NIGHTWISH - Vehicle Of Spirit

January 27, 2017, 7 years ago

(Nuclear Blast)

Nick Balazs

Rating: 9.5

review heavy metal nightwish

NIGHTWISH - Vehicle Of Spirit

Nightwish’s Endless Forms Most Beautiful 2015 World Tour was a resounding success supporting their latest album and tour has been documented with this robust new release Blu-Ray, DVD, CD release Vehicle Of Spirit. The package contains two full concerts, one from the hallowed stages of Wembley Hall in England and a stadium show in Tampere, Finland. 
 
The star of the show is the goddess with the golden pipes Floor Jansen. She seamlessly takes on songs from EFMB plus tracks from the Annete Olzon era and of course from the original Tarja Turunen. Taking on tracks like “Nemo”, “Last Ride Of The Day”, “Ghost Love Score”, and “Sleepless Sun” is no easy feat. Olzon has the soft, sugary, sweet vibe while Tarja boasts the operatic wonder, but Jansen pulls it off.
 
 All the band members are having a ball on stage and the video editing crew gets at A+ giving each member time to shine with a variety of shots and no jarring cuts or quick transitions. The stage show holds a wide rectangle screen with three verticals screens beneath showcasing different forms of the environment and nature which was the main theme of Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Fire jumps out at different times for all an all an impressive stage show. Scientist Richard Dawkins takes the stage at the end of the Wembly show and delivers the speech after the gasping 20-minute epic “Greatest Show On Earth”. The Tampere concert shows just how huge they are in their homeland with 20,000 plus people in tow and the crowd hanging on every note. A catwalk is featured in the stadium show and bassist Marco Hietala uses it during the folksy tune “The Islander” and Floor later heads out for the ballad “Sleepless Sun.”
  
 The second disc of the Blu-ray holds extras of tracks from a variety of shows throughout the tour and it’s amazing to see the different crowds and environments the band plays it like a club (Tampa), stadium (Joensun), festival (Masters Of Rock), and more. Highlights from the extras include the Buenos Aires crowd singing “Nemo”, the acoustic rendition of “Edema Ruh” on the Nightwish Cruise, and “Last Ride Of The Day” with Sonata Arctica’s Tony Kakko at Rock In Rio. 
 
 On the audio side, the shows get cut down to ten (Wembley) and seven (Tampere) so no tracks repeat on both discs. A very good decision and makes for an easier listen while on the road or relaxing at home. It’s important to note too that “Stargazers” (referred to an as “oldie” by Floor) makes its way back into the set after 10 years and who knows; it may take another 10 for them to pull out that scorcher back out. Just look at the smile on guitarist Emppu Vuorinen’s because he gets to let the axe rip. It’s been awhile since Nightwish sounded similar to Stratovarius and “Stargazers” is a sure reminder of the late ‘90s.
 
 With Nightwish taking the year off in 2017, this should satisfy any fan’s appetite for material. With the way live content can be accessed easily through YouTube and other avenues, a live release may seem like not the best idea, but this is so comprehensive and well done this is a must have for any new or old fan.
 
 



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