It also sees the contributions of another Nightwish newbie shining through, albeit one slightly further from the spotlight. Side B sees Floor lend a new fullness to the vocals on lavish ‘Imaginaerum’ numbers like ‘Storytime’ as well as delivering a rendition of ‘Nemo’ that rivals the original. The strength and versatility of her voice allows her to do equal justice to both Tarja and Anette’s material, bridging the rift that has dominated Nightwish’s back-catalogue for so long. Her performance is simply stunning exquisite in its precision, power and emotion. The band are as tight as you could ask, but the first song has barely begun before it becomes abundantly clear that Ms Jansen is the star of this show. The energy is palpable as fan favourites like ‘Wish I Had an Angel’ and ‘She is my Sin’ are unleashed, as well as bouncy new hit ‘Ghost River’. Opening with the explosive ‘Dark Chest of Wonders’, Side A sees the band blast through the classics with gusto. Recorded on August the 3 rd 2013 before an adoring horde at Wacken Open Air, ‘Showtime, Storytime’ provides not only a superb sampling of the band’s magnificent back-catalogue, but also a historic snapshot of a band at one of the most important turning points of their career, brimming over with well-deserved confidence and the sheer joy of the performance an ideal album to savour through the vinyl medium.
Anyone still looking for an explanation for this unsettling lack of controversy need look no further than this album. When you consider just how divisive the issue of Nightwish’s lead singer has proved since Tarja Turunen’s dramatic and abysmally-handled departure back in 2005, it feels somewhat bizarre that fans and critics alike, almost without exception, have welcomed Floor with open arms. Instead, they chose to release this live showcasing of their new line-up before Floor had even been publicly confirmed as anything more than just a stand-in. It speaks volumes about the impact that Floor Jansen had during the first 8 months of her tenure as Nightwish’s latest front-woman, that the band decided not to wait for their next studio album to let Floor make her debut in the discography. Side D – Song of Myself, Last Ride of the Day, Outro: Imaginaerum Side C – Bless the Child, Romanticide, Amaranth, Ghost Love Score Side B – Storytime, I Want My Tears Back, Nemo, Last of the Wilds Side A – Dark Chest of Wonders, Wish I Had an Angel, She is my Sin, Ghost River, Ever Dream
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