Finnish rockers Nightwish are in the studio working on the follow up to 2011’s Imaginaerum and have released a second mini-documentary charting the album’s progress.
The band are working in a remote wooded location in Hattula, Finland and Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen says it’s a great place to record, as they can “concentrate 24/7”.
He says: “This is the third time we’ve opted to demo the songs in the wilderness and it’s proven to be a very effective arrangement. We have our peace here in the middle of nature, where we can concentrate 24⁄7. The studio environment has its perks, too, but this works for us.”
Bassist Marco Hietala adds that while the album is coming together, some tracks still need to be refined.
“There’s stuff that sounds excellent already and stuff that clearly needs some work,” he says. “We have such a strong belief in the end result, we know it will work like alchemy – crap will turn to gold.”
The as-yet-untitled album will be the band’s first with vocalist Floor Jansen, who replaced Anette Olzon full-time in 2013, and the first with multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley.
In April, Olzon spoke about tensions in the band in 2012 when she asked for the group’s Australian tour be postponed during her pregnancy. Other members of the band rejected her proposal and suggested Jansen take over on a temporary basis, which ultimately led to Olzon’s sacking.
Jansen caused a stir earlier this year when she was accused of behaving like a diva towards fans of her former band ReVamp, which forced her to write an open letter on Facebook.
