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intothewellsabyss
Dec 7, 20224 min read

Nightwish - Oceanborn (1998)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



On December 7, 1998, Nightwish released their second full-length studio album, Oceanborn in Finland via Spinefarm Records (in the spring of 1999 worldwide).


(Cover of the European Edition)


It was released by Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, and by Toy's Factory in Japan. It is their first album with bassist Sami Vänskä.


(Sami Vänskä, Ruiskrock Festival, Turku, Finland, 2000)


In 2017, Loudwire ranked it as the 10th best power metal album of all time.



Background:

Nightwish returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece to record their follow-up album for Spinefarm Records. On December 7, 1998, Nightwish released Oceanborn, in Finland only.



Adopting a more technical and progressive sound than Angels Fall First, Oceanborn saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release (with the exception of the song Moondance), while showcasing a more bombastic, power metal-oriented sound with faster tempos, harmonic guitar/keyboard leads, and plenty of double-bass-heavy drumwork. In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska (ex-Finntroll), since Tuomas did not want to sing again (Wilska is also a former member of Nattvindens Gråt).


"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.



According to Mape Ollila, who penned the band's biography:

“Along with Therion's Theli, the album came to be known as one of the cornerstones of the emerging genre of symphonic metal.”

Most of the lyrics are 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.



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." Holopainen added:

“We were all such amateurs when it came to recording. We didn't really know what we were doing, so we were just experimenting with a lot of different things, we even brought in this string trio who were complete shit, then another violin, then another violin on top. So we ended up with Moondance having 20 tracks of violin, just because we hadn't done this before and didn't know what we were doing! It's a pretty stuffed album, but I also think it's one of our best because you can hear the excitement of trying all these new things. It seems strange that this became a breakthrough album, because back at the time the music was so funny. It was really operatic, and when you look at the pictures, they look pretty horrific.”

According to Kerrang!, "for all its Royal Albert Hall grandiosity, Oceanborn was actually recorded in a Finnish school."



In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the single Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse), and in one month the single sold 15,000 copies in Germany alone.



Following the band's first international success, Nightwish was added as the opening band for Rage's 1999 European tour. Both the album Oceanborn and the singles Sacrament of Wilderness and Walking in the Air were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.



AllMusic’s review said that the album "as a whole works great", with songs that are "very strong". Oceanborn was an instant success in Finland, reaching No. 5 on the Finnish album charts. The album's first single, Sacrament of Wilderness, hit No. 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks.



As previously noted, the album's release was initially limited to Finland, but because of the success of Sacrament of Wilderness, Spinefarm released Oceanborn internationally in the spring of 1999. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001. Oceanborn has since sold more than 68,000 copies in Finland. The song Sleeping Sun has been included in every reissue of the album since then.



Live Performances:

Since the album's release, Sacrament of Wilderness has remained a fan-favorite at concerts, and it was still performed often until 2003. In 2007 it returned to the setlist but after 2008, it wasn't performed again until the Decades: World Tour in 2018.



Both Sleeping Sun and Walking in the Air have also been performed often on shows. Walking in the Air returned to the live set list of the band on September 19, 2009 at Hartwall Areena, as an acoustic song sung by then-vocalist Anette Olzon.


(Nightwish, live at Hartwall Areena, September 19, 2009)


Having been dropped from their live shows since Turunen's dismissal in 2005, Stargazers returned to the live set list on the Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour, with Floor Jansen as their newest singer in 2015.



In recent years, former vocalist Tarja Turunen released covers from two Oceanborn songs: Stargazers, on a live version (recorded March 27, 2011) that can be heard on the CD/DVD Luna Park Ride; and Swanheart, also a live recording (April 2013) with Turunen performing accompanied by a symphonic orchestra, choir and Mike Terrana on drums, that can be heard on the CD/DVD Beauty and the Beat.


(Tarja, Luna Park Ride DVD)


(Tarja Turunen & Mike Terrana, Beauty & the Beast CD)


Since leaving the band, she has also sang in concert, Passion and the Opera, Sleeping Sun and Walking in the Air.



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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