NIGHTWISH completes recording orchestral parts for tenth studio album
18-10-2023
Finnish/Dutch/British symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have finished recording the orchestral parts for their tenth studio album at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.
On Monday (October 16) NIGHTWISH shared a photo from Abbey Road, and it included the following message: “It’s a wrap! 1065 takes of orchestras, choirs and special guests recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
“Our sincerest thanks go to everybody involved, musicians, singers and technicians alike. Your passion and dedication never ceases to amaze us.
“Very special thanks to Mr. James Shearman for wonderfully filling the massive shoes of our long-time orchestral arranger, Mr. Pip Williams.
“Onwards!”
Last December, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen said the band’s upcoming follow-up to 2020’s “Human. :II: Nature.” will be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015’s “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” album. He told Metal Hammer: “I immediately knew after getting that album (‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’) done that, ‘Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there’s so much more to explore and tell the world. We’re not done with this.’ And the same thing happened after ‘Human. :II: Nature.’; we’re still not done. So let’s do one more. At least one more.
“In a way, (the next album) is the third part of a trilogy, which started with ‘Endless Forms…’ and then ‘Human. :II: Nature.’ There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to ‘Human. :II: Nature.’“
According to Tuomas, NIGHTWISH‘s next LP will cover previously uncharted ground while continuing in the more cinematic style that has characterized some of the band’s recent efforts..
“The wonderful thing is that we have had the demo (of the album) done since last spring. So it’s been done for six months now. We really have all the time in the world to go through it all, and we have had a such great time with the band, just listening to the demo in our hotel rooms — me singing the lyrics and the melodies to Floor (Jansen, vocals). She’s recording them and then she’s seeing them and throwing ideas to each other.”
In September 2022, Tuomas was asked if NIGHTWISH‘s upcoming LP will once again be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the previous two releases. Tuomas said: “Yes and no. It sails on the same waters, but there’s some new surprises there as well.”
Holopainen went on to say that NIGHTWISH fans will have to wait a while before hearing new music from the band. “We’ll enter the studio next year and the album is gonna come out maybe early 2024,” he said.
In August 2022, Tuomas told Rock Sverige that he spent “about a year” working on the music and lyrics for the next NIGHTWISH album.
Asked if he got any kind of inspiration from the pandemic, Tuomas said: “Yeah, lyrically there’s a couple of things that reflects the pandemic, but not in the way you would expect.”
“Human. :II: Nature.” was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015’s “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.
In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band’s two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.
Earlier this year, Jansen released het solo album “Paragon”.Â
“Paragon” includes the following tracks:
- My Paragon
- Daydream
- Invincible
- Hope
- Come Full Circle
- Storm
- Me Without You
- The Calm
- Armoured Wings
- Fire
Jansen said: “To renew yourself and take leaps into the unknown makes you grow. To age is a gift not everyone gets. I am a fortunate woman who got to make an album I never knew I could make. One that even defines me, where I am on my path. I have reached my PARAGON! I am so proud of this work! And grateful for all the amazing people in this beautiful life that helped me get here!”
With its mix of influences and powerful vocal performances, “Paragon” is an album that will appeal to fans of pop music and metal alike. It’s the perfect addition to any music collection, and a must-have for fans of Floor Jansen and NIGHTWISH.
“Paragon” will be released digitally and physically on CD, vinyl, and a limited-edition deluxe box set. The album will be available on all major streaming platforms and at music retailers worldwide.
Following the release, Jansen will embark on a tour of The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in April and May of 2023.
Floor had previously released singles from “Paragon”: “Daydream”,  “Invincible”, “Me Without You”, “Storm” and “Fire”.
JANSEN revealed last year she is undergoing treatment after a successful operation fro breast cancer. The treatment continued in January.
— Nightwish (@NightwishBand) December 5, 2022
When Floor Jansen revealed that she was “cancer free” on November 18th, she said in a statement:
“Great news! I am cancer free. The surgery took everything cancerous out and it hasn’t spread! I’ll get local radiation therapy in February to make sure everything stays out.
“I’m getting my energy back after the surgery and feel a huge relief to know it was successful! I’m not back to a 100% but I have no doubt the shows will give me the power push I need to rock with all of you on the upcoming European tour.
“Thank you for your amazing support and well wishes”.
Great news! I am cancer free 🤩 The surgery took everything cancerous out and it hasn’t spread! I’ll get local radiation therapy in February to make sure everything stays out.
— Floor Jansen (@FloorJansen_) November 18, 2022
📸 Black Halo Photography pic.twitter.com/zZvsxi1gEN
Thank you for your amazing support and well wishes 🙏🏻🙏🏻
— Floor Jansen (@FloorJansen_) November 18, 2022
Jansen revealed her diagnosis in October. At the time, she wrote: “A letter to you, Life comes in waves, with ups and downs. I have had the joy of riding many highs, and I have shared these with you through social media and the many many shows worldwide throughout the many years of my career.
“But now a new wave hit me. Not a good one. I have breast cancer. It was diagnosed a little over 2 weeks ago and I will have surgery tomorrow to remove the tumor. My prognosis is very good!!! It seems to be a non-aggressive cancer, which seems to not have spread. I will keep my breast. And I will be cancer free after this surgery, plus a local radiation treatment that will take place three months after this surgery, hopefully. We will know more after the surgery to see if this positive prognosis stands.
“The word cancer is a shocker. All that you found important in life before this diagnosis changes radically within minutes. Now I just want to be healthy again. I want to see my daughter grow into a woman; I want to live! And the scariest part of this diagnosis is that I thought I was healthy! I didn’t feel the cancer, I didn’t know it was there until I, as a 40+ woman, went to a standard mammogram checkup. Something many countries offer, for free even for the lucky ones. Had I not gone there, the tumor would have gone undetected. In a year from now this could have grown much bigger. The thought of that makes me share this story with you. A mammogram is lifesaving! It’s uncomfortable and you might think that you won’t have something in your breasts anyway but GO! And for the men reading this: remind your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister to go and get checked. Even without the luxury I as a western woman experience with free mammogram checkups: GO! Luckily, there are many organizations that offer information about self-detection if you do not have access or funds for a mammogram.
If I might inspire you to take good care of yourself, then something good will come out of this cancer diagnosis.
“If all goes as planned, I will be up and running in time for the European tour with NIGHTWISH, that will start on the 20th of November! And I am optimistic since my prognosis is good!
“I promise to take good care of myself.
“I will be off the grid for a while to focus on myself.”
Besides her work for finish gsymphonic metal band NIGHTWISH, she also has a successfull solo career, which was ignited by her participation in the Dutch t show De Beste Zangers (the best singers) in which she gave an interpretation of the ‘Phantom Of The Opera’, alongside operatic singer Henk Poort.
Four months ago, Floor was asked in an interview with FaceCulture if she is planning to eventually release a full-length solo album. She said: “There are a lot more songs ready. There’s not an album ready, but also because it would make no sense to have one. Due to the pandemic, there’s an entire NIGHTWISH still not done and still yet to be done; as it looks like, we actually are gonna do that now. So before that, I cannot say, ‘Okay, I come [out] with a solo album.’ ‘Cause then you also would like to do some more [solo] shows and do the right promotion and all of that, so there’s no time for that — which is a luxury problem on itself. But it’s fun. And that’s also a big difference with this pop music thing — you can release singles. It’s not an album-based world; it’s completely different.”
Jansen went on to call “Fire” “a statement and “the kick-off of everything. And from there I’ll keep releasing singles. And the aim is to release the album in ’23,” she explained before clarifying that there are a lot of variables involved that could affect the timeline of the LP’s arrival. “But the ambition is there. And everything is geared up to do that.”
Jansen is best known as the frontwoman in the multi-million selling and internationally successful symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH. As part of the band, Jansen has landed two number one albums in Finland, and Top Five albums in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Born in the Netherlands, Jansen joined her first band, one of the world’s first symphonic metal bands, AFTER FOREVER, when she was only 16 years old. The group went on to release five albums from 2000 to 2007, before they broke up in 2009.
Jansen‘s next band, REVAMP, released two albums in 2010 and 2013, before she joined NIGHTWISH as a full-time member. NIGHTWISH‘s first album with Jansen as the lead singer was 2015’s “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”, which landed in Top 10s around the world. This was followed by 2020’s “Human. :II: Nature.” , which was also an international success.
Jansen has toured extensively with the band and appeared on three of NIGHTWISH‘s live albums “Showtime, Storytime”, “Vehicle Of Spirit” and “Decades: Live In Buenos Aires”.
In 2019, Jansen participated in the popular Dutch TV show “Beste Zangers” where she scored a big hit with “Phantom Of The Opera” together with Henk Poort. She was recognized with a Dutch Popprijs award — a prestigious accolade for artists that has made important contributions to Dutch music. In the same year, her first solo tour sold out in less than 24 hours.
Jansen performed live with NIGHTWISH for the first time on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band’s lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon. Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013.
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