Former NIGHTWISH vocalist TARJA TURUNEN has made clear she has no wish to revisit the painful circumstances of her 2005 exit from the symphonic metal pioneers, describing the end of her tenure as a genuinely unhappy period of her life.
Speaking to Metal Hammer Spain, the Finnish soprano was blunt about how she felt during her final stretch with the band. "It was so miserable. It was not happy times," she said. "Why? You do music — it should be happy."
TURUNEN was dismissed from NIGHTWISH at the conclusion of the band's 2005 tour by means of an open letter, published on the group's official website the same night she learned of the decision. The letter informed her that "business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important." Keyboardist and chief songwriter Tuomas Holopainen would later describe the move as "the most difficult thing I ever had to do."
For TURUNEN, the manner of the split confirmed that the people she had shared a stage with were never truly her friends. While she has spoken about the possibility of making peace, she has been equally clear that the wound left a permanent mark. "Maybe one day I'll forgive, but I will never forget," she has said.
Two decades on, the singer paints a starkly different picture of her life as a solo artist. Asked whether she is happier now, she answered without hesitation: "I'm really happy. Very happy." She credited the close-knit, familial atmosphere within her solo band and crew — a working environment she contrasts directly with the tension of her final NIGHTWISH years.
TURUNEN remains as productive as ever. Her latest album, "Frisson Noir," arrived June 12 via earMUSIC — a ten-track set boasting an impressive list of guest collaborators including CRADLE OF FILTH's Dani Filth, APOCALYPTICA, former NIGHTWISH bandmate Marko Hietala and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith. The record was mixed by Grammy-winning producer Neal Avron.
Since leaving NIGHTWISH, TURUNEN has built one of the most successful solo careers in symphonic metal, releasing a steady stream of studio albums and touring the world relentlessly. Her comments suggest that, however bitter the ending, the path it set her on has ultimately led somewhere far happier.