Oceanborn

Oceanborn
An image of a woman with long black hair and a white dress floating on the surface of the ocean. In the distance above her, the Earth is visible through a rip in the sky that resembles the shape of a human eye. There is an owl flying to her left that is holding a letter in its talons.
Studio album by
Nightwish
Released7 December 1998 (1998-12-07)
RecordedAugust–October 1998
Studio
Genre
Length49:02
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerNightwish[1]
Nightwish studio album chronology
Angels Fall First
(1997) 		Oceanborn
(1998) 		Wishmaster
(2000)
Alternative cover
European edition
Singles from Oceanborn
  1. "Sacrament of Wilderness"
    Released: 25 November 1998
  2. "Walking in the Air"
    Released: 31 January 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chronicles of Chaos[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal[4]
Metal Storm[5]
Metal Crypt[6]

Oceanborn is the second studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in Finland by Spinefarm Records on 7 December 1998[7] and in the spring of 1999 worldwide.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

In 2017, Loudwire ranked it as the 10th best power metal album of all time.[11]

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."[12] He 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.[12]

According to Kerrang!, "for all its Royal Albert Hall grandiosity, Oceanborn was actually recorded in a Finnish school."[12]

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[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

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

All lyrics are written by Tuomas Holopainen, except where noted; all music is composed by Holopainen, except where noted

Oceanborn track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Stargazers"  4:27
2."Gethsemane"  5:21
3."Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean"  4:46
4."Sacrament of Wilderness" 
  • Emppu Vuorinen
  • Holopainen
4:12
5."Passion and the Opera"  4:50
6."Swanheart"  4:44
7."Moondance" (instrumental)  3:31
8."The Riddler"  5:16
9."The Pharaoh Sails to Orion"  6:27
10."Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)BlakeBlake5:28
Total length:49:02
1999 reissue added track
No.TitleLength
11."Sleeping Sun"4:01
Total length:53:03
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Nightquest"4:17
Total length:53:19
Limited European Tour Edition bonus tracks[5]
No.TitleLength
11."Nightquest"4:15
12."A Return to the Sea"5:46
13."Sleeping Sun"4:01
Total length:63:04
2007 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Nightquest"4:15
13."Sleeping Sun" (live at Summer Breeze Open Air)4:31
14."Swanheart" (live at Pakkahuone)3:55
15."The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" (live at Pakkahuone)6:39
Total length:72:23

Personnel

Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.[16]

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 74
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Platinum 68,971[19]

Accolades

Listicles

Year Publisher List Rank Ref.
2017 Loudwire Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time 10 [11]

References

  1. ^ Sleeping Sun (4 Ballads of the Eclipse) (liner notes). Nightwish. Drakkar Entertainment. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Ravelin, Antti J. "Nightwish – Oceanborn review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  3. ^ Rocher, David. "Nightwish – Oceanborn". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 313–314. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  5. ^ a b "Nightwish – Oceanborn". Metal Storm. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  6. ^ "The Metal Crypt - Review of Nightwish - Oceanborn". Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  7. ^ ""Oceanborn" Is Released". Nightwish's Official Website. 7 December 1998. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Oceanborn releases worldwide". Nightwish's Official Website. 16 February 1999. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Tilastot - Nightwish" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Nightwish releases to hit the USA". Nightwish's Official Website. 22 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  11. ^ a b Divita, Joe (5 July 2017). "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Ruskell, Nick (16 August 2008). "Treasure Chest. An Ultimate Portrait of a Life in Rock. Tuomas Holopainen.". Kerrang!. Vol. 1223. London, UK: Bauer Media Group. p. 54.
  13. ^ DiVita, Joe (5 July 2017). "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Tuomas Holopainen Official: The Escapist - Biography". Tuomas-holopainen.com. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ Ollila 2007, p. 86.
  16. ^ (1998). "Oceanborn liner notes". In Oceanborn [CD booklet]. Spinefarm.
  17. ^ a b "Nightwish: Oceanborn" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nightwish – Oceanborn" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Nightwish" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.

Bibliography