Live: Nightwish in Pittsburgh

Nightwish is currently out on the road supporting their newest release entitled “Decades.” It is a retelling of some of their greatest hits, complete with all three of their vocalists. It is a chance for current singer Floor Jansen to put her mark on some of their best songs to date. The album is simply put astonishing and tonight so was their performance of it. The band is comprised of mainman Tuomas Holopainen on keyboards, Empuu Vuorinen on guitars, Floor Jansen vocals, Kai Hahto drums, Troy Donockley guitars and just about anything else and Marco Hietala on bass and vocals; Together they form a wall of sound that totally encompasses and envelops you. They kicked the night off with an absolutely killer rendition of “End of All Hope” which flowed right into one of their biggest hits “I Wish I Had An Angel” which sounded absolutely massive. They continued on through what was hit after hit playing “Elan,” Elvenpath” and the smash hit “I Want My Tears Back” which brought the place to its knees. They didn’t talk very much, preferring to let the music do the talking and it had a hell of a lot to say. On the rare occasion that they did speak it was mostly for Hietala to get the crowd going or for Floor to introduce a song. They continued on through some of their biggest hits like “The Carpenter,” “The Kinslayer” and “Devil In the Deep Dark Ocean.” The energy level was through the roof by this point with more to come. Next they hit the crowd with one of the greatest hits called “Nemo,” and they responded by singing it louder than the band could play it. “Slaying The Dreamer” and “The Greatest Show on Earth” were next and it truly was the greatest show on earth to the crowd. The song had a big ending that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. There was one more song left to play and it was a monster unto its self. The band left the stage to let the crowd work it’s-self up and work themselves up they did. The time had come for the biggest hit to date “Ghost Love Score.” It is a ten minute epic that tells a story. It’s a story that the now ravenous crowd ate up in droves. As the song grew to a close so did the now infamous show, until the next time then. -Eric Hunker