frontwoman has revealed how a challenging few years has meant that the experience of recording the band's imminent new album was unlike any other in her career so far. Speaking exclusively to in , Jansen explains that between her well-documented battle with breast cancer and her pregnancy and the birth of her second child with Sabaton drummer Hannes Van Dahl, Floor was suffering was fatigue issues that meant she couldn't be as present for the album's recording sessions as in previous years. “I was pregnant, and before that there was , and then I had my baby and I was just really, really fucking tired, so I wasn’t there like I had been in the past,” she says.
“The connection to the album is much less than it was before, because we haven’t been spending as much crazy time together as we usually would. That doesn’t mean I don’t give a shit – quite the opposite – but I’m still growing into what it means, and what it means to me.” An emotionally-charged record that, according to band keyboardist and main songwriter , "celebrates life and humanity and mortality", follows a turbulent few years for Nightwish that has included the departure of longtime bassist and backing vocalist Marko Hietala and the band's surprising decision to retire from touring.
That turbulence, alongside Floor's own personal journey in recent years, has meant that the singer has taken her time to get to grips with the themes running through , though she says he is getting a better handle on them now. “To me, it’s a continuous awareness about the beauty of the planet we’re on and the positivity of us as a species," she suggests. "We get all this negative feedback about killing the planet and hurting each other, and all of that is unfortunately true.
But there’s also a lot of beauty to it – humanity has achieved amazing things throughout history, and we should remind ourselves of that. That is sometimes forgotten in the speed of the life we live today.” arrives on September 20.
You can read more about the album courtesy of 's exclusive interview with Nightwish in their latest issue, out now. Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016.
Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.
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