Imaginaerum

Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. The album is a concept album, as said by Tuomas in an interview, telling the story of an old composer on his deathbed, reminiscing of his youth. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish’s “The Islander” music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story.

The first single off the album, Storytime, was released on November 9, and quickly topped the Finnish single charts. The album was released in Finland on November 30. According to Iltasanomat, Imaginaerum sold more than 50,000 copies in Finland during the first day after release. It has been described as Nightwish’s best album by Sonic Seducer and has been album of the month by Dutch metal magazine Aardschok Magazine.

The album has been described as following a natural development from Dark Passion Play, inspired greatly by film scores. Like Dark Passion Play as well as Once and Century Child, it features a live orchestra, again orchestrated by Pip Williams. The orchestrations have been described as “beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic”, but will not be featured on every track as it was on Dark Passion Play. Bassist Marco Hietala has emphasized that the album is heavier than the predecessor.