Fluffy orchestral soundtrack to a non-existent Disney blockbuster - A review of Tuomas Holopainen's The Life and Times of Scrooge

Nightwish has been a trainwreck for quite a while with average to terrible records and lots of drama regarding multiple line-up changes. I was curious enough about this to investigate further and give Tuomas Holopainen's debut record The Life and Times of Scrooge a spin. After having listened to this album, I understand where Nightwish's excessive instrumental passages, keyboard wankery and folk undertones of recent date come from. To be fair however, this album isn't as dreadful as it appears to be at first contact and ultimately qualifies as an average output.

First and foremost, this is not a symphonic metal album. It's not even a symphonic rock record. This sounds like the soundtrack to a Disney movie. If you like this type of music, then you will have to admit that the renowned London Philharmonic Orchestra is doing an excellent job here. The musicians are all professionals, the songwriting is fluid and the music invokes many images on your mind.

Some of the other guests also leave a very positive impression. Troy Donockley's performance on Uilleann pipes, low whistles and Bodhrán add much atmosphere, creativity and depth to this unusual album. Mikko Iivanainen plays the banjo which adds an energetic, joyful and warm sound. Teho Majamäki plays the didgeridoo which adds some more atmospheric passages at appropriate moments. Jon Burr plays the harmonica, introducing some country stylistics that remind us that the album's story takes place in the Klondike.

Some of the guest singers manage to make two songs stand out among the rest. Sonata Arctica's Tony Kakko offers an inspired performance on album highlight ''Cold Heart of the Klondike''. His vocals vary from enchanting and melodic passages to atmospheric spoken-word sections. His style fits splendidly on this melodic and mellow symphonic album. Johanna Iivanainen briefly appears on multiple occasions but she impresses most on the soothing ballad ''A Lifetime of Adventure''. Ironically, this enchanting tune reminds of Nightwish's ballads with Anette Olzon.

Another reference to Nightwish has to be made. This symphonic album reminds of Nightwish's soundtrack to its movie entitled Imaginaerum - The Score. While that soundtrack sounded atmospheric, fresh and inspiring, this solo album offers more of the same and fails to impress as much as the aforementioned soundtrack released only a year and a half earlier.

The main issue of this release here is that the songs sound too fluffy, smooth and tame. Don't get me wrong now, I wasn't exactly expecting a metal or even rock album but orchestral music can be diversified, dramatic and dynamic. That isn't the case here since we essentially get ten ballads that are five and a half minutes long on average. While two or three ballads would have been perfectly fine, ten in a row simply end up sounding exchangeable, redundant and repetitive.

In the end, The Life and Times of Scrooge is an album for people who appreciate orchestral music and who adore Disney soundtracks. It's the kind of music a child who likes the rebooted DuckTales would listen to. If you are however expecting to discover symphonic metal or symphonic rock in the key of Nightwish, you will be quite disappointed and should simply skip this release. As a matter of fact, the similar Nightwish release Imaginaerum - The Score sounds much better in comparison. This record here feels like a soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist yet.

Final rating: 60%