Nightwish returns with an ambitious epic metal opus that begins promisingly enough but quickly devolves into another formulaic power rock affair. The band's at its most powerful and convincing on the opening "The Poet and the Pendulum" (all 14 minutes of it), the dynamic "Bye Bye Beautiful," and the infectious pop-inflected "Amaranth." But mid-album tracks such as "Sahara," "For the Heart I Once Had," and the limpid closer, "Meadows of Heaven," retread familiar ground that reminds us of epic metal's more disappointing tendencies--faux pop, bombastic bombast, anemic anthems, and a penchant for the maudlin. With new vocalist Annette Olzon in the ranks, the Finnish outfit stands poised to make a thoroughly convincing and wholehearted classic (listen to "The Islander" for further proof) but falls short, delivering a decent but distracted recording. It's too ambitious, too scattered, and, simply, too long--and that's too bad. --Jedd Beaudoin