So now that I've listened to Imaginaerium several times, I'll post my opinions of the album!
Taikatalvi - Generally I'm not a huge fan of short introduction tracks, but I really like this song. It's not quite as short as most intro tracks either. It's really beautiful sounding, and I kind of wish this had been a full song. But it IS a really short song, so it can't quite compare to the more developed songs on the album. But as an intro, it's pretty fantastic.
Storytime - This song has quite an unfair advantage, as it had nearly a full month of a head start over the other tracks, so I've heard it about 100 times more than the rest of the album. But for now, it's probably still my favorite track. Everything sounds amazing in this song. Anette's voice is great, and I love the verses and choruses pretty equally, which isn't always the case. Also the heavily orchestrated portion of the song that goes from about 2:45 to 4:00 is one of my favorite parts of the entire album.
Ghost River - This track is easily one of my least favorites. The starting music is actually really great, and reminds me of something from the Oceanborn or Wishmaster era. Everything seems pretty fine on this song for while, but then Marco's vocals kick in, and he's in super angry mode. I mean, I get the point of why it's that way, but I just don't care for it. The chorus is pretty good, and his voice is much more controlled there. Though the more I listen to this song, the better it becomes, but for now, it's still pretty much a bottom tier Nightwish song.
Slow, Love, Slow - I like that Nightwish decided to put a jazzy sounding song on here. It's great to try new things. This song is very relaxing, and it makes me want to listen to it on a dark rainy evening. I'm a big fan of the band Diablo Swing Orchestra, who often incorporates jazz into symphonic metal, and while I like most of their music better than Slow, Love, Slow, it does make itself more memorable by being ridiculously slow paced, which is very desirable at times. Not one of my favorite tracks on the album, but I really like it.
I Want My Tears Back - This is one of the most addictive tracks on the album. It has so much replay value. Several times, I've played it again immediately after ended. I love the pipes used in this song. Anette's voice is so serene sounding during the verses, and Marco's voice is, IMO, his best sounding on the album during the chorus of this song. This song is just so great, and has the highest energy of anything on the album.
Scaretale - This is a very cool song. It features a very long instrumental build up, over 2 1/2 minutes long. It's not one of the most memorable of build ups, but it's still fine. However, after the instrumental portion, this song instantly becomes great. Anette's voice is so sexy in this song. I never want her singing to stop here. I wish there were more verses with her. I love the "burrrNiiing farms and squeeeEEEEEEEEEliiing...PIGS!" line in particular. Then Marco chimes in sounding like a circus ring leader, and takes the song in a new direction. This song is varied, and all parts are great. The Anette parts are just much better.
Arabesque - The first instrumental track of the album, and pretty short too. This piece makes me feel like gearing-up to go kick some ass. Very cool instruments in this song. I just wish it were either longer as an instrumental, or if the first 2:20 were the opening to a really epic song, rather than the way it cools down during the last 30 seconds. Regardless, it's still great, and I should be happy it even exists in the first place, since it wasn't really intended.
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