Nightwish: Endless Forms Most Beautiful review – ambitious change of direction

It may be the uninhibited preposterousness of symphonic metal that has kept Nightwish from major mainstream triumph, but they’re headlining Wembley Arena in December, so they are clearly on the right track. Bravely, Endless Forms Most Beautiful eschews the Finns’ usual fairytale comfort zone in favour of a sustained paean to evolutionary science, featuring the surprising but effective presence of Richard Dawkins as a narrator. It’s a change of tack that adds intrigue and substance to the band’s typical bombast and melodrama, resulting in their most ambitious and assured record yet. Newly recruited singer Floor Jansen strikes a fine balance between operatic acrobatics and straightforward, soulful restraint, most notably on twinkling earworm Élan. But it is chief songwriter Tuomas Holopainen’s ear for epic refrains and lavish arrangements that makes Endless Forms such a stirring and defiantly uncool delight.