Dark Passion Play in Bloomington, MN

Judging from the way
Dark Passion Play
starts out, it's understandable to assume that it's some sort of opera aria. But hold tight, dear friends, because from out of nowhere
metal
guitar riffs come swooping in. That's
Nightwish
for ya -- a Finnish quintet that had been walking the line between symphonic and metallic for ten years by the time of this 2007 release. The album signals the arrival of new singer
Anette Olson
(who replaced longtime member
Tarja Turunen
), but for longtime fans worried that this lineup shuffle may alter the band's sound and direction, there's no reason to fret --
are as bombastic and dramatic as ever. Understandably, there are quite a few similarities between
symphonic metal
and
prog metal
, and this is certainly the case on such tracks as
"Bye Bye Beautiful,"
which contains a very
Dream Theater-esque
opening. Elsewhere,
"Eva"
focuses primarily on the vocal talents of
's new frontwoman, while the slow-building album opener,
"The Poet and the Pendulum,"
proves to be a neat summary of
's style. Depending on which side of the
fence you're on,
is either a
triumph or merely pretentious twaddle. ~ Greg Prato