“Rocking Heels: Live at Metal Church” is the document of a very special concert in the idyllic setting of Wacken Church. It will be released on August 11th, 2023 on earMUSIC and is the first release of the live series “Rocking Heels”.
In front of just 300 fans, this onetime-only event opened the Wacken Open Air Festival in 2016. Tarja presents unique arrangements of rock and heavy metal classics by her favourite artists including “Numb” by Linkin Park, In Flame’s “Alias”, Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”, songs by Joe Satriani and Slipknot as well as a Nightwish song and Tarja originals.
The first single, a cover of Linkin Park’s “Numb”, perfectly reflects the intimate setting of this concert. Tarja’s operatic prowess and hauntingly beautiful vocals add an extra layer of ethereal magic to an already powerful masterpiece. The song explores themes of emotional isolation, frustration, and the struggle to find one’s identity in a world that often feels overwhelming. The lyrics convey a sense of detachment and numbness, reflecting the emotional struggles and inner turmoil of the protagonist.
With its captivating performances of well-known songs paired with Tarja’s iconic voice, this live album is a treasure for fans, as well as a discovery for Tarja-newcomers and all those who missed the chance to attend this exclusive concert. “Rocking Heels: Live at Metal Church” will be released as a Ltd. 2LP Vinyl Edition, CD Digipak in LP-replica design and on Digital.
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.
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video