Nightwish – Astoria 2008/1

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October last year brought to an end two years of controversy and doubt for Nightwish with the unveiling of new singer Anette Olzen and new album Dark Passion Play, their first since dismissing long-time front-woman and fan favourite Tarja Turunen. Doubt mostly erased by the album, this was the first tour in support of it.

And the fans were clearly still there, with the band able to book three consecutive nights at the Astoria due to popular demand, two of which sold out in advance. From a personal point of view things could only get better for Nightwish as I had no time for them with Turunen singing, but Dark Passion Play is an immense album, so now seemed like the right time to give them a look in the live arena on the first of their three night residency.

Special guests on the whole tour were Peter Tagtgren’s Pain who, in all honesty, were the better live act on the night. Nightwish weren’t poor by any means, Pain were just better. More energy and more enthusiasm all round with massive riffs and grooves on every track. For most it was their first exposure to Pain, who don’t tour very often, and it was a satisfying one with large parts of the unfamiliar crowd getting fully involved in the set. A pleasant surprise which set up the evening perfectly.

Nightwish comfortably reaffirmed my feelings about them after hearing Dark Passion Play by about half-way through opener and second single Bye, Bye Beautiful, and that is that they are much better with Anette than with Tarja. As with the album Anette voice is much more suited to metal music than Tarja’s and the band seem to play much heavier with her. She does struggle to hit the same notes on the older songs as Tarja, but that’s mostly because their voices are very different.

A set naturally firmly weighted towards Dark Passion Play material until the end, which achieved particular notoriety in the middle with a guest appearance by uillean pipes player Troy Donockley on The Islander and the rarely played instrumental Last of The Wilds. The best tracks from the album worked brilliantly live and were lapped up by the capacity crowd, particularly first single Amaranth, although 7 Days To The Wolves was sorely missed.

The end of the main set and the encore consisted entirely of evergreen older songs like Wishmaster and Nemo, with the notable absence of Once all of which were well received and Anette’s performance of the Turunen-era material was impressive, given the difference in their voices.

Although Pain were better on the night, Nightwish impressed greatly, nervous fans and previous detractors alike. Their next UK appearance will be a headlining slot on the last day of the Bloodstock festival, and no doubt they’ll tour again as the fans are clearly going to welcome them back.

“ much heavier ”

Pain Setlist: Same Old Song / Eleanor Rigby / End of The Line / Zombie Slam / Nailed To The Ground / Just Hate Me / On And On / Shut Your Mouth

Nightwish Setlist: Bye Bye, Beautiful / Dark Chest of Wonders / Whoever Brings The Night / The Siren / Amaranth / The Pit And The Pendulum / Dead To The World / The Islander / Last of The Wilds / Sahara / Nemo // Wishmaster / Wish I Had An Angel

Written by Andy Lye
More: Female-fronted, Gigs, Gothic, Symphonic, Nightwish, Pain