TARJA – The Shadow Self (2016)

After leaving Nightwish and starting her solo career a decade ago, TARJA Turunen has often struggled to find a balance between classical and metal overtures, but on “The Shadow Self“, the new album to be released on August 5, she has got it brilliantly right.

This album drips with melodically soaring vocals, but also has some concussive, aggressive rhythms. This is clear on ‘Demons In You’, where she duets emphatically with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz.
The album kicks with ‘Innocence’, some kind of epic tune but with something, like most the new album, that made me enjoy it: Tarja uses a softer side of her voice, you do not get bombarded with big operatic vocals.

Indeed, “The Shadow Self” is more melodic metal / hard rock than Tarja previous releases, not only musically, but also in the vocal approach. That’s why I am reviewing the CD here.
Songs like ‘No Bitter End’ are almost melodic hard with a catchy refrain, ‘Living End’ explores new poppier territories, while ‘Calling From the Wild’ is pretty hard rock with a cool groove. Of course there’s some sympho numbers such as ‘Diva’ or ‘Love To Hate’, yet pretty light and enjoyable.

Tarja Turunen seems to have found a welcomed balance to her indisputably vocal quality on this new album, and musically, a wider palette.
There’s strong songs on “The Shadow Self”, the vocals are varied and while the Nightwish smell is still present all over, the album rocks quite good with more groove than never before.
Tarja’s past works were too much ‘operistic’ for my tastes, but this “The Shadow Self” open new windows for the singer and for potential listeners never interested before in her music.

01 – Innocence
02 – Demon’s in You (with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz)
03 – No Bitter End
04 – Love To Hate
05 – Supremacy (Cover)
06 – Living End
07 – Diva
08 – Eagle Eye
09 – Undertaker
10 – Calling From the Wild
11 – Too Many

Tarja Turunen – Vocals
Alex Scholpp – Guitar
Christian Kretschmar – Keyboards
Kevin Chown, Doug Wimbish – Bass
Max Lilja – Cello
Luis Conte – Percussion
Mike Coolen – Drums
and various guests

PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Self-Tarja/dp/B01CZ7OI76
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