NIGHTWISH storm the gates of Wembley Arena.

WEMBLEY ARENA Finland’s symphonic frontrunners crank up the time machine

In 2015, nIgHTWISH’S ambition finally paid off, propelling them to UK arena and festival headliner status. Any long-term fan will always get a kick from the fact a symphonic metal band can now call the cavernous Wembley Arena a home away from home. Up first tonight, BeaST In BLaCK are doing an excellent job of warming up the crowd. They’ve been given a generous slot, enough to play three-quarters of 2017 debut album Berserker, and the power metallers, led by ex-Battle Beast mainman, Anton Kabanen, shoot to thrill with tracks Eternal Fire and End Of The World.

It’s been almost three years to the day since symphonic behemoths nIgHTWISH made their Wembley debut – a showcase for Endless Forms Most Beautiful, their eighth and most conceptually bombastic offering to date. If that gig was a celebration of their present, and a tantalising premonition of where they could go in the future, then tonight focuses on the Finns’ 22-year journey to become one the metal’s biggest bands, following the recent release of best-of compilation Decades. This time only two songs from their latest record make it into the set. “This is a very special trip down memory lane with special songs,” announces vocalist Floor Jansen following a lavish opening salvo of Dark Chest Of Wonders and I Wish I Had An Angel from 2004’s beloved Once. After that, the Finnish wizards crank the lever of their fantastical time machine, churning out precious gems from deep in their elfish vaults and from behind glistening waterfalls of their back catalogue. Backed by wondrous imagery of icy landscapes and fairy-lit forests, passionate renditions of 10th Man Down, Elvenpath and Gethsemane, tracks which haven’t been played in more than a decade, are punctuated by synchronised flames for maximum drama. Of course, the band looked quite different when these songs were first released, but Nightwish prove that they’re in the best form they’ve ever been with all six members putting in a tight, powerful performance. Bringing the evening to a close, 24-minute epic

The Greatest Show On Earth proves that Nightwish are now untouchable in terms of scope and ambition. Then as Floor brings it home with that note at the end of astonishing closer Ghost Love Score, as a blizzard of red ticker tape billows around her and a sea of tear-stained faces bellow the final chorus, it’s clear Nightwish’s future will remain amongst the stars.