END OF AN ERA

A masterpiece of symphonic power metal concert!

As you might have noticed, I love this band's music especially in their brilliant ideas combining symphonic and power metal style plus operatic singing style by its singer Tarja Turunen. By the time I'm writing this I have not listened to the band's music with the new lead vocalist whom I know is not the opera kind of singer. This DVD remarked the departure of Tarja from Nightwish and it was shot as part of "Once" world tour. The DVD was taken in front of 11,500 people in Hartwall-Arena in Helsinki, October 21, 2005. After the concert, Tuomas, Emppu, Marco and Jukka fired Tarja Turunen. The reason for this was because during the Once Tour her attitude and actions had turned out to be against almost all that Nightwish members. So, this DVD can be said as a farewell concert for Tarja Turunen and remarks the end of an era under Tarja's lead vocal.

By the end of 2005, "Once" has sold approx. 1,000 000 copies worldwide and received triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, and gold in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, and Austria. The "Highest Hopes" collection has sold double platinum in Finland and gold in Norway by the end of the year 2005.

The package at my hands contains two CD audio of the same set list plus one NTSC DVD. The booklet inside the package has no information but the name of band members. Actually, I expected something informative at the booklet like "Be" live DVD of Pain of Salvation which describes the conceptual thinking of Daniel Gildenlow. So it's actually quite disappointing on this manner. AT least, I was expecting the description about the concert and how the band prepared the concert - even though I can get that from the documentary.

Live Performance

From live performance standpoint, I truly believe that this is the best live performance by the band, so far. They equipped the concert with great lighting, powerful sound system and multi camera to capture the whole stage performance for the 105 minute of the show. Tarja's voice sounds much better and transparent during live version while her stage act is quite impressive. She occasionally does headbanging with her har and that has made the live vibes quite stimulating.

During the start of the show Emppu has demonstrated his dynamic stage act running from one corner to another and stands up at certain position to deliver his guitar fills and solo. Marco Hietala does male vocal line and his voice is a true metal head voice - so crispy and powerful. Tuomas, as usual plays his box with his own stage act. What so interesting is the drumming style of Jukka whom sometimes revolves his sticks on the air with his hands during transition pieces which do not require any tom sound.

I got totally energized with the streams of music these guys and gal in the band have delivered wonderfully. The music has successfully exploded my adrenaline; completely elevate my emotion to the top of the hill with ultimate satisfaction. There is no such thing like extreme nice melodies, nor complex arrangement, nor long solos (either guitar or keyboard) - it's just perfect and it does move me man! From the blast of opening track "Dark Chest Of Wonders" with its heavy riffs and energetic beats, the band brings to another dynamic style of "Planet Hell" and "Ever Dream". Well sometimes I feel that Nightwish music is a heavier version of the music of Royal Hunt which I also love the music. Tarja and Emppu seem very energetic during the opening parts of the DVD.

What I originally only heard at compilation CD "Highest Hopes", now I can see excellently the legendary song by Pink Floyd "High Hopes" which was performed excellently by Nightwish, sung by Marco Hietala. "The grass is greener ..." it's a great cover, really. "Slaying The Dreamer" uses heavy guitar riffs in energetic mood. The music calms down with the entrance of "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan". Oh man . this is a music with great and touchy melodies especially when it is augmented with violin. Another track which touches me is "Creek Mary's Blood" from "Once" album. The concert concludes with the band's hit "Wish I Had an Angel".

Production and DVD Features

As far as sonic quality there is a significant difference between DVD and CD audio quality. The CD audio quality is inferior compared to DVD audio quality. In fact, I'd rather play the DVD to get a great sound than the CD itself.

I do not understand why the DVD has a section as photo gallery and a documentary "A Day Before Tomorrow" but that was it. It's interesting to notice the tension between Tarja and the rest of the band members through out the documentary section where they were not together most of the time. I notice that the band (and the Director of this DVD) is not wise enough putting "negative" ambience with respect to the band's internal problems that should not be showed. It's obvious that the documentary captured the band on their last tour and the shows leading up the Nightwish's last show with Tarja before they fired her via Open Letter. What's the point man? As a fan, I want them to be a solid band. But when things fall apart, they don't need to say as expressive as the open letter.

Conclusion

Even though I have some reservations with respect to the overall DVD package, but I tend to rate this DVD on the basis of the live performance that I consider as superb and masterpiece. This is One of the best live DVDs that I have ever had. The concert with gigantic stage is captivating and the crowd is crazy as well. Highly recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

A band's demise caught on film. Strange? somewhat. Rocking? definitely.

One of the most adoring audiences I've ever seen for a rock show, they are just in rapture at the feet of this group. What they didn't realize at the time was that they were witnessing the final performance of their beloved Nightwish with Tarja Turunen as vocalist. The band had already written her dismissal letter of which she also was unaware. After the show ended, the boys and Tarja had a group hug backstage and they handed her this letter sacking her. The little element of drama makes the performance all the more poignant I suppose. Although taking all of this in one wonders if the way it transpired wasn't a bit unseemly and perhaps unfair for several reasons. They got to experience this incredibly emotional show knowing full well what was happening, she (and the fans) were denied the chance to share such a moment after putting 9 years of hard work into the project. And then to allow all of this backstage filming knowing what was happening-just an observation but it could be seen as exploitative or at the least in poor taste. In their open letter to the public (another odd move) they documented their opinion of her as being unprofessional and greedy, lacking commitment to the band and to the fans. She countered soon after with her own open letter of which I'll include an excerpt because it discusses this particular concert and what transpired immediately after, making it relevant to a review documenting the day in question:

"Last Friday 21st of October was a day the whole band had been waiting for a long time. Practice started early in the morning. I was very sick and nervous because of the fact that I was not even able to sing during the rehearsals. Also nervous because the concert programme was going to be longer than usual for a Nightwish concert. Furthermore we were going to have a special guest to perform with us, more wardrobe changes for myself than usual and for the first time big screens and bigger production on stage. Not to forget that the concert was going to be recorded and filmed. The five of us had finally made it to play Hartwall Arena. Even though every one of us knew in advance that the concert was sold out, finally on stage, we saw that screaming, applauding and standing people took every seat. The feeling was unbelievable. I will never forget how amazing it was to experience the Finnish audience's gorgeous reception. When the concert was over, I cried of happiness on stage. Happy tears because I was able to do my best as always even though I was sick. Happy tears because our long tour got the greatest possible ending and happy tears because of the best recognition an artist can get: applause and smiling faces. At that moment I didn't know that I was going to cry again soon. After the concert, the guys of the band invited me backstage to join them and asked me to hug altogether. This felt strange as it was the same kind of hug we traditionally came together for before every concert. That tradition remained between us, even though the tension and increasing pressure already existed since a long period of time. The immediate feeling in me was to thank them, which I did loudly but without any reply. After this, they gave me a letter and asked me to read it the following day. The same letter that is now public. I read it and was shocked. I didn't know what to say and still at the moment that I am writing these lines, I don't. I sense great anger in that letter and I continue to have very confused feelings about it, but I don't want to reply to this anger with an even greater anger. Private matters should never be taken to the public." [Tarja, Oct. 2005]

The band rocked convincingly and the vocals were quite stunning on some tracks. The stage show was very impressive with a high-tech light production and great conceptual video played on large screens during some of the numbers. Presentation was reasonable although the edits were often much faster than I prefer zipping from person to person at a lightning pace. If you suffer from seizures or migraines watch out for the strobe overkill early on. Sound quality was average with the bass almost completely buried in the mix, a huge downer for me making the sound disappointingly mid-range. The material performed was pretty good, reasonably entertaining stuff although again hardly deep progressive fair. It's somewhat lighter metal compared to what a band like Therion is. But for fans of the band and anyone looking for a good entertaining rock show with operatic styled female vocals, this won't disappoint. Most impressive to me were the continuous shots of young women in the audience crying, they were obviously emotionally overwhelmed by the personal stake they had in the people on stage. A band that can do that to an audience in this cynical day and age is doing something right. I have to say I respect the professionalism of this band, the energy they gave to the crowd, and overall I found the DVD quite enjoyable. Add another star if you're already a fan of the group.

The documentary bonus feature is not so much an informative documentary about the group, but rather an informal tour diary video of the band through the last few dates of the tour leading to the Helsinki show. You see them navigating hotel press conferences, airports, pressing flesh with fans, goofing off, and being interviewed by tv people. You can plainly see that there are two camps within the band, whenever Tarja and her people are around the boys become quieter. Despite the attempts by everyone to look like they're having fun it is quite obvious as the days roll on that all is not well. This part of the DVD is only of interest to fans, there is really no meat here for others looking for some insight into the band's music. There is also a photo gallery with lots of live shots. Of course Nightwish continues on without Tarja so this is really only the demise of that particular line-up.

After a short intro, Nightwish takes the stage and starts rocking the place. The opening 'Dark Chest of Wonders' is an example of Tarja's beautiful voice, as well as the rest of the band blowing the competition to neverland. The following 'Planet Hell' features Marco Hietala on vocals as well, proving he's one of the best metal vocals currently in the scene. But after these tracks, the atmosphere cools down and the event starts to get boring ... I've never been a big fan of Nightwish, but this DVD really kicks my mood down after the first 10 minutes. Of course, there are some good songs here and there. Take 'Wishmaster', 'Bless the Child' and 'Ghost Love Score' for example. A special treat is a Pink Floyd cover, sung by Marco himself. I'll probably sound pathetic, but his voice can really touch your heart on this one. The atmosphere is back for the finale, the big bang shaped in 'Over the Hills and Far Away' (another cover, Gary Moore this time) and 'Wish I Had an Angel'. But other than that, the show can seem far too long for a band of this type. On the other hand, the concert (both video and audio) is really done professionally. Many bigger and brighter names can envy Nightwish on this. As Tarja's farewell show, this concert still remains as a true end of a magical era.