Oceanborn

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."{{cite book |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=Kerrang! |chapter=Treasure Chest. An Ultimate Portrait of a Life in Rock. Tuomas Holopainen. |volume=1223 |location=London, UK |publisher=Bauer Media Group |date=16 August 2008 |page=54 }} He added:

{{quote|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.}}

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

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{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/top-power-metal-albums-all-time/|title=Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time|last=DiVita|first=Joe|date=5 July 2017|website=Loudwire|access-date=13 July 2019}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.tuomas-holopainen.com/en/about-tuomas/biography |title=Tuomas Holopainen Official: The Escapist - Biography |publisher=Tuomas-holopainen.com |date=12 May 2012 |access-date=28 July 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701131304/http://www.tuomas-holopainen.com/en/about-tuomas/biography |archive-date=1 July 2014 |df=dmy-all }} 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.{{sfn|Ollila|2007|p=86}}

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

| headline = Oceanborn track listing

| all_lyrics = Tuomas Holopainen, except where noted

| all_music = Holopainen, except where noted

| title1 = Stargazers

| length1 = 4:27

| title2 = Gethsemane

| length2 = 5:21

| title3 = Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean

| length3 = 4:46

| title4 = Sacrament of Wilderness

| music4 = {{hlist|Emppu Vuorinen|Holopainen}}

| length4 = 4:12

| title5 = Passion and the Opera

| length5 = 4:50

| title6 = Swanheart

| length6 = 4:44

| title7 = Moondance

| note7 = instrumental

| length7 = 3:31

| title8 = The Riddler

| length8 = 5:16

| title9 = The Pharaoh Sails to Orion

| length9 = 6:27

| title10 = Walking in the Air

| note10 = Howard Blake cover

| lyrics10 = Blake

| music10 = Blake

| length10 = 5:28

| total_length = 49:02

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 1999 reissue added track

| title11 = Sleeping Sun

| length11 = 4:01

| total_length = 53:03

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Japanese edition bonus track

| title11 = Nightquest

| length11 = 4:17

| total_length = 53:19

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Limited European Tour Edition bonus tracks

| title11 = Nightquest

| length11 = 4:15

| title12 = A Return to the Sea

| length12 = 5:46

| title13 = Sleeping Sun

| length13 = 4:01

| total_length = 63:04

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2007 reissue bonus tracks

| title12 = Nightquest

| length12 = 4:15

| title13 = Sleeping Sun

| note13 = live at Summer Breeze Open Air

| length13 = 4:31

| title14 = Swanheart

| note14 = live at Pakkahuone

| length14 = 3:55

| title15 = The Pharaoh Sails to Orion

| note15 = live at Pakkahuone

| length15 = 6:39

| total_length = 72:23

}}

Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.(1998). "Oceanborn liner notes". In Oceanborn [CD booklet]. Spinefarm.

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Nightwish

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, backing vocals on "Moondance", songwriting, lyrics
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitars, songwriting
• Sami Vänskä – bass
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums, percussion, backing vocals on "Moondance"

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Production

• Tero Kinnunen – engineering, producer
• Mikko Karmila – engineering, mixing
• Mika Jussila – mastering
• Toni Härkönen – photography
• Maria Sandell – artwork
• Markus Mayer – re-release cover art

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Additional musicians

• Tapio Wilska – additional vocals on "Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean" and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion", backing vocals on "Moondance"
• Esa Lehtinen – flute
• Plamen Dimov – violin
• Kaisli Kaivola – violin
• Markku Palola – viola
• Erkki Hirvikangas – cello

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Finland|artist=Nightwish|title=Oceanborn|type=album|award=Platinum|domestic=true|salesamount=68,971}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Once Upon a Nightwish|last=Ollila|first=Mape|publisher=Deggael Communications|year=2007|isbn=978-952-99749-2-4}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101231042248/http://www.nightwish.com/en/ Nightwish's Official Website]

{{Nightwish}}

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Category:1998 albums

Category:Nightwish albums

Category:Spinefarm Records albums

Category:Century Media Records albums

Category:Albums recorded at Finnvox Studios