Friday, March 28 2008
FerretBrain » Articles » 2008 » March
Dark, Passionate, and Playful -- Nightwish at the Astoria
Rami gets excited by Finnish metalheads
I'll be the first to admit that Nightwish, a symphonic metal band from Finland, are a bit of a niche taste. So if you're not into slightly outlandish metal you probably want to stop right here, and I wouldn't blame you at all. If you are, read on...
Drama on stage is de rigueur for the genre, and Nightwish have had their fair share of drama off stage as well -- not too long ago they kicked out their old singer amidst a host of recriminations. As if to drive the message further home with their fans, they opened the concert with a song aimed directly at the acrimonious split: "Bye Bye Beautiful", from their new album (Dark Passion Play, you see, features a shiny new frontwoman). Fast-paced, heavy, and featuring plenty of powerful vocals from bassist Marco, it certainly worked as an opener and set the tone for a high-energy show to come.
I haven't seen Nightwish live before, except for video clips, so I can't compare performances -- from what I've seen, though, their previous singer Tarja was aloof and reserved, providing her (glorious) voice and very little else to the proceedings (another review of the previous night says Tarja "had all the stage personality of a walnut"). Annette, on the other hand, was a whirlwind of energy -- dancing around the stage, joking with the audience, interacting with the others, and clearly enjoying herself to the full. She also kept little of the limelight to herself, so we were able to see each of the other band members doing what they do best -- performing, be it strumming a guitar, on keyboards, pounding at drums or belting out lyrics at the top of their lungs. They were having a great time, and it showed.
Every piece from Dark Passion Play came out fantastically, with every member of the band in his or her element and the crowd's enthusiasm for the music infusing the performance. I especially appreciated their choices of songs to open up and finish off the concert -- as I've already said, "Bye Bye Beautiful" started things going energetically and unashamedly declared that this was the new Nightwish, and they were proud of it; the last song, "Seven Days to the Wolves", is one of my favorites from the new album as well. I was also impressed to find out that the haunting flute tones in the wholly-instrumental "Last of the Wilds" were actually produced by what looked like a set of bagpipes, expertly played by a guest from the London Philharmonic.
The downside of the new Nightwish is that their older songs fall a little flat -- this was particularly evident during songs where Annette was clearly out of her vocal range and simply couldn't sustain the clear high notes or match Tarja's vocal projection (in "The Siren", for instance, she couldn't help but be drowned out by Marco's more powerful voice). On the other hand, a couple of old favorites -- "Wishmaster" and "Wish I Had An Angel" were raw enough in their tone to work well for her obviously straining voice, and "Nemo" couldn't help but be a hit simply because of the enthusiasm rolling out from the crowd.
On the whole, Nightwish put on a fantastic show -- and if, in future, they focus more on their newer offerings they'll continue to blow the socks off anyone who goes to see them!
Drama on stage is de rigueur for the genre, and Nightwish have had their fair share of drama off stage as well -- not too long ago they kicked out their old singer amidst a host of recriminations. As if to drive the message further home with their fans, they opened the concert with a song aimed directly at the acrimonious split: "Bye Bye Beautiful", from their new album (Dark Passion Play, you see, features a shiny new frontwoman). Fast-paced, heavy, and featuring plenty of powerful vocals from bassist Marco, it certainly worked as an opener and set the tone for a high-energy show to come.
I haven't seen Nightwish live before, except for video clips, so I can't compare performances -- from what I've seen, though, their previous singer Tarja was aloof and reserved, providing her (glorious) voice and very little else to the proceedings (another review of the previous night says Tarja "had all the stage personality of a walnut"). Annette, on the other hand, was a whirlwind of energy -- dancing around the stage, joking with the audience, interacting with the others, and clearly enjoying herself to the full. She also kept little of the limelight to herself, so we were able to see each of the other band members doing what they do best -- performing, be it strumming a guitar, on keyboards, pounding at drums or belting out lyrics at the top of their lungs. They were having a great time, and it showed.
Every piece from Dark Passion Play came out fantastically, with every member of the band in his or her element and the crowd's enthusiasm for the music infusing the performance. I especially appreciated their choices of songs to open up and finish off the concert -- as I've already said, "Bye Bye Beautiful" started things going energetically and unashamedly declared that this was the new Nightwish, and they were proud of it; the last song, "Seven Days to the Wolves", is one of my favorites from the new album as well. I was also impressed to find out that the haunting flute tones in the wholly-instrumental "Last of the Wilds" were actually produced by what looked like a set of bagpipes, expertly played by a guest from the London Philharmonic.
The downside of the new Nightwish is that their older songs fall a little flat -- this was particularly evident during songs where Annette was clearly out of her vocal range and simply couldn't sustain the clear high notes or match Tarja's vocal projection (in "The Siren", for instance, she couldn't help but be drowned out by Marco's more powerful voice). On the other hand, a couple of old favorites -- "Wishmaster" and "Wish I Had An Angel" were raw enough in their tone to work well for her obviously straining voice, and "Nemo" couldn't help but be a hit simply because of the enthusiasm rolling out from the crowd.
On the whole, Nightwish put on a fantastic show -- and if, in future, they focus more on their newer offerings they'll continue to blow the socks off anyone who goes to see them!
