Nightwish‘s next album will serve as the third part of a trilogy, according to keyboardist/songwriter Tuomas Holopainen.

The Finnish metal band’s ninth and most recent studio record, ‘Human. :II: Nature.’, came out back in April 2020.

During a recent interview with Rauta, Holopainen talked about what fans can expect from Nightwish’s next full-length project.

“I feel it’s gonna be the third part of a trilogy started by [2015 album] ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’ followed by ‘Human. :II: Nature.’ and then finished by this upcoming album,” he explained (per Blabbermouth).

Holopainen said that the forthcoming LP would see the group try out “something new” stylistically.

“It’s important for my own mental health, when it comes to writing music, that you need to search for some new territories and try not to repeat yourself,” he continued. “And that can be heard on the upcoming album, for sure, already on the demo that we’ve done.”

Holopainen was asked whether Nightwish’s next album would be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the first two instalments in the yet-to-be-completed trilogy.

“Yes and no,” he replied. “It sails on the same waters, but there’s some new surprises there as well.”

As for when fans can expect to hear the new project, Holopainen said: “We’ll enter the studio next year and the album is gonna come out maybe early 2024.”

Last month, the musician explained that Nightwish had spent “the past few weeks” listening to a full demo version of the new record. He said the extra “free time” he had during COVID allowed him to write “all the songs” and lyrics for the LP.