fit with the soft, slow other parts of the song. Blah. tired.

In summary, this is a fabulous album. I consider an album fabulous if most of the songs on it become my favorites, honestly.

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4th August 2004

sabrichan @ 7:26pm: You see, I had this nice little snarky review of H.I.M.'s Razorblade Romance, but I hit [esc] and lost it all. ;_;

Hence, let me summarize:

1. They need a new vocalist.
2. They need new lyrics that don't all sound the same.
3. They need a new vocalist!
4. They need some different songs. A few ballads would be nice.
5. THEY NEED A NEW VOCALIST, DAMNIT!

I don't like the whole 'whiny voice-cracking' sound of the main vocalist. Can you tell?

A female would be better and more suited to the style, rather than a guy wishing he was female whose voice cracks all over the place.

Current Mood:

annoyed

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1st August 2004

sabrichan @ 3:22pm: Anime
Shingetsutan Tsukihime

Another vampire anime. I was prepared for something rather cliche and dark, with guns and badass vampires in cool outfits. What I got was something completely different, dark and tragic. This is not a World of Darkness style vampire story-- it is something sadder and softer.

"A long, long time ago, there were beings called moon-people. Among the moon-people, there was a white princess that was full of pride. She awoke white, and fell asleep white, one who did not understand impurity: the princess of the Shinso. Then, there was a tragedy. A snake whispered to her, "Please drink this. Your thirst will then be satisfied." But it was poison. The snake wanted the princess. The snake's name was Roa. And the white princess fell. When that happened, she sealed herself in and lived only for penance."

Shiki is not a normal high school boy. After getting in what he was told was a car accident, he began to see lines everywhere, across everything. A mysterious sorceress gave him a pair of glasses so that he would no longer see the lines, which were visible to none others but him. If cut along these lines, things are destroyed utterly.

One day, Shiki is on his way home from school when he meets a lady with shoulder-length blonde hair and red eyes. She gives him an evil smile and claims to have been killed by him the day before. He runs, and she follows. He loses her eventually, but a day later, she waits for him outside of his school. Her name is Arcueid Brunestud, she says, and she is one of the original vampires. He does not believe her, but then they are chased by monsters from another vampire. Arcueid dispatches these with ease, but appears to be hurt-- she is still injured from where she claims he killed her. After questioning him as to how he killed her, none of which he remembers, she requests his assistance to join her in investigating some strange killings around the city. And so their nightly adventures begin.

The murderer they find, however, is not the person she is looking for. Convinced that Shiki can help her to destroy this person utterly, she tells him that she is looking for a vampire called Roa, in his current body.

But what of Shiki's family? His sister, Akiha, will not allow him outside. She is hiding a dark secret, but what is it? The old mansion he now lives at may hold clues, but Akiha is intent on not letting its secrets become known.

And there's no forgetting about the upper-classman Ciel, who nearly kills him once while he is out at night, and seems to have a major grudge against Arcueid.

Arcueid, too, has secrets: her vampiric instincts aren't as under control as she'd like them to be. She is also slowly falling in love with Shiki, and it causes all sorts of trouble.

Tsukihime as a whole is a tragic, dark tale, full of plot twists and secrets. It is thoroughly enjoyable and makes you cry at some points.

It is engaging, as I wasn't waiting until the end of the episode, though it is a bit slow-paced. Some episodes are crammed with material and some plod along.

I love the plot. It develops just at the right rate, and while the vengeance thing is overdone, the development of Shiki and Arcueid overwhelms the actual hunting down of Roa. This is wonderful for those who aren't intent on having story-based plots, as character-based plots work as well. However, the story was still strong, and the plot twists surprised even me.

The characters were well-developed and strong. I really felt for them.

The music was quite fitting to the feel of it, soft and sad-sounding. In fact, there were many times where there was no music. The silence was as important as the soft violins.

Voice acting isn't anything special, but not bad.

Story: 5
Voice Acting: 3.5
Music: 3
Pacing: 4
Characters: 4.5
Animation: 4.5

Total: 4.25

Current Mood:

cheerful

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