Metalheads with a Past

Although their story started by a campfire, their music doesn’t exactly bring to mind toasted marshmallows. Their symphonic metal journey from the campsite to gig venues was surprisingly short. Nightwish made their debut as the 31st bestselling group in their native Finland, and just a few years later their album Once launched them onto the demanding American market. The meteoric rise brought casualties, and internal tensions resulted in the dismissal of one of the founders, the vocalist Tarja Turunen blessed with a truly operatic voice. The lineup has undergone further changes since. On 17 November, Nightwish appear at Tauron Arena Kraków as a sextet led by the Dutch vocalist Floor Jansen. Performing as part of their world tour Decades, the Finns present a selection of material from the last twenty years. The musicians pay homage to their faithful fans: previous setlists featured all albums, and many tracks have returned to the repertoire after a long break. (Bartosz Suchecki, „Karnet”)