Ethereal Metal Webzine

Review © Jessica Clingempeel | CEO Of Ethereal Metal Webzine | Tarja's USA Admin

I have been a fan of Tarja’s since she has been with “the band”. I have followed her then and throughout her entire solo career. I have had the privilege to review most of her albums. As a huge music lover, I tend to stay with those who move me the most. Tarja, and many others already know that her music has been an earthly savior to me. Without her music I would have succumbed to the abused past, depression, to the suicidal thoughts. Even then, not every song of Tarja’s have moved me to the point of tears. Every album has its treasure, but for an entire album to move me can be hard. In the Raw has done that. This entire album has moved me to tears, and with every listen that passion I have for these tracks grow stronger. No artist has ever done this to me, NONE!

The album starts off with Dead Promises which many have already heard as it was released as the first single. The album version however features Björn “Speed” Strid who gives his own sound to the song. While Tarja’s solo version is great, Björn made it even better. I also have to mention the song is at its best live. The rawness and the power is greatly seen on stage.

The second track, Goodbye Stranger, also features another collaboration with Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil. This is a collaboration many fans have been wanting for years now and finally it has come to light. I don’t think this song would have worked without Cristina honestly. The melodies blend very well and each vocalist gives their own touch to the song.

The main track that won me over was the song You and I. It is a simple ballad accompanied by a piano, but the lyrics will pull at the heartstrings of the hardest metalhead. This song alone is what won me over without having even finished the album yet. Not everyone has that special someone, I never thought I would, but am blessed to now. Then it goes into the next track, flowing smoothly as if one full song, The Golden Chamber.

The Golden Chamber contains very few lyrics, which are in Finnish. The music and the humming of Tarja’s voice takes you to another world and even without many words tells a story. Tarja, being a huge fan of film music, integrated that into this song, and I think it could be used in a film.

I have to also give credit to everyone else who has worked on this album. The instrumentations are well blended and complement her voice well in this album. The orchestration is also very well done and put together. It would be interesting to hear just an all orchestral version of this album.

Without spoiling too much of this golden treasure I will end the review here. This album contains something for everyone, no matter what genre you are into. Some songs are heavy, some are not, but there are no flaws. That could be the fangirl in me talking though. Make your own opinion. Expect the unexpected.

Other album mentions: Tommy Karevik from Seventh Wonder/Kamelot and Carlinhos Brown.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Pre-order the album now at: https://tarja.tmstor.es/ Out August 30th, 2019.