Band:	Nightwish
Album:	End Of Innocence
Style:	Symphonic power metal
Release date:	2003

Disc I
01. End of Innocence [documentary]
02. MTV Brazil Interview
03. End of all Hope [music video]
04. Over the Hills And far Away [music video]

Live: "4th of July in Norway"
05. Sleeping Sun
06. Wildchild
07. Beauty And the Beast
08. She is My Sin
09. Slaying the Dreamer

Live: Summer Breeze 2002
10. End of All Hope
11. Dead to the World
12. 10th Man Down
13. Slaying the Dreamer
14. Over the Hills And far Away
15. Sleeping Sun

+ Photo gallery

Disc II [audio - Live at Summer Breeze 2002]
01. End of All Hope
02. Dead to the World
03. 10th Man Down
04. Slaying the Dreamer
05. Over the Hills And far Away
06. Sleeping Sun
07. The Kinslayer
08. Come Cover Me

It surely was surprising when the news came out that Nightwish were releasing a new DVD - with the "old" one having been released just two years before. For the fans it was not conceivable that 'End of Innocence' would be something completely different compared to DVDs of other bands, as the main part is a more than two hour lasting documentation about the band. This is what makes the disc really unique.

The documentation starts with Nightwish's formation and shows everything till the release of their fourth studio album 'Century Child.' You can see an interview with Tuomas, the mastermind of the band, and Jukka, who's the drummer. The other members of the band aren't interviewed, so you mainly get Tuomas' point of view - and some thoughts of Jukka, that's it. Despite that you get a really honest look at the band's past, and a revealing trip down to the ocean soul. The interview is intermitted by scenes from their touring life, but this doesn't disturb the watching, as the story follows a strict chronological guideline.

During watching the documentation you will find out a lot of unknown facts about the band. Tuomas and Jukka tell much about crises within the band, for example when Tuomas wanted to put an end to Nightwish or the line-up change in 2001, when bass player Sami Vänskä was replaced by Marco Hietala.
The documentation features a lot of self-recorded scenes which illustrate life on tour - how it really is, what exactly happens backstage, and Nightwish's tour crew is introduced. The only aspect one could criticise is the bad quality of the footage, though this is generally the case with self-taped material.

Prepare yourself, though - the entire DVD is in Finnish with English subtitles (good for everyone who wants to learn Finnish to practice =P).

Enough about the documentation, which is a must for every Nightwish fan and also for those who just like their music.
There are also a lot of bonus features on the DVD: a photo gallery, live footage from the July 4th 2003 concert in Oslo, two videos (Over the Hills and Far Away and End of All Hope), an MTV Brazil interview, and the "extra of the extras" (live footage from the Summer Breeze Festival 2002). The limited edition of this DVD (on which this review is based) comes along with an audio CD, a poster and an autograph card.

The live material from two different concerts is very good; especially the Summer-Breeze concert is awesome - you wanna see Nightwish live instantly. Strangely enough, though, the sound of the Summer Breeze footage isn't well balanced and tends to change occasionally.

The photo-gallery is also nice - only the navigation is crap, because you'll never have a clue where you are and what pictures you have seen already. So it's time-consuming if you want to see all pictures.
The bonus CD is another great feature, coz there's unreleased live-material on it. So you can enjoy 'End of Innocence' not only on your DVD-Player but also everywhere you can play a CD. Why Tuomas chose to put almost the same songs on the DVD and the CD is beyond me - obviously they must have a very special meaning to him.

To come to a conclusion: with the release of the DVD Nightwish proved that they are an extraordinary band. 'End of Innocence' is not only for their 'Hardcore'-fans, it is for everyone, who wants to know something about the band. So buy the DVD, put it in your DVD-Player and check for yourself what the duties of a bass player are! ;-)