Just downloaded the new Nightwish album (it's only available to purchase in Europe at the moment, still waiting for it in Canada).. and holy crap, is it amazing!
I'm absolutely in love with this album, I can't shut it off and have forced myself to burn a new CD for my car. 
Specifically, my favorite tracks from the new album, Imaginaerum, are
Ghost River (So much energy, it's ridiculous! 
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Storytime (again with the epicness and quick, powerful vocal parts)
Song of Myself (while hard to justify burning for a car stereo due to the ~6 minutes of spoken word at the end of the time, still a wonderfully powerful piece)
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove (somehow I just love the sound and presentation of this softer, yet beautifully elegantly-performed song)
Imaginaerum - This instrumental title track is just a masterpiece of symphonic rock without vocals, and a beautiful summary of the album.
Rest Calm (Gorgeous vocal parts with a rugged edge, just such a memorable melody, carried over into Imaginaerum, along with the rest of the album.)
This whole album just has a level of presentation I've never heard before. It gives me a reborn respect to the symphonic metal genre. Absolutely FANTASTIC!
Agreed. Imaginaerium is, IMO, the best new album of this year. Here is my own track-by-track rundown:
Taikatalvi- Very creepy and ambient intro track. It kinda makes me wish I understood Finnish. The way it segues into the next track is flawless too.
Storytime- Bombastic, heavy, dramatic, a great opener to get the listener on board! The music video is pretty cool to. It's nice to see Nightwish steering away from their usual melancholy music and going for something a bit more...Tim-Burton style creepy.
Ghost River- Even heavier and more powerful, very creepy and it's nice to hear Annette going for vocals that are a little less pop-ish. The energy and brutality in this track is stunning!
Slow Love Slow- And now for something completely different, indeed! After 2 heavy, brutal songs, we then get...Late Night jazz. Surprisingly, gothic-late-night-jazz-metal (Never thought I'd say that) works remarkably well.
I Want My Tears Back- The sudden transition from the previous song to this one makes me jump every time. More like their old stuff than the other tracks, this is a solid song with a catchy melody and a toe-tapping beat.
Scaretale- When Tuomas said this track was like being on a rollercoaster, he wasn't kidding. This track is exhilarating, terrifying and ridiculously epic, all at once. Those singing children at the beginning were sooo creepy! And the whole spoky-carnival theme of the song was a nice chilling touch.
Arabesque- A little instrumental interlude here, with an Arabian sound. Personally, my least favourite track, but it still holds up alongside the others, sounding more like a film score than anything else.
Turn Loose The Mermaids- This is an odd one. It starts off similar to some sort of celtic ballad, then segues into something out of a spaghetti western movie! And ye, somehow, it works well. The melody is lovely, the beat is very drummable, all round a very nice song.
Rest Calm- Another song that sounds very much like older Nightwish songs. But it still works well, with a very catchy melody and brilliant vocals and orchestral backing.
The Owl, The Crow and The Dove- I originally did not like this one very much, but after a few listens, it really grew on me. The duet vocals are nice an the transitions from acoustic to heavy were flawless.
Last Ride Of The Day- Another obvious spooky-carnival song with speed, heaviness, epic power and one of the more catchy choruses.
Song of Myself- My God...Simply amazing. It does not have the catchy chorus or fantastic melody of the previous tracks, but it makes up for it with its sheer scale and size. 13 minutes of sheer epicness! The last half is interesting, since it becomes a reading of a strange, and rather depressing Walt Whitman poem, recited by an assortment of different voices.
Imaginaerium- The finale outro, which is essentially an orchestral medley of the previous songs on the album. It really makes the different songs fuse together well, and definitely has the feel of end-credits (which is its intended use in the upcoming Imaginaerium film)
So yeah, as you can guess, I'm a pretty big Nightwish fan.
