NIGHTWISH's TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN Says Leak Of New Single 'Èlan' Is 'Huge Blow'

NIGHTWISH mastermind/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen says that the leak of the band's new single, "Èlan", is "a huge blow to the wonderful mystery which is surrounding the impending release of [the band's] new music," and has urged fans to wait to hear the song "as it is supposed to be."

NIGHTWISH's new full-length CD, "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", will be made available on March 27 in Europe and March 31 in the U.S. via Nuclear Blast. The album's first single, "Élan", will arrive on February 13. The four-track single features the album version of the title cut, a radio edit and an alternate version of "Élan", as well as the non-album bonus track "Sagan".

Writing on NIGHTWISH's Facebook page, Tuomas said: "Some of us like to stay neutral on issues concerning Internet/Facebook, but I feel it only proper to remark on a quite remarkable situation. I saw that our first single, 'Èlan', was leaked on the Internet today, and I was quite baffled by some of the reactions I read. I was then asked to make a short statement, and the following is what I feel about the issue.

"The leaking of a full album, or just a single song in advance, is a huge blow to the wonderful mystery which is surrounding the impending release of our new music. We have deliberately cultivated this so as to give our fans an event; a (hopefully) powerful surprise. The passionate posts on the band's Facebook page (which were done in the heat of the moment) were no doubt an honest reaction to the disappointment in someone deliberately spoiling a part of these efforts. To suggest that the band or the record label would do this on purpose is very 'conspiracy theory' and simply not true. The very thing we care about most is the music on the album, and the impact it will have on people.

"With that in mind, do try to avoid listening to this 'leak' and any others for that matter. Just wait to hear it as it is supposed to be — a labour of love, the fruit of dedicated hard work and of the highest quality. The way we would wish to experience it ourselves.

This is a delicate issue, which seems to be very hard to address in a right way. We seriously hope everyone would calm down now. There's a lesson to be learned for all sides here."

The cover artwork for "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was created by the band's longtime collaborator Toxic Angel. Famed evolutionary biologist and atheist writer/leader Richard Dawkins appears as a guest on the effort.

Longtime NIGHTWISH drummer Jukka Nevalainen sat out the recording sessions for "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" due to health issues; Kai Hahto (WINTERSUN, SWALLOW THE SUN, TREES OF ETERNITY) replaced him.

"Endless Forms Most Beautiful" features eleven new songs and will be released in different formats:

* Standard CD
* Digibook (including instrumental CD)
* 2LP (vinyl in gatefold) in different colors
* Earbook (including instrumental and orchestral CD)
* Earbook (deluxe version including bonus vinyl)
* Download

Pre-order your copy here.

The "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" title came from Charles Darwin's "The Origin Of Species" book, where he wrote: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, while this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Regarding "Élan", Holopainen said: "'Oh, while I live to be the ruler of life, Not a slave. To meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me.' This beautiful quote from my hero Uncle Walt [Walt Whitman] was the starting point for writing 'Élan'.

"The underlying theme of the song is nothing less than the meaning of life, which can be something different for all of us.

"It's important to surrender yourself to the occasional 'free fall' and not to fear the path less travelled by."

Singer Floor Jansen, who officially joined the band in 2013, made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington.

Pre-order your copy of "Élan"here.