Nightwish, Wembley Arena, gig review: Closing with The Greatest Show on Earth too much for sell-out audience to handle

But this lack of personalisation was doubtlessly outweighed by vocalist Floor Jansen's once-in-a-lifetime sentiments

Nightwish live at Wembley (Timo Isoaho)

Tremendous energy and excitement are the inevitable effects of any gathering of 12,500 music fans, and Nightwish's sold-out Wembley Arena audience certainly were excited. However, as a spectacle, the show stuck rigidly to the established formula; pyrotechnics punctuated the biggest songs and genre-appropriate visuals played throughout.

Nightwish continued their collaboration with Professor Richard Dawkins, whose work, alongside that of Carl Sagan and Charles Darwin, inspired the scientific themes in new album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, by inviting him on stage, and incorporating his narration into “The Greatest Show on Earth”. Dawkins is usually a divisive figure, but this audience were unified in their response: he received a standing ovation.

The nature of a such an audio-visual performance is that everything must be synchronised, with the band playing to a click track which keeps them in time with the visuals. Nightwish, while extremely well-rehearsed, therefore relinquished the control over the performance which would have allowed them to provide their fans with anything other than polished versions of familiar tracks. However, for the sell-out audience, this lack of personalisation was outweighed by vocalist Floor Jansen's once-in-a-lifetime sentiments and announcement that the show was being filmed for a live DVD.