Nightwish brings Decades World Tour to Montreal

The name of the world tour says it all, Decades. Since 1996, Nightwish have defined the entire sub-genre known as Symphonic Metal, which incorporates orchestral classical music and opera in some cases. Although some members may have changed over the years, the direction and the instrumentation were as impressive as ever.

On Tuesday evening, Nightwish brought their Decades World Tour to the MTELUS in Montreal. With no openers, it was truly a night with Nightwish. Going along with the feeling like you were at the theatre seeing a performance, a voice came over the speakers asking the audience to turn off their cellphones and become fully enveloped in the act to follow. Trading away their massive pyrotechnical set for outdoor shows for a more bare bones approach for small venues, this night was all about the music.

Troy Donockley took to the stage first, playing a flute and then switching to the Uilleann pipes before the rest of the band joined him on stage. Getting straight to business, the bands played hits such as “Wish I Had An Angel ,” “10^th Man Down,” and “End Of All Hope.”

This was the first time I was able to see Nightwish with Floor Jansen as the lead vocalist, and she nailed it. With her commanding stage presence and vocal range, she has truly left her mark on old and new songs. Floor’s vocals were certainly tested with the featured setlist, as it included some of the most challenging to sing.

Providing smiles all night long was the guitar and bass duo of Emppu Vuorinen and Marco Hietala. It’s easy to see that the two take pride in their art and have a lot of fun with each and every performance. Ending the show with a fitting rendition of the epic “The Greatest Show On Earth,” with its constant time changes and interludes, Nightwish showed why they are regarded as one of the best live acts touring.