TARJA has chosen this moment in her life to release her first-ever “Best Of: Living The Dream”.
Looking back on 15 extremely successful years of the Finnish singer’s solo career, the Best Of contains not only Tarja’s most well-known tracks, many of them newly remastered at “Sterling Sound”, and personal favorites from all six studio albums – ‘My Winter Storm’, ‘What Lies Beneath’, ‘Colours in the Dark’, ‘The Brightest Void’, ‘The Shadow Self’ and ‘In the Raw’ – but also the never-before-heard song “Eye Of The Storm”.
“After all these years, I still really can’t believe it’s time for me to release a proper Best Of album,” Tarja says. “So many beautiful moments, unbelievable. It has been a dream to put together this collection. And I really hope that you will enjoy this as much as I did while making it.”
The compilation hand-picked by Tarja herself, is released today, December 2nd, 2022 on earMUSIC in a wide variety of formats. Each featuring exclusive rarities and/or the previously unreleased 2 hour “Circus Life” concert, eagerly awaited by fans, as well as upgraded versions of Tarja’s music videos. Rounded out by high-quality artwork, deluxe liner notes and many formats to choose from, this collection is a delight for casual fans as well as superfans.
Female-fronted Symphonic groove metallers, TULIP, have announced a European tour with Finnish heavy metal singer-songwriter TARJA. The tour begins on April 9th in Haarlem, Netherlands. In recent months, through relentless efforts and determination, Tulip’s debut music videos have gained momentum throughout the world, with 10’s of thousands of views, resulting in the signing to a worldwide booking agency, and their successful debut tour supporting Swedish melodic-metal outfit Evergrey this past summer. Stay tuned for news on their full-length release, High Strangeness, coming Spring 2020.
TULIP Tour Dates with TARJA:
April 9th – Haarlem, Netherlands
April 10th – Nijmegen, Netherlands
April 11th – Herford, Germany
April 13th – Mannheim, Germany
April 14th – Bochum, Germany
April 15th – Hamburg, Germany
April 17th – Berlin, Germany
April 18th – Leipzig, Germany
April 19th – Nuremberg, Germany
April 21st – Munich, Germany
April 22nd – Vienna, Austria
April 23rd – Lyss, Switzerland
Forged in the fire of excommunication, Texan transplants ‘Tulip’ deliver their own brand of symphonic metal, spearheaded by ex-professional opera vocalist Ashleigh Semkiw, and Colin Parrish on guitar.
Their story is a unique one. Publicly shamed, ostracized and cast out of the church, Semkiw and Parrish formed TULIP – an acronymic nod to their former faith.
Emerging together for the first time in September 2018, the members of Tulip are established artists, having performed for a decade in their respective past acts; Ashleigh in professional opera, Brandon with ONI throughout Europe alongside the likes of Children of Bodom and Lamb Of God, Ryan sessioning across the USA and Canada, and co-lead member Colin as an accomplished recording and mix engineer.
_‘TULIP’_, their self-titled debut EP was self written, recorded and mixed, and was mastered by the legendary Troy Glessner (Devin Townsend, New Found Glory, Disturbed). The five song collection delivers symphonic metal with a modern groove oriented twist.
Following their first US tour with Swedish metal outfit Evergrey, Tulip went even further with their next recorded effort. The upcoming LP “High Strangeness” boasts twelve tracks of bone crushing drums, searing guitars and masterful vocals underpinned with full orchestration and layered synths.
Recorded at their home in Argyle, Texas – the LP was born out of a fascination and curiosity both Semkiw and Parrish share for the unexplainable. Avid fans of Coast to Coast AM Radio and Whitley Strieber, they sought to create a musical pilgrimage into the unknown.
The prelude to “Midnight in the Desert” powerfully opens the album with intro audio adapted from the famous “Gimbal Video”, setting the record on a trajectory that can’t be slowed down. “Communion” investigates the nature of intimate and symbiotic relationships. “Theatre of the Dead” is a folk-like warning story about trust and the demons within, while the danceable “Inner Light” reminds the listener that we are all inevitably forsaken. Having the courage to trust our own intuition is all we need.
Los Angeles, CA based bassist Kevin Chown (CHAD SMITH’S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, COSMOSQUAD, PAUL GILBERT) has announced that he will be joining former SKID ROW vocalist SEBASTIAN BACH for a fall tour of the U.S. after a 9-year stint with Finnish artist TARJA TURUNEN.
“I’m really looking forward to joining Sebastian and his band once again. He is a good friend and life with Bas is always an adventure. And working with Bobby (Jarzombek) and Brent (Woods) is working with the best of the best. It’ll be nice to finally be doing a U.S. tour again after spending years overseas with TARJA. We’ll be playing the first SKID ROW record in its entirety which I’m sure the fans are gonna totally dig. I’m jumping aboard October 10 in Ramona, CA and finish out the tour from there, ending in Florida in early November.
10/10 – Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
10/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A Go Go
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A Go Go
10/17 – Roswell, NM @ Liberty Theater
10/18 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
10/19 – Waco, TX @ The Backyard
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill
10/22 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/23 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
10/24 – Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock
10/25 – Lafayette, LA @ The District
10/26 – Miramar Beach, FL @ Village Door Music Hall
10/28 – Miami, FL @ KISS Kruise Pre Partye
10/30 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock
10/31 – Savannah, GA @ Victory North
11/01 – Ft. Myers, FL @ The Ranch
11/02 – Pinellas Park, FL @ England Brothers Park
Before the BACH tour, Chown is off to Europe for one last show with TARJA opening for EVANESCENCE September 7 in Trnava, Slovakia. Chown appears on the new TARJA album, “In The Raw”, which was released August 30th. “My 9 years with TARJA were a trip in the truest sense of the word. Change is bittersweet. We’ve spent thousands of days together and played many great shows. One of the best bands I’ve ever been in. But, as they say, all good things come to an end and I’m looking forward to doing new things, musically and personally, back in the USA. I will miss my good friends in TARJA and wish them all well on their upcoming tour. I’m sure I’ll be standing on stage with them again one day. I’ll most definitely miss the fans – Tarja truly has some of the greatest, most dedicated fans in the world. I can never thank them enough for all of their love through this adventure.”
In his hometown of Escanaba MI, Chown has started working with TREVOR OHLSEN, an up ‘n coming singer/songwriter. “It’s cool to get involved once again in producing, something that I haven’t had time for since my own “Light the Way” EP. Trev is a great writer and a great performer. It’s super cool to have found someone in my hometown who’s just as crazy as me! I can see many shows into the future with this kid. We have our first show on September 14th here in Escanaba, at the Lakeshore Live Festival in Ludington Park, our first public performance.”
Chown will be back in L.A. at the end of September for a show with acclaimed progressive metal trio, COSMOSQUAD, on the 28th at the Baked Potato. “I haven’t played a gig with Jeff (Kollman) and Shane (Gaalaas) in what seems like forever as we’ve all been touring with different people, including ALAN PARSONS, SLASH, and TARJA in my case. Getting us in the same room the last few years has been a challenge. Which is a shame because COSMOSQUAD is the musical endeavor that I am the most proud of as a musician. If you haven’t heard our latest album, “The Morbid Tango”, yet – have a listen!
Last but not least, Chown makes an appearance on the new THOMAS LANG album, “Progpop”, along with Marc Bonilla, Freddie Nelson, Milan Polak, Francisco di Cosmo, among others. “I first had the pleasure of working with Thomas when we did PAUL GILBERT’s “I Can Destroy” album and tour of Japan. He’s a great friend and truly out of this world – amazing drummer!”
Life is a journey. “Railroads”, the second single from TARJA’s upcoming new album “In The Raw”, deals with this train of thought exactly. The heavy, yet melodic song draws inspiration from the book “Aleph” by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. In it, the writer travels on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and begins to understand better his own spiritual condition through his journey:
“Apparently, it seems like I wrote weird lyrics, yet I pulled inspiration from one book. Paulo Coelho is a very important writer, and I have discovered a lot about myself through his texts,” recalls Tarja. “In ‘Aleph’, he goes on a train journey through Siberia, and he writes a book based on his experiences on that trip. I wanted to go beyond everything and think about myself and my own journey. The whole album is a journey, in a way.
The funny thing is, ‘Railroads’ is a very old song which I have had on demo for years. It always felt like a train ride and I even named it like that before having any lyrics or before ‘Aleph’ was published. It’s so old I can’t even remember when I started writing it, for the first or second album? And I’ve only finished it now.”
But some things are worth waiting for until the time is right.
Next week Friday, fans can expect a brand new Tarja video featuring very special guests!
The new studio album “In The Raw” finds Tarja and her beautiful voice sounding, as ever, truly stunning. It is possibly the one where Tarja has managed to embrace the best of all the energy of rock and metal without diluting her signature melodic style. The intention was to bring out the idea of rawness to match the feelings Tarja was having from the very beginning of the process and finds Tarja going to raw, personal places in her lyrics. Opening herself up more than ever before, “In The Raw” is gold-plated work of wonder!
“In The Raw” will be released on August 30th, 2019 on earMUSIC as CD Digipak (limited print run including hardcover O-card), 2LP+Download, Limited Box Set and Digital.
The Finnish Heavy/Rock Queen’s dark Christmas album is back! One year after its initial release, it now comes in a carefully assembled box set – including Christmas ornaments and additional goodies. The album contains eleven traditional Christmas songs that through TARJA’s classically-trained vocals and dark Gothic influences are brought on an entirely new level. Utilizing the sound of a grand orchestra, the most successful Finnish solo artist puts a sinister spin on traditional songs like “O Tannenbaum”, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and “Feliz Navidad”, reminding the listener of a dark movie score. Besides covering classic carols, “from Spirits and Ghosts” also features a 12th track, Tarja’s own composition “Together”. This song is aligned with the dark sound of the album and embodies the theme of ghosts and mysticism throughout, in a brilliant, Tarja-styled manner.
This box set is a must-have for every Tarja fan that intends to celebrate Christmas in style.
“from Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas) Limited Box Set” will exclusively be available in Germany and will be released on November 16, 2018 on earMUSIC.
Today, TARJA reveals the second song from her brand new live-art-album & video “Act II”.
The thrilling live version of “Undertaker”, taken from Tarja’s live performance in Milan, portrays Tarja’s unique talent for combining crystal clear classical vocals, a heavy rocking metal sound and the dynamics of a film score.
In Milan, Tarja and band performed a stunning and powerful set in front of an enthusiastic crowd. After releasing “Love To Hate” from the intimate show at the historic Metropolis Studio in London, “Undertaker” discovers a slightly different side of the queen of Heavy Rock and gives a powerful taste of the forthcoming live release “Act II” showing a different angle of the Art-Video production.
The official live video is now available on earMUSIC’s official YouTube Channel:
“Undertaker” is available to stream and download as instant grat as part of the album preorder:
“Act II”, the follow up to Tarja’s worldwide Top 10 chart success, combines two incredible, yet slightly different live performances on video:
The first chapter, “Metropolis Alive”, has been filmed two months prior to the release of Tarja’s 2016 success “The Shadow Self” in an intimate surrounding at renowned Metropolis Studios in London, UK. “Act II’s” second chapter has been recorded on November 29th, 2016 at the magnificent Teatro della Luna in Milan, Italy and includes numerous hits from all four Tarja albums.
Even though the shows deliberately differ in look, sound, approach to the music and adrenalin, both have one thing in common: from the very first to the very last tune, the state of the art production displays Tarja’s energetic performance and her graceful, charming presence.
“Act II” is going to be released on July 27th, 2018 on earMUSIC as 2CD digipak, 3LP Gatefold (180g, black), 2DVD, Blu-ray, Limited Mediabook 2CD+2BD (incl. two full live shows filmed at Woodstock Festival in Poland and Hellfest in France as bonus) and Digital.
A wide variety of exclusive, limited fan items and bundles can be found on Tarja’s official web shop: https://tarja.tmstor.es
“Act I”, Tarja’s first ever live release, charted Top 10 all over Europe as well as almost all over the world, with a sensational #5 in Germany’s General Charts. The video version even remained for over two months at the peak of the Finnish music video charts.
“Act II” keeps the energy and aesthetics of its predecessor, but adds a new chapter to the live saga in a brand new way.
“Turn off the lights, volume up and dive into the show!” – Tarja
This autumn, Tarja will be touring all over Europe together with STRATOVARIUS with “A Nordic Symphony ‘18”.
01.10.2018 – Frankfurt – Batschkapp
02.10.2018 – Kiel – Max
03.10.2018 – Hannover – Capitol
05.10.2018 – Karlsruhe – Substage
07.10.2018 – Utrecht – TivoliVredenburg
09.10.2018 – Bochum – Matrix
10.10.2018 – Cologne – Essigfabrik
11.10.2018 – Saarbrücken – Garage
13.10.2018 – Solothurn – Kofmehl
14.10.2018 – Grenoble – La Belle Electrique
16.10.2018 – Rome – Orion
17.10.2018 – Milan – Alcatraz
18.10.2018 – Munich – Backstage
20.10.2018 – Innsbruck – Music Hall
21.10.2018 – Prague – Forum Karlín
22.10.2018 – Berlin – Festsaal Kreuzberg
24.10.2018 – Gdansk – B90
25.10.2018 – Krakow – Studio
26.10.2018 – Dresden – Reithalle
28.10.2018 – Budapest – Barba Negra
29.10.2018 – Sofia – Universiada
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 