Angels Fall First

This article is about a music album. For the video game, see Angels Fall First: Planetstorm.
Angels Fall First
Studio album by Nightwish
Released 1 November 1997
Recorded Kitee Huvikeskus Studios, April–May and September 1997
Genre Symphonic metal, power metal, folk metal
Length 51:39
Label Spinefarm
Producer Tuomas Holopainen and Nightwish
Nightwish chronology
Nightwish Demo
(1996)		 Angels Fall First
(1997)		 Oceanborn
(1998)
Singles from Angels Fall First
  1. "The Carpenter"
    Released: 1 November 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Metal Hammer (GER)[2]

Angels Fall First is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The original 500-copies limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition.[3] This edition is highly sought after by collectors and in 2012 a copy was sold for $1137.23 on eBay.[4] The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001.[5]

Background and legacy

Tuomas Holopainen wrote the music for the album during his time in the Finnish Army.[6] In an 2008 interview with the British magazine Kerrang!, Tuomas Holopainen remembered:

It came about in August 1996, around a campfire. We were at my summer cabin, a bunch of friends camping out, barbecuing, singing songs, and then it just hit me that I wanted to start a band. But we were too far ambitious at that time for it to remain simply acoustic and making music with just acoustic guitar, keyboards and female voice, was just a bit boring, and we naturally started heading in a heavier direction. The funny thing about Angels Fall First is that it was only supposed to be a demo to send out to record labels. But then Spinefarm heard it and thought it was perfect, so they put it out as it was with no remixing or anything. I used to be a bit embarrassed but now I can feel proud and nostalgic about those songs.[7]

The original pressing featured Holopainen's home contact address, an accident from reprinting the demo sleeve for the album.[7]

As of December 2009, Angels Fall First has sold more than 36,000 copies in Finland alone.[8]

The songs of the album were played more and more seldom live leading up to the departure of vocalist Tarja Turunen in October 2005, and no songs from the album have been performed with vocalists Anette Olzon or Floor Jansen since. The band, and especially band leader and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen has since frowned upon the album, considering it essentially an extended demo. In a 2011 interview, when asked what album other than Imaginaerum Holopainen wanted to make into a movie, he replied that it would be Angels Fall First, and that it would be "a black-and-white comedy".[9]

The male vocals heard on "Beauty and the Beast", "The Carpenter", "Astral Romance" and "Once Upon a Troubadour" are sung by keyboardist–band leader Tuomas Holopainen, as well as the whispers in the beginning of the demo version of "Etiäinen".[10] Following this release, Holopainen never sang credited on an album again, because he thought that he was not good enough.[10] He has however provided the background shouts on "Moondance" on the 1998 album Oceanborn, backing vocals on Over the Hills and Far Away from the E.P. with the same name, as well as some background growling on "Master Passion Greed" on the 2007 album Dark Passion Play.

Musical style

Angels Fall First is very different from the band's later releases, being much more folk metal and acoustically oriented than its successors.[11] Its folky sound is also more or less reduced on later albums. Even though the only single, "The Carpenter", reached number three on the Finnish singles chart, Nightwish only gained international fame after the release of their second studio album, Oceanborn, 1998.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Tuomas Holopainen, all music composed by Nightwish.

No. Title Length
1. "Elvenpath"   4:40
2. "Beauty and the Beast"   6:22
3. "The Carpenter"   5:57
4. "Astral Romance"   5:12
5. "Angels Fall First"   5:34
6. "Tutankhamen"   5:31
7. "Nymphomaniac Fantasia"   4:47
8. "Know Why the Nightingale Sings"   4:14
9. "Lappi (Lapland)"
  • "Erämaajärvi"
  • "Witchdrums"
  • "This Moment Is Eternity"
  • "Etiäinen""  
 9:20
10. "A Return to the Sea" (bonus track) 5:46
11. "Once upon a Troubadour" (bonus track) 5:21

Personnel

Nightwish

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1998 Finnish Albums Chart[12] 31

Singles

Year Title Chart Position
1999 "The Carpenter" Finnish Singles Chart[13] 3

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
Finland IFPI 2001 Gold (+ 20,000)[8]

References

  1. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Nightwish – Angels Fall First review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Nightwish - Angels fall First" (in German). Metal Hammer. April 1998. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "First album out". Nightwish's Official Website. 1 November 1997. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Nightwish - Angels Fall First limited 500 copies, Metallica, Exodus, Overkill". Heavy Metal CD.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Nightwish releases to hit the USA". Nightwish's Official Website. 22 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Everley, Dave (8 December 2015). "How Nightwish became a modern metal phenomenon". Metal Hammer. Team Rock. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 Ruskell, Nick (16 August 2008). "Treausre Chest. An Ultimate Portrait of a Life in Rock. Tuomas Holopainen.". Kerrang! 1223. London, UK: Bauer Media Group. p. 54.
  8. 1 2 "Tilastot - Nightwish" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Chat Transcript: Friday 17th June". Tuomas-Holopainen.com. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  10. 1 2 Lahtinen, Luxi (November 2002). "Nightwish - Interview With Tuomas Holopainen". Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Angels Fall First by Nightwish". Last.fm. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  12. ↑ "Nightwish - Angels Fall First (album)". Finnishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Nightwish – The Carpenter (song)". Finnishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 25 August 2014.

External links

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