Century Child is the fourth studio album by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in 2002 through Spinefarm Records in Finland, Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, Century Media Records in the US, and Toy's Factory in Japan. It is the first album which features former bassist and male vocalist Marko Hietala. It is also the first Nightwish album to feature an orchestra.

Spinefarm Records released a 2-CD special edition of the album in 2002. It includes liner art with the band members' signatures, and a Video CD containing the music video for their cover of Gary Moore's "Over the Hills and Far Away". In addition, the booklet contains an ID code that allows the owner to download the entire album and three extra tracks from the Internet for a limited time. The bonus tracks are "Nightwish", "The Forever Moments" and "Etiäinen", all from the band's first demo of 1996.

The album was certified double platinum in Finland with more than 60,000 sold copies, the second best selling album of 2002 in Finland. Century Child has sold more than 80,000 copies in Finland alone.

In an interview with Perkele Magazine in 2002, songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen discussed the central theme of the album, which he stated was "childhood" and the "loss of innocence". When asked more about the theme, he stated:

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tuomas Holopainen, except where noted; all music is composed by Holopainen, except where noted; all lead vocals by Tarja Turunen, except where noted.

Personnel

Credits for Century Child adapted from liner notes.

Nightwish

  • Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
  • Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards
  • Emppu Vuorinen – guitars
  • Marko Hietala – bass, male vocals on tracks 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 & 10
  • Jukka Nevalainen – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

  • Joensuu City Orchestra – orchestra
  • Juha Ikonen – orchestra leader
  • Riku Niemi – orchestra and choir conductor, orchestra and choir arrangements, orchestra and choir production
  • Mongo Aaltonen – orchestral percussion
  • St. Thomas Chorus of Helsinki – choir vocals
  • Hilkka Kangasniemi – choirmaster
  • Sam Hardwick – spoken words on "Bless the Child" and "Beauty of the Beast"
  • Kristiina Ilmonen – tin whistle
  • GME choir – additional noise

Production

  • Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen – production
  • Mikko Karmila – mixing
  • Mika Jussila – mastering
  • Veijo Laine – orchestra and choir arrangements, orchestra and choir production
  • Terhi Kallio – orchestra engineering
  • Tuomas Holopainen – art direction
  • Markus Mayer – cover art
  • Spelltone – layout
  • Hilkka Kangasniemi – choirmaster

Charts

Weekly charts

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! scope="col"| Chart (2002)

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Year-end charts

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! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

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Certifications

References

Bibliography

  • Nightwish's Official Website