The Shadow Self

The Shadow Self is the sixth studio album released by Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen. The record was released on 5 August 2016. The record produced two singles.

For the psychological concept, see Shadow (psychology).

The Shadow Self
Studio album by
Tarja
Released5 August 2016 (2016-08-05)[1]
Recorded2015−2016
GenreSymphonic metal[2]
Length1:06:03
LabelearMUSIC
ProducerTarja Turunen
Tarja chronology
The Brightest Void
(2016)		 The Shadow Self
(2016)		 In The Raw
(2019)
Tarja album chronology
Ave Maria – En Plein Air
(2015)		 The Shadow Self
(2016)		 From Spirits and Ghosts
(2017)
Singles from The Shadow Self
  1. "Innocence"
    Released: 5 August 2016[3]
  2. "No Bitter End"
    Released: 5 August 2016[4]
  3. "Demons in You"
    Released: 8 October 2016[5]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Hammer (GER)[6]
Metal Hammer' (UK)[7]
Metal Injection[8]
Myglobalmind[9]
Whiplash.net[10]

Background

The songwriting started just after the release of Colours in the Dark in 2013, and Tarja gave hints through her Facebook and Twitter accounts along the way. In the start of 2016, Tarja started to reveal more bits about the album and put up bits of lyrics on Facebook. Tarja also stated on her Twitter account that there would be two collaborations with two woman singers on the album.

On 17 October 2015, Tarja performed two new songs, "No Bitter End" and "Goldfinger", a James Bond theme cover, which would be the first glimpses of the new album.

On 14 March 2016, the artwork and album name finally got revealed, Turunen said that the title of The Shadow Self was inspired by Scottish singer Annie Lennox: "I came across an Annie Lennox interview some time ago on the internet, and I was reading about her speaking about 'the shadow self,' about a darker side of us all. Everybody has a darker side, and we should probably just appreciate that it exists, but especially we artists. We get a lot of inspiration from our darker side".[11] On March 22, 2016, Earmusic released a snippet of "No Bitter End"[12] on YouTube.

On 7 April 2016, Earmusic revealed the prequel named The Brightest Void, released on 3 June with nine tracks. It is an album by itself but also ties together with The Shadow Self.[13] On 14 April 2016, Earmusic released a trailer for the coming video "No Bitter End", the whole video will be released on 20 April. On 27 May 2016, Tarja announced that The Brightest Void was available for streaming on Apple Music. The album was once again mixed in Austin, Texas at '62 Studios by Tim Palmer.

The Yin-yang symbol or Taijitu

The Shadow Self was influenced by the Yin-Yang concept.[14] The Brightest Void represents the light and The Shadow Self represents the darkness.[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Innocence"
6:03
2."Demons in You" (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)
4:44
3."No Bitter End"
4:26
4."Love to Hate"
  • Turunen
  • Erik Nyholm
  • Angela Heldmann
5:57
5."Supremacy" (Muse cover)Matthew Bellamy5:03
6."The Living End"
4:41
7."Diva"
  • Turunen
  • Wollbeck
  • Lindblom
5:45
8."Eagle Eye" (featuring Toni Turunen) (album version)
4:36
9."Undertaker"
6:41
10."Calling from the Wild"
  • Turunen
  • Scholpp
  • Lindblom
5:13
11."Too Many" (Including hidden track: "This Is a Hit-Song")
  • Turunen
  • Guillermo De Medio
  • Heldmann
7:48 (12:53)
Total length:01:06:03
Special Edition Bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Interview"16:55
2."No Bitter End" (Official Video Clip)4:03
3."Innocence" (Official Video Clip)5:29

Personnel

Musicians
Additional musicians
Turunen with Alissa White-Gluz live at Wacken Open Air 2016

Production

  • James Dooley - orchestral and choir arrangements
  • Bart Hendrickson - orchestral and choir arrangements
  • Mel Wesson
  • Tim Palmer - mixing

[16]

Charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 39
Czech Albums Chart[20] 3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] 13
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 75
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24] 46
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 149
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[27] 23

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[28] Gold 5,000*
Summaries

*sales figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Tarja - 'THE BRIGHTEST VOID – THE PREQUEL' JUNE 3rd, 2016 -- 'The Shadow Self' - new album out AUGUST 5th, 2016". Tarja-theshadowself.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. Ali Cooper (23 August 2016). "Tarja Turunen – The Shadow Self". Rock Sins. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. "SINGLES / INNOCENCE". tarjaturunen.com. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  4. "SINGLES / NO BITTER END". tarjaturunen.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. "SINGLES / DEMONS IN YOU". tarjaturunen.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. Gratzke, Lisa. "Tarja The Shadow Self review". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  7. Dome, Malcolm. "Tarja The Shadow Self review". Metal Hammer. TeamRock. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  8. Stewart-Panko, Kevin. "Tarja The Shadow Self review". Metal Injection. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. D. Zukowski, Zena. "Tarja The Shadow Self Review". Myglobalmind. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  10. Dela Cela, Matheus. "Tarja Turunen: Superando a si própria a cada álbum". Wiplash.net. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  11. O'Neill, Christina. "Tarja Turunen reveals Annie Lennox inspiration". Teamrock.com. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  12. "Tarja "No Bitter End" Snippet - Album "The Shadow Self" OUT AUGUST 5th, 2016". 22 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  13. "earMUSIC - TARJA ANNOUNCES "THE BRIGHTEST VOID" - THE PREQUEL & REVEALS COVER ARTWORK & TRACKLIST". Ear-music.net. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  14. Sousa, Diego. "Tarja Turunen confirma retorno ao Brasil". poraodamusica.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  15. "TARJA TURUNEN: 'I've Gone Through Some Kind Of Self-Discovery In Recent Years'". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  16. "Tarja - 'THE BRIGHTEST VOID – THE PREQUEL' JUNE 3rd, 2016 -- 'The Shadow Self' - new album out AUGUST 5th, 2016". Tarja-theshadowself.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Tarja – The Shadow Self" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Tarja – The Shadow Self" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Tarja – The Shadow Self" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  20. "Czech Official Chat- Week 32, 2016" (in Czech). Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  21. "Tarja Turunen: The Shadow Self" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  22. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 32, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tarja – The Shadow Self" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  24. "Spanishcharts.com – Tarja – The Shadow Self". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Tarja – The Shadow Self". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  26. Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 13.08.2016 (wk32)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  27. "Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  28. "Russian album certifications – Tarja – The Shadow Self" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Missing or empty |url= (help)
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