NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen has spoken about "Noise", the first single from the band's forthcoming ninth studio album, "Human. :II: Nature." The track's accompanying video has been described as a commentary on modern society, particularly our increasing reliance on our smartphones.
In a Nuclear Blast video in which Jansen answers fan-submitted questions about "Human. :II: Nature.", the frontwoman was asked if the "Noise" video was also a criticism of people who go to shows and prefer to film them and then upload videos to social media instead of enjoying the moment. She responded: "Surely the enjoyment of art, yes, we can recommend to do through your own eyes and not through the video camera of your smartphone. We've always asked with our shows on the previous tour, actually, on the 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' tour, we asked people to just put the phones away for the one and a half or two hours that you have with us to enjoy our show with us in person in the here and now. Sure, you can take a picture, but if you film or if you stand behind your cell phone screen the whole time, it might feel that you're not actually there. It definitely feels like [that] to [us]."
Last month, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen told Spain's GoetiaMedia.com that the "Noise" video was "not a criticism about technology or cell phones." He explained: "Me, all the bandmembers, we love technology. We wouldn't ever have done this record without technology. We love our cell phones, the Internet and all that, but it's a criticism for the addiction that these things cause in human beings. 'Addiction' is the word.
"It's such a shame that we have all these wonderful tools that we can for the good, to spread true information and to be connected to the world," Tuomas added. "I love the idea of social media, I like Twitter, that everybody in the world suddenly has a voice; we have a voice. We can immediately [get our opinions and views] out there. It's just a matter of what you put out there. And that's what the video is all about."
"Human. :II: Nature." will be released on April 10 via Nuclear Blast. The long-awaited follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.
"Human. :II: Nature." was recorded from August to October 2019 at Röskö campsite, Petrax Studios and Troykington castle, as well as Finnvox Studios, by Tero Kinnunen, Mikko Karmila and Troy Donockley. The mixing was done by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox, with Tuomas Holopainen and Tero Kinnunen. Mastering was done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox.
