Tarja Turunen
Interview: Tarja Turunen
One of the greatest and most popular frontwomen in metal (its most symphonic aspect that is), the original frontwoman of Nightwish, Tarja Turunen, who for the...
ANGRA: ‘Stand Away’ Performance Clip Featuring TARJA TURUNEN
Brazilian melodic metallers ANGRA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of their 1993 debut album, "Angels Cry", with a special concert on August 25 at HSBC Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil.
As a means of celebrating its successful trajectory, the band took the opportunity to schedule a small tour through Brazil and Latin America, which culminated with the show in São Paulo, after 11 dates. If there was any aura of uncertainty towards the future, ANGRA shook it off for good with a very special concert, truly a night to remember. As guitar player Rafael Bittencourt put it, "For those who think we should quit, I tell you: we're just getting started". That pretty much summons up the very apparent joy that the band showed onstage, not only that night, but on the whole tour.
A stellar team of guests made everything even more special. Tarja Turunen, formerly of NIGHTWISH, lends her talent and angelic voice on two songs: "Stand Away" and Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". On the latter, the legendary Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS) is also featured, and shows why he is such a reference for the majority of guitar players around the world. The Brazilian string quartet FAMILIA LIMA appears in three songs, and drummer Amilcar Christopharo, from the band TORTURE SQUAD, grabs the sticks on "Evil Warning", representing the metal bands from Brazil.
"Angels Cry 20th Anniversary Tour" will be released as a separate DVD and a double CD, containing over 20 tracks in total and extra behind-the-scenes footage captured during the latest tour.
A performance clip of "Stand Away", taken from "Angels Cry 20th Anniversary Tour", can be seen below.
ANGRA's setlist was as follows:
01. Angels Cry
02. Nothing to Say
03. Waiting Silence
04. Lisbon
05. Time
06. Millennium Sun (intro w/ Kiko Loureiro on keyboards)
07. Winds of Destination (intersection w/ Kiko Loureiro on keyboards)
08. Gentle Change
09. The Voice Commanding You (Rafael Bittencourt on vocals)
10. Late Redemption
11. Silence and Distance (intro w/ Kiko Loureiro on keyboards)
Acoustic set
12. Reaching Horizons (Rafael Bittencourt on vocals)
13. Unholy Wars / Caça e Caçador (Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro on vocals)
14. A Monster in Her Eyes (Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro on vocals)
15. Make Believe (Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro on vocals)
Encore:
TARJA TURUNEN: ‘500 Letters’ Video Released
"500 Letters", the new video from former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, can be seen below. Shot in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, Argentina by Florian Kaltenbach who also directed the clip for "Victim Of Ritual", the video is a new landmark in Tarja's video collection to date. For the first time in Tarja's history, the singer herself is the main character in the story line. No wonder, since "500 Letters" is, in many ways, Tarja's most private song ever. With its very personal songwriting and delicate topic, it offers a great emotional insight into the artist herself. Touching the sensitive topic of "stalkers," Tarja allows her fans a closer look into her thoughts. "500 Letters" is open to interpretation — being a mix of reality and fiction. The heavy-yet-highly-melodic song gets stuck in your mind after the first listen with its haunting melody and touching, exceptional vocals. Despite its very catchy key note, the bombastic sound still is full of darkness and dramatic structure and takes Tarja's songwriting one step further.
"500 Letters" comes off Tarja's latest album, "Colours In The Dark", which came out in Europe on August 23 via earMUSIC. The CD was made available in North America on August 27 through Eagle Rock imprint Armoury Records.
The cover artwork for "Colours In The Dark" was created by Dirk Rudolph and can be seen below.
Despite her light and shiny personality, Tarja's music has always been dressed "in black" — the color of heavy rock, of mystery and elegance.
With Tarja's new album, fans will find out what happens when a splice of color is added to the mix. Or — better said — when the full-color spectrum enters the picture it does not cover the black but makes it shine through with many emotions and landscapes.
Mixed and mastered by Tim Palmer (PEARL JAM, U2) in Austin, Texas, the songs on "Colours In The Dark" do not shy away from taking a risk and surprising musical turns, introducing new sounds and new musical atmospheres. Still, they maintain a heaviness that will surely bring a big smile to the hardest of rockers. With its grand orchestra and choir arrangements, Tarja's next milestone emphasizes once again the impressive vocal range of the Finnish artist and shows her artistic growth. With ten brand new songs and over one hour of music, "Colours In The Dark" is definitely one of the brightest moments for rock in 2013.
In a recent interview with the Music Legends web site, Turunen stated about her new CD: "I have just recently found my style and sound so I would like to establish it with the third studio album. The elements on the album will remain the same as in my previous albums, also the versatile style of songs. I like to keep the big dynamic changes between my songs, so that album songs feel radically different from each other."
Tarja and her husband/manager Marcelo Cabuli recently became the parents of their first child.
Video: Former And Current NIGHTWISH Singers Perform Duet At Belgium’s METAL FEMALE VOICES FEST
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen performed a duet with the band's current vocalist Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) Sunday night (October 20) at this year's edition of the Metal Female Voices Fest at Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. The women joined forces on a cover version of "Over The Hills And Far Away", originally written and recorded by the Northern Irish singer and guitarist Gary Moore and previously covered byNIGHTWISH on the 2001 EP of the same name. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.
Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important."
On October 9, Jansen and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley(uilleann pipes, low whistles, vocals) were officially added to NIGHTWISH's permanent lineup. The band explained in a statement: "Originally we were going to wait until 2014 to make a decision about the future lineup of the band, but the past year has clearly shown us thatFloor and Troy are perfect matching pieces to our puzzle, and we are really grateful of the bond that has grown between all of us."
Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH 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.
Asked about the reasons for Olzon's sudden exit from the group, NIGHTWISHkeyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "I'm sure it came as a shock to everybody. We came out with a statement [regarding the split], which pretty much says it all. It still is a private matter, and that's all we wanna say about it, like, ever. It was an amicable divorce, so to say, and made in good spirit, and we are just looking to the future. There really is no reason to go back into all the details and all that. I mean, this is not politics, this is a rock band."
WITHIN TEMPTATION: ‘Paradise’ Video Featuring TARJA TURUNEN Released
Dutch symphonic rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION have just released the "Paradise (What About Us?)" EP and promotional video, featuring a unique collaboration with classically trained Finnish rock diva, former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, guesting on the title track.
Comments WITHIN TEMPTATION frontwoman Sharon Den Adel: "When we had written the first version of 'Paradise' and listened back to the demo we'd recorded and the epic power of the song, we thought of Tarja instantly. How well this track would fit her classical voice and how extra special it would be if we sang it together. The more we thought about this wild idea, the more excited we got about it!"
Following several video trailers teasing the track, fans have been speculating on the band's Facebook page who the duet would be with, some guessing it couldn't possibly be a "competing" artist like Tarja. However, the two singers had no hesitation joining forces, having never thought of themselves as competitors. Sharon continues: "Of course I didn't know what to expect from Tarja, as we'd never actually met in person 'till June this year. Our first encounter was via a Skype call we'd set-up to discuss the collaboration and we immediately clicked, not only creatively but personally. After we'd spoken, it felt completely natural that we would do this together!"
WITHIN TEMPTATION Collaborates With TARJA TURUNEN On New Single
Source: Blabbermouth.net
On September 27, Dutch symphonic rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION will release the "Paradise (What About Us?)" EP and promotional video...
TARJA TURUNEN: Part One Of ‘Colours In The Dark’ Track-By-Track Breakdown (Video)
The first in a series of clips featuring a track-by-track breakdown of former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen's forthcoming album, "Colours In The Dark", can be seen below.
Tarja Turunen released a new single, "Victim Of Ritual", as a digital download, CD single and on seven-inch vinyl on July 12 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group.
The official "Victim Of Ritual" video can be seen below.
An evocative snare-drum that sounds like it was coming from a mysterious place, the tender sound of an orchestra joins followed by a familiar and seductive melody played by an oboe. When Tarja's distinctive voice resounds through the speakers, her warm timbre fills the room. Her melody is full of emotions and tender, before the song explodes into an epic, heavy chorus: "Hysterical, tragical, Victim of ritual, Cynical, critical, Victim of ritual, She's a killer, killer, She's a killer, killer."
Inspired by the one-movement orchestral piece "Boléro" by Maurice Ravel, the almost-six-minutes-long "Victim Of Ritual" is the first single from Tarja's forthcoming album, "Colours In The Dark".
Both physical releases will surely become rare collector's items, being made available in strictly limited quantities. The four-song digipak CD-single is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, whereas the two-track sevn-inch vinyl is limited to only 1,500 units worldwide.
ANGRA To Be Joined By TARJA TURUNEN, RUSSELL ALLEN, ULI JON ROTH At Sao Paulo Concert
Brazilian melodic metallers ANGRA will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their 1993 debut album, "Angels Cry", with a special concert on August 25 at HSBC Brasil in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The show, which will be recorded for a DVD, will feature guest appearances by Tarja Turunen (NIGHTWISH), Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB) and Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS).
Former ANGRA singer André Matos celebrated the 20th anniversary of"Angels Cry" by performing the LP in its entirety on his recent solo tour, which kicked off in March. The show consisted of two parts, with the first part focusing on the material André wrote and recorded with SHAMANand VIPER, as well as during his solo career.
ANGRA tapped acclaimed Italian vocalist Fabio Lione (VISION DIVINE,RHAPSODY OF FIRE, KAMELOT) to front the band for its most
TARJA TURUNEN: ‘Victim Of Ritual’ Video Released
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen will release a new single,"Victim Of Ritual", as a digital download, CD single and on seven-inch vinyl on July 12 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group.
The official "Victim Of Ritual" video can be seen below.
An evocative snare-drum that sounds like it was coming from a mysterious place, the tender sound of an orchestra joins followed by a familiar and seductive melody played by an oboe. When Tarja's distinctive voice resounds through the speakers, her warm timbre fills the room. Her melody is full of emotions and tender, before the song explodes into an epic, heavy chorus: "Hysterical, tragical, Victim of ritual, Cynical, critical, Victim of ritual, She's a killer, killer, She's a killer, killer."
Inspired by the one-movement orchestral piece "Boléro" by Maurice Ravel, the almost-six-minutes-long "Victim Of Ritual" is the first single from Tarja's forthcoming album, "Colours In The Dark".