Review by MartinDavey87 for Nightwish - Angels Fall First (1997)

‘Angels Fall First’ is the 1997 debut album by Finnish symphonic metal group Nightwish, who would go on to become one of those most popular and prolific bands of the genre.

Compared to later releases, however, ‘Angels Fall First’ sounds very raw, and at times, slightly disjointed and directionless, lacking the epic bombast that the band would incorporate on future albums. However, there’s still a clear vision here of what the band want to accomplish, and there’s no doubting the writing talents of keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and the potential they display.

While ‘Angels Fall First’ is full of tasty guitar riffs and some fantastic interplay with keyboards, as well as a good balance of both male and female vocals, I find that most songs seem to deviate from the hook that first got my attention. Songs like ‘Elvenpath’, ‘Tutankhamen’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ have some incredibly strong and memorable melodies, but after a few minutes I find myself not really paying attention. It’s almost as if the ideas are there, just not quite the ability to flesh them out into full songs.

Still, this is a young band in their early days, playing a style of music which is equally in its early years, and so it’s forgivable that this album just isn’t overly memorable. No doubt Nightwish will improve vastly over time, but ‘Angels Fall First’ is best left for the die-hard fans of the band.