Imaginaerum

Occupation

• Vocals: Anette Olzon
• Guitar: Emppu Vuorinen
• Bass / vocals: Marco Hietala
• Keyboards / Vocals: Tuomas Holopainen
• Drums: Jukka Nevalainen

Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The album was released on November 30, 2011 in Finland and on 2 December 2011 at the German-speaking countries. Imaginaerum reached number one on the Finnish album charts and was there already received two days after posting double platinum.

Formation

In June 2009, Tuomas Holopainen said in an interview with the Finnish music magazine Soundi that he had begun work on a new album. In early June 2010, the pre-production will be completed. Shortly after, the musicians gathered without their heavily pregnant singer Anette Olzon in a " summer camp " in the Finnish village Sävi to sift through the material and arrange. For the recorded demo bassist Marco Hietala sang all the lyrics.

The studio recording of the album began on October 16, 2010. It first the drums, the bass and the guitars were recorded. In February 2011, the orchestra and the choirs were recorded. The arrangements for this have been worked out as with Dark Passion Play by Pip Williams. Williams said in an interview that he needed six months for arranging. While it took only three days for the song Slow, Love, Slow withdrew the work for Scaretale out over a month.

On 10 February 2011 the band announced the album title Imaginarium. Furthermore, the band explained that they work simultaneously on a same movie that will be released in 2012. The music and movie titles, according to Holopainen called " the power of imagination and the roller coaster ride of life."

In March 2011, the song should be included. Two accidents this process had to be postponed. Only Anette Olzon should record their vocals. When she tried to reply to an e -mail and handed over her son to her partner in her apartment, she fell over a toy and broke some ribs. Then the shots by Marco Hietala should be preferred, however, he shifted in his backyard ice and suffered a muscle strain. Hietala took in spite of pain on his singing. In mid-April 2011, the recording is finished.

The album was mixed from April to June 2011 by Mikko Karmilla at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. The mastering took Mike Jussila. To hot mix-ups with other things, the Imaginarium to avoid the spelling of the album and the film was end of August 2011 changed to Imaginaerum. At the same time, the band extended its contract with Nuclear Blast Records.

Publication

The album was released as a regular CD in a jewel case and as a limited edition digipak, containing a bonus CD with the instrumental versions of the songs. On record Imaginaerum appeared as a double LP on clear vinyl, and gray as well as a picture disc In addition, Nuclear Blast Records released a so-called Mailorder Edition, which is limited to 1,000 copies. This edition includes the album in digipak, the one - track single residual Calm in the demo version, in which the song is sung alone by Marco Hietala and a wall mirror.

The first single, the song Storytime was coupled out in November 2011. The single was released on CD and vinyl in various versions and contains the album version nor the abbreviated radio version and an instrumental version of the song. The second single is the ballad of The Crow, the Owl and the Dove. In addition to the three versions of this song, the 5-track single contains the previously unreleased song The Heart Asks Pleasure First. This is a cover version from the soundtrack of the film The Piano. The original version comes from the English composer Michael Nyman.

The songs

The lyrics of the album touch loud Tuomas Holopainen together the texts of the six previous albums. In an interview he stated that his current texts " represent a celebration of his existence " content. Holopainen was inspired again by the American poet Walt Whitman. Holopainen stated that he " many of his own thoughts in Whitman's works find again ."

With Slow, Love, Slow the band wrote the first time a jazz song. Tuomas Holopainen stated that he had always wanted to write a slow song about love. In I Want My Tears Back it comes back into your own childhood. In an interview Tuomas Holopainen stated that a child may cry with all my heart, what he thinks is a liberating feeling. The bagpipe was played by Troy Donockley. It is the only song on the album, can be heard on the neither choir nor orchestra.

With Arabesque and the title song Imaginaerum this time are two instrumentals on the album. The title song is a compiled by Pip Williams Medley from the twelve other songs of the album. In the song Turn Loose the Mermaids Holopainen processed the death of his grandfather.

" My grandfather had only a few minutes to live. I took leave and introduced me to the corridor, such as mermaids carry him off. "

The song Song of Myself Holopainen wrote for yourself The text covers his experiences, ranging from love of life to self-hatred. In the poem part of the song the voices of friends, relatives and other band related parties are heard. On the text of the poem Holopainen was working in his own words for months. The lyrics to The Crow, the Owl and the Dove, however, was written within 15 minutes. The latter song was written by Marco Hietala. Tuomas Holopainen asked him not to use this song for his band Tarot, as Hietala played him there.

Reception

Reviews

According to Stefan Popp of the online magazine metal1.info the band is a " allüberstrahlendes masterpiece succeeded ". At least now Nightwish would " become a completely unique band that is comparable with any other grouping ". Considering that the album " from beginning to end and produces goosebumps gets under your skin " Popp awarded ten out of ten. For Andreas Schulz of the online magazine Musikreviews.de illustrates Imaginaerum " impressively demonstrates the exceptional position of the band and represents any genre competition before an insurmountable hurdle ." Schulz rated the album with 13 of 15 points.

Siegfried Samer criticized by the Austrian online magazine Stormbringer that Nightwish " lag behind their compositional possibilities " and that the singer Anette Olzon " especially with the powerful passages seems overwhelmed ." He gave the album three out of five.

Chart positions

The album Imaginaerum reached number one on the Finnish album charts at once. Already is the fifth number-one album in a row for the band. In Germany, the album debuted at number six. Third place was achieved in Switzerland and ninth place in Austria. The first single Storytime debuted at number one on the Finnish single charts. Ensure that the belt for the twelfth time reached the top position. In Germany, the single reached number 39, in Switzerland and in Austria Rank 31 Rank 57

Awards

In the first two days after the publication of more than 50,000 units of the album were sold in Finland, for which the album was awarded double platinum. The band benefited from the fact that the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the Finnish section reduced the threshold for the award of platinum awards in 2010 from 30,000 to 20,000 units. In Germany the album a gold record for 100,000 units sold was early January 2012. In Greece, the album was awarded a gold disc.