Vocalist Tarja Turunen, who made a name for herself with Nightwish before being let go in 2005, recently spoke with UK-based Kerrang! about her new album, In The Raw. During the comversation she addressed the possibility of a reunion with her former Nightwish bandmates. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: You team up with Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia on the track "Goodbye Stranger". How did that come about? 

Tarja: "I think we first met in London many, many years ago at some event. I remember taking a picture with her, the first of many. We stayed in touch, sometimes calling each other and always finding each other at festivals. It’s always been bubbling away, the idea of working together. Once I had the right song, I decided to reach out to her and ask for a favour. She’s a super-cool woman and incredibly charismatic."

Q: And that same sense goodwill has even been extended to those who ended up singing in Nightwish after you… 

Tarja: "Of course. I’ve shared the stage with Floor (Jansen) and have been inviting her to my shows. I care for her and love her, and only wish her the best. There is no competition between singers like us. We are all living in a man’s world, sort of. So each of us being out there, doing our own thing, can only be a good thing. It’s a sisterhood that is beautiful."

Q: On December 14, 2017, you reunited with Nightwish member Marco Hietala on stage for the first time in 12 years. Was it nerve-wracking on the night? 

Tarja: "Naturally I was nervous. I hadn’t seen Marco in 12 years, we hadn’t been in touch. So it would be silly to say I wasn’t nervous, but more than anything I was curious about he was doing. I just wanted to see him. On the day of the show, he came to knock on my [dressing room] door, as he’d been unable to make rehearsals. It was just like, ‘Hey!’ with a massive, long hug after 12 years apart. Just a few things were said like, ‘Great to see you’ and ‘See you soon on stag.e. Then we sang those songs, the last of which was Ave Maria, just the two of us with acoustic guitars. It was very intimate, yet in front of a huge crowd with thousands and thousands of people in front of us. That was a moment neither of us will ever forget. We were very emotional, the whole place exploded with emotion. It was beautiful."

Q: Could that mean there’s potential to re-join Nightwish for one song or one tour, who knows, maybe even an album?

Tarja: "I know a lot of fans would love to see something happen, but it’s a very long distance away… Personally, I don’t see anything happening with me and them, to be perfectly honest. Marco came a little later into the band, he wasn’t there since the beginning, he was always a guy I was close to. Me and (Nightwish keyboardist/leader) Tuomas Holopainen, however, haven’t seen each other in a long time… but we have been in touch. It’s not bad. The past is what it is, we can’t change that. We can only change the future."

Read the complete interview here.

 

In The Raw can be ordered here, or here.

Vinyl Artwork

CD Artwork

Tracklisting:

"Dead Promises" with Björn “Speed” Strid
"Goodbye Stranger" with Cristina Scabbia
"Tears In Rain"
"Railroads"
"You And I"
"The Golden Chamber": Awaken / Loputon yö / Alchemy
"Spirits Of The Sea"
"Silent Masquerade" with Tommy Karevik
"Serene"
"Shadow Play"

Audio samples:

Unboxing video:

"Tears In Rain" video:

"Railroads" video:

"Dead Promises" lyric video: