Nightwish, Human II Nature

I can’t believe it’s already been 5 years since the release of Endless forms most beautiful. It feels like it was just yesterday I was ecstatic to hear what Floor could do in her new band and what Nightwish could do with its new singer. And yet, in the current album, Human II nature, they sound like a match made in heaven that’s always been together and one couldn’t possibly imagine otherwise. Or maybe that’s just my extreme fangirling speaking.

Music – I must confess that I love this new found positivity of Nightwish. Music is upbeat and uplifting and I am so happy to see the band recover the joy of singing they were missing in the dark era. And speaking of missing, could those be keyboards I’m hearing? The bridge is such a wonderful mash of the keyboard driven early albums and the playful singing of the last releases.

The first half of Noise is the most typical Nightwish thing you will ever hear. The infamous bass riff, the rhythm, the drums, everything is there and I may have gotten soft, but I actually enjoy the bouncy feel of the track. The second half, however, is full of sudden transitions and changes of rhythm and atmosphere. There are so many things going on that it’s hard to believe it’s only a 5-minutes song. By the time Noise is done, it feels like more than 10 minutes have passed, and in the good sense of having listened to a pretty epic piece.

Shoemaker is cute, but slightly disjointed. It starts off as a simple sweet melody and then moves on to an operatic part that sounds out of place. The not so smooth transition and the fact that there is no return to the original melody make it seem like two separate tracks.

Harvest is Troy’s moment. You know what I’m talking about, that lovely uplifting piece of music, with a beautiful Irish instrumentals in the middle, that’s part cheerful, part melancholic, part traditional Irish music, part Nightwish. Every album has one, usually one of my favourite sections, and this one makes no exception.

Pan is a heavier song, with classic Nightwish bass, drums and mouthy vocals and choirs. It’s the first time I hear Floor’s full voice and the harmony with Marco is great, but overall it’s not their most inspired piece of work and it lacks some salt and pepper compared to the rest of Human II Nature.

When I first listened to How’s the heart, I found it rather cheesy, but after more spins I have come to see the beauty in it. Putting together Troy’s Irish influences and Nightwish’s dreaminess created a wonderful melody full of gentleness and purity. Floor also shines here, easily moving from the playful crystal clear notes in the beginning to the vocals in the final chorus, full of power and light.

Procession is the least impressive part of the release. Floor is lovely as always, but the melody is too linear. Sometimes adding multiple elements on top of the same tune that works like a red wire can build an ingenious song, but in this case the original tune is too short and monotonous, the end result being a rather irritating repetition.

Tribal is a combination between Tutankhamen, Romanticide, tribal chants and powerful vocalisations from Floor. If it sounds unusual it’s because that’s exactly what it is, but surprisingly enough, it works. All those parts that in theory have nothing to do with one another are connected in a way that makes sense and turned into a cool little song.

Endlessness tries to do the same, but with less success. It starts off with a doom like cadence, continues with a more Nightwishy rhythm, jumps through various styles of singing from Marco, before closing off with an interlude from Floor and an instrumental that marks the end of the album. As opposed to Tribal, which isn’t very impressive, in Endlesness each part is so interesting on its own, but transitions are relatively abrupt and the song lacks coherence. On the other hand, Marco is an awesome vocalist, with a special colour, so and it’s great to hear him have his own moment after so long.

It’s nice to see Nightwish finally switching from the known recipe of having a long epic piece on each album and sticking shorter tracks. Not because I don’t love their epics (in fact some of my favourite are the 10-minute plus melodies), but it’s always a pleasure when a band surprises you and doesn’t do what is expected. On the downside, I feel that Floor is a bit underused. People were complaining she didn’t reach her full potential in Endless forms most beautiful, but I think she had a lot more to do there then she does in Human II nature. She sounds lovely no matter what she does, but it’s such a waste to get the most talented and versatile singer in metal and have her sing mostly sweet light Annette-style vocals.

Still, Human II nature is a wonderful album. It just oozes life and joy and almost every track filled me with positivity and pleasant vibes. There is a light-heartedness that I find very refreshing and reminds me of the child-like wonder of old Nightwish.