Review by Monika on February 23, 2008.

With what I’ve come to expect from Nightwish based on their previous albums, I was very, VERY curious when the news of Tarja’s parting came out – I mean, Nightwish was very much recognized because of her grandeur, strong and clean voice combined with the sound of goth metal. Hence, the arrival of Dark Passion Play was very much anticipated, at least by me. And while not everyone may agree with my opinion – this is what I have to say about this album.

First and foremost, at the beginning I thought Anette’s voice sucked; I now must admit that I was simply comparing her to Tarja, which was totally unfair. As I read about Dark Passion Play, this album brings changes to Nightwish – not only member-wise, but also sound-wise. Therefore, while keeping some of the “old” Nightwish in mind, Anette with her softer, maybe a little rock/pop sounding vocals, brings the first taste of the New Nightwish. Tuomas, as expected, visualized and created a great album; his keyboard work is close to perfection, the combination of orchestra with the choirs in the background give songs a lot of depth. Guitars, bass and drums are perfectly put together with the keyboards, sound is very powerful, strong and concise, and the whole album is very well recorded. You will also find quite a lot of Finnish folk music influences in some of the material on this CD, and you will hear more of Marco’s singing – the guy is awesome, and his raspy voice adds a lot of attitude to Anette’s softer performance.

Dark Passion Play is a very ear-friendly album. With that said though, I think that it as a whole, it lacks the luster and the majesty that we’ve experienced before. I also think that, even though it is still a good album, I find myself listening to it – not experiencing it as I would with previous work of Tuomas and the rest. I no longer get goosebumps like I used to. There are a few songs, such as “Amaranth”, “For the Heart I Once Had” and “Bye Bye Beautiful” that I find myself humming during the day, but still, not what I have grown accustomed to.

Well, all in all, if you’ve listened to Nightwish before– you may have a hard time getting used to this “new” sound. I know I did. At first I hated it, now it’s grown on me. If this is the first album from Nightwish that you’ve heard – you probably like it, and you probably like it a lot. It is a very, very strong release for Nightwish, especially since a new era has begun for this band. So – a good beginning, let’s hope that change will be good for them. I will look forward to hearing more from them, and hope that this “different” Nightwish continues the legacy of the “old” one.


Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Originality: 7
Production: 10
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Monika on February 23, 2008.

With what I’ve come to expect from Nightwish based on their previous albums, I was very, VERY curious when the news of Tarja’s parting came out – I mean, Nightwish was very much recognized because of her grandeur, strong and clean voice combined with the sound of goth metal. Hence, the arrival of Dark Passion Play was very much anticipated, at least by me. And while not everyone may agree with my opinion – this is what I have to say about this album.

First and foremost, at the beginning I thought Anette’s voice sucked; I now must admit that I was simply comparing her to Tarja, which was totally unfair. As I read about Dark Passion Play, this album brings changes to Nightwish – not only member-wise, but also sound-wise. Therefore, while keeping some of the “old” Nightwish in mind, Anette with her softer, maybe a little rock/pop sounding vocals, brings the first taste of the New Nightwish. Tuomas, as expected, visualized and created a great album; his keyboard work is close to perfection, the combination of orchestra with the choirs in the background give songs a lot of depth. Guitars, bass and drums are perfectly put together with the keyboards, sound is very powerful, strong and concise, and the whole album is very well recorded. You will also find quite a lot of Finnish folk music influences in some of the material on this CD, and you will hear more of Marco’s singing – the guy is awesome, and his raspy voice adds a lot of attitude to Anette’s softer performance.

Dark Passion Play is a very ear-friendly album. With that said though, I think that it as a whole, it lacks the luster and the majesty that we’ve experienced before. I also think that, even though it is still a good album, I find myself listening to it – not experiencing it as I would with previous work of Tuomas and the rest. I no longer get goosebumps like I used to. There are a few songs, such as “Amaranth”, “For the Heart I Once Had” and “Bye Bye Beautiful” that I find myself humming during the day, but still, not what I have grown accustomed to.

Well, all in all, if you’ve listened to Nightwish before– you may have a hard time getting used to this “new” sound. I know I did. At first I hated it, now it’s grown on me. If this is the first album from Nightwish that you’ve heard – you probably like it, and you probably like it a lot. It is a very, very strong release for Nightwish, especially since a new era has begun for this band. So – a good beginning, let’s hope that change will be good for them. I will look forward to hearing more from them, and hope that this “different” Nightwish continues the legacy of the “old” one.


Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Originality: 7
Production: 10
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

After gallantly overlooking Mavorim's first two records, I've been fighting my way from back to front since "Non Omnis Moriar". The investment for both "Axis Mundi" and "Silent Leges Inter Arma" under discussion here has been worthwhile. Already on his debut, one man army Baptist scores with amazing compositional skills. He shows no interest in extreme degrees of hardness, but his melodies are never too mild, too. In addition, he does not shy away from a well integrated soft part every now and then. This approach gives the album a certain depth and a proper portion of variety – and, by the way, the different sections blend seamlessly with each other. Maybe it is no coincidence that the most epic number, “Heimatboden”, has been placed in the centre of the tracklist. Especially its mid-tempo parts with the commanding, god-like voice give the song a cruel aura, no matter its comparatively mild parts. The atmospheric keyboard outro adds the final touch.

Baptist, the man behind the project, uses his mother tongue and spits out archaic fantasies of violence. Sometimes I think we would deserve more intelligent lyrics, but okay, that’s black metal, if I am not mistaken. Either way, he varies his voice enough to avoid monotony and this makes the album even more interesting. But its main pillars are the solid degree of (double-bass driven) aggression (“Feind geworden”) and some magic melodies. Their magic lies in the fact that they sound gentle, yet evoke an ominous mood (“Das Fleisch der Engel”). This is a cool effect and lends Mavorim some individuality – today we know that the project has cultivated this approach on its following albums in an excellent manner. The production supports this procedure, because it largely does without edges and corners. Maybe this mix is not aligned with the dogma of true black metal, but here it works.

As mentioned above, “Silent Leges Inter Arma” was / is the first full-length of Mavorim and therefore it comes as no surprise that there is room for improvement as well. “Waffenträger”, for example, marks a solid track without remarkable deficiencies, but it also does not shine with any outstanding details. “Kolosse aus Stahl” is also okay, no more, no less. But Baptist, this is obvious, has put his whole skills and emotions into the material and his maturity shimmers through every tone, regardless whether I listen to a solid or an excellent song. At the end, the output can boast with a very homogeneous design and a good flow. Therefore it is only logical that no throwaway track appears here. Moreover, there is no loss in quality as the album progresses. The last regular track, the comparatively rapid “Der Tod wollt ich sein”, convinces with excellent guitar lines and a healthy dose of dynamic. So from my point of view, there can be no doubt that Mavorim belong to the most competent bands in the German scene. Three full-lengths and not a single crap song: this is a proud interim result. Guess it’s time to discover the legion of splits and EPs...

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

After gallantly overlooking Mavorim's first two records, I've been fighting my way from back to front since "Non Omnis Moriar". The investment for both "Axis Mundi" and "Silent Leges Inter Arma" under discussion here has been worthwhile. Already on his debut, one man army Baptist scores with amazing compositional skills. He shows no interest in extreme degrees of hardness, but his melodies are never too mild, too. In addition, he does not shy away from a well integrated soft part every now and then. This approach gives the album a certain depth and a proper portion of variety – and, by the way, the different sections blend seamlessly with each other. Maybe it is no coincidence that the most epic number, “Heimatboden”, has been placed in the centre of the tracklist. Especially its mid-tempo parts with the commanding, god-like voice give the song a cruel aura, no matter its comparatively mild parts. The atmospheric keyboard outro adds the final touch.

Baptist, the man behind the project, uses his mother tongue and spits out archaic fantasies of violence. Sometimes I think we would deserve more intelligent lyrics, but okay, that’s black metal, if I am not mistaken. Either way, he varies his voice enough to avoid monotony and this makes the album even more interesting. But its main pillars are the solid degree of (double-bass driven) aggression (“Feind geworden”) and some magic melodies. Their magic lies in the fact that they sound gentle, yet evoke an ominous mood (“Das Fleisch der Engel”). This is a cool effect and lends Mavorim some individuality – today we know that the project has cultivated this approach on its following albums in an excellent manner. The production supports this procedure, because it largely does without edges and corners. Maybe this mix is not aligned with the dogma of true black metal, but here it works.

As mentioned above, “Silent Leges Inter Arma” was / is the first full-length of Mavorim and therefore it comes as no surprise that there is room for improvement as well. “Waffenträger”, for example, marks a solid track without remarkable deficiencies, but it also does not shine with any outstanding details. “Kolosse aus Stahl” is also okay, no more, no less. But Baptist, this is obvious, has put his whole skills and emotions into the material and his maturity shimmers through every tone, regardless whether I listen to a solid or an excellent song. At the end, the output can boast with a very homogeneous design and a good flow. Therefore it is only logical that no throwaway track appears here. Moreover, there is no loss in quality as the album progresses. The last regular track, the comparatively rapid “Der Tod wollt ich sein”, convinces with excellent guitar lines and a healthy dose of dynamic. So from my point of view, there can be no doubt that Mavorim belong to the most competent bands in the German scene. Three full-lengths and not a single crap song: this is a proud interim result. Guess it’s time to discover the legion of splits and EPs...

Rating: 8 out of 10