NIGHTWISH Singer Issues New Album Update

Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH entered the studio late last month to begin recording the follow-up to 2007's "Dark Passion Play".

Writing on her official blog, NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon states about the upcoming CD, "I can't say too much, as I am sure you all understand since it's always hush-hush in this business. But the album will come out late 2011 as we know for now. Emppu [Vuorinen] is recording his guitars at the moment and then Marco [Hietala, bass/vocals] will do his bass after that, then the orchestra in London in February (where I will go and check it out). And then I do my recordings in March and then Tuomas [Holopainen. keyboards] will do his before mixing and mastering. So the schedule is the same as we have said before."

According to drummer Jukka Nevalainen, the new NIGHTWISH songs "have again a massive variety and mood changes from lunatic circus to a hazy jazz club."

The pre-production sessions for the new NIGHTWISH CD took place in "the deepest countryside of Finland," where most of the band spent several weeks finalizing the song arrangements and recording their instrumental parts.

On July 30, Olzon gave birth to her second child (and first with her current boyfriend, bassist Johan Husgafvel of the Swedish metal band PAIN). He was 52 centimeters tall and he weighed in at 3930 grams. Olzon, 39, also has a nine-year-old son, Seth, with her now-ex-husband.

NIGHTWISH played a special homecoming show in September 2009 at the sold-out, 11,000-capacity Hartwall Arena in Helsinki to mark the end of the band's colossal "Dark Passion Play" two-year world tour.

NIGHTWISH is not expected to play any more concerts until the release of the band's next studio album.