Video of the Week (2) Nightwish (Finland) – Lantern Light (from the album Yesterwynde)

We’ve already had a video this week, and a very good one too from The Below, but I had to break my ‘only one a week’ rule when I chanced upon this one from Nightwish.

I really should have spotted it earlier because Nightwish habitually make videos for many if not all of the tracks on their albums latterly and they lavish as much care on them as they do on their songs.

I had mixed feelings about ‘Yesterwynde’, their 10^th studio album,when I came to reviewing it in September. The problem I have, as regular readers may recognise, is that I am a fan of the band, indeed they have been my #1 for six years now. I truly believe there is no better live band, anywhere.

But I did have some reservations about ‘Yesterwynde’, mainly because I sensed they had suffered a little from writers block on this one and ended up with something that is too derivative of previous albums.

But that debate is for another time.

Two of the tracks immediately stood out to me including the ultimate one, ‘Lantern Light’, which I identified as “an absolutely stunning piece to finish off with” and I’m delighted they made a video for it. It is sumptuous.

As with many of Nightwish’s songs the lyrics to ‘Lantern Light’ are (purposefully?) vague and the best guess I can make is that they refer to a recent loss, most likely of a father (“I am you who climbed off of my back/not long ago”). Keyboardist and principal writer Tuomas Holopainen’s father died since the previous album was released after a long illness. (“Gone is the hurt, the wait”).

Numerous metaphors and allegories are employed to suggest the ways in which people are remembered.

“I’m in…the light and flood/the four winds/the waves shaping pebbles, flawless gems/the snow on your palm/the secret stream/Moss beneath your feet…”

(The ‘snow on your palm’ is a priceless piece of imagery because it quickly melts, as one day we all must).

The ultimately comforting image is the one of the lantern light. Whether it is the one hanging on the outskirts of the town where the vast, bleak moor meets it; the edge of a harbour; or the nightlight in a corner of a child’s room.

And it is apt that Troy Donockley delivers some of those reminders, in the deep reassuring male voice of the father figure.

But in the main it is Floor Jansen that bears the responsibility of delivering the bulk of the song sympathetically; a lady I have previously identified as probably the leading female rock singer in the world again proving here that she is equally adept at delivering a beautiful ballad.

But of course we already knew that. Nightwish started as an acoustic band almost 30 years ago and have given us numerous ballads along the way, voiced by each of their three female vocalists, including some classic power ballads. They’ve been gravitating back towards their roots and the last album had two acoustic ones.

But this one is on another level again. Collectively piano, strings, additional orchestration and a fabulously timed tolling bell, it is without doubt the most beautiful song I’ve heard this year and Floor Jansen in particular more than does it justice. It’s as if she’s delivering a eulogy.

For a physically impressive woman she has remarkable grace in every way. If you didn’t know of her you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that ever so sweet soprano came from the mouth of a teenage choirgirl.

I did wonder if it was originally intended as an Auri song. Auri, which is working on its third album and is expected to tour in 2025, is, if you don’t know, another of Tuomas Holopainen’s bands, the other members of which are Troy Donockley and Holopainen’s wife. Johanna Kurkela. It does have something of their signature marque in it.

As for the video, it speaks for itself. Strikingly shot throughout it throws up one heartrending visual image after another. The half buried piano and boat, suggesting happy childhood days, the watch representing the family time spent together, and the final, unavoidable flickering and death of the home video recorder that captured those experiences.

I challenge you not to feel a lump in your throat when you watch it, especially if you relate it to a personal loss of your own.

And it amplifies my incredulity that despite having three decade longevity, probably the highest number of YouTube reaction videos, and close to five million followers worldwide Nightwish still remains unknown to so many people including, I’m sad to say, most of those that regard themselves as professional music broadcasters and journalists.

Regrettably we may never get to see ‘Lantern Light’ performed live, at least by Nightwish as they are not touring the ‘Yesterwynde’ album (although I suspect Auri could give it a go). In fact in 2025 the touring is more likely to be done by individual members past and present, also including Floor Jansen, Tarja Turunen, Marco Hietala and Kai Hahto.

Find them on:

Website: https://www.nightwish.com/