Oceanborn
Oceanborn is the second studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released in December 1998 in Finland and in the Spring of 1999 worldwide.Oceanborn has sold more than 68,000 copies in Finland. The single "Sleeping Sun" was released in August 1999 and the song has been included in every re-issue of the album since then. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001.
Background
Speaking to Kerrang! in 2008, band founder Tuomas Holopainen reminisced that the band got really ambitious after the debut album "that was never meant to be released as a proper record. It happened almost by accident, so we decided to put everything into making Oceanborn great." He added:
According to Kerrang!, "for all its Royal Albert Hall grandiosity, Oceanborn was actually recorded in a Finnish school."
Style
This album marked a definitive change in musical scope for Nightwish from their folk-laden roots in Angels Fall First, showcasing a more bombastic, power metal-oriented sound with faster tempos, harmonic guitar/keyboard leads, and plenty of double-bass-heavy drumwork. During that time, Stratovarius was Holopainen's biggest inspiration, hence the power metal sound of the album.Oceanborn's sound hearkens a more dramatic approach in the overall musical scope, mostly relegated to the symphonic keyboard work and lead singer Tarja Turunen's vocals. Most of the album is fantasy-themed, with tracks like "Swanheart" and "Walking in the Air", a cover from the animated TV special The Snowman, as typical examples; however, the song "Gethsemane", has a more religious feel to it. In addition, there are also some theatrical tracks like "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean". Oceanborn is among their darkest albums, making use of the harsh vocals of Tapio Wilska in the songs "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" and "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean".
Podcasts:
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by Nightwish
Oceanborn
by: NightwishA snowy owl above the haunted waters
poet of ancient gods
Cries to tell the neverending story
prophecy of becoming floods
An aura of mystery surrounds her
the lady in brightest white
Soon the incarnate shall be born
The Creater of the night
Deep dark is his Majesty's kingdom
A portent of tomorrow's world
There shall the liquid give Him power
The red-eyed unborn lord
Fatal embrace of the bloodred waters
The cradle of infinite gloom
The spell to master this Earth
Carven on an infant's tomb
"I will die for the love of the mermaid
Her seduction, beauty and scorn
Welcome to the end of your life
-Hail the Oceanborn!"
"Disgraced is my virginity
Death has woven my wedding dress
Oh, Great Blue, breathe the morning dew
For you are the cradle for the image of god"
"Brave now, long rest is sweet
With me here in the deep
"I Prayed for pleasure, wished for love
Prayed for your..."
"Never pray for me!"
"Who the hell are you for me
But a mortal dream to see"
"This apathetic life must drown
Forever just for me"
"Leave me be
Leave me be
Leave me be..ee eeee... e"
"From cradle to coffin
shall my wickedness be your passion
We shall come to set the dolphins free
We shall wash the darkened bloodred sea
Our songs will echo over the mountains and seas
The eternity will begin once again in peace