| Century Child | 
 enlarge | Artist: Nightwish
Label: Century Media
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy New: $10.27
You Save: $5.71 (36%)
New (32) Used (10) from $8.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  88 reviews
Sales Rank: 6587
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 8189
UPC: 727701818924
EAN: 0727701818924
ASIN: B0000C506H
Release Date: September 23, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Bless The Child | | • | End Of All Hope | | • | Dead To The World | | • | Ever Dream | | • | Slaying The Dreamer | | • | Forever Yours | | • | Ocean Soul | | • | Feel For You | | • | The Phantom Of The Opera | | • | Beauty Of The Beast |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
"NIGHTWISH could very well have cloned their last full studio album, Wishmaster, and would have been guaranteed to sell as many copies without the fanbase batting an eyelash. Simply put, the band is that good. NIGHTWISH is not stupid, firmly believing in artistic integrity over sales and clearly having the balls to branch out, explore and experiment with their craft. For a start, the level of bombast seems to have been turned down a notch on Century Child in favour of a more metal approach, even singer Tarja toning down her all-out opera vocals somewhat and using her voice with much broader scope. Ironically, the band has become more operatic at the same time with the addition of bassist Marco Hietala - recently stolen from Sinergy - who acts as Tarja's male lead vocal counterpart on several tracks, making a huge impact on the band's sound. No question that NIGHTWISH would be just another band with out Tarja though, who shines brighter than she ever has before. ! Century Child is yet another firm step towards greatness." (9 out of 10 review) - BRAVE WORDS & BLOODY KNUCKLES -1st new album in over two years! Massive anticipation! -Fourth full-length from one of gothic metal's leading acts. -NIGHTWISH have already received double platinum and gold album awards in their native Finland, as well as winning two Emma Awards (the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy) and scoring four Top 10 hits at radio. -Produced by Tero Kinnunen (Nightwish) and Mikko Karmila (Amorphis, Stratovarius, Avantasia) at Caverock and Finnvox Studios in Finland.
Album Description
2003 album from the female fronted Finnish symphonic goth/metal super group. 10 tracks including, 'Bless The Child', 'End Of All Hope' & 'Dead To The World'. Century Media.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
 Surprising... December 6, 2008
Pros: Nightwish makes a transition closer to symphonic metal and pulls it off very well. The instrumentals are beautiful, the songs powerful as always, and, of course, Tarja's vocals are sung very well. They experiment with their songs this time around and it pays off, making each one sound unique.
Cons: Some songs don't match Marco's vocals at all (ie. Phantom of the Opera Cover) making his voice clash with Tarja's at times. Not good. Also, the album is only 10 tracks, making it quite short. You end with the feeling that there could have been - and is - more.
The Bottom Line: The CD is still a treat to listen to - with several powerhouse songs on the album for Nightwish fans to enjoy.
This album is a real surprise for me because, although I owned 4 of their albums before this one, I never planned to buy Century Child. I had heard "Bless the Child" years ago and didn't like the song at all. Fortunately, musical tastes change and, with the help of hearing "End of All Hope," I finally decided to give the album a try.
It's amazing what a few years can do for musical taste. "Bless the Child" happens to be a favourite of mine now. It's a very strong opener for this album - another ode to the loss of innocence theme. The intrumentals are cinematic in nature and crescendo slowly over a voice-over introducing the album. Of course, then we're thrown into the song itself. Tarja sings with a strong voice - but she can be passionate, sorrowful, and even sets a creepy mood at times. Especially the line "There's a poison drop in this cup of man, to drink it is to follow the left-hand path," is sung with regret at how people lose themselves/innocence. (Granted, my interpretation might not be accurate, but that's the way it looks to me) The song itself ends as it fades out in voice-over leading into...
"End of All Hope". This song works almost like the sequel or second part of "Bless the Child" except it's a powerhouse and Tarja's vocals strongly compliment it. It also carries the same theme, loss of innocence, within the piece. It catches you, pulls you in and takes you along for the ride - making it probably my favourite song on this album. (Though a few others do come close) Either way, if you want an adrenaline rush of a song, here it is.
"Dead to the World" is a different sort of song as it introduces Marco and has him sing alongside Tarja. The instrumentals are fantastic; but there's something missing when Marco sings at the beginning. It sounds, kind of flat - by flat I mean that there doesn't seem to be as much emotion put into the song. It's especially apparent when Tarja sings a few lines, as she adds the missing emotion into the piece, heightening the feeling of flatness to Marco's vocals. However, it does get better when he arrives at the chorus, which is very nicely done. Good song, but the vocalization could be better.
"Ever Dream" is a dream in itself. It's a beautiful lost-love song that could, and I have said this before, be part of a movie soundtrack. It's that great. I can't get enough of it, especially when Tarja sings the chorus. This song would be my second favourite off of the album.
"Slaying the Dreamer" has some well-done riffs and the songs is intensely catchy; however, the lyrical content is a problem. It's a bit too, how should I put this? I guess I could say that I find the analogies too graphic for what I like to listen to. Too bitter for my tastes as well. It talks about (in some disturbing terms) how people are used/abused/told that they're only "living a dream" and have no talent. Then the person snaps at the end with the "I truely hate you all" line. Don't misunderstand me though, I still enjoy the song; but it's a bit too much on the bitter side for my tastes. But, if you're angry, the song works if you want to get the frustration out.
Elsewhere, "Forever Yours" is a soothing tune. "Ocean Soul" and "Feel For You" are well done too, even though they could use a bit more power to them.
The "Phantom of the Opera" cover comes in next. As a huge fan of the original song (with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford) I was a curious to see how Nightwish would spin it. The instrumentals have taken a metal edge, which was accomplished surpisingly well. Tarja actually tackles Christine's lines like a pro, even though you can tell she's singing at the top of her range. The song itself is extremely difficult to sing. But, the fact that Tarja pulled it off without being an opera singer is pretty amazing to say the least. Unfortunately though...there's Marco. It doesn't work. That's all I can say without getting upset and writing a rant. He does not match the song and I was very sad to see the Phantom's lines butchered in such a fashion. They would have done well to acquire a different type of singer for that part. Marco and Tarja do not harmonize well on this song - it sounds very bad at times. So, in the end, I enjoyed Tarja's parts and the instrumentals; but not Marco.
"Beauty of the Beast" finishes the album. It's around 10 minutes and it's another lovely piece that is split into 3 sections. They all combine and flow into each other with ease. It's a stunning finisher for the album and definately worth noting as a highlight.
After the album closes, you're left with a sense of satisfaction at the good songs. However, you're also wishing that there was more. I keep getting the feeling that there is supposed to be more - only there isn't. In all honesty, I really wish the album was longer. It feels cut short. That being said it is a very enjoyable CD to listen to. There are some amazing tracks on "Century Child" that you're bound to love.
Recommended: Yes. I'd suggest you pick it up if you're a Nightwish fan.
 Greatest There Is October 31, 2008
To be honest, I've actually read a lot of average reviews for this album and I can't help but thinking why..
First of all, I am a massiv efan of Nightiwsh and love everything they've ever done (except maybe Angels Fall First :p) but this album stands by far above the rest.
Every song on this album is perfectly written and crafted and grabs your emotions like no other album can.
Most metal bands are not known for great lyrics or for creating albums full of emotion, but this one is.
Track 4, EVER DREAM, is possibly one of the most amazing songs ever created, filled with such sorrow and beauty at the same time.. While slying the dreamer filled with such rage yet frailty.
By far, the greatest track on this album is the epic finale, Beauty Of The Beast. This is a true masterpiece that I can listen to for hours.
In my opinion, this is the greatest album ever written and recorded and gets 100/5 stars
A lot of great stuff, but a hard album to love July 8, 2008
Evolutionary principle pretty much presupposes that each stage in development will link up to the next and so on and so forth until development takes place. Hence the concept of missing links. And here is the Nightwish not so missing link. The album that seemed to promise more than the previous couple of studio efforts yet seemed to have dreams larger than those it could fulfill. There is no doubt that there is talent all over the place here. The title track and Beauty and the Beast are two good example of this ability to pen good music. The tune Feel For You (which the band never rated as one of the best on the album strangely) shows the group continuing to throw in a few numbers with male counterpoint vocals - this time courtesy of new guy Mr Hietala.
The 100% appropriate cover of The Phantom of the Opera is pretty awesome though once I saw/heard it I always go back to the End of an Era live version and the band sally forth with more obtuse yet hard edged lyrics combined with powerful music on Slaying the Dreamer, one of those tunes you just know Tuomas wrote to exercise the inner demons he has admitted he finds so hard to get out of his system in his personal life (see Bye Bye Beautiful from Dark Passion Play for another example of this).
An album that on first spin left me a little cold and disappointed but which after time grew on me and I can appreciate the bands direction so much more in hindsight after hearing Once. And we again get colourful and pleasant cover art, quality booklet and complete lyrics and it's this attention to detail that permeates all Nightwish product and gives even their lesser, earlier albums an aura of quality. Note that in some releases a second disc was included that had the video clip for Over the Hills and Far Away which is a somewhat weird affair, but once again we come back to that aspect of focus and quality I was just talking about.
Grab it cheap to get a snapshot of a band that was refusing to stand still and just make Wishmaster Mk II.
Nightwish never fails! June 21, 2008
This was the second album I bought of Nightwish (the first was "Once...), and again, Nightwish never fails to release such an entrancing album. The lyrics are step up, Marco comes along (yeah!) and Tarja's voice soars higher than before. Some tracks on the album will always be immortal:
Bless the Child
Slaying the Dreamer
Ever Dream
Ocean Soul
Phantom of the Opera (stunning version)
This is a slight step down from Wishmaster, but still, if you really pay attention to the heart of the lyrics, every song is beautiful and stands strong on its own. This must in your library if you love metal! NW forever!
Another Great CD by Nightwish January 7, 2008
Century Child marks the beginning of a change of sound for Nightwish. After (and in) this album, they start to focus more on the symphonic sounds, rather than the power-metal qualities their prievious albums had.
Of course, for people like me, this is a great change. While Nightwish were great with power metal, they are epic with their symphonic metal qualities.
The first four songs still retain some of the power metal sounds, but they do show the transition between the two styles.
Then the fifth song, "Slaying the Dreamer" is a really fast paced, angry sounding song, especially in the latter half, but it still sounds great, and is one of my favourite songs on the album.
"Forever Yours" is the only song on the album that is slow all the way through, but it sounds really beautiful, as all of Nightwish's slow songs tend to do.
"Ocean Soul" and "Feel For You" are two good songs, but I think almost all the other songs overshadow them.
Then Nightwish does a cover of "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is my favourite song on the album, and it really is great. People who are used to hearing the original version of this song may be thrown off by Marco's gravelly version of the Phantom, but you should be able to get over it rather quickly.
Finally, the most epic song on Century Child, "Beauty of the Beast." It really is a masterpiece in pretty much any way one looks at it. It's also a great way to end the album, with a ten-and-a-half-minute-long epic.
Overall, this is a great album, although I personally like their next album, Once, a lot more. If you like Once or Dark Passion Play, you'll most likely like this album too. The reverse is true too, if you like this, then you'll probably like Once and Dark Passion Play.
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