Search - Nightwish: End of an Era on DVD

As usual....Nightwish brings it!

Andrew Kuzel | 06/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've got to admit that I was a little worried about how this DVD would turn out. "From Wishes to Eternity" is my favorite DVD bar none- could it be matched? Most of the live clips I've seen since FWTE, have been reasonably good, but not spectacular. Big stages have seemed to diminish band interaction and the immediacy & impact of the performances, the band has looked kind of static and audio quality has been nothing great, at best. Then there's the whole Tarja situation and its still lingering aftermath....

Well fellow NW acolytes and all you "civilians" out there, have no fear because this show and DVD/box is another great Nightwish experience. High energy all around, the intensity level stays up throughout the entire show, everyone in the arena seems to be fully engaged in the event, the band's performance is great, the audio is the best yet, and the video work is generally solid too. Realistically, its just about as much as one could hope for as far as capping things off in a positive and energetic way.

So, some details... Its nice and long....18 songs with a concert length of 100 minutes. Despite reputedly having the flu that day, both Marco and Tarja sound fantastic - at the top of their form. Marco adds a lot of onstage chemistry, as you would expect (who was that surly looking guy with a bass on FWTE anyway"). Tarja looks fully engaged and she appears to be enjoying herself. Her whole situation really wasn't much of a factor for me, while watching the show, although it does kind of enter your awareness once the last couple of songs come along. Forget about picking highlights, there are just too many, but if I must I would take "Bless the Child", "Ghost Love Score" - especially when the red confetti falls towards the end, and "Over the Hills". Don't agree? Well, I could just as easily pick Marco's brilliant rendition of "High Hopes", the best performance of "Sleeping Sun" I've seen, and the dynamic blast of "Dark Chest of Wonders". The point is that there is an awful lot to be thrilled with, just as was the case with FWTE.

One thing I really want to make note of is how good the "Century Child" material sounds. Even if you were never crazy about songs like "Phantom of the Opera" or "Ever Dream" chances are you will love them here. This has a lot do with audio clarity, I think. The vocals are much more upfront and present than on the "Century Child" CD and there seems to be less smearing and greater clarity in the overall mix. Even "Bless the Child", which was already one of my very favorite Nightwish songs, sounds better here. It really makes me wish more of "Century Child" had been included; it would have been pure bliss to have "End of All Hope" and "Beauty of the Beast" on there as well. Although this may sound a bit heretical and strange, I'd have to say it could have been better to replace "Kinslayer" and "Wishmaster" with more "Century Child" tracks. We already have great performances of those on FWTE and the "End of an Era" versions don't quite stack up to the FWTE versions.

The DVD would also be an excellent introduction to Nightwish for those unfamiliar with the band, even for non-metal fans. I've used FWTE for this purpose quite a bit. Just the other day, six or eight people in my family - none of whom have any particular inclination towards heavy music - became very interested upon accidentally seeing a couple of clips from FWTE. So now I'm buying that many more copies of FWTE and Wishmaster to get them started. End of an Era would be just as appealing in that way. Although at current prices and availability I may have to hide "End of an Era" and hope a cheaper NTSC version appears someday!

Now naturally there are things that I think could have been done better or differently. There is an awful lot of fast cutting, especially in the beginning of the show. There are a lot of nice camera angles, moving pan/zoom shots and so on, but it seems like there are so many cuts that the pacing is too fast - it can actually feel a little disorienting at first. It does seem like less of an issue upon repeat viewings, maybe that's the intention. I thought the added visual effects were unnecessary - they don't mesh as well as with the quasi high-def feel of "End of an Era" as they did with the video on FWTE . At times the add-ons were pretty distracting: superimposed flames during parts of "Ghost Love Score" - please - isn't it powerful enough already? Cheesy! And who are those crying girls anyway? With 12,000+ people present, let's see more variety in audience shots. There are other things that could be argued, but really there's nothing seriously amiss here - all of these issues are mainly in the realm of fun fan debate.

Remember that this is strictly PAL video at this point in time; it may not work in your Region 1 DVD player. Even certain of my players that accept other PAL DVDs won't play this one. It is fine, though, in any player I tried that specifically accepted PAL and it is fine in any PC or Mac that I tried it on. Some may notice sync issues with this DVD; it actually looked more noticeable to me than on FWTE. That's if its really there at all - sometimes I wonder if I'm really seeing it or not. I have noticed the same phenomenon on the Therion DVD that just came out; it makes wonder if this has to do with PAL to NTSC conversion artifacts or if there's some sort of framing glitch when certain devices play back PAL video.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with "End of an Era" and extremely grateful to Tuomas and all for producing another masterful and memorable Nightwish treasure. I guess I have two favorite DVDs now; here's hoping the era to come matches up to the past and that I can up that number in a few years time....."

Nightwish : "End Of An Era"

Masked Jackal | Ft. Lauderdale, FL United States | 08/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I'm not the biggest fan of Nightwish. Speaking in general, I can do without all of the "operatic approach" to their music. I'm much more of a METALHEAD so to speak, and I don't usually listen to bands that base their music around that "welcome to the opera" feel like Nightwish...

That being said, it was very difficult for me to get into Nightwish upon first listen a couple of years back. I was already a very big Lacuna Coil fan at the tinme, but these are two totally different bands, with different sounds / styles / and all around talents. You simply can't / shouldn't compare the two. Needless to say, I found Nightwish to be too opera oriented for my everyday listening....

Now onto this review....

I was completely blown away with this live performance. Nightwish is without question one of the tightest, most impressive live acts I've seen on DVD in quite some time. These are extremely complex songs to perform, and I couldn't have been more impressed with this purchace....

I was never a big Nightwish fan, but after seeing this incredible live performance, I have a lot more respect for this band. They are truly something special in a live setting, and even if you're like me and don't care for the opera feel to the music, I'm sure you'll still embrace "End Of An Era" with open arms after watching it for yourself....

5 STAR PERFORMANCE / BUY WITH CONFIDENCE!!!!
"

FIN

maiden pa. | bedford, pa United States | 06/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is it. The last Nightwish concert with Tarja. Includes 2 CDS and 1 DVD. A real deal considering the $17.99 pre-order. A steal. I guess it was going to happen sooner or later with Tarja having two careers. I don't think her career will be the same after Nightwish. She sings opera and I own a lot of it and she doesn't have the voice to be a front line opera singer. I don't think either side will be the same in this breakup. Sad to see it end this way. This concert and CD set is our last great memory of them.FIN!!!"

I Finally Got it in the U.S.

Monkdude | Hampton, Virginia | 08/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the NTSC/All Region version off another website (for only $25.00 including shipping!) and it plays fine on all my DVD players, except my older model. The show is great and everyone is in top form. The picture and sound quality blows away the From Wishes to Eternity DVD by far. Too bad this was the final show with Tarja, but I have a feeling that they will get back together after a little time apart."