The Shadow Self

For the psychological concept, see Shadow (psychology).

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 three singles.

The Shadow Self
Studio album by Tarja
Released	5 August 2016 (2016-08-05)[1]
Recorded	2015–2016
Genre	Symphonic metal[2]
Length	1:06:03
Label	earMUSIC
Producer	Tarja Turunen
Tarja chronology
The Brightest Void (2016) The Shadow Self (2016) From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas) (2017)
Singles from The Shadow Self
"Innocence" Released: 5 August 2016[3] "No Bitter End" Released: 5 August 2016[4] "Demons in You" Released: 8 October 2016[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Innocence"	Tarja Turunen Anders Wollbeck Mattias Lindblom	6:03
2.	"Demons in You" (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)	Turunen Julian Barrett Erik Nyholm Alex Jonson Christel Sundberg	4:44
3.	"No Bitter End"	Turunen Alex Scholpp Lindblom Daniel Pieper	4:26
4.	"Love to Hate"	Turunen Erik Nyholm Angela Heldmann	5:57
5.	"Supremacy" (Muse cover)	Matthew Bellamy	5:03
6.	"The Living End"	Turunen Johnny Andrews	4:41
7.	"Diva"	Turunen Wollbeck Lindblom	5:45
8.	"Eagle Eye" (featuring Toni Turunen) (album version)	Turunen Pauli Rantasalmi	4:36
9.	"Undertaker"	Turunen Atli Örvarsson Lindblom	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.	Title	Length
1.	"Interview"	16:55
2.	"No Bitter End" (Official Video Clip)	4:03
3.	"Innocence" (Official Video Clip)	5:29

Personnel

Musicians

• Tarja Turunen – vocals, piano
• Christian Kretschmar – keyboard
• Kevin Chown – bass
• Max Lilja – cello (cut 3)
• Alex Scholpp – guitar
• Doug Wimbish – bass
• Julian Barrett
• Peter Barrett

Additional musicians

• Luis Conte – percussion
• Mike Coolen – drums
• Chad Smith – drums (cuts 2,3,11)
• Guillermo De Medio
• Izumi Kawakatsu
• Mervi Myllyoja
• Atli Örvarsson
• Nico Polo
• Fernando Scarcella
• Torsten Stenzel
• Mike Terrana
• Toni Turunen – vocals on "Eagle Eye"
• Alissa White-Gluz – vocals on "Demons in You"
• Anders Wollbeck

Production

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

^[16]

Charts and sales

Chart performance for The Shadow Self Chart (2016) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 19 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 39 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 130 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 5 French Albums (SNEP)[23] 71 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 7 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[25] 46 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 11 UK Rock and Metal Albums (BPI)[27] 8 UK Top Independent Albums[27] 13 UK Official Physical Sales[27] 70 UK Albums (BPI)[28] 149 US Top Heatseeker (Billboard)[29] 23 Sales Certifications Region Certification Russia (NFPR) Gold[30]