Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen recently posted a message to the fans on Facebook regarding the pre-release leak of their new single, 'Èlan', last week. He discussed the incident on camera with Metal Hammer; the clip can be viewed below:

Following is Holopainen's original statement:

"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 bands 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."

Yours sincerely,

Tuomas & Nightwish

Nightwish have just debuted their new video for the single “Élan”, the first taste of the band's upcoming new studio album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, which will be out on March 27th (Europe), 30th (UK) and 31st (North America). The video directed by Ville Lipiäinen.

Tuomas Holopainen commented: “The long awaited Nightwish music video 'Élan' is finally here. Inspired by the untold stories of abandoned places around Finland, the video was nearly a year in the making and features some of the most loved Finnish actors and actresses. And also the legendary Nightwish symbol, a snowy owl (Bubo Scandiaca in Latin) called Urho (Braveheart).“

Endless Forms Most Beautiful will be released as follows:

Jewelcase

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

2LP black vinyl / 2LP picture vinyl as gatefold

Side A

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”

Side B

“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”

Side C

“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”

Side D

“The Greatest Show On Earth”

Digibook incl. instrumental CD

CD1

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

CD2 (instrumental)

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

Earbook incl. instrumental & orchestral CD

CD1

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

CD2 (instrumental)

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

CD3 (orchestral)

“Shudder Before The Beautiful”
“Weak Fantasy”
“Élan”
“Yours Is An Empty Hope”
“Our Decades In the Sun”
“My Walden”
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
“Edema Ruh”
“Alpenglow”
“The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula”
“The Greatest Show On Earth”

The first single called 'Élan' is out now. The 4-track single features the album version, radio edit and an alternate version of 'Élan', as well as the non-album bonus track 'Sagan'.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful will be the first Nightwish studio album to feature Dutch vocalist Floor Jansen. Longtime drummer Jukka Nevalainen will sit out on the recording sessions due to health issues; Kai Hahto (Wintersun a.o.) will replace him.

Nightwish also revealed the famed evolutionary biologist and writer, Professor Richard Dawkins as a guest on this eighth studio album.

The detailed cover-artwork was created by longtime collaborator Toxic Angel.

Nightwish continue to roll out live dates for 2015. For their complete itinerary visit Nightwish.com.