On October 25th, 2022, NIGHTWISH with BEAST IN BLACK hit Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin as part of their Natvre Tour. TURMION KÄTILÖT unfortunately, did not play on this occasion.
The venue welcomed Finland’s power metal act, BEAST IN BLACK, with loud cheers. Bass player Máté Molnár and guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen greeted the ecstatic crowd with beaming grins of delight as they dove into the opening number, “Blade Runner.” The high energy and good-times vibe spread quickly as vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos belted his first notes. The room was riled up on numbers like “One Night in Tokyo” and “From Hell With Love.” The disco beats, wailing guitar solos, and spirited synths had everyone jumping up and down for the majority of the show. The 3-stringed players would often line up and move to some choreographed bit, which had similarities to how the greats like IRON MAIDEN and SCORPIONS do it. The whole set was a genuine dance party.
NIGHTWISH ignited the crowd with the full force of their opening song “Noise” from their latest album, “Human. :||: Nature..” This was also my first time seeing NIGHTWISH without long-time bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala. However, WINTERSUN bassist Jukka Koskinen did a fine job. Unsurprisingly, they drew deeply from the most recent albums that feature Floor Jansen, with only “Sleeping Sun” (from 1998’s “Oceanborn“) surviving from the pre-2004 albums. It’s the later music that got the biggest cheers, perhaps a reflection of their more recent popularity. During “Ghost Love Score,” the audience just got caught up in the song’s emotion, as the music was so pleasing and satisfying to the ears and mind. During the last song, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” NIGHTWISH once again gave everything on their musical spectrum: sensitive guitar sounds and piano accompanied by orchestral music. When Floor Jansen began to sing with her crystal clear voice, she was illuminated from behind by a spotlight. When the drums started with hard, fast beats, the guitar riffs also became faster, andthe band’s full force just staggered the arena. At the end, Floor thanked the fans in German.
Overall, the show was massive and fantastic!
Beast In Black
Nightwish
Photos by Alexandra Aim
