Wishmaster peaked at No. 1 in the official Finnish charts;[6] the album also debuted in the European charts at No. 21 in Germany[7] and No. 66 in France.[8]Wishmaster has sold more than 79,447 copies in Finland alone,[9] and as of January 2023, more than 150,000 copies have been sold in Germany alone, certifying the album 1x Gold.[10] In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 18th best power metal album of all time.[11]
Most reissues of the album contain the song "Sleepwalker", which was released in July 2000 to compete in the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000.[12]
Background and release
The writing and recording of Wishmaster was very fast and devoid of complications, in contrast with what had happened for Oceanborn.[13] The main composer Tuomas Holopainen considers the album "the most distant and least personal (...) in the Nightwish catalogue", despite containing the "mother of all Nightwish songs - Dead Boys' Poem."[14] The image of the dead boy would reappear in several songs of the following albums. Wishmaster was issued on 8 May 2000, a few days earlier than its scheduled release,[15] because the music had leaked onto the Internet.[13]
Music style
Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus speed and heaviness. Perhaps even more so than its predecessor, Wishmaster has a very clear fantasy theme.[14] While commonly considered to be closer to conventional power metal, there is still a great variety with slower songs like "Two for Tragedy" and "Dead Boy's Poem", and more epic pieces like "FantasMic". "The Kinslayer" is written about the victims of the Columbine High School massacre.[16] "Wishmaster" was inspired by the fantasy novel series The Lord of the Rings and Dragonlance, mentioning Elbereth, Lórien, and the Grey Havens from the former; and Dalamar, Raistlin Majere (Dalamar's shalafi, or "master"), Gilthanas, the Sla-Mori, Silvara and the Inn of the Last Home from the latter.[16] "FantasMic" is a song about the Disneyanimated movies, particularly their fantasy and fable elements, taking its title from the Disneyland show Fantasmic!.[14]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Tuomas Holopainen; all music is composed by Holopainen, except where noted
[2]
