Endless Forms Most Beautiful is the eighth studio album by Nightwish, initially released on March 25th, 2015 in Japan—with a European release on March 27th, 2015 and an American release on March 31st, 2015. It is the first album to feature Dutch singer Floor Jansen as the lead vocalist and English wind player Troy Donockley as a full-time member. The album is also the first to not include drummer Jukka Nevalainen, who had taken a break from the band due to insomnia. Wintersun member Kai Hahto filled in for Nevalainen as drummer, a position he would ultimately be promoted to after Nevalainen’s departure in July 2019.
The album's focus on science and reasoning is a departure from Imaginaerum's imagination and fantasy-centric theme.
Track List[]
# | Track Name | Runtime |
1 | Shudder Before the Beautiful | 6:29 |
2 | Weak Fantasy | 5:24 |
3 | Élan | 4:47 |
4 | Yours is an Empty Hope | 5:39 |
5 | Our Decades in the Sun | 6:38 |
6 | My Walden | 4:39 |
7 | Endless Forms Most Beautiful | 5:08 |
8 | Edema Ruh | 5:15 |
9 | Alpenglow | 4:49 |
10 | The Eyes of Sharbat Gula(Instrumental) | 6:04 |
11 | The Greatest Show on Earth
|
24:01 |
Bonus Tracks[]
The deluxe edition of the album as well as the 2-CD Earbook features instrumental versions of the songs above, while the 3-CD Earbook features the instrumental tracks as well as orchestral versions of the songs—except for My Walden and Edema Ruh.
Deluxe Edition and 2-CD Earbook[]
# | Track Name | Runtime |
1 | Shudder Before the Beautiful(Instrumental) | 6:20 |
2 | Weak Fantasy(Instrumental) | 5:25 |
3 | Élan(Instrumental) | 4:46 |
4 | Yours is an Empty Hope(Instrumental) | 5:39 |
5 | Our Decades in the Sun(Instrumental) | 6:39 |
6 | My Walden(Instrumental) | 4:38 |
7 | Endless Forms Most Beautiful(Instrumental) | 5:07 |
8 | Edema Ruh(Instrumental) | 5:16 |
9 | Alpenglow(Instrumental) | 4:49 |
10 | The Eyes of Sharbat Gula(Instrumental) | 6:04 |
11 | The Greatest Show on Earth(Instrumental) | 24:08 |
3-CD Earbook[]
# | Track Name | Runtime |
1 | Shudder Before the Beautiful(Orchestrated) | 5:40 |
2 | Weak Fantasy(Orchestrated) | 5:25 |
3 | Élan(Orchestrated) | 4:20 |
4 | Yours is an Empty Hope(Orchestrated) | 5:38 |
5 | Our Decades in the Sun(Orchestrated) | 6:37 |
6 | Endless Forms Most Beautiful(Orchestrated) | 5:09 |
7 | Alpenglow(Orchestrated) | 4:49 |
8 | The Eyes of Sharbat Gula(Orchestrated) | 6:04 |
9 | The Greatest Show on Earth(Orchestrated) | 23:36 |
Singles[]
Three songs from this album have been released as singles.
Single Name | Release Date |
Élan | February 13th, 2015 |
Endless Forms Most Beautiful | May 8th, 2015 |
My Walden(Record Day exclusive) | April 16th, 2016 |
Trivia[]
- The Greatest Show on Earth was the longest Nightwish song to date for five years before the 2020 release of Human. :II: Nature., which includes the nearly 31-minute instrumental All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World.
- It remains the longest Nightwish song with sung lyrical content.
- The latter half of the album, with the exception of The Eyes of Sharbat Gula, was reportedly inspired by the works of Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins, with lyrics that cite passages from these works.
- Dawkins was even a guest star on the album, lending his voice to the very beginning of Shudder Before the Beautiful and in The Greatest Show on Earth.