Yesterwynde by Nightwish: In-Depth Full Album Review & Track-by-Track Breakdown
Nightwish has long been a beacon of symphonic metal, blending intricate compositions with powerful storytelling. With their latest album, Yesterwynde, the band seeks to bridge the past and present, offering a refreshing yet familiar sound that resonates with longtime fans. Following the ambitious but polarizing Human: Nature, expectations were high for this release, especially after the success of Endless Forms Most Beautiful. In Yesterwynde, Tuomas Holopainen, the band’s mastermind, showcases his unparalleled songwriting ability, while Floor Jansen’s vocals continue to captivate and enthrall. This album is not merely a continuation of their legacy; it’s a testament to their evolution as artists, exploring complex themes that delve into humanity’s relationship with the universe.
Yesterwynde is the perfect follow-up album to Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015). This album builds off of what has worked well in the past for Nightwish, while finding new and refreshing ways to sound unique. This balance shows growth and evolution to a band that has been around for over two decades. Tuomas Holopainen has shown again why he should be considered one of the greatest composers, lyricists and producers not just in this genre or time period, but of all time.
Like many fans, I fell in love with Floor’s voice thinking she was the perfect singer for Nightwish. She has the opera-like power that Tarja does, as well as the high-pitched, fun and fantasy sound that Annette Olzon had. My favorite album of all time was Floor’s debut in Nightwish, Endless Forms Most Beautiful. So, there was a lot of pressure from myself and many fans for following albums to be just as good as the 2015 masterpiece. However, Human: Nature was released in 2020, and expectations were not met in my opinion. It should have been released as two EP’s: One with the first nine tracks and then the second as All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World as an instrumental EP. There was too much pressure for that album to succeed, and it fell short as it didn’t feel like a complete LP. I loved all the songs, but it wasn’t comparable to Endless Forms Most Beautiful.
What does all of that have to do with this album? Well, this was the album I was hoping Human: Nature would have been. The word “yesterwynde” is a made-up word created by Nightwish band member Troy Donockley to describe a feeling that can’t be expressed in human language. The band continues to explore humanity and its place in the vast world and universe. They are similar to all of the albums in the Floor Jansen saga.
This album has a lot to like. If you are a previous Nightwish fan, you will love that there are a lot of sounds similar to earlier albums. These similarities are from their most recent work in 2020 and date back all the way to 1997 with their debut album. There is a more polished and evolved sound, but a lot of what worked for them in the past and what fans loved from them can be seen in this album. Furthermore, this album is cohesive, and the songs play well off each other. Yesterwynde doesn’t get boring or redundant, but changes enough to keep the listener engaged while keeping similar themes, sounds and cohesion throughout.
The only real dislike I have is one that many fans have voiced since the first single was released: the mixing. Floor’s voice sounds drowned out and almost hidden at times. That gives it a more unique sound and brings some of the instrumentals to the foreground. However, when you have arguably one of the best vocalists ever, she needs to be front and center. Many of her vocal patterns were powerful and beautiful, yet they felt lacking due to them being quieter. This could have been on purpose and part of Holopainen’s vision, but this was never an issue or a stylistic choice in any of Nightwish’s work. From a sports analogy, it’s like having Lebron James coming off the bench, or Patrick Mahomes throw only 15 times in a game. You don’t let this kind of talent fade to the background.
Track By Track Analysis
- Yesterwynde – The album and song open with a projector whirring with life and leads into soft instruments and a choir. An easy listening opening track that I sadly don’t find myself going back to as a standalone song. With that being said, it is a great opening track to this album. Soft yet powerful and beautiful. Helping the listener ease into what is to come and lets anticipation build.
- An Ocean of Strange Islands – Quickly, this song whips up a magical and fantastic storm of great composition, instruments, vocals and lyrics. This song is what separates Nightwish from other symphonic metal bands. It builds off of previous Nightwish albums and combines a lot of the sounds from their earlier work. It has the atmosphere of Dark Passion Play, the dark fun of Imaginarium, the polished sound and feel of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, the raw, fantastic power of Once and the great instrumentals of Oceanborn. This track leads the listener on a voyage throughout the ocean of their earlier work while making stops at these strange islands, which are their earlier albums and songs.
- The Antikythera Mechanism – Troy Donockley makes his first solo appearance in this track. He adds a softer, less powerful voice to help contrast Floor Jansen’s. Especially in this track, Floor’s voice sounds more menacing and harsher when she sings alone. However, when they sing together on this track, they harmonize well. Similar to how Marko Hietala brought the harsher vocals while either Floor or Annette Olzon were the softer side of the vocals. This is a good track to bridge the monstrous masterpiece that was An Ocean of Strange Islands and continue the energy, but it is one personally that doesn’t stand out on its own. It isn’t a song I usually come back to on its own. However, it fits well where it is in the album, almost like a pallet cleanser for the two better songs that come before and after.
- The Day of… – A children’s choir can be heard and adds another great contrast to Floor’s amazing vocal performance. This song is dark, fantasy driven and has a great guitar/violin solo. Really catchy song, from the drums, to the chords of the guitar, to the added synths, this song is one that grows on me with each listen. I tend to find something new to like about it every time I go back to it. There isn’t a Nightwish song that is exactly like it, but it still has the typical sound of the band. While this song is on the shorter side of length compared to other tracks on the album, this one feels complete in its length. It’s a great cap off to the first section of the album.
- Perfume of the Timeless – Nightwish’s first single, and the last single to appear chronologically on the album (the other singles being An Ocean of Strange Islands released third and The Day of… released second). This song takes its time and starts with instrumentals for the first two minutes. At first when this song was released as a single, I was disappointed. Like many others, I wasn’t a fan of the mixing. Floor’s vocals seemed to be drowned out by the instruments. While the instrumentation isn’t bad by any means, Floor’s voice should be heard more at the forefront. I was hoping they would change this mixing for when the album came out, but it sounds very similar if not the same from the single.
I still love this song, despite this mixing choice that I am not too fond of. The first two singles felt off to me and made me fear that this album would be similar to Human: Nature. While this wasn’t a bad album I was left wanting more. My concerns quickly diminished on the first play through of the album and this song is one I go back to regularly. The mixing has grown on me and this song shines the most when listening to the whole album. I love the break at the end of the song with Troy’s spoken words. Alone this song may leave you wanting more, but while listening to the album from start to finish, this song is one of the album’s best.
- Sway – This song reminds me of the Shire in The Lord of the Rings. The acoustic guitar, soft singing from Floor and Troy plus the lyrical content all combine to form a peaceful track that screams “fantasy.” It is a rather simple song in comparison to previous tracks, but that doesn’t mean it is bad by any means. Simple drums mixed with peaceful flute playing helps add to the Shire vibes I mentioned earlier. This is such an underrated track because it isn’t filled with choirs, complex solos, or orchestral instruments. It can easily be looked over but is a strong track that is one of my personal favorites given the atmosphere it brings.
- The Children of ‘Ata – There are a lot of synths used early and often in this track. It’s very reminiscent to their earlier work in the 90’s. However, it still has that similar sound to the rest of the album, even while being very different. This song has been a fan favorite, and I believe it is due to the mix of old sounding Nightwish with the newer production. Floor’s vocal pattern is smooth, clean, catchy and impressive. She has so much control of her voice and it shows in this track. While I do really like this song, it is one that I find getting lost. I just don’t find myself replaying it as much as I should like I do other tracks on this album.
- Something Whispered Follow Me – This is my favorite song off the album. This song is close to being my favorite Nightwish song of all time, if it wasn’t for the ending of the track. This song reminds me a lot of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, another top song for me. However, the chorus to this song is one of my favorite choruses of any song. I love the highs that Floor reaches, the lyrics, the drums, the epicenes, simply everything about the chorus is fantastic.
In an almost 7 minute long song, you’d think the chorus was in the song more than twice. The best part of the song, even the album isn’t in thew song enough. Like Endless Forms Most Beautiful, or other songs that have very strong choruses like Elan, or Amaranth, the choruses are heard upwards of four times. Even if this song had the chorus one more time to end the song, it potentially could have been my favorite song of all time.
I love Floor showing off her vocal range towards the end, but instead of ending the song where it does, add another pre-chorus and chorus finale. Isolate Floor’s vocals while she leads into the chorus again. Add some of the drum fills similar to the ones heard in the second chorus. As more instruments start to come together let this last chorus really shine. Bring everything up an octave and let this chorus stand out. If that adds a few minutes to the song that’s ok. But to have this good of a chorus and to only play it twice in a 7 minute span seems almost like a waste. I really wish this track had that last chorus finale as it would probably be my favorite song of any artist up to this point.
- Spider Silk – Don’t let the minute long piano intro fool you, this is a darker and brooding song compared to the rest of the album and even its intro. Floor has some attitude to her vocals, the guitars and drumming make this song heavier. Synths are heard towards the halfway point and a solo with a dark fantasy vibe begins. This sounds very similar to really old Nightwish songs such as Elvenpath and Stargazers. Although there are similarities to tracks from their first two albums, it has a very new sound, making it polished and well produced. Although the mixing flaw of Floor’s vocals being “drowned out” feels very prominent in this track.
- Hiraeth – According to the Oxford Dictionary, “Hireath” means “(especially in the context of Wales or Welsh culture) deep longing for something, especially one’s home.” I love this topic, like many others Nightwish brings up in their songs. There is an emphasis on themes such as the world, nature, how humans fit into the earth and universe and life itself that I feel aren’t explored as much in most music. Or at least not explored as well. There is more emphasis on other instruments in this track than the typical guitars and drums. A lot of folk inspiration can be heard in this track.
- The Weave – This song is so easy to overlook but has such a genius and unique concept that can be missed on a casual listen. The lyrics to this song are “weaved” until the halfway point, then “unweaved”. The instrumental break in the middle separates the two sections of the song. Each section has the same lyrics, but they are mirrored. The second half of the song starts how the first one ends. It then lyrically repeats itself like a mirror, finishing how it started.
This lyrical mirroring or weaving is super unique and easy to miss. It wasn’t until I pulled up the lyrics till I found this cool component. Along with the epic opera like sound this song has, it makes it a great second to last track. One that should be given more praise for its unique lyric syntax.
- Lanternlight – Beautiful, elegant, and emotional. This is a great ending to this album. Great imagery in the lyrics, a soft and warm delivery; there isn’t a Nightwish song quite like this one. This song gives off a similar feeling and warmth as a lanternlight does in a dark abyss. Floor continues to show that she has one of the best voices in music. It is easy to get chills while listening to this song and to get lost in and even absorbed in. A soft flute is heard ending the track. I wish there was more of it played throughout because it is one of my favorite instruments. I see no better way to end this album than this graceful track. It is great on its own, but even better after listening to the entire album. Finally, this song and album ends how it started, with the projector sound that was heard to start the album, is now turning off.
Final Verdict:
Overall, this album is great, and I was hoping I would follow Endless Forms Most Beautiful. However, the mixing issues hurt this album significantly. It has what could have been my favorite song of all time, but it fell short. I do think this album is complete and great, I just think it could be better with a few mixing changes and an added chorus to a song. As an album, the songs are in great order and really play off each other in a fun way. However, there are only about half the songs I go back to regularly. I feel like this album needs to be listened to from start to finish to get the full effect. While it isn’t their best work, it isn’t their worst. I would say it falls in the top half of Nightwish albums for me personally. It hasn’t been out for two weeks yet and I figure it will keep growing on me with time, as I’ve already found myself liking it more than when it first was released.
Rating 7.7/10
Tracklist:
1.”Yesterwynde” 2:43
2.”An Ocean of Strange Islands” 9:26
3.”The Antikythera Mechanism” 5:55
4.”The Day of…” 4:34
5.”Perfume of the Timeless” 8:11
6.”Sway” 4:23
7.”The Children of ‘Ata” 5:37
8.”Something Whispered Follow Me” 6:39
9.”Spider Silk” 6:26
10.”Hiraeth” 6:14
11.”The Weave” 4:53
12.”Lanternlight” 6:06
Total length: 71:07
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