"Alpenglow" has been called the "ultimate Nightwish song" by Holopainen, who referred to it as "a nice little interlude" with "a catchy chorus and toxic guitar riff".He also stated that it is the result of him wanting to write a love song for the album with the particular aim to find a new angle for storytelling, contrasting that there are enough "awfulnesses" like Bon Jovi’s "Always" already in existence.