What Lies Beneath (Tarja album)
What Lies Beneath | ||||||||||||
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File:Tarja-WLB.jpg | ||||||||||||
Studio album by Tarja | ||||||||||||
Released | 31 August 2010 | |||||||||||
Recorded | Petrax Studio, Hollola, Finland, Stardust, January 2010 La Nave de Osberg Studios, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Slovak Radio Recording Studios, Bratislava, Slovakia, April 2010 |
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Genre | Symphonic metal, classical crossover | |||||||||||
Length | 55:23 / 73:00 | |||||||||||
Label | Vertigo/Universal (Europe, Australia, Asia, South America) The End Records (US) Avalon (Japan) |
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Producer | Tarja & Mic | |||||||||||
Tarja chronology | ||||||||||||
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What Lies Beneath is the third album by the Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, which was released on 1 September 2010 in Finland, on 3 September in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and on 14 September in Latin and North America.[1] It is the first of Tarja's albums in which she is credited for composition on every track.[1]
In 2008, after the first leg of the Storm World Tour, Turunen took time to compose new songs.[2] She announced in her blog two songs that she had composed in her time off, "Wisdom of Wind" and "Enough", both later released on the My Winter Storm extended edition.[3] On January 25, Turunen announced on her blog the name of her follow up to My Winter Storm and talked about the album, revealing titles and lyrics.[2] What Lies Beneath, which sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release, landed at position 24 on the Billboard's Top Heatseekers, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists.[4] In Finland, it was at 6th position after two months on the official Finnish charts, also spending two months on the German Top 100, one and a half months on the Austrian Top 40, and a full month on the charts in Switzerland, Belgium and Greece,[5] ending 2010 at 13th position on Billboard's Top 100 of best-selling albums in Europe.[4]
To promote the album, Turunen started the What Lies Beneath World Tour on 12 June 2010, which ended on 8 April 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It started with a special concert in Rio de Janeiro, during the big international festival Rock in Rio, on 15 September 2011.[6][7] Tarja's first live DVD, Act I, was filmed during two nights in Rosario, Argentina, on 30 and 31 March 2012.
Contents
Background and composition
In 2008, after the first leg of the Storm World Tour, Turunen took time to compose new songs.[8] She revealed in her blog two songs that she composed in her time off, "Wisdom Of Wind" and "Enough", both later released on the My Winter Storm Extended edition.[9]
On 25 January, Turunen posted on her blog announcing the name of her follow up to My Winter Storm and talking about the album:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
My friends,
Happy 2009!
In the last months I've been writing a lot of music for my new album.... Song writing is always an amazing learning experience and it has been a pleasure to discuss music with different people. The album process is still going on and I have more songs that are in the working.... With My Winter Storm I chose the name of the album in the early stages and that helped me to create the concept for the album. With the new album I decided to do it the same way, so I searched for an inspiring title and all the songs are one way or another related to it. So I leave you now with the working title of my new album: "What Lies Beneath".[10]
After the break in her tour Tarja returned with the second leg, called "Summer Storm", which started on 5 June, in which she played a new song called "If You Believe", which is meant to be released on What Lies Beneath. In a video interview with Metalhead magazine, on 21 June, Tarja said that it "[...] will be a continuation of the method that I used on my first album, My Winter Storm.[10] It is a very experimental album and has been or is My Winter Storm. But some elements are more worked, for example the guitars in some songs. It's an album [that is] more mature and more personal than the first". In another interview in a Romanian magazine, she stated that the album "is an album more mature, the songs are more "film" and have strong lyrics.[10] People around me affect me, the books of Paulo Coelho, the nature and the mysteries of life. Musically the album is a mixture of metal, soundtrack and classical music. It will be a continuation of the previous one. It will be very experimental."[10] In an interview with a Venezuelan radio on 19 May 2009, Tarja said that she has twenty songs ready to record,[11] and she announced via her official blog that the recording process was finished on 14 April 2010.[11]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Storm | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album was well-received among the critics and the fans; it charted in 18 countries, reaching the Top 20 in seven and the Top 10 in three.
The critics generally praised her voice and originality in the album, with a critic of "Reflects of Darkness" saying that "'What Lies Beneath' is fresh, powerful and captivating so that you cannot ignore it. You're either going to love it or hate it. My advice: love it, it's worth it!".[16]
George Pacheco, from About.com, gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, saying that the album presents an "uneven tone" but also praised Tarja's voice, saying, "No one with ears will ever deny that Tarja Turunen can sing."[13]
Kyle Ward, from Sputnikmusic webzine, also gave the album 3 stars out of 5, stating that the album is "enjoyable" but far better than her previous album, as he says that "the songs on What Lies Beneath are a stark contrast to the disjointed and ill-conceived tracks that comprised My Winter Storm."[14]
Metal Storm criticized the songs, saying "Tarja's compositions are not enough for her vocal abilities" and stated that the highlight of the album is the "simplistic yet symphonic/atmospheric character and Tarja's operatic vocal lines".[15]
Track listings
International Edition | |||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | "Anteroom of Death" (featuring Van Canto) | Michelle Leonard, Kiko Masbaum, Tarja Turunen | 4:41 |
2. | "Until My Last Breath" | Johnny Andrews, Turunen | 4:24 |
3. | "I Feel Immortal" | Toby Gad, Lindy Robbins, Kerli, Turunen | 4:35 |
4. | "In for a Kill" | Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Turunen | 4:35 |
5. | "Underneath" | Andrews, Turunen | 5:27 |
6. | "Little Lies" | Alex Scholpp, Andrews, Turunen | 4:37 |
7. | "Rivers of Lust" | Kid Crazy, Johan Westmar, Kristoffer Karlsson, Jessika Lundstrom, Turunen | 4:24 |
8. | "Dark Star" (featuring Phil Labonte) | Andrews, Turunen | 4:33 |
9. | "Falling Awake" (featuring Joe Satriani) | Andrews, Turunen | 5:14 |
10. | "The Archive of Lost Dreams" | Turunen | 4:49 |
11. | "Crimson Deep" | Bart Hendrickson, Angela Heldmann, Turunen | 7:35 |
US Edition | |||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | "Anteroom of Death" | 4:41 | |
2. | "Until My Last Breath" | 4:24 | |
3. | "Dark Star" | 4:33 | |
4. | "Underneath" | 5:27 | |
5. | "Little Lies" | 4:37 | |
6. | "Rivers of Lust" | 4:24 | |
7. | "In for a Kill" | 4:35 | |
8. | "Montañas de Silencio" (Exclusive US track) | Martin Tillman, Turunen | 4:25 |
9. | "Falling Awake" | 5:14 | |
10. | "The Archive of Lost Dreams" | 4:49 | |
11. | "Crimson Deep" | 7:35 |
Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc | |||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | "We Are" | Wollbeck, Lindblom, Turunen | 4:16 |
2. | "Naiad" | Torsten Stenzel, Heldmann, Adrian Zagoritis, Turunen | 7:19 |
3. | "Still of the Night" (Whitesnake cover) | David Coverdale, John Sykes | 6:33 |
4. | "Tarja Talks About WLB" (On international release only) | 13:58 |
Japanese Edition | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Anteroom of Death" | 4:41 |
2. | "Until My Last Breath" | 4:24 |
3. | "Naiad" | 7:19 |
4. | "Dark Star" | 4:33 |
5. | "Underneath" | 5:27 |
6. | "Little Lies" | 4:37 |
7. | "Still of the Night" (Whitesnake cover) | 6:33 |
8. | "Rivers of Lust" | 4:24 |
9. | "In for a Kill" | 4:35 |
10. | "I Feel Immortal" | 4:35 |
11. | "We Are" | 4:16 |
12. | "Falling Awake" | 5:14 |
13. | "The Archive of Lost Dreams" | 4:49 |
14. | "Crimson Deep" | 7:35 |
Dreamers Box Set Bonus Disc | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Dark Star" (Tarja lead vocals version) | 4:40 |
2. | "Montañas de Silencio" | 4:21 |
3. | "If You Believe" | 6:49 |
4. | "The Crying Moon" | 3:53 |
5. | "Underneath" (Orchestral version) | 5:00 |
6. | "I Feel Immortal" (Single version) | 4:27 |
7. | "Falling Awake" (featuring Jason Hook) | 4:40 |
8. | "The Good Die Young" (performed by Scorpions & Tarja) | 5:12 |
9. | "Naiad" (Instrumental extended version) | 11:31 |
Personnel
Credits for What Lies Beneath adapted from liner notes.[17]
Musicians
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Production
- Mic - producer, engineer on track 8
- James Dooley - orchestral arrangements
- Mel Wesson - ambient music design and electronic arrangements
- Jetro Vainio, Peter Fuchs, Mario Altamirano, Martin Toledo - recording engineers
- Tim Palmer - mixing on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13
- Colin Richardson - mixing on tracks 4, 6, 8, 12, 14
- Martyn Ford - mixing on tracks 4, 6, 8, 12
- Slamm Andrews - orchestra and choir mixing
- Louie Teran - mastering
- Marcelo Cabuli - executive producer
Charts performance
References
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External links
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