Nightwish – Decades: Live in Buenos Aires

 And now onto the music itself. After the instrumental fantasy of “Swanheart” performed by Troy Donockley, the stage explodes with colors and music to the notes of “End of all hope” and the image of the waterfall, that is the cover artwork of “Century child” (2002), immediately transports me back to 2003 and my discovery of this band. Wonderful start to this journey, which continues with another blast from the past in the form of “Wish I had an angel”, one of my favorites from “Once” (2004).  Floor Jansen’s vocals are not as operatic as Tarja Turunen’s had been, thus giving these songs a more rockish flavor that works well in this live setting. This rearrangement is probably more evident on “Sacrament of wilderness” which became a livelier and more energetic song, rocking Estadio Malvinas to the core. Marco Hietala’s vocals are as powerful and menacing as always and his delivery on the hard hitting tracks “Slaying the dreamer” and “Devil and the deep dark ocean” further down the rabbit hole is just incredible and raw. I never thought I’d see a live version of “Devil and the deep dark ocean” and this one is just as glorious as I had hoped it would back, while I was rocking out to this song in 2004. Actually “Devil and the deep dark ocean” and “Over the hills and far away” were the songs that got me hooked on Nightwish.

 Among the rarest of gems that have been played live on this tour (and the reason I was most excited about this concert) are “10th man down”, “Come cover me”, “Deep silent complete”, “Dead boy’s poem” “Elvenpath” and “The carpenter” which show Nightwish’s somewhat softer side, as well as Tuomas Holopainen’s early musical influences. Floor’s gentle and sensitive rendition of “Come cover me” and “Deep silent complete” is as moving and emotional as it is flawless, and her rich lower register is on full display here. The emotions are flowing free on “Dead boy’s poem” as the backing vocal overlays and Tuomas’ piano harmonies add to the sorrowful and intense atmosphere that the lyrics bring forth. The almost acoustic “The carpenter” is both serious and fragile at the same time with a sense of mystery and mysticism coming from Troy and Floor’s superb delivery. And Troy Donockley simply made “The Carpenter” his own song, bringing forth his style and grace. For me these are the stand-out moments of the concert. The trio that consists of “Elvenpath”, “I want my tears back”, and “Amaranth” highlight the somewhat folkier side of Nightwish, with the whole venue dancing to Troy’s enchanting flute melodies during “I want my tears back”. All this because Argentina “is a tango country” as Marco states.