Turn Loose the Mermaids - While this isn't even my favorite song on the album, I almost feel like saying that this track is perfect the way it is. Anette's vocals are so clean, and there isn't a single spot where anything feels off. The music is the same way--every instrument usage feels so precise, and just the way it needs to be. It's such a beautiful song. And the best part of this song is when it takes on almost a western feel. It's absolutely incredible, and it makes me wish for them to make a song that is themed that way the whole length sometime.
Rest Calm - It took me a few listens for this song to really stick with me. I liked it, but I never really considered it overly memorable. To me, it feels like the most "regular" track. There isn't really anything for me to specifically point out. I just like the way it sounds. It's not boring by any means, because it goes through plenty of changes during it's 7 minutes.
The Crow, The Owl, and The Dove - Another pleasant sounding slower song. It has a nice mix of acoustic guitar and flutes. Marco's voice is really different sounding on this track at times, plus there is another male vocalist too. This song is definitely memorable for its different feel. It's grown on me a lot.
Last Ride Of The Day - Awesome track. The chorus is so amazing sounding. I love how it keeps gradually going up and down in pitch. I don't have much to say about this song. It's pretty straight forward, but one of my favorites.
Song Of Myself - When I first heard that this song would have a 6 minute poem recited at the end, I was a bit unimpressed at the idea of that. The first 7 minutes are very good. It has a particularly epic feel, even for this album. I love the music as the song starts to wind down before the poem. There is this build up of music that pauses, and then this metallic pound sound strikes back in with the music. Kind of a weird thing to describe, but it sounds super cool. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I'll stop the song right after this, and just pretend it was a 7 minute song. BUT, the poem portion isn't actually that bad. In fact, it's way better than I expected. If I'm in the right mood, I'll listen to the whole song. The poem is actually really pretty sounding. The music melds surprisingly well with the voices. And the fact that there are many different voices telling the poem make this way better, and gives it an emotional feel. Really this song both benefits and suffers because of the poem at the end. Sometimes it's just what I want, and other times, I'd rather just skip it.
Imaginaerum - The last track of the album, and the other instrumental. It's also the longest instrumental Nightwish track. Adding a medley is kind of an interesting choice. I mean I know they wanted it for the film credits, but to just sit and listen to a medley of all the stuff I just listened to at the end of an album...I don't know. I like the idea of it for a movie, but it's not quite as thrilling on an album. It sounds good, but it just doesn't bring anything new, and as such, I don't really care for it that much in comparison to everything else. Although I think the second half of the song is a lot better, and MUCH smoother sounding, it's still one of the weakest tracks.
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