The End of an Era marks the final document of the Tarja’s Nightwish reign. I’m fairly certain fans held the original standard-def DVD in high regard, as the performance, track selection (“The Kinslayer”, “Bless the Child”, and Gary Moore cover “Over the Hills and Far Away”) and production values are very high. Well, kids it’s time to jump on the Hogwarts Express, ’cause the Blu-ray edition of End of an Era sends Nightwish (and all their latent problems) screaming into 720p and 5.1 Dolby Digital.

Outside of the move to high-def, End of an Era is exactly the same as the 2006 DVD. Bummer, I know. But adding new shit to product re-issues can be a bitch, especially with Tarja and the rest of Nightwish at physical and emotional odds. Anyway, there are 18 songs not counting intro/outros. Three of which are covers (Pink Floyd’s “High Hopes” is a highlight). There’s also the song (“Stone People”) by Native American musician John Two-Hawks. It’s so pleasant to hear something not ripped out of a Hans Zimmer piece or an Amorphis tune for once. And Two-Hawks is quite the personality.

The 50-plus minute documentary, “A Day Before Tomorrow”, follows Nightwish through airports, gang-type media interviews, fan-obsessed/semi-awkward signings, and pretty much everything else a band goes through while on the road. Tarja doesn’t appear too often with the rest of the band. When she’s with Tuomas and rest of the Finns, the tension’s palpable. Opposite of that the Two-Hawks moments were, in my opinion, the best parts. He’s stoned-faced, but often goofy. The dude should have his own Anthony Bourdain-style reality show dealing exclusively with Finns. Stoic vs. stoic.

I can hear the members of Nightwish’s international fan clubs (15 and counting) sprinting to their local electronics dealer for a Blu-ray player. If you’ve never seen Tarja sweat, well, now you can. In 720p. Technology is the best! The best!

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments