Favourite album cover?

[Fugazi]

Have you got a favourite Nightwish album cover? I'm only including the studio albums/EP for now, but later we can discuss the live albums/compilations/singles if you would like to.

Angels Fall First (photo by Garry Black): I don't know who chose the image or where the inspiration came from, but I like the image, the simplicity of the cover and the colours. Not sure it brings Finland to my mind, but there's the idea of nature that is present on the album tracks (Lappi...) To me it evokes a warm summer night, with the glow of the setting sun or of a bonfire, like on the night when Tuomas first imagined Nightwish in 1996. Yeah, good cover.

Oceanborn (artwork by Maria Sandell): While the AFF cover was clean and simple, this is something else! It reminds me of old progressive rock album covers, full of mystical imagery and weird settings. It's replete with the iconic Nightwish imagery that will endure, like the night, the moon, the ocean, the owl, the Earth, death (or birth?)... It's a somewhat naive painting, but nevertheless appealing. The vibrant colours are great too.

Wishmaster (artwork by Markus Mayer): I love the deep red colours, and compared to Oceanborn while the symbolism is still present it's a more balanced picture. Once again it's human vs wilderness, only in a different setting. The face in the clouds is a nice touch and will keep people talking for the next 50 years (by the way, it it a man or a woman?) Also I think that the letter next to the Dead Boy has been deciphered at some point, what does it say again? I can only read "the child".

Over The Hills And Far Away (image by Sami Vänskä, illustration by Tomi Laurén): Certainly my least favourite cover, it definitely looks half-baked and cheap. I don't think it captures the mood of the title song either. There's nothing redeeming about it. Fail. 😋

Century Child (artwork by Markus Mayer): A return to form, although I can't say I like this one as much as the Wishmaster cover. For one thing, there's something terribly off with the waterfalls in the background. The water is not falling vertically, the weird water spray to the right and the dark unrealistic rock face bug me to no end. The foreground details are nice though and I like the purple shades in the water. But for me it's not a memorable album cover.

Once (artwork by Markus Mayer): I'm not sure what to think about this one. Odd color choices, poor contrast... it's no wonder Roadrunner in the USA had the cover redone (in blue, and they removed the round frame thing). I mean, I like the angel but I'm not sure I understand the layout, so maybe I'm missing something.

Dark Passion Play (artwork by Janne & Gina Pitkänen): A pendulum slicing sheet music above a dark ocean is strange to say the least, but the result is dark, dynamic and intriguing so I guess it works. It's also the start of a trend of dark-coloured album covers.

Imaginaerum (artwork by Janne & Gina Pitkänen): This is definitely one of the nicer ones, evoking mystery, fantasy and horror while perfectly fitting the theme of the album.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful (artwork by Janne & Gina Pitkänen): This must have involved so much work, yet I find the end result a little... underwhelming? There's so much crammed into this picture yet after all those years I couldn't name one single thing from memory except perhaps for the DNA strand. I don't know, for an album that is a celebration of life the cover is perhaps too dark and serious and computer-generated. But I acknowledge the immense effort put into this.

Human Nature (artwork by ToxicAngel and RavnHeart -- aka Janne & Gina Pitkänen): I'm happy for a return to simpler artwork and warmer colours on this album. Nothing too fancy but it's easy on the eye and different enough from their previous album covers.

So which one do I like best? I'd say Wishmaster but others are close behind. Which is your favourite? Vote in the poll and let me know!

[Ocean Soul]

This is really hard question. I love them all because each of them are a symbol for a certain era to me. The science geek in me wants to say EFMB, but the escapist in me says Imaginaerum... 🤔

[Moondance]

I'd say Imaginaerum as it was the first Nightwish album that I bought.

[Fugazi]

3 hours ago, Ocean Soul said:

This is really hard question. I love them all because each of them are a symbol for a certain era to me. The science geek in me wants to say EFMB, but the escapist in me says Imaginaerum... 🤔

23 minutes ago, Moondance said:

I'd say Imaginaerum as it was the first Nightwish album that I bought.

Imaginaerum would be my second choice, next to Wishmaster. It has great artwork inside and out.

[mabla]

Nice one, never thought of this ..... 🤔

EFMB comes first on my mind because there is so much into that cover. You must really take your time for it and look deeper. It's layered in some way.

Piece of art 🤘

 

[Fugazi]

I found what I was looking for...

 

[StarDragonX]

From a visual standpoint alone I like the "Century Child" -cover the most. It is very artistic, the purple

water fall is a little bit "psychedelic"... and the last thing... I like women (as a male). I have confessed.

[Fugazi]

4 hours ago, Stargazer said:

From a visual standpoint alone I like the "Century Child" -cover the most. It is very artistic, the purple

water fall is a little bit "psychedelic"... and the last thing... I like women (as a male). I have confessed.

I do like the purple waterfalls... It adds a mysterious element and it shows the artist has actually read the lyrics! 😁

[Fugazi]

Ok I have gone and added the live albums to the poll. Let's see what we have:

  

From Wishes To Eternity (photo by Marcello Rossi): The regular album cover is a distorted picture of the band, stage and audience during the actual show at Tampere in December 2000. It's a simple concept but I like it, the colours are great and I just think it works. On my DVD cover the picture is cropped and doesn't look quite as good but still ok. But I do want to mention the German release with basically the same crowd and stage picture, now with a photoshopped fiery mountain backdrop. I think it's even better! They will recycle the concept on Showtime, Storytime, but more about that later.

  

End Of Innocence (design by ?): Again, two different designs. The main release is plain and dark, probably like Tuomas' mood during the tour. The German release is using some of the (Century Child) album art to create a more interesting design. Neither are among my favourites.

End Of An Era (artwork by Toxic Angel): This is a great artwork, using colours and materials calling back to the "Once" album cover. It's also symbolic of the great schism between Tarja and Tuomas/the band. The presence of a very cartoonish breaking heart seems to imply (rightly or wrongly) that there was LOVE between the two. 😮

Made In Hong Kong (artwork by Toxic Angel, original owl design by Thomba Mähänen): I looove the angry owl design, so this one is among my favourites. A road case is of course appropriate for a live album, I just wish that the band actually started using the logo on their cases, which they never did to my knowledge. Until it returned in the Nevski promotional material the owl was never used much beyond the Made In Hong Kong release. Who is this Thomba guy anyway, I want to send him all my money!

Showtime, Storytime (artwork by Toxic Angel): This is my absolute favourite from the live albums! Not only because it's a nice blend of a live picture with a fantastical background (like on the alternate FWTE cover!) but also because it's the only live album cover art where we actually see the band! The decision to feature the band was probably strategic. This album featured a new singer, so they had to promote the new line-up, and perhaps reach out to fans who abandoned the band after Tarja left. But since the switch happened mid-tour, they also had to warn buyers that Anette wasn't singing on it, and thereby avoid any disappointment-complaints-requests for refunds-etc. That's my take on it, anyway!

Vehicle Of Spirit (artwork by Toxic Angel): Following "Showtime, Storytime", this cover design is a disappointment IMO. I'm looking at my album and it doesn't look half as bright as the picture here, it's dark and it's full of text and I can understand the concept they went for but the result is underwhelming.

Decades Live (artwork by Toxic Angel): I like the purple stellar clouds, I'm happy with the return of the owl. I can get behind this. Not a mind-blowing cover but it's not shocking either.

Have you got a favourite live album cover?

[Fugazi]

We have a new album cover to consider, this is Yesterwynde.

I like the end result, but fans have noticed the use of a stock image for the spiral clock.

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/surreal-antique-old-clock-abstract-fractal-790152409