RSS Feed


NIGHTWISH Release Eighth Studio Album ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’
March 27th, 2015

Kitee, Finland-based symphonic metal group Nightwish issued eighth full-length studio album Endless Forms Most Beautiful on March 27th, 2015 in Europe through Nuclear Blast. The label scheduled North American release for March 31st.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful was made available in the following formats; standard CD, digibook (including instrumental CD), 2LP (vinyl in gatefold) in different colours, earbook including instrumental and orchestral CD, deluxe edition earbook including bonus vinyl, and digital album.

The album’s title was inspired by a passage included in 1859 tome On The Origin Of Species, authored by evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful marks the first Nightwish outing to include Floor Jansen (ReVamp / ex-After Forever) behind the microphone, replacing previous vocalist Anette Olzon.

Longtime Nightwish drummer Jukka Nevalainen sat out recording sessions for Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Kai Hahto (Wintersun) instead stepping behind the drumkit. Guesting on the effort is atheist writer Richard Dawkins, who provides narration to the tracks ‘Shudder Before The Beautiful’ and ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’.

Cover artwork duties were handled by longtime collaborator ToxicAngel (aka Janne Pitkänen).

A limited tour edition version of Endless Forms Most Beautiful was released on October 30th, 2015. The set included a bonus DVD containing all 21 making-of episodes for the album as well as two previously unreleased performance clips for the tracks ‘Yours Is An Empty Hope’ and ‘Stargazers’, along with five special clips, including documentary scenes for the songs ‘Planet Hell’, ‘Last Of The Wilds’, ‘Storytime’, ‘Arabesque’, and ‘Last Ride Of The Day’. In addition, the DVD included more than 400 pictures taken on the road and during the promotional period for Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

The track listing is as follows:

CD

01. ‘Shudder Before The Beautiful’
02. ‘Weak Fantasy’
03. ‘Élan’
04. ‘Yours Is An Empty Hope’
05. ‘Our Decades In the Sun’
06. ‘My Walden’
07. ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’
08. ‘Edema Ruh’
09. ‘Alpenglow’
10. ‘The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula’
11. ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’

DVD

01. ‘Yours Is An Empty Hope’ (live)*
02. ‘Stargazers’ (live)*
03. ‘Planet Hell’ (special clip)
04. ‘Last Of The Wilds’ (special clip)
05. ‘Storytime’ (special clip)
06. ‘Arabesque’ (special clip)
07. ‘Last Ride Of The Day’ (special clip)
08. Making-of
– The Cabin
– By The Lake
– Inside His Head
– Summer Camp
– More Campers
– New Hometown
– Almost There
– London
– Mixing And Mastering
– Ready!
– Release Of The First Single
– The Theme Of The Album
– The Recordings For Floor & Kai
– Thoughts And Feelings
– The Release
– The Artwork
– The Tour Rehearsals
– The Tour Starts
– The Second Single
– The Upcoming Shows
– Troy
09. ‘Élan’ (official video)
10. ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’ (official video)
11. Photo Gallery

Nightwish’s recording line-up was as follows:

Floor Jansen (vocals)
Emppu Vuorinen (guitar)
Marco Hietala (bass and vocals)
Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards)
Troy Donockley (pipes, flutes and whistles)
Kai Hahto (session drums)

In its first week of release, the album sold roughly 18,000 copies in the United States, landing at position 34 on The Billboard 200. In addition, Endless Forms Most Beautiful charted in Finland (#1), Czech Republic (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#2), the Netherlands (#3), Austria (#4), Sweden (#4), Mexico (#6), Greece (#9), France (#10), Poland (#10), the United Kingdom (#12), Spain (#13), Canada (#13), Belgium (#14), Australia (#16), Ireland (#21), and New Zealand (#32).

Directed by Ville Lipiäinen, a music video was filmed for the song ‘Èlan’. In addition, an official lyric video was created for the title track. Both clips can be viewed below.

Seventh studio record Imaginaerum was released in November 2011 via Nuclear Blast.