Album review: Nightwish – Yesterwynde

Just as The Lord Of The Rings cannot be read in one sitting, or Michelin Star banquets be downed while answering emails at work, Yesterwynde is a thing that requires you to be a participant. Like the best things in life, it takes time and, given the opulence of its production, probably headphones. This, finally, is the ultimate expression of Nightwish, a magnum opus that delivers everything this galactic band do best, but expands each aspect further.

The universe is infinite, and so it seems is the creative mind of band leader Tuomas Holopainen. Here are aural crescents of triumph; huge hooks and riffs propel The Antikythera Mechanism as the song's storyline marvels at a nascent computer used by ancient Greek astronomers, while the ’80s-tinged and similarly anthemic The Children Of ’Ata celebrates the survival of young castaways who lived peacefully on a deserted island for 15 months.

As bombastic and magnificently brain-hammering as it gets – An Ocean Of Strange Islands and Perfume Of The Timeless being two such examples – the tone is one of wonder. Tuomas' central message is that our very existence is a fabulously unlikely miracle, a thing to revel in. If, after several listens, you find your eyes moistening, you aren't strange – you're just insightful enough to be part of this greater whole.

Something Whispered Follow Me tiptoes to a conclusion via some earth-moving note-making from Floor Jansen, affirming once again that she is surely the finest living vocalist in rock. She throws in another jaw-dropping high at the end of The Weave. Then you have Sway and Hiraeth, gentle in touch and numerous in level, the latter a wistful folk-and-metal yearning for times that are on the very cusp of memory. Amid it all are several references to earlier Nightwish songs, nods to past glories that only serve to connect and elevate.

Certainly, Yesterwynde is no passing fancy, but a 71-minute odyssey that invites you to take your own journey. And, as anyone with sufficient focus will know, not all those who wander are lost.

Verdict: 5/5

For fans of: Opeth, Evergrey, Epica

Yesterwynde is released on September 20 via Nuclear Blast