 Not intended for the album's track list, Holopainen liked the song more after the band began working on it.Following a suggestion by Donockley and Hietala, he replaced "Edema Ruh" with "Élan" as the album's first single.Although he was initially uncertain about recording "Yours Is an Empty Hope" (co-written by Hietala and also called one of the album's heaviest songs), Holopainen found its subject matter "inspirational".