Oceanborn

Oceanborn is the second studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in Finland by Spinefarm Records on 7 December 1998 and in the spring of 1999 worldwide. 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.
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 reissue of the album since then. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001.
In 2017, Loudwire ranked it as the 10th best power metal album of all time.
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. Oceanborns 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".
Track listing
Personnel
Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.NightwishTarja Turunen – lead vocals
Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, backing vocals, songwriting, lyrics
Emppu Vuorinen – guitars, songwriting
Sami Vänskä – bass
Jukka Nevalainen – drums, percussion, backing vocalsProductionTero Kinnunen – engineering, producer
Mikko Karmila – engineering, mixing
Mika Jussila – mastering
Toni Härkönen – photography
Maria Sandell – artwork
Markus Mayer – re-release cover artAdditional musicians'
Tapio Wilska – additional vocals on "Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean" and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion", backing vocals on "Moondance"
Esa Lehtinen – flute
Plamen Dimov – violin
Kaisli Kaivola – violin
Markku Palola – viola
Erkki Hirvikangas – cello
Charts
Album
Singles
Certifications
References
Bibliography
External links
Nightwish's Official Website
1998 albums
Nightwish albums
Spinefarm Records albums
Century Media Records albums
Albums recorded at Finnvox Studios