Nightwish
Yesterwynde – Nuclear Blast
Three-and-a-half years in the making, Nightwish’s tenth album is perhaps their most anticipated but if the pressure’s on, it doesn’t show. Featuring a dozen cinematic songs, Yesterwynde puts line-up shenanigans in the past and evidences a band who are happy in their own company to deliver an album that stands as a career best. The title (and opening) track acts as a portent of what’s to come; it’s ethereal and evocative and creates a sense of time and place in a way that only symphonic metal can. It means that when we hit ‘Sway’ the band are in full-on filmic mode to conjure images of a Viking with sword on bended knee against a backdrop mountains shrouded in morning mist. Vocalist Floor Jansen is in particularly good form, turning in an otherworldly performance on ‘Spider Silk’ then adding to the grandiose nature on ‘The Weave’. A deep album, both lyrically and musically, this record is rich in symbolism and will require a few spins to fully appreciate all its facets, but it’ll reward efforts amply and will dig roots deep into your soul. Yesterwynde honours Nightwind’s illustrious past and in doing so will propel them towards a bright future.
Review by Peter Dennis.