As a huge fan of new Nightwish singer Floor Jansen, I have been eagerly anticipating Nightwish's new album. I had strong hopes that it would be a return to form for the band that had, at least in my mind, been languishing a bit since former lead singer Tarja Turunen was replaced by Anette Olzon. Such a shame that Nightwish's new single Èlan is probably the most boring song I've heard in 10 years.
Where to start with the bad? The guitars are so far down in the mix that I've heard heavier Paramore songs. The pan-flute was a cool little introductory bit, and then I found out that it is persistent (and annoying) throughout the song. Even worse, I found out that the flute artist Troy Donockley is now a permanent member of the band. I can only come to the conclusion that the entirety of this album is going to be a pan flute-heavy guitar light mess of an album. I desperately hope I'm wrong about that. Wrapping it up with boring structure, a forgettable hook, and flat production leads me to that sad conclusion that this is probably the most disappointing metal single since Opeth's "The Devil's Orchard".
So is there anything redeeming? Yes! Thankfully Floor Jansen shows off singing skills in this song that you don't generally get to see her bring out. She really is a brilliant front-woman. She deserves better material to work with than this.
Also, this may win the award for strangest music video I've seen this year. Here's hoping the full album has... SOMETHING interesting?