HUMAN :||: NATURE

Hello, once again. Today, I'm going to do something COMPLETELY different. I'm not going to write exactly about the impact that a work of art had on me. But instead I'm going to write a review about an album, which was released in April 2020. And what I'm writing about is Nightwish's ninth studio album, Human :||: Nature. Well, you can pronounce it as you like. I pronounce it simply "Human Nature" and Tuomas Holopainen pronounced it "Human Dot Nature Dot". What do those symbols mean? Well, this is a mystery to the fans, although Holopainen has said there is indeed a meaning to them, but let's keep it a mystery. My own guess, though, is that it has something to do with music notation. In music the symbol " :|| " means repetition of the passage, so who knows? This is nothing, but my own guess and by no means does it mean that I found the meaning behind these symbols.

So, here we go. Human Nature starts with a song called Music. This song starts with a small clash, resembling the stone that some Neolithic man hits. It's obviously a continuation of The Greatest Show on Earth, where man walks out of the cave. What follows in the song is a quiet music playing, which is gradually becoming louder, accompanied by nature sounds. Soon, percussion and pipes enter, playing a bombastic beat. The music stops and then what follows is a quiet synthesizer sound, which reminds me a lot of Vangelis' Oceanic album. After the heavenly choir, Floor Jansen angelic voice echoes, starting telling her tale. Her vocal acrobatics sound wonderful, reaching from very low to very high. Then, the chorus sung by Floor Jansen, Troy Donockley and Marco Hietala is a clear sign that the combination of those three singers sounds so beautiful together. It's a rather heavy song and to my ears it sounds a lot like the songs they did in the old era.

A track called "Noise" follows next, which was the first single released before the album. I didn't listen to it before the album's release, as I wanted to give it the same chance as the other songs. I'll first comment a little bit on its video clip, which is rather creepy and Black Mirror:ish. As Tuomas Holopainen mentioned, the video doesn't mean to criticise social media and technology and say that we live in a terrible world, which is full of cell phones and that we'd better get rid of all that and go back to these good ol' times. Quite the contrary. According to Holopainen, the internet is an amazing tool, however what we should blame for is addiction itself. Well, I totally agree with him on that. You can also regard the optimistic view of the video in the last few seconds, where a beautiful landscape can be seen.

Now let's move to the song itself. By its first listen, it reminded me of "Storytime". I know that many people thought that its riff resembles Game of Thrones soundtrack, but truth be told I couldn't find any similarity at all. Actually, I found it to be quite a typical Nightwish song, at least very similar to those that they have been writing since Dark Passion Play. It's a very simple song and songs like that are really my cup of tea (see my post about Mostly Autumn, where I'm talking about how I love it, when music is just plain and simple). I also liked the fact that they used the title of one of Aldous Huxley's books "Brave New World". It's one of my favourite books ever. Check it out, in case you haven't (if you're a sci-fi freak, as I am). Moreover, the bridge (both on video and in music) remind me of Epica's "Storm the Sorrow", but I don't know if other people sensed that too.

The following song is "Shoemaker", about the geologist Eugene Shoemaker. I admit that I didn't know anything about this man, but when I read some information about him, I was amazed. And the reason is because when I was young I wanted to become a geologist or an earthquake scientist. So although I'm studying to become a linguist now, anything related to geology and this stuff still amazes me. Anyway "Shoemaker" is one of my favourite tracks of the album. It starts with that Barrel piano-like sound, which sounds really theatrical. Also the chorus sounds majestic, as the lyrics are really Poetic and Troy's voice is simply awesome and....British!! Towards the end, a segment of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is narrated by the child-like voice of Holopainen's wife, Johanna Kurkela. For those who don't know, Shoemaker was cremated and some of his ashes were transferred to the Moon. Actually his body was the first to be buried in an extraterrestrial place. On the site, where his ashes are located, there is this quotation by Shakespeare, which is narrated in the song. And the end of the song is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Floor Jansen's operatic-theatrical vocals sound AMAZING! I have to admit I'm not a fan of opera at all (I know many of you will hate me, because I'm not either amazed by Tarja's vocals either....I didn't say that....I haven't ever said that out loud, neither on the Nightwish Community, because I'm sure I'll be blocked), but Floor's operatic vocals are really really beautiful. Oh, yeah! I have to mention also that the choir's vocals at the end reminded me a little bit of some very early Vangelis music, but I think this is only in my mind.

Let's move on to HAAAARVEEEST, sung by my favourite one, (after Tuomas) Troy Donockley. This is my second favourite song from the album and I don't see why fans didn't like it at all. It is a pure Celtic song, which resembles previous Nightwish songs, just like My Walden and I Want My Tears Back. To my ears, it sounds a bit like Mostly Autumn's Prints in the Stone, following a similar topic on its lyrics. But I suppose that this is because Troy Donockley plays in both songs. I fell in love with the pipes solo and I felt that this guy has a wondeful technique and uses the pipes as if they were an electric guitar.

The following son is Pan. The name can have both meanings. Either it is about Peter Pan or Pan, Greek god of nature. I'll comment the song both lyrically and musically. I sense a reference to Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind book with the lyric "Winds will be named" and also Tuomas Holopainen's familiar descriptions can be clearly noticed. I loved how the song describes human as an ape. I find it very challenging (along with the Endless Forms album thematic), as many people are scared to realise how close we are with apes and that human is also in the ape group. The bridge contains the phrase pale blue theatre stage, which to my view is a clear reference to Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. Musically the song starts with piano, combined with the familiar Nightwish chime sounds.  I was thrilled by the chromatic scale that Floor Jansen sang just before the chorus. It sounded really theatrical to my ears and it felt a bit like Imaginaerum. The bridge, sung by children's choir, sounds really similar to a Tim Burton movie soundtrack, especially Alice in Wonderland. Again, it reminds me a bit of Imaginaerum and specifically Scaretale, because it has this carnival or carousel atmosphere.

 

How's the Heart is my favourite song from the album, not that much because of its music, but because of its thematics. It's one of these songs that make you cry and make you want to look a Jane/John Doe right in the eyes and say I undestand you. It starts with this heartbeat, which is so relaxing, followed by the bombastic sound of the pipes. In the chorus there is this verse Come in the fire's warm/Burn the rope and dance some more, whose music reminded me a bit of Johanna Kurkela's Rakkaus Tekee Vapaaks. But I suppose it was only me, who sensed that. I'd like to analyse the song, because I think its lyrics are so emotional. It starts saying that when you feel empathy towards someone, talk to them and try to sooth them. Praying does nothing (without an Amen). There's this verse the cliff greets the sea, which we also met in Élan. So I suppose there's a connection. Finally, I feel that the verse dull the blade is a reference to the blade from The Poet and the Pendulum. So, it is like Tuomas says goodbye to the Poet and the Pendulum feelings with that song for good. And the song ends with Troy's, Marco's and Floor's vocals combined and the three together sound amazing. 

The next song is called "Procession". I think it bears this title, because throughout the song, new species, new evolutionary traits and new situations are introduced, co-existing with the previous one. In that way, it feels like a procession, where all these are marching along. Musically, the song starts with a synth sound, which is really unfamiliar for Nightwish. Tuomas Holopainen had said that this was the first song he wrote for the album, inspired by Stranger Things music, which sounded like the 80s popular sci-fi movies. Once again, it reminds me of Vangelis' Oceanic a little bit. I find the melodies so emotional, especially in that part where the key changes to G minor. The music riff is repeated until a new piano melody is introduced along with low whistle. The violin, then, is so touching. Towards the end the song gets heavier and ends with piano and chimes, that is a very very typical Nightwish sound.

The song is clearly about evolution and the future of humanity. The third verse "We are singers of the gone" clearly implies that human (just like every other species) is mortal. It doesn't matter if you are a celebrity or very rich or have any power. In the end, you die, just like everybody else. Only the memory remains. Our descendants can only remember us after our death. Every other material stuff is gone, just as we are gone too. The verse "we are we were and will not be" reminded me of the famous Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot speech (used in the orchestral piece). Heartbeat is naturally the first trait to appear. It is the first organ to appear on an embryo and is vital. Heartbeat implies that evolution begins. And after the heartbeat (probably a single organism), endless forms appear, which are prone to mutations, according to whether they are "stronger" or better adapted to their environment, in order to survive. Life itself and strength for survival is a competition. Competition is part of evolution, therefore human nature, so that we can survive and deal with difficulties. Therefore, this is what makes us selfish. In extreme situations, others even suffer from being exploited from people who want more power. (This doesn't exactly have to do with this kind of competition, as a result of evolution, but this is another topic). And after all these traits, Pikaia comes along. Pikaia is the most primitive vertebrate and therefore the ancestor of all vertebrate even human himself (Sapien). In the end of the song, what is implied is that we became aware of our mortality. As for the next step, we travelled to space and are desperate to know whether we are alone or not. And the latter is something that (as we, linguists say) is in a complementary distribution, meaning that either is true: either we are alone or we aren't. And this is something that humanity has been desperate to know, since having conquered space. Spaceship Earth is a term which means that people of Planet Earth should be united and working together for the greater good. And all this will remain until the end of Pi, that is the end of forever/infinity. The song ends with the message that human is mortal. More species will be here after us, so this song was written as such so that the next generations, or species, or even other intelligent forms (!) will understand. This looks a bit like the message used in spaceships, that look for other intelligent life forms, in the hope that they would get to know us, humans, and who we really are.

Tribal is not one of my most favourite Nightwish song, at least musically. I think that Nightwish has written more beautiful and melodic songs. The song is really heavy from start to end and to my mind has an Eastern touch. It talks about religion and the ability the human mind has to imagine stories. It starts with the beginning of religions, as the legend goes, when Abraham seperated the world into three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And this is the start of religions. People sometimes find a soothing and heal themselves into religion, believing there is an afterlife. As a result, churches become richer, only by exploiting people, who have nothing but kindness in their hearts. We follow traditions, only because they're older, so we feel obliged to do so. We can't question about them or think that times change and we can't cling to the same old ways anymore. We follow our ancestors like puppies, because doing the opposite feels too immoral, so we can't even think of the possibility of questioning. Older traditions include for example treating women like they're objects. Still in many cultures, the groom bargains a woman offering money or animals to her family, in order to marry her. Marriage is the result of a bargain and not mutual feelings of love. This is all about fundamentalism and this way we have to see who the real monster is and not look for symbols, e.g. Satan. People are the real monsters, who use their own perverted minds to take advantage of innocent people and then blame God or Satan about it. This is what tribalism is all about. Towards the end of the song, the "tribal" section begins with the sound of the ethnic percussion. I think this part is really majestic. And then, the song ends again with the main melody.

The first side of the album ends with a long song called Endlessness. Again, this isn't one of my most favourite tracks of the album. The song starts with a heavy and slow riff, sounding much like a heavy ballad. It's the only song (and probably the last ever :( ), in which Marko Hietala sings. For some reason, it really reminded me of Epica songs. In the beginning, it makes a reference to the Thief, which according to Neil Gaiman's Stardust is a personification of Time. The unseen stream is a reference to Troy Donockley's album "The Unseen Stream". The same phrase was also used in the beginning of Shudder Before the Beautiful in Richard Dawkins' spoken parts. The song tells about how we could sing about the universe in a human voice and about that we can explore the skies ("walk with me to your sea"). It goes on about how time flies and the existence of everything is personified. During Floor's parts the idea is expressed that we are luck to eventually be born. This is reminiscent of Richard Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow, a passage of which is narrated in The Greatest Show on Earth's last part. It's all about the miracle of life, the miracle of being born and that being born is like winning a lottery and that only a few unfertilised embryos eventually make it. But then, everything comes to an end sometime. Human (and every other species) is mortal. We know nothing about death. We know that it is to come. But we have no idea about what happens after death and then is when we face the darkness of knowledge. The song ends with a beautiful orchestral music, probably preannouncing the second part of the album.

And then, the first section (Human) ends and the second (Nature) begins. According to Tuomas Holopainen, the first nine songs personify human, as they all include vocals used to the full. It's an album made by humans about humans and sung in a human voice. And then the second part comes which is almost completely instrumental, so it lets nature become expressed by an orchestra. To my mind, the second part is the most beautiful piece written by Tuomas Holopainen and I prefer this, rather than the rest of the album. (Sorry, I am a classical/symphonic music freak!)

Just like the album, I will separate the analysis into the sections of this 31-minute-length song, called All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World. The first piece is called Vista, which means "view". The song starts with a narration of an except of Lord Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage". It is narrated by the British actress Geraldine James. For those who don't know who she is, she featured in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010 film), acting as Lady Ascot. It's a rather calm and tranquil piece and you are under the impression that you are travelling in several landscapes all around the world. The flute reminds me of the Love part in Song of Myself a little bit. Actually the whole song has some Imaginaerum touches. And then the female voice is majestic and it really makes you want to cry. The song ends with the choir voices, proceeding to the next part: The Blue.

The Blue is simply epic and pompous. The melody reminds me a little bit of the Stargate soundtrack. Funnily enough, while listening to the female voice, what first came into my mind was videogame music, especially Skyrim and Final Fantasy. The sound of the Sea in the end clarifies that the song is about the Ocean and the deep blue.

The next part is The Green, which starts with a calm piano sound. It's this kind of piece which makes you want to close your eyes and fly in the skies. So breathtaking and carefree!

Moors probably has to do with Scotland, because Scotland is full of moors and also because Troy Donockley also plays the pipes. I can say that I have never heard him play like that before. This piece sounds more like an ambient piece, mainly because of the echo in the pipes. Then, the song becomes heavier and the melody is similar to the one in The Blue. During the end of the song, a piano is introduced playing the melody of the last song of the album. The pipes repeat the same melody.

The next piece Aurorae starts with a harp and choir. Then the song becomes really loud and energetic, as the orchestra starts to play a fast melody, which reminds me so much of Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. This is by far my favourite part of the whole song and I was really upset that it was so short.

Quiet as the Snow starts with a calm piano. Incomprehesible whispers are heard at the meantime. This is actually the phrase "quiet as the snow" repeated in many different languages (I can make only French out). Then the violin plays a melody and the first part's main melody is repeated. The part's end is similar to the first one too.

Anthropocene is the following part, which starts with a bombastic sound of low-pitched string instruments. Halfway of the song, the orchestra starts to play the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal. This is the oldest tune ever known, dating 1400 BCE. Actually the Hurrian hymns are a set of 36 songs written in cuneiform and they come from modern-day Syria. In the song, I can't say that the melody really reminds me of the hymn, but I guess it's the way Tuomas Holopainen has transferred it in there in his own way. But, anyway, it's marvellous. Then, the cello starts to play the main melody of the piece again.

The last part of this long piece is Ad Astra, which was also used for World Land Trust, a charity, gathering funds to protect the natural habitat in America, Africa and Asia. It starts with a beautiful viola melody. Then, spoken parts by Geraldine James follow. Actually her narrations come from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot speech (he has also written a book bearing that title), which you can also find in YouTube. I think it's the most beautiful speech ever made and I can no less agree with his words. I am anyway a strong supporter of any "omnicultural" ideologies, because everyone of us belongs to the human species, so someday we will all die and all that remains is nothing but our memory (which soon fades too). The song changes into a fast Hans Zimmer-ish beat, combined with the whole orchestra, choirs, the pipes and Floor Jansen's vocals. During these last moments the whole album reaches its peak of epicness towards this beautiful journey of understanding the human species and how Nature is vital to us.