NIGHTWISH's FLOOR JANSEN Unveils Cover Artwork Of 'Fire' Solo Single

NIGHTWISH's Floor Jansen has unveiled the cover artwork of her new solo single, "Fire". Check it out below. The track will be released on March 25.

Less than two months ago, the 41-year-old Dutch-born singer, who made her live debut with NIGHTWISH nearly a decade ago, stated about the musical direction of "Fire": "It's a pop song, so it's not metal, it's not rock, but it's definitely me." Jansen went on to explain that the track will not necessarily be representative of all the new solo music she has been working on in recent months. "I guess it's more of a mash-up [of styles] actually," she said, referring to her upcoming collection of solo material, "though it's not so extreme as in genres, like all of a sudden it becomes… Here's a metal song and here's a rock song and this is more poppy… I mean, pop music — the word of it — [it's short for] popular music, and it kind of describes a lot, and within that it falls. I can only say that it's not metal and it's not rock, but it will have its influences and it will have a part of the sound. It can't even be so that the first song is how everything else will sound like because, yeah, if you know NIGHTWISH and also for us, it's always so hard to pick just one song that's gonna be like the kick-off of an album but it can never really represent everything. And I guess it's the same for this first song that comes on the 25th of March."

Last summer, Floor said during an appearance on the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast that she had been working on a solo album since shortly before the beginning of the pandemic. "And it really kickstarted my own creativity that I haven't really been able to use over the years," she said. "It's nice that it gets out. And I would like to do more of that and actually finish that album and make those steps and find a way to combine a solo career with NIGHTWISH and my life at home, which I even more value after spending so much time here in this green heaven [in Sweden] where I live."

Jansen discussed the prospect of making a solo album during a 2020 interview with Metal Hammer magazine. At the time, she said: "After 20 years of rock and metal, I think I would like to do something else. I don't mean stop with NIGHTWISH, but something alongside it.

"I was recently involved in a TV show in my home country in the Netherlands [reality TV show 'Beste Zangers', which translates to 'Best Singers']. That really inspired me to start writing, and the stuff that has come out is very calm.

"I would love to make an album where less actually is more. Something different — not because I'm bored, but because if you are already in one of the biggest bands in your own genre, and you have someone like Tuomas Holopainen as a songwriter, I don't really see that I'd be adding anything by making another metal album myself."

Earlier in 2020, Jansen spoke about a possible musical direction for her solo album during an Instagram Live chat. She said: "I cannot imagine it would be rock or metal — just because rock now I've done, and metal I've done a lot. And I'm already in one of the best bands, I think, that are out there, in my opinion, to my taste. Plus, if you're in a band with a songwriter such as Tuomas Holopainen, it's a little bit hard to come up with something — anything — better, I would say, and I only say that out of love and respect for him. Plus, after 20 years of metal, wouldn't it be lovely to do something completely different for me? That's how I feel."

Jansen performed live with NIGHTWISH for the first time on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.

Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013 and made her recording debut with the group on 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album.

NIGHTWISH's ninth studio album, "Human. :II: Nature." , was released in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.