NIGHTWISH – “Yesterwynde” (2024)

Buckle up because we have a lot of things to discuss! For those interested in any introductions or my opinion on the band’s discography, you can have a peek at my discography ranking as a warm up. With that out of the way, let’s answer one big question. Is this the band’s final album? The answer is a definite no. They have just decided to skip touring this cycle so there will be no concert promotion for “Yesterwynde”, but the band has signed a new agreement with Nuclear Blast for many more albums. 

If you can’t have enough of NIGHTWISH, the good news is that the duration of this new piece will be very satisfying by reaching 70 minutes total. Some of that duration is a little artificial though but I will get to it later in the review. 

This release also marks the first studio work without Marko Hietala after many years. His bass duties have been filled by Jukka Koskinen admirably and without any cause for complaints. His absence on the vocals on the other hand leaves much to be desired, as that part has not been replaced. During concerts the gap is huge, I wish I could say studio work is not impacted either but that is not the case. Marko’s vocal contribution was for sure limited in the last two records, in “Human :||: Nature” he was only utilized in one song, the amazing ‘Endlessness’, but it was what elevated the final result. For me it made all the difference for loving that album, knowing that it closes in such a magnificent way. In “Yesterwynde” I found some tracks where I thought that his voice would fit, making me feel that their potential was not elevated to the fullest. I am talking about good songs that could be made even better, not that they sound poor without Marko!

The powerhouse of NIGHTWISH is none other than Floor, who has proven many times to be amongst the best vocalists of today. For the last 2 albums I always thought that she was not given the freedom she deserved, but this time she had definitely more room to impress us! On ‘Something whispered follow me’ and ‘The weave’ you can expect goosebumps during some specific parts that I will not spoil. 

I want to dedicate a paragraph to Troy as well. In his vocalist role I unfortunately was not fond of his tone and perhaps the reason that he participated in more folky or calm tunes contributed to that. This time I witnessed a U-turn and I enjoyed his singing. He was used in very atmospheric songs and sung in a ritualistic way enhancing the experience I had. On his instrumental contribution, I believe the part he plays is very clear and crucial to how the group wants to sound today. Overall, good job Troy! 

Time to jump on the songwriting. It is varied for sure, you can’t listen to a song and get the idea of how the album will sound like and the singles released are a testament to that. The tracks placed at the beginning are the more heavy ones, the opening of the record is superb with some winks to the past and for a moment you will think that if it continues that way, we may have a glorious return. Those are ‘An ocean of strange islands’ and ‘The Antikythera mechanism’. Not long after and starting from ‘ The Day of…’ the story of “Human :||: Nature” will repeat itself, meaning we are given adventurous and inspired songwriting that places the Metal side of the band on the co-driver’s seat. 

‘Perfume of the timeless’ that you have already heard and ‘The children of ‘Ata’, have the classic NIGHTWISH sound of the recent years. They feel good to hear as part of the tracklist but individually they do not have the extra ingredient that will make them stand-out compared to some other hits of the band’s history. Regarding the latter, I believe Marko’s appearance would vastly improve the outcome. 

Then we have some songs that will divide the NIGHTWISH fan base once again, with me finding them very unique, I really like them. ‘Something whispered follow me’, ‘Spider silk’, ‘Hiraeth’ and ‘The weave’, so almost the second half of the album, have a very mysterious atmosphere that is almost magical. There are strong soundtrack vibes and feeling is the main protagonist, without omitting some heavier attacks here and there, even if they are sparse. If you liked the previous album I do not believe that the case will be any different now. 

Minor complaint that the durations of some songs are dragged out (the artificial duration we talked above). There are some calm long outros that last up to two minutes and do not add something meaningful. After the first couple of times I just skipped those parts because they grew up to be tiring.  

Overall I gotta say that the songs are far more interesting than both “Human…” and “Endless…”. We are not strangers to NIGHTWISH giving us a strong first half and weaker second one (at least I see it that way), so I found the quality of every composition very refreshing! This makes ‘Yesterwynde’ the best album of the Floor era. 

On a final note, I have read countless complaints about the mixing quality. I will not invalidate any of those as if you pay attention they are not untrue (ex. Floor is placed on the same level as the choir, while some people would like her louder and more on the front). Still, it is nothing that stood in the way of me enjoying the album. If you do not overthink it you may not even notice it so, critisism on that regard is very valid, yet there isn’t anything deal breaking. 

Summarizing this long review, ‘Yesterwynde’ can by no means compete with any of the peak releases that happened during the Tarja or Anette period. NIGHTWISH have traded their edge and heavy side for an artistic approach that opts for an emphasis on orchestrations, atmosphere and melodies. You can pick where you stand, but I would choose their heavier side at any moment. Even with that fact, the music of ‘Yesterwynde’ is so rich and masterfully created that it is miles above what other composers can achieve. If I detach it from comparisons with the past it will remain a very good album that showcases great improvement from the last two entries, with some minor flaws that keep it from being even better. NIGHTWISH can resume sitting in the quarters of the genre’s leaders and I have to declare this latest work as a step in the right direction. Don’t know where they will end up after their well deserved break, but I hope they will get back with more energy than ever in order to continue making our musical libraries richer. 

80/100 

Pavlos Pavlakis