by Anabel DFlux
– Sr. Photojournalist —
April 14, 2018, at the National Grove of Anaheim, CA. —
The catalyst in making the Symphonic Metal genre what it is, Finnish band Nightwish embarked on an ambitious journey through time on its ‘Decades World’ Tour. With the release of the newest compilation album featuring a broad discography of the band’s impressive career, the Decades tour aimed to bring the band’s entire history to the ears of their adoring fans. Complete with a massive screen that set the backdrop for each and every melody on the set list, the visual aspect of Nightwish’s performance was one for the history books (having not brought such a spectacle to the United States before). Just to highlight the epic nature of this one-of-a-kind performance, Nightwish was the only band on the night’s bill- which led to an extraordinary two (and then some) hour-long performance. Made up of mastermind and keyboardist Toumas Holopainen, vocal queen Floor Jansen, bassist extraordinaire Marco Hietala, guitarist genius Emppu Vuorinen, passionate percussionist Jukka Nevalainen, and every other unique and beautiful instrument under the sun Troy Donockley, Nightwish is a dream of a lineup. This level of skill and melting pot of talent leads to a stage show not easily forgotten. Fans stood for hours upon hours awaiting the arrival of this European powerhouse and were not disappointed upon the beginning of the performance.
Before any music washed over the venue, the large screen requested that cell phones not be used during the performance (an honestly welcome sight considering the current cell phone social environment and the lack of etiquette that comes with it). The evening proceeded to open with ‘End of All Hope’, from the album Century Child, released back in 2002. An energetic and dramatic beginning, this song amped the crowd up tremendously- setting the tone for the following hours. Marco’s vocals shone in “Wish I had an Angel” which followed, and Floor’s incredibly voice radiated in “10th Man Down” coming directly after. For someone who has listened to Nightwish through most of their albums, the portrayal of each and every song was all one could most certainly hope for. Despite numerous vocalist changed and lineup shifts, this current rendition of Nightwish is one of the best yet- and each song from beginning to end came to life in the most wonderful way. One could even go as far as to state that this was the most energetic performance of Nightwish to have been witnessed to date. The audience was absolutely floored at the spectacle of the evening, consistently reaching over to get closer and closer to the performers, while simultaneously dancing and singing all of the lyrics.
Senior journalist Anabel DFlux had the pleasure of capturing the phenomenal evening on camera for Hardrock Haven.
Nightwish Concert Photo Gallery
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Set List:
Intro (With Swanheart instrumental snippet)
1. End of All Hope
2. Wish I Had an Angel
3. 10th Man Down
4. Come Cover Me
5. Gethsemane
6. Élan
7. Sacrament of Wilderness
8. Deep Silent Complete
9. Dead Boy’s Poem
10. Elvenjig
11. Elvenpath
12. I Want My Tears Back
13. The Carpenter
14. The Kinslayer
15. Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean
16. Nemo
17. Slaying the Dreamer
18. The Greatest Show on Earth
19. Ghost Love Score
Connect with Nightwish here:
http://nightwish.com/en
https://facebook.com/nightwish
Tweets by NightwishBand
https://www.youtube.com/user/Nightwishofficial
https://itunes.apple.com/artist/nightwish/id2898807
https://play.google.com/store/music/artist/Nightwish?id=Acx5a5hwfjicwabh4drcabfxzai
