After touring for a year and a half throughout almost every corner of the world and leaving fans of all nationalities breathless, the time has come for NIGHTWISH to immortalize their ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’ tour on DVD. Therefore, the symphonic metal visionaries are set to release their new live milestone ‘Vehicle Of Spirit’ on December 9th, featuring not only two full concerts, but also plenty of bonus material.
NIGHTWISH presented the first live video clip, out of ‘Vehicle Of Spirit’. It’s the opening track ‘Shudder Before The Beautiful’, recorded at the Wembley Show in London.
“The title »Vehicle Of Spirit« came from a friend of Troy’s, who after seeing our show a few years ago defined NIGHTWISH as ‘A vehicle of spirit that defies category’. That beautiful description has followed us ever since, and felt like a perfect match as the DVD title,” states keyboardist and songwriter Tuomas Holopainen.
The DVD tracklist looks like this:
DVD1 (The Wembley Show)
01. Shudder Before The Beautiful
02. Yours Is An Empty Hope
03. Ever Dream
04. Storytime
05. My Walden
06. While Your Lips Are Still Red
07. Élan
08. Weak Fantasy
09. 7 Days To The Wolves
10. Alpenglow
11. The Poet And The Pendulum
12. Nemo
13. I Want My Tears Back
14. Stargazers
15. Ghost Love Score
16. Last Ride Of The Day
17. The Greatest Show On Earth
DVD2 (The Tampere Show)
01. Shudder Before The Beautiful
02. Yours Is An Empty Hope
03. Amaranth
04. She Is My Sin
05. Dark Chest Of Wonders
06. My Walden
07. The Islander
08. Élan
09. Weak Fantasy
10. Storytime
11. Endless Forms Most Beautiful
12. Alpenglow
13. Stargazers
14. Sleeping Sun
15. Ghost Love Score
16. Last Ride Of The Day
17. The Greatest Show On Earth
DVD3 (Extras)
01. Weak Fantasy (Vancouver)
02. Nemo (Buenos Aires)
03. The Poet And The Pendulum (Mexico City)
04. Yours Is An Empty Hope (Joensuu)
05. 7 Days To The Wolves (Espoo, Barona Arena)
06. Sleeping Sun (Masters Of Rock)
07. Sahara (Tampa Bay)
08. Edemah Ruh acoustic (Nightwish Cruise)
09. Last Ride Of The Day (Rock In Rio feat. Tony Kakko)
10. Élan (Sydney)
11. Richard Dawkins Interview From Wembley
Sold out arenas and spectacular shows with never before seen pyro effects, wind machines, video screens and of course NIGHTWISH’s incomparable melodies are the elements that made their latest tour so unique. Special highlights for the band have been two particular shows though:
The one in London, where they not only played their hymns such as ‘Élan’ and the majestic ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ to more than 12.000 fans, but also welcomed the world famous scientist Richard Dawkins live on stage with them. Richard Dawkins´ works had a massive impact on the thematical orientation of their latest studio album ”Endless Forms Most Beautiful”. Finland’s Tampere show however was a home run for the band and never before NIGHTWISH had such an immense stage production with them:
“I would say the main part of the DVD are those two shows, both Wembley and Tampere. Wembley is mentioned first due to its recognizability and legendary status. I remember the show being very special, both a goal achieved, and a starting point. The crowd was heartwarming. The presence of Richard Dawkins on stage was just mind-blowing. The overall experience was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill ride! The show in Ratina Stadion, Tampere, was a home crowd specialty (for 4/6th of the band) with the biggest stage production we’ve ever had. A lovely atmosphere throughout the concert, with many same faces in the front row as there were 15 years ago. Heartfelt.”
When it comes to the fine artwork of the DVD, NIGHTWISH decided to walk different paths this time and come up with a little alternative idea, as Tuomas explains:
“We didn`t want to include a traditional band shot for the cover, as on the previous DVD release »Showtime, Storytime«. So we started brainstorming on different options and the idea of a classic silent movie era Hollywood visuals quickly came up. With those classic slogans the cover has a little tongue-in-cheek-touch to it, but it’s still classy and eye catching in its simplicity and originality.”