''Oceanborn'' is the second studio album by

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in Finland by

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

on 7 December 1998 and in the spring of 1999 worldwide. It was released by

Drakkar Entertainment Drakkar Entertainment GmbH, also called Drakkar Records or Drakkar Publishing, is a German record label with its headquarters in Witten. It is a joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group. History Originally Kopec Music Publishing, Drakkar En ...

in the rest of Europe, and by

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

in Japan. It is their first album with bassist

Sami Vänskä Sami Vänskä (born 26 September 1976) is the former bassist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Background Vänskä started playing bass when he attended music school when he was nine years old. Rush, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Pepper ...

. ''Oceanborn'' has sold more than 68,000 copies in Finland. The single "

Sleeping Sun "Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad and the fourth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released as a maxi single with three other songs on 2 August 1999 to coincide with the total solar eclipse that would occur on 11 August ...

" 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 A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

in March 2001. In 2017, '' Loudwire'' ranked it as the 10th best

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

album of all time.

Background

Speaking to ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' in 2008, band founder

Tuomas Holopainen Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...

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 ''Angels Fall First'' is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 1 November 1997. The original 500-copy limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the ...

'', 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 Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

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 Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half oct ...

'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 "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ''The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fav ...

", a cover from the animated TV special ''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It ...

'', 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 Tapio may refer to: *Tapio (given name), a Finnish male given name *Tapio (surname), a Finnish surname *Tapio (spirit), a god or spirit in Eastern Finnish mythology *Tapiola, one of the major urban centres within the city of Espoo, outside of Helsi ...

in the songs "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" and "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean".

Live performances

Since the album's release, "

Sacrament of Wilderness "Sacrament of Wilderness" is the second single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released as the first single from their album '' Oceanborn'', and a split-single with Eternal Tears of Sorrow and Darkwoods My Betrothed.''Once Upon a Nig ...

" 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 "

" 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 19 September 2009 at

Hartwall Areena Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,34 ...

, as an acoustic song sung by then-vocalist

Anette Olzon Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish class ...

. 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 ''Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour'' was the sixth world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in support of their eighth studio album, '' Endless Forms Most Beautiful''. It was the first full tour featuring lead singer Floor ...

, with

Floor Jansen Floor Jansen (; born 21 February 1981) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Jansen first became known as a member of symphonic metal band After Forever, standing as their lead vo ...

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 27 March 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 Mike Terrana (born January 21, 1960) is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer. His first professional work was in 1984 with the MCA band Hanover Fist from Toronto, Canada, after which he recorded and toured with other bands, playing m ...

on drums, that can be heard on the CD/DVD '' Beauty and the Beat''. Since leaving the band, she has also still sang in concerts Passion and the Opera, Sleeping Sun and Walking in the Air.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Oceanborn'' adapted from liner notes.(1998). "''Oceanborn'' liner notes". In ''Oceanborn'' D booklet Spinefarm. Nightwish *

– lead vocals *

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s, backing vocals, songwriting, lyrics *Emppu Vuorinen – guitars, songwriting *

– bass *

Jukka Nevalainen Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen (born 21 April 1978, in Kitee, Finland) is the former drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Personal life He spent his early years in the city of Kitee. His music teacher at school told him t ...

– drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, backing vocals Production *Tero Kinnunen – engineering, producer *Mikko Karmila – engineering, mixing *Mika Jussila – mastering *Toni Härkönen – photography *Maria Sandell – artwork *Markus Mayer – re-release cover art Additional musicians *

– additional vocals on "Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean" and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion", backing vocals on "Moondance" *Esa Lehtinen – flute *

Plamen Dimov Plamen Dimov ( bg, Пламен Димов; born 29 October 1990) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays for Bulgarian First League club Etar Veliko Tarnovo. His twin brother Galin Dimov is also a footballer. They are sons of the distinguished Bul ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

*Kaisli Kaivola –

*Markku Palola –

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

*Erkki Hirvikangas –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References

Bibliography

External links

Nightwish's Official Website
{{Authority control 1998 albums Nightwish albums Spinefarm Records albums Century Media Records albums