Video: TARJA TURUNEN Performs In Stuttgart, Germany

Fan-filmed video footage of Tarja Turunen's October 14 performance at Im Wizemann in Stuttgart, Germany can be seen below.

Tarja's latest heavy rock album, "The Shadow Self", was made available on August 5 via earMUSIC.

While waiting for the release of "The Shadow Self", Tarja issued the new album's prequel, "The Brightest Void".

In a recent interview with 1340Mag.com, Tarja talked about how her music has been accepted in both the traditional and rock markets. She said: "I have always enjoyed the respect from my fellow colleagues and from the critics in general. When I started singing with operatic vocals in a heavy metal band, which became one of the biggest ones in Europe in a short period of time, I was always very clear about my background in classical music. I never left the training of my lyrical voice behind and actually I am training still very hard to become better in what I do. Maybe the hard work of mine has been seen by the people in general."

Tarja also spoke about the lyrical themes covered on "The Shadow Self". She said: "All the songs one way or another are connected with the theme of 'The Shadow Self'. We all have our 'darker' side that sometimes pops out in certain situations as anger or frustration or similar. Maybe we might not even understand why we act weirdly in these situations, but it just happens. Many times it is just too scary to start searching for the answers from inside of you. I have started to understand that there is this darkness in me as well, but my darkness is the creative force that I use to create music. I love my darkness. Both albums are very personal to me, honestly, and for sure I write from my own experiences and what I have seen during my journeys around the world with music."

"The Brightest Void" was released on June 3 via earMUSIC as a CD digipak, LP+download code and as a digital download.

"The Brightest Void" featured three guest artists: fellow Finnish star Michael Monroe, icon of the glam rock scene and former frontman of inspiring band HANOI ROCKS; Chad Smith (who doesn't need any further introduction) and a new mix of WITHIN TEMPTATION's collaboration "Paradise (What About Us)", carried out with Tarja and world-renowned sound engineer and producer Tim Palmer.