(Review from amazon, allmusic)

This is the live performance at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on October 21, 2005, the final concert of a long worldwide tour for their album “Once”.

With high energy all around, the intensity level stays up throughout the entire show, everyone in the arena seems to be fully engaged in the event, the band’s performance is great, the audio is the best yet, and the video work is generally solid too. Realistically, its just about as much as one could hope for as far as capping things off in a positive and energetic way.

There are 18 songs with a concert length of 103 minutes. Despite reputedly having the flu that day, both Marco Hietala and Tarja Turunen sound fantastic – at the top of their form. Hietala adds a lot of onstage chemistry compared to Sami Vanska, as expected.

The biggest strength of “End of an Era” is its ability to re-create the concert experience; the band is at the forefront, but the cheering, clapping, and chanting of the crowd are included as an integral element of the music, not a separate entity. There’s nothing more authentic on a live recording than capturing the requisite concertgoer whose duty it is to break the mood by shouting at inappropriate times.

The opening number, “Dark Chest of Wonders” brings it all together — the song itself, dark, theatrical and operatic, with Turunen’s rich voice floating over power chords, a charging rhythm section, an orchestral backing track, and the enthusiastic crowd at her feet. The vibe continues on “Planet Hell”, the first of several songs to showcase a Turunen/Hietala duet and solos by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen.

Powerful performances and dark, romantic themes continue to dominate throughout the album. Each song plays to the band’s strength and uses the crowd’s energy and enthusiasm to drive forward and craft memorable moments. A notable cover of Pink Floyd’s High Hopes features Marco Hietala’s vocals as Tarja Turunen takes a break.

As in the beginning of the concert, the final songs are rousing, passionate, and dramatic. “Creek Mary’s Blood”, a lament inspired by Dee Brown’s novel of the same name, benefits from the talent of Native American musician John Two Hawks, who also appeared on the studio version of the song. After an extended flute solo named “Stone People”, Two Hawks sings and plays in a striking duet with Turunen, whose operatic tremolo stands in contrast to her partner’s straighter tone.

The sound takes an abrupt turn immediately afterward as Nightwish launch into a rollicking cover of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” transformed into a power metal epic as Holopainen and Vuorinen trade riffs between verses and choruses. The album comes to a close with the sprawling, gothic “Wish I Had an Angel”, a looser and more straightforward rock song that sees Turunen and Hietala alternating their vocal duties for what would be the last time.

The aptly titled “End of an Era” is the final Nightwish production to feature Tarja Turunen on vocals. She and the rest of the band parted mere hours after this concert.

Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / Keyboards and Piano
- Tarja Turunen / Vocals
- Marco Hietala / Bass guitar, male vocals
- Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen / Lead guitars
- Jukka Nevalainen / Drums
with
- John Two-Hawks / Vocals, Native American flute

Track List:
CD1
01. Dark Chest Of Wonders – 5:08
02. Planet Hell – 4:44
03. Ever Dream – 5:27
04. The Kinslayer – 4:08
05. Phantom Of The Opera – 5:11
06. The Siren – 4:52
07. Sleeping Sun – 4:55
08. High Hopes – 6:54
09. Bless The Child – 6:24
10. Wishmaster – 4:43
CD2
01. Slaying The Dreamer – 5:04
02. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan – 4:13
03. Nemo – 4:46
04. Ghost Love Score – 10:29
05. Stone People – 4:08
06. Creek Mary’s Blood – 8:39
07. Over The Hills And Far Away – 5:26
08. Wish I Had An Angel – 7:52

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