Showtime, Storytime

Oh, Wacken, you little town in the German North, witness to some of the greatest performances in Metal History. Last summer the over 80.000 attendees of the infamous W.O.A had the amazing opportunity to not only see the new and perfected NIGHTWISH line-up live, but also to participate in their new Live-DVD. And thanks to Nuclear Blast, we are able to listen to that great concert and tell you all about it.

Nightwish for everyone…?!

When it comes to Female Fronted Metal you often hear the fans of the growler or “rocky-er” singers say that they don’t like the opera-style vocals of some bands. And when it comes to NIGHTWISH, well you know the story: Tarja’s die hard fans didn’t like Anette’s pop-style, while others liked the latter better. But since Floor Jansen can do both really well, everybody wins, right? Yes and no.

The perfect concert.

“Showtime, Storytime” proves everybody wrong – in the best way imaginable. No need to say that the musicians all do a perfect job and we can hear the crowd reacting in awe. With an impeccable sound, that fleeting performance is turned eternal. Still I can’t help but notice that the band starts with all time classics like ‘Dark Chest Of Wonders’ and ‘She’s My Sin’ and after that they only give us their hits in small doses. Nothing wrong with promoting new material, but for a huge festival, maybe not the best playlist, in my opinion.

Not like Tarja, not like Anette

And it is during this first part of the gig that Miss Jansen, contrary to what people anticipated, showcased her more powerful and brutal vocal styles. The original operatic style of these songs was nowhere to be heard. It was also not the thin, poppy style of Anette Olzon, but Jansen’s own vocal mightiness. It’s not until the end of ‘Storytime’ and ‘Ghost Love Score’ that real strong operatic vocals become the center of attention. But no one can argue that throughout the whole show the new front woman gives NIGHTWISH a completely new sound, with her own style, which imitates nobody.

This live DVD/CD is the beginning of a new era for the band and it sure makes everybody wish they’d had been there.

Tracklist:

01. Dark Chest Of Wonders
02. Wish I Had An Angel
03. She’s My Sin
04. Ghost River
05. Everdream
06. Storytime
07. I Want My Tears Back
08. Nemo
09. Last Of The Wilds
10. Bless The Child
11. Romanticide
12. Amaranth
13. Ghost Love Score
14. Song Of Myself
15. Last Ride Of The Day
16. Imaginaerum (Outro)