Hi! I'm back! I've had one of the greatest times in my life it was truly awesome to meet Tarja! Now before anyone says anything, I don't want to see anyone who hasn't met her say again "Tarja is a b**ch" because that is simply NOT TRUE. She stayed FOUR HOURS with us, the fans, to answer our questions and get to know us even though her record company was telling her she had other things to do. She is a very down to earth woman, she is very shy, but also extremely kind, funny and careful. After the interview, she started talking to us and in the end personally I had completely forgotten she was THE "Tarja Turunen" because she seemed to me like someone I would meet in the street and make conversation with in order to be friends. I really think we all ended up friends with Tarja and that was amazing!

(We even had cakes and tea during the meeting but that's another matter... :jiji: )

The journey went like this:
1). Video-interview shot in Ireland where Tarja greets us and talks about MWS. We see clips of the making-off of the album and the video.
2). Video of "I Walk Alone"
3). We got to hear 8 full songs from MWS (the only ones that are currently finished).
4). Interview with Tarja
5). Signing session + talk with Tarja
6). Photo with Tarja and the group of winners

So I'll start with my report. ^_^

I arrived right on time. Many people were already there. The event was situated in a very luxurious hotel of London. The winners were people from all ages and both gender and many from all over Europe. Many were dressed in a gothic way so I was looking odd since I usually dress in a more "every day life" way lol. Anyway... The person responsible from Universal greeted us, thanked us for coming and then played the first video. The video was kind of interesting but nothing really special. We could see the making off of IWA (video) and MWS and Tarja was talking about how much she was happy to be able to experiment with her voice. During the video, some extracts from the songs on MWS were played. She also mentions that there is nothing better than going on stage with a rock band and that the word "dark" is the word that describes her album the best. That's pretty much all there is to say about that video lol.

Then we got to see the video of IWA in excellent quality with the sound being turned on really loud. You've all already seen the video so I don't think there's any need of saying more.

Then we got to hear 8 songs from MWS. They announced only the title of the first one, so I had to guess some of the other ones. I took notes to remember how they sounded like because I was way to scared of making a bootleg, taking into account that the man responsible for universal was watching us lol. I know I had promised therefore I apologize to all of you for not doing it. So let's start:

1). Lost Northen Star

This track is one of the heaviest songs I've heard in a long time. It starts with Tarja singing "haaa haaa" then the guitar enters, the intro becomes extremely scary, then the guitars start to become much more powerful while Tarja keeps on singing "haaa haa" hauntingly. Then Tarja's real voice enters and the guitars explode, agressing your ears terribly like blast beats. Tarja sings with her pop voice on the verses and with her operatic voice on the chorus. You can hear a Nightwish influence in the second verse. After the second chorus you hear like a ghost whispering which scared the hell out of me when I heard it! :blink: The music then slows down featuring Tarja's pop voice for a little rest but the blast-beats are back soon and we get to hear a very agressive guitar solo. After the last chorus, the music later fades with the scary whispering ghost we heard earlier and strange noises reminding of whales or the kind of noise we hear at the Poles. This song is definetely not catchy nor popy I warn you. It's very agressive.

2). (Unknown title)

The songs starts with a strange ticking noise soon followed by guitars and a keyboard. Tarja's voice appears later in a very very scary way. The guitars attack and become agressive. This song is more catchy than the previous one especially due to its chorus. Tarja's voice later turns nearly robotic and the orchestra kicks in. The orchestra starts melting with the heavy guitars. "Here she comes..." sings Tarja on the chorus and we get to hear a guitar solo which is quickly joined by violins. A background voice appears then the guitars and the orchestra come back. Tarja uses her pop voice all along the song (the Century Child pop voice I mean). And before you are allowed to breathe, the song finishes in an instant.

3). Oasis (I guessed)

Epic mysterious intro featuring a double bass and a harp and a constant noise reminding of the sound of the wind. Very appeasing! The flute appears melting with the rest and all of this is quickly replaced by a piano. Tarja's voice enters singing "Hooo Haaa" and this gives you the illusion you're on a beach listening to the music made by the tides of the sea. The piano becomes very melancholic and someone starts breathing on top of it. Tarja starts singing in an operatic way in Finish (only three or four lines) then the instrumental part comes back. This song is mostly instrumental, it's about creating an appeasing atmosphere between all the blastbeats found on the other songs.

4). Sing For Me

This songs starts with strange chants that I would compare to warriors going to war. Tarja sings "I need you to sing, sing for me my land, here inside my mind for this heart of mine". This is a very epic track, like the BO of a movie. When the choir kicks in, following Tarja's operatic voice, it becomes a huge eargasm comparable to Ghost Love Score. The guitars arrive as Tarja's voice returns to pop still followed by the choir. The music fades and the "warrior" chants come back with the noise of cristal being broken.

5). (Unknown title)

The intro is with a keyboard and guitars, reminding me a bit of NW. Tarja's pop voice is backed by guitars screaming once again. This is another very agressive track BUT more or less catchy. Tarja sings pop during the verses backed by agressive guitars. There is a small guitar solo before the chorus which features the lyrics "to die alive". Choirs kick in and once again turn into a big eargasm. Tarja's voice comes back tripled still followed by heavy guitars. The choir arrives again and Tarja starts singing with all the strenght in her operatic voice "to die alive, to die alive!!!". The songs fades out on a keyboard solo.

6). (Unknown title maybe "The Seer" or "Minor Heaven" I'm no sure)

The song begins like a ballad with a double bass. Tarja sings with her full operatic vocal range on this track it's really really stunning! She reaches very high heights. The beginning of the song is a mix between "Kuolema tekeii tajtelijan" and "Two for Tragedy". As the song advances it gains more and more power and finally the guitars kick in in a pretty heavy way still backing Tarja's operatic voice. Then there is a guitar solo and the song starts fading with Tarja singing "Heaven, heaven...". Surprisingly (even though you think the song is finished) the music comes back for a final chorus where Tarja reaches very high notes.

7). (Unknown title)

The intro reminds me of the noises of a jungle or a tropical forest. The guitars suddenly explode and Tarja starts singing in a very creepy way. The choirs arrive and Tarja now sings with her operatic voice. Then there is a guitar solo (very heavy!!) and Tarja's voice comes back, followed by those agressive guitars. A man grunts for two seconds and Tarja starts singing again in a creepy innocent way. The choirs come back and Tarja continues singing creepily. This song has a very scary atmosphere! "She sees, she dreams, she prays...". The chorus is catchy. Ghost whispering arrive as Tarja sings with her operatic voice. Then there is a guitar solo topped with Tarja singing "ooh, hipee".

(Unknown Title)

This is a ballad. The intro is slow and atmospheric. Tarja begins with her pop voice and then turns to her operatic one. This song is really beautiful and full of emotion. This is one of the rare songs where Tarja with her operatic voice convays a strong emotion. The song fades with the orchestra.

From what you can see in my review I was totally blown away by these songs. The man from the record company told us "as you can see this album is full of variety" and this is what I concluded as well. When the music stopped I was speechless lol.

We then went on interviewing Tarja. "I'm shaking so don't think you're the only one nervous here." she jocked when she arrived. Several people asked her questions but I don't remember much so I will tell you the only ones I remember. The magazine will be featuring this interview next month so it doesn't matter. ^^ First I told Tarja her songs were amazing then I posed my question. I asked her about Bye Bye Beautiful and she didn't know what I was talking about lol. I told her it was a song NW had done about her and she was surprised. She had only heard one song from NW and it was Eva. She seemed worried about the content of the song so people reassured her it wasn't terrible. Later I asked her how she thought her second album would sound like. And she was like "OMG i've just finished the first one" and she laughed. She told me she thinks it would sound like MWS. Someone asked her what was her favourite NW song and she answered "Ghost Love Score". The person who asked said they thought it was "Ever Dream" but Tarja laughed and hided her mouth to say no. :jiji: Someone asked her what was the worst rumor she ever read about herself. She answered it was the rumor saying she doesn't care about her fans (I quote) "because that is simply not true". Someone asked her why she was making a metal album if she doesn't like metal in the first place. Tarja answered it wasn't true, that she did like metal and I can't remember the rest of the answer. :ph43r: Tarja also said that there are no songs that related to NW on the album. The songs relate more the bad times and good times she's had in her life in general. She has co-written 9 songs on the album and written one entirely herself. She said she will sing some Nightwish songs at her concert, some songs that have never been played live before and that she felt no shame about doing that since these songs are part of her past and she still enjoys singing them. She also said if she were a shoe she's be a black shoe made of leather. She has no stylist and simply wears the things she likes to wear (she had the same jacket as me which proves it :jiji: ). She also mentionned she loves headbanging on stage. She said she can't stare at pictures of her from AFF and Oceanborn because she thinks she's aweful there lol.
After the interview Tarja went to sit at a table and we were offered posters that she would then sign. She hugged and kissed each person when they came to make her sign their posters. Some people came back to make her sign other things and each time she hugged them. She asked us where we came from, what was our nam, tried to start a conversation with us about anything we wanted. We took pictures it was fantastic! After the signing was over, she came and started talking and jocking with a bit everyone. A girl was crying so Tarja hugged her. It was a really intense moment, not only for the fans but also for Tarja. We could see how happy she was to be with us.
Then we took a group photo, the one that will be in the magazine next month. Tarja was in the middle and we were all jocking and laughing because the photograph was a bit of a perfectionist lol.
After the photo was over, Tarja started talking to everyone again for some time until the person responsible for the record company told her she had to go because another interviewer had been already waiting for quite some time. She didn't want to go and none of us did either. She hugged a couple of us, then we all left the room and she went to sit with the interviewer on a sofa telling us goodbye.

This journey was so amazing! After all I heard, I'm still in shock of having been able to notice how great of a person Tarja is. I didn't really care about her personality, I like her voice before anything else, but I was really amazed at her attitude towards the fans. Like I said, it felt like we were her friends. I still can't realize I met Tarja Turunen because she was so natural, far away from the diva she is often accused of being.
It was a really great experience. It's sad none of you were able to make it. But if Tarja comes near where you live I truly advise you to go to see her. She'll be doing signing sessions after each of her concerts.

by Nemodawn