What would happen if you took the wild power of nature and converted it into sound? I believe you would get a little song called "Last of the Wilds" by the band Nightwish.
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from the small, northern European country of Finland. They are my absolute favorite band and have been a great source of inspiration for me. Their music consists of typical hard rock/metal seamlessly fused with a grand and bombastic symphonic orchestra. Making this type of music takes a lot of hard work and talent. Tuomas Holopainen (songwriter, lyricist, and keyboard player) must write the music/lyrics not only for his band, but also for the orchestra/choir that's incorporated. The other members of the band are: Anette Olzon (vocals), Marco Hietala (bass guitar, vocals), Emmpu Vuorinen (guitar), and Jukka Nevalainen (drums). They are the most successful band to come out of Finland more than 7 million records worldwide and awarded over 60 gold and platinum awards. Nightwish's most recent album entitled Dark Passion Play is currently the most expensive album ever made in Finland. This album contains the nature-inspired instrumental piece called "Last of the Wilds" . This song, like nature, exhibits beauty and power in equal doses.
Nightwish
"Last of the Wilds" begins with the subtle tone of the uilleann pipes. These pipes have the same characteristics of bag pipes. A thunder storm can be heard rumbling on a distant seashore. At about 9 seconds in, a violin begins to play the main melody of the song. The band jumps in with all of it's power a few seconds later, playing the same melody with the violin. Once the basic melody is completed, the pipes take the lead back and perform a verse-like section. It builds up to a point and then the band and violin join back with the catchy melody. The cycle is repeated until about halfway into the song. Here, all of the music comes to a stop and a music box-like melody plays alone with the pipes. Everything is gentle. Everything is serene. And just as things get comfortable, the rest of the instruments jump in again to play the basic melody. But this time there is a lot more variation and power which makes it more thrilling. The song ends on a gentle note with the same music box-like tune.
When I listen to this song (or Nightwish in general), I can't help but be transported to another world. I guess you could say that I'm obsessed with this band. They have so many different songs, all with there own theme or story to tell. No two songs sound the same. I invest so much of my time into music in general that without it, I have no idea where I'd be. I've also spent a lot of time and money into taking lessons and practicing for myself. So I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that music is THE most important thing in the world to me. And even with all of the different music that's out there, Nightwish has always been the only band that could tell me a story that I WANT to believe. I believe that I can become one with music just as others become one with nature.
