Ryan J.com

I finally broke down and got the newest Nightwish album, Dark Passion Play... I was really hesitant since they got a new vocalist. While this album doesn't have the powerful vocals found in previous albums, I don't think I would put it past Anette Olzon to have it within her... my favorite song by far on the album is Amaranth. It just floors me. She sounds incredible.

I would like to see how Anette does on some of the older songs to see how she can shine in comparison to the previous vocalist. Either way... great album and I can see why they chose Anette out of the 2000 some applications Nightwish received for the job. Her voice is very clear and easy to understand.. and while high not annoying like the lead singer of Evanescence that makes me cringe after listening to a song more than once. I would recommend this album to any Nightwish fan... and I look forward to their future recordings.

So I got the new Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Elect the Dead. The music is very poetic and brings to life imagery in your mind that only exemplifies how very talented Serj is. I've always enjoyed SOAD and while this has many of the same flavors the entire album is totally Serj. His website (linked above) has music videos for a majority of the songs, including Empty Walls (the song that originally captured my interest). I really love this album and the messages that Serj is trying to deliver. So, if you like SOAD, I really believe you would love this album...