Artist: Nightwish
Title: “End Of An Era”
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 6/26/2006
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Rating: 5/5

Fans of the Finnish Symphonic Metal sensation known as Nightwish already know what an incredible live act the band is. Their recent release entitled “The End Of An Era” showcases this quality with absolutely stellar results. The show itself was recorded on the final night of touring for the album “Once” and finds the band in peak form, totally demonstrating that they are experts in the music industry and of this style of Metal. Most of the tunes come from the bands last two albums with the larger part being from “Once” while the other is “Century Child”. The staple songs or classics are few in numbers yet they have been represented on their earlier live recording “From Wishes To Eternity”. Starting off with “Dark Chest Of Wonders” the listener immediately finds the band to be a very heavy live presence and not some refined or orchestrated musical group. The material on “Once” was for the most part a bit heavier than the groups earlier albums and I think they had moved this way in order to defer being pigeonholed among their peers who also had female vocalists. Since Nightwish began their Metal reign, dozens of groups had popped up with some of them being memorable (Epica, Within Temptation and After Forever) while others are more run of the mill clones. From start to finish this is a great live album and is a must have for the Nightwish fan, or even the listener who enjoys a powerful female lead for their strong Melodic Metal. Having seen the group perform a number of times, it was great to hear Tarja, Tuomas, Marco, Emppu and Jakka once again and practically relive the same set that was performed in my Country when they last came to visit. The greatest inclusions on the recording come from tracks like “Ghost Love Score” and “Creek Mary’s Blood”, the latter having the band joined onstage by John Two-Hawks and of course the “hit” from “Once” which is “Nemo”. Why this song never made it to more Rock oriented stations mystifies me.
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