NIGHTWISH HUMAN.II.NATURE (Tour Edition)
NIGHTWISH HUMAN.II.NATURE (Tour Edition)
(Nuclear Blast)
By Paul Davies
For all its ills and chills and more…the pandemic challenged the creative process of artists to think outside of the proverbial box and explore uncharted territory to connect with their followers and fans. Many did so via streaming events and shows. However, Finland’s Nightwish took this basic concept a whole lot further, and smartly, with the original approach of building a 3D virtual location, The Islanders Arms, in which they presented ‘An Evening With Nightwish In A Virtual World’ They streamed this live concert to 150,000 viewers in 108 countries amassing approximately one million euros in the process. As well as highly entertaining their febrile throng, it also serves as a useful demographic consensus of where their most ardent fans are located! Having released their first double album Human.:II: Nature. they poured their frustration from being unable to tour it into this 3D project that is now released in this Album/Blu-ray format.
Six months in preparation as the band worked with programming company, Zoan, and promoter, The Fullsteam Agency, to realise their visions of this album’s music, has created a lush imaginary world of visual and musical delights for their fans. The steampunk visual influences begin with the arrival of an airship at this mythical location to herald in this virtual show. Wooden doors open to reveal an antiquated conservatory where the band magically appear to lustily perform a virtual live version of this Celtic, Gothic, Symphonic Metal masterpiece in its entirety. Importantly, you can witness the band clearly revelling in playing this live run-through of their current release. Multi-camera angles and close-ups of each performer provide the viewer with a multitude of intimate onstage perspectives. The technical production is excellent as the in-between song exterior landscape animation that reveals the fantastical imaginings these songs conjure up. It’s reminiscent of top-quality gaming animation but with a gold-standard live performance by a genre-leading entity.
Given the full return of live music, this mix of conceptual animation, green room live performance and revenue generation model means it probably isn’t going to be a long-term game changer. Nevertheless, it worked most effectively, and it still does on this evidence. As the technology inevitably continues to develop, who knows how this conceptual hybrid will grow. This release is a worthwhile format addition to any true fan’s collection.
