"Élan" single

Traxan

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Mar 10, 2012
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"Elan" and "Sagan" are both out. No orchestra, we're going back to the "Oceanborn" days here. So who wants to talk about them?
 
Wow...that was unexpected! Woo hoo to whoever is leaking the songs! lol. Sorry if that is supporting stealing, but I will 100% buy the album so I am not going to feel too guilty.

That said!

First off, I was not a big fan of Annette when I first heard her on Eva, which was her first single released. It took me 2 albums of Annette before I saw the uniqueness in her voice. She was definitely no Tarja, but she brought something different to the table from most female metal vocalists. I love her voice in a different way than Tarja. It was very feminine.

Floor is just NOT unique at all. Elan sounds like generic female metal like Gathering or Lacuna Coil. Even the song structure is so basic compared to what Nightwish has done in the past. The whole bagpipe thing they have going was cool for a few songs on Imaginareum, but to hear more of that is not welcome.

I am not going to be too negative, because over time, I have loved just about everything Nightwish has done, but wow…this is just so bland and uninspired on the first listen. Not memorable at all. Hope the rest of the CD rocks out hard like “Once” or “Wishmaster.” I trust Tomas, as he’s proven himself to be very creative.
 
Not loving Sagan either. The song is just TOO repetitious...like Amaranthe or Bye Bye Beautiful, only without spirit. It's like they are going all Metallica black album. Catchy choruses with repeditive sounds. They used to have some element of badassery to them, but now it just sounds like fru-fru metal.

I'm sure I'll grow to like them, but it used to be EVERY Nightwish song I heard for the first time was heaven. They gave me chills. Now I have to grow to like them because they seem so plain. Their older stuff was just an adventure. I never knew what was around the corner. This new style is very drab...the same sounds and melodies to start the songs never change.
 
How is this thread so dead!?!?! They just released the new official Elan video today!

Still do not like this at all. It's like a less catchy, less beautiful "Nemo."
 
I bought the EP from iTunes yesterday, something I rarely if ever do.
Élan is a straight forward melodic rock songs, not immediate at all, repeated listening reveal a lot more.
After a few plays I'm loving it, Floor sounds great.
Sounds nothing like Lacuna Coil, whoever said Floor was unique?
She sounds great, on the latter After Forever albums she was more restraint.
What bagpipes? Do you mean Troy playing the uilleann pipes?
 
I'm here, SheismySin. Weird that I checked this forum just a week ago and no one had posted.

I'm going to change the name of the topic because the single is now out. I posted it on all the other OSA sites but forgot to post it here, as it was 3 a.m. by the time it got uploaded to YouTube!

We are also debuting the entire single on Nightwish Radio in just a few minutes, so feel free to tune in!

http://www.nwradio.caster.fm/

Here are the lyrics to "Élan":
tumblr_njpm2x7lYT1sdim5co1_540.jpg



I am trying to link the video but for some reason it won't show. Let's see if this works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPonioDYnoY

OK, so it doesn't show. Well, click on the link to watch, I guess.

Now that I have heard the songs, I have to say that the single is in the same vein as "Nemo" and "Amaranth" as far as the "standard Nightwish single" goes. Also sounds a lot like "Last of the Wilds". I like it, but hopefully this is the weakest track on the album.

"Sagan", I really like. To me, it's like how "The Escapist" might have sounded if it had been on Oceanborn. I like that Tuomas is using his keys again and that both songs appear to have cut back on the use of orchestra quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love the orchestra, but it got a little too much on Imaginaerum and oftentimes felt like more of a "London Symphony feat. Nightwish" sort of thing than the other way around.

Floor sounds great, but she has an operatic voice and I am really hoping that Tuomas has utilized that, because as he even said when I interviewed him, "the table is set" and that Floor can sing pretty much anything he wants her to. So I hope he takes advantage of the many different things her voice can do. I look forward to hearing the rest of the album. March 31st can't get here fast enough!
 
I was thinking Elan was a hybrid of Last of the Wilds and I Want My Tears Back. :p

I still think it's just "ok".

I loved Nemo, Eva, and Storytime when they were all released. Not sure why I'm just not feeling this one.

I guess I'll reserve judgment once the album is released.


.....ok.

Sagan is pretty fucking badass. WTF? Why wasn't this the single?!?!?!?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq-qQRLjEJM
 
No idea how anyone can say Sagan is badass. It's soooo straightforward repetitive! The chorus is like half the song....by the 5th time I hear "Carl Sagan", I'm like 'okay, I'm done with this." It's like listening to "dead boy" phrase on Imaginaerum, and that was just twice.

It sounds a lot like the generic Nightwish wannabe bands. No power, not a lot of keys, no soloing....I don't get it.
 
No idea how anyone can say Sagan is badass. It's soooo straightforward repetitive! The chorus is like half the song....by the 5th time I hear "Carl Sagan", I'm like 'okay, I'm done with this." It's like listening to "dead boy" phrase on Imaginaerum, and that was just twice.

It sounds a lot like the generic Nightwish wannabe bands. No power, not a lot of keys, no soloing....I don't get it.

Compared to Elan its badass and does remind me of The Escapist (which shouldve been the DPP single instead of Eva).
 
I'm not overly fond of Sagan...I think I'd really enjoy it instrumentally though. I agree with SheIsMySin that it gets a bit repetitive lyrically...and honestly I'm not too big on the subject matter :S It seems so weird to hear a NIGHTWISH song about...Carl friggin Sagan :S and I mean him no disrespect, he was certainly a respectable genius, it's just odd to hear. But I have to say, I prefer to hear the fantasy/fairy tale-ish lyrics and stories from NW.

I'll admit I had definite mixed feelings about Elan upon my first listen, but trust me, it really grows on you. I have no doubt the rest of the album will be fantastic :)
 
Aren't most NW songs straight forward and repetitive?
Sure there are many that are, but that is the rule rather than exception.

I really like both songs, got the 3CD/!0" silver ordered, plus the Japanese 2CD/DVD can't wait.
 
"Sagan" song wasn't any good but that was expected since it's not on the album, so no harm done there. I enjoyed "Elan", but it was far from great. I look forward to the rest of the album but hopefully there isn't bag or whatever the fuck they're called pipes on the entire album.
 
I understand SheIsMySin's concerns. Although 'Elan" is a catchy, well written song; I find it very uninspiring too. Nightwish has always been Pop-Metal in a sense but this is just generic Pop-Rock. When it comes to Nightwish, I expect more power.
 
Aren't most NW songs straight forward and repetitive?
Sure there are many that are, but that is the rule rather than exception.

Umm....no?

I Went back and listened to their catalogue from Angels Fall first to Once, and holy crap their songs are soooo NOT repetitive! The songs are longer, have more layers...more keys that add some depth...more epic. Definitely NOT the short formula like Nemo, Amaranthe, Bye Bye Beautiful, Elan, Sagan, etc.

Nemo grew on me, but even that song had a lot of pieces to it, and of course the amazing Tarja vocals which were an instrument in itself.

Like I said before, I won't be too negative, because I've always considered Toumas a genius song writer...but it has become clear to me that he wasn't "THE" driving force in NW success - Tarja definitely chipped in with that. I've listened to Elan about 10 times now, and it's not growing on me at all. The fact that I HAVE to force myself to listen to it just to like is saying something.

Is there anything worse than waiting years for a new CD from your favorite band and have the first song(s) be a let down???
 
Really liked Elan and I wasn’t expecting to like it (and I wasn’t intending to give any opinions on any of their songs either because don’t look at me when it comes to discussing music) But wow! Really surprised, really taken aback. Lots of owls and woods and things in that video aren’t there?

Must be difficult to play that piano with a tree growing out of it. Must be like damn, I only left my piano in the woods for a few months or so, I thought it would be okay but when I got back some tree has taken root right through the middle, WTF.

Musically I really like the song, it reminds me a bit of the scrooge album. I didn’t listen to that for ages because I was convinced a soundtrack where most of the songs were instrumental wasn't going to be my thing but when I did I liked it much more than Imaginaerum.

In the video they are being the elements right? Empuu is water, Marco is fire, Kai is air, Troy is earth. Don’t know what Tuomas and Floor are. They are the first and last ones shown, Male and Female maybe?
Just wasn’t expecting something that. Especially after they seemed to be saying that the album was going to be a homage to various scientists and featuring a prominent atheist. I thought it was going to be wall to wall atheism. In fact I thought they hated stuff like this. They release it on Friday the 13th even.

Absolutely no idea what the lyrics mean or anything but I particularly like "where the cliff greets the sea". It represents a boundary? Between two worlds? You don’t know if you are interpreting something badly or wrongly but love all the various owls and returning swans and elsewhere creatures unseen etc. Its something more than a song? There is other levels to it?

I’m sorry I said anything critical of Nightwish in the past. Wow, just so surprised, don’t really care about what the rest of the album is like even. Just amazing, really special.
 
To me, "Élan" has that typical "Nightwish single" sound; i.e., "Amaranth" or "Nemo". So as far as that goes, I always expect the first single to be the "weakest" track on the album, because generally that's how singles work. You are trying to cast as wide a net to your listening audience as possible, so you pick the most run-of-the-mill, average tune on the album that can appeal to a wider audience than just your general fanbase. Never made much sense to me but that's how it's always been. But especially with Nightwish, they seem to pick the "safest" song for the first single and then wow us when the album is out. I have yet to be disappointed in Tuomas' songwriting so I'm sure he has a lot of surprises for us come March 31st.

If I remember correctly, I think Floor said in a recent interview that this album challenged her vocally more than any other. Whether that means she has done operatic stuff or not, who knows? But Tuomas seems to always bring out the best in all of his singers, so that's saying a lot coming from Floor.