Little sign of the power to come but some interesting tales nonetheless
Having heard this album a number of times over it's sad to say it's not really lodged in my head at all. Certainly the most meek and mild of the Nightwish albums it has some lovely aspects musically such as The Carpenter which rides an interesting combination of melody and instrumentation and also Nymphomaniac Fantasia and an album with some very interesting lyricisms. Actually interesting is probably a polite way of saying that the English as second language issue was most pronounced here than perhaps any other Nightwish album. And really this album has the band not only wrestling with English but also with what direction and what sort of band they want to be so there is a lot of time doing the fey faery folk thing mixed with attempts at profound lyrics delivered in Tarjas quite unique and very young voice.

Ultimately this album is more of a museum piece though not in a nasty way, but it is probably best viewed as a sort of pre awareness Nightwish where the band make most use of acoustic style structures than on any of their other albums to date. And the charming naivety does work a certain magic but as I say, this is an album that were it not for what the band went on to achieve would almost certainly not still be of any interest nowadays. Three stars for this interesting though not brilliant album.

Relatively bad, but they improved so much..
Their classic, Oceanborn, comes right after this one. This is just a medicore album. If youre a new fan, stay away! Your money is better spent on the 5 other albums.

A Good Debut, But Their Best Comes Later...
I am the proud owner of five Nightwish CDs, all of which I love. I must say however that Angels Fall First is my least favorite of the five. Once, Century Child, Wishmaster, and Oceanborn are all better than Angels Fall First, but I guess that is to be expected; often times bands need to improve upon their first album and refine their sound. Well, Nightwish did just that, and the proof is any of their later releases. Angels Fall First is still essential for the true Nightwish fan though. Get the other four first, and if you still desire more Nightwish, by all means, pick up this title. It's pretty good.

A fine debut, but be mindful of your expectations.
With reasonable expectations, a Nightwish fan should thoroughly enjoy a listening of this album. One should expect that on this album, the band does not display the song-crafting prowess that can be heard on later efforts like Century Child and Once. One should also not expect to hear the amazing production quality found on the Once record. Those who complain about these aspects are clearly ignorant about the natural progression of a great band.

A true fan of NW SHOULD own this record, and treasure it as the beginning of the Nightwish journey. To describe the music as a whole, it is mostly very dark and gothic, with tinges of power metal influence. The slower ballad-style songs, such as the title track, are impressive and moving.

The worst song on the record by far is The Carpenter, being drenched with some of the worst male vocals ever recorded (a fact that Tuomas Holopainen, NW composer now admits freely). In spite of these weak moments; however, Angels Fall First is a record worth owning. Fans newer or totally new to Nightwish; however, should start with Once (for symphonic/melodic metal fans) or Wishmaster (for power metal fans). Each of these records is more accessible and gripping than Angels'.

To conclude, if you are building your Nightwish collection, buy this album last, but DO buy it. I do not recommend it as a first exposure to the band. If you're a fan of dark, off-beat, gothic music, make your purchase.

A bad start for an otherwise fantastic band
If you want to know what exactly Angels Fall First sounds like, let me offer you the following scenario. Combine Wishmaster and Century Child, strip off the bass and half the keyboards, add in some of Simone Simon's extremely forced vocals from Epica and Tuomas's flat tenor, and throw it all into a car crash. That is what Angels Fall First sounds like. I was very disappointed with this first album, especially considering how incredible their other albums were. The two best songs (meaning four out of five stars) were Elvenpath and Know Why the Nightingale Sings, followed by This Moment Is Eternity and Beauty and the Beast. The rest were frankly hard to listen to. Look to Oceanborn and Once for Nightwish's best performances, because you won't find them here.