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If ever further proof was required about the healing powers of music, and the cathartic release that it can offer, then look no further than Finnish titans of Metal Nightwish and their current run of live dates.
Having built up a considerable head of steam with a spring tour of North America, European and Scandinavian festival appearances throughout the summer, and a recent jaunt to Latin America, Nightwish were gearing up for the launch of the UK and European legs of their delayed Human. :||: Nature. World Tour; and then on October 26th vocalist Floor Jansen announced on her social media accounts that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would have to undergo surgery. Thankfully, the surgery went well and Floor took to her socials to announce that she was cancer-free and was resting up in order to prepare for the tour that was set to start a few days later in Antwerp, Belgium. If anyone could perform such a turnaround in such a short time then it would be Floor Jansen, the same person that recovered from having their gallbladder removed a few weeks before Nightwish performed two virtual shows in 2021.
Live fan-filmed footage from the opening few nights of the tour showed that Jansen was indeed back and in great form, although the grainy footage was no substitute for witnessing in the flesh the force of nature that is Floor Jansen. As cheesy as it sounds; there is a lot of love in the room tonight, and all of it is aimed at Floor and the five musicians that makeup Nightwish. From the moment that the curtain drops and the incredible Kai Hahto takes up position behind his stunning drum kit and proceeds to beat out the heavy, percussive intro to ‘Music’, until the last strains of an emotional ‘Ad Astra’ 90-minutes later, this was as spiritual an evening as it gets without straying into religious territory. With the intro to ‘Music’ ending with an explosion that is listed on the printed setlist simply as “Big Bang” – ‘Noise’ kicks in and the Brummie crowd is going nuts, and the loudest screams are for Floor Jansen who takes to the stage last.
With a mixture of Nightwish classics, and material from the ninth studio album, ‘Human. :II: Nature.’, there really was something for everyone, and when ‘Storytime’, ‘Élan’, and ‘Dark Chest of Wonders’ all feature in the first five songs, then you know that it is going to be a special night. The stage production is immense and the aforementioned “Big Bang” is only part of it; imaginative use of the video screens, plumes of smoke, indoor fireworks, and pyro, heaps of pyro (especially on the hypnotic ‘Tribal’ which had Kai Hahto playing out of his skin). But for all the incredible visuals (and heat) provided by the stage show, the biggest wow-inducing moments come from the band themselves; the sheer weight of a neck-straining ‘Storytime’ (new bassist Jukka Koskinen certainly has slotted in well); Floor kicking up dust with a jig or two on ‘Élan’ and ‘I Want My Tears Back’, and slowing it down on a stunning version of ‘Sleeping Sun’; multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley taking charge on a gorgeous version of ‘Harvest’ (only bettered by his duet with Floor on an acoustic run-through of ‘Hows The Heart?’); loveable guitarist Emppu Vuorinen being as animated and smiley as ever whilst laying down some crunching riffage; keyboardist/composer/lyricist Tuomas Holopainen looking down from behind his keyboard platform, beaming like a proud parent. The chemistry between the band members is clear for all to see and Jansen and Vuorinen in particular have a playful relationship that is heartwarming to witness, lots of laughs onstage with these two around.
What makes a Nightwish performance more remarkable is that even though you know how the final thirty minutes or so are going to play out, it is still an almighty thrill when it lands. After a riotous romp through ‘Last Ride of The Day’ – where Floor proves the trolls and gatekeepers wrong by pulling off some impressive windmilling with short hair – Holopainen and Hahto are illuminated by a bank of white spotlights as they launch ‘Ghost Love Score’ in unison. Genuinely the greatest ten minutes in symphonic metal history, no matter how many times you watch the classic performances from Wacken, Tampere, or Buenos Aires, nothing quite prepares you for witnessing it up close up surrounded by thousands of like-minded individuals. The symphonic arrangements with the crowd singing along; the sight of Floor Jansen leading the masses in chants of “hey…hey…” while fists are pumped in the air, and that note…you know the one. Who knew that you could get goosebumps on your legs, eh? What is also amazing is how everyone knows that once Floor has hit that note, to automatically look to the left and watch for Emppu Vuorinen walking over to her and paying homage with their own version of a fist bump. Magical. Utter magical. How do you follow that up? With a run-through of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ that features every emotion known to mankind, that’s how. Emppu bringing the bite with one crunching riff after another – what a sight to behold. And once the screams of “WE WERE HERE” fade out, the band leaves the stage while ‘All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World’ plays out, only to return to soak up the applause and perform their group bows. Once they come out of the bow, there is a touching moment where Tuomas Holopainen rests his hands on Floor’s back and gently points her toward centre stage and her mic to end the show with the hair-raising vocalisation outro ‘Ad Astra’.
A total celebration of life and the wonders of music. A performance from Floor Jansen of gargantuan proportions, and the smiles coming from that stage tonight were strong enough to power the birthplace of Heavy Metal for at least a month. You had to be there. You really had to be there.
Review – Dave
Nightwish have recently released the ‘Human. :II: Nature. (Tour Edition)’ which also features the Blu-ray: Virtual Live Show From The Islanders Arms 2021, more information here: https://nightwish.bfan.link/human-nature-tour-edition
