u/deathvendor

Alright, time to write own review on Tarja’s new "Frisson Noir" album 🙌

I can’t even begin to express how overwhelmed I am by this record! I can definitely call it my favorite top 1 Tarja’s album with no doubt, it’s a completely new level for her. I can see how she has grown as an artist and a songwriter: a year ago I couldn’t even imagine her writing so many songs singlehandedly! The album is full of powerful melodies, sick riffs, symphonic epicness, sincere emotions, interesting songwriting and outstanding creativity… And absolutely amazing modern metal heaviness! When I was listening to it at the party in Warsaw, my jaw was dropped, this masterpiece just left me speechless, and then it felt almost like a torture when I haven’t been able to listen to it again for the whole week 😅 There isn’t a single tune that I find poorly written or mid/bad/weak or whatever: of course I can point out my favorite ones, but even less favorite songs are pretty damn good in my opinion👌 I’ll try my best to describe my feelings about each track on the album and then I’ll give my overall thoughts about the release

Intro/Outro — for me personally it sounds like a signal that is calling us, announcing that something important is about to come, like a bell ringing. And the outro obviously symbolizes the end of the story and also emphasizes how huge and significant it was. I may also point out that Tarja kinda developed this approach from "In The Raw": on that release we can hear a huge pounding sound at the beginning of the first song and at the end of the last one

Frisson Noir — I love this piano intro, it is a very delightful melody, which then turns into heavy riffing full of energy! I enjoy the contrast between different parts of the song: quiet slow verses, and a powerful heavy chorus. This track kinda caught me off guard at the listening party because of its sudden refreshing riff. The song is a great album opener, it definitely gives me this feeling like Tarja is sending us a message "I’m back, I’m ready to rock! Buckle up!" It sounds very fresh and reassuring, especially when she’s singing "Close your eyes, come with me", and I really like how she adds some French words there, especially "quand tout s'éveille" ("when everything awakens" according to Google 😅) — this line represents the mood of the song perfectly ⚡️And btw, is it only me, or does this song actually have a little bit of a Linkin Park vibe? (The chorus of "Faint" comes to my mind)

The Eternal Return — oh god, now we’re getting the most juicy ones 🤤 I absolutely love everything about this track: the rhythm, the riffing, the vocal melody in the verses and in the chorus, the unexpected but yet somehow fitting classical intermission featuring our beloved Tarja’s vocalizations… And those creepy witchy moans and choirs! I mean, for me it’s literally a perfect metal song 🤘I’m a huge fan of such tempo and rhythmic drum pattern, which makes this song a banger for me 🔥 And also the chorus reminds me of Epica a bit, probably because of the vocal melody and the singing style. One of my favorite Tarja’s songs ever for sure!

Leap Of Faith — oh, I’m just gonna come out and say it: bravo, Tarja and bravo Marko 🤩 Remember when Tarja said that she has Marko when she was writing this song? I can definitely hear that! It reminds me of old Nightwish, and not just because Marko is here, but even melodically: there’s something very familiar and nostalgic in these notes, it feels like Tarja subconsciously came up with something resembling those old times because that was the era when she was singing with Marko a lot, maybe it brought some old memories to her… It’s a very beautiful melody in the verses and in the chorus, the symphonic part is powerful and intriguing, their voices sound remarkable together, and as I’ve already mentioned: very nostalgic. I think this would’ve been a very strong single, especially considering how people like the old NW vibes, and the song is very very catchy btw, especially the chorus! This tune has already became an ear worm for me 🤣 But I do understand why Tarja didn’t go with this one for a single: they had already released "Left on Mars" with a video, so it wouldn’t be that sensational as it could’ve been, but I still believe this song is a hit 🔥

At Sea — a lot has been said already about this one, but I’m gonna say it again: I was blown away when this song came out as the first single. As some people like to say: it’s not even a song, it’s a whole composition, like a symphony! Very complex, a bit chaotic and captivating work of pure art, with plenty of emotions in it. Some parts of it are comforting, some are vigorous, some are just mind-blowing and some are nostalgic. And I really like how Tarja compares her difficult life journey to the sea and the music captures this wide spectrum of emotions perfectly! I was shocked that Tarja is even capable of writing something like this on her own. Definitely also one my my favorite songs ❤️

Blaze Forever — this one is also excellent: it’s groovy, and the chorus is very powerful, I can definitely feel the tension is building up there! And the solo with the fast drumming is so satisfying 🤤 And boy, those creepy intermissions with Tarja’s voice backwards, especially in the outro — that gives me shivers down my spine, I’m getting the vibes of horror movies or something. I appreciate a lot that Tarja tries to spice things up, and gives us not just cool heavy groovy song, but adds such weird sounds that bring new unexpected colors to the song. Very well done 🤌 And yeah, after the solo, right before the chorus starts again, there’s a groovy riff where the guitar plays zeros: I can’t help but sing Slipknot’s lyrics "You can't kill me 'cause I'm already inside you" from their track "(sic)" — sorry, can’t unhear that 🤣

The Trace Outlives — very strong and again groovy riffing, catchy chorus, and shamisen that adds another layer to the track — sounds really confident and striking. It resembles me of "What Lies Beneath" era (the songs like "Falling Awake", "In For A Kill", "Dark Star") but it’s sounds heavier which is good 💪 When this single was premiered not so long ago, I was very hyped, because the song just hits me hard, I can also add this one to Tarja’s "best of" list, but I have a small notice about this track: it feels like the fourth chorus is a bit redundant here for me, because we have the second chorus, then this calm section with some words in it, then the third chorus and then again a calm section (just without any lyrics this time, but still feels a bit unnecessary) and then one more chorus. I mean, feels a bit too repetitive and the song structure at the end could’ve been done a bit better, especially considering that this is a single with a story-oriented video, which means that this track kinda represents the album and must be unimpeachable. I do like how she sings a bit differently in the last chorus, it feels satisfying, but it’s just a little too late 😅 I’m guessing she wanted to show off more shamisen maybe, that’s why she added the second soft section, and we can distinctly hear this beautiful instrument playing, but it could’ve done in a more elegant way from the song-writing perspective. Still, because of the riff and the chorus, and the shamisen I wanna put this track to the "one of the best" category 👌 And yeah, don’t know if Tarja noticed how she was inspired by Michael Jackson in the verses, but it sounds very cool anyways and fits the song perfectly

Tango — another favorite song of mine 😅🥰 I think most of us would agree that a collaboration between Tarja and Apocalyptica is something very obvious and it feels like it should’ve already happened long time ago, but it’s never too late! The song feels very expressive musically and lyrically, it has a lot of life and optimism in it. It stands out in front of other tracks on the album for sure, I start to have these warm feelings when I listen to it, and it’s also stuck in my head btw 😅 It’s not a surprise that Tarja’s voice and cello is a perfect combination that has already become a classic and always worked pretty well. On this track it’s obviously pushed even further, I absolutely enjoy a cello solo and it feels so satisfying when the drums speed up! I also noticed that Tarja’s vocalizations bring some "Colors in the dark" vibes ("Mystic Voyage"/"Deliverence" to be specific)

Anemoia — this song obviously gives me goosebumps, but I think need a few more listens to feel it even deeper. I love the voluminous sound of the acoustic guitars that creates additional layers to the sound — it’s always a pleasure to hear something like this. I also appreciate Tarja made a song about such phenomenon as Anemoia (the feeling of nostalgia for events that actually never happened to you), because I personally have this feeling sometimes, especially when it comes to music. In fact, sometimes I do feel Anemoia when I listen to some old Nightwish songs for example, because when Tarja was in the band, I was like 5 years old or something, and of course I didn’t listen to NW at all back then, I didn’t know anything about metal music for that matter, but somehow when I listen to those songs I have this nostalgic feeling like I’m going back to that era, like I was present there as a fan, even though I truly wasn’t. In general, I might have such feeling when I hear some particular bands from the late 90’s-2000’s. And the piano melody reminds me of Rammstein’s song "Klavier" (also a very beautiful song) — who knows, maybe Tarja took an inspiration from them once again (for instance, she told that "Lost Northern Star" was influenced by Rammstein, so I wouldn’t be surprised)

I Don’t Care — well, when this single came out, it divided the fan base, that’s for sure 🤣 I personally thought and still think that this is a good song. I understand why some people might not be impressed by it: since it’s a duet with Dani Filth, they probably expected something more atmospheric like Nymphetamine, but instead we got a much more simple yet catchy song. I might agree that some of Dani’s parts might sound a bit weird, because this song wasn’t actually written with him in mind (which is the opposite to the case with Marko), and Dani’s voice is not that melodic and clean as Tarja’s, and somehow he had to adapt his vocals to the melody that Tarja initially wrote for herself 😅 But I don’t think it sounds that bad, and the chorus sounds actually pretty good with Dani, it’s so straightforward and vigorous in my opinion (and yeah, this is also one of my ear worms of the album 🤣). I also believe that in the context of the album itself, this tune has a good place: there are tracks of a different kind and a lot of them are quite complex and peculiar, so why not to have just a simple catchy song at the end of the album? 😊 I have to mention that initially I much rather preferred a single version, and wasn’t a huge fan of the album one because I preferred to hear them singing separately in the verses and 2 simultaneous voices felt too much, but eventually this album version has grown on me so far, so now I can enjoy them both, and this is good, because when the single came out I was thinking like "Damn, when I’ll be listening to the entire album, I’m gonna have to hear this weird version instead of a normal one 😆", but now it’s fine, and btw the intro of the album version is much better. I do think that "Leap of Faith" could’ve been a stronger single, but as I’ve mentioned before, I understand that a duet with Dani Filth was much more surprising and could draw more attention than a duet with Marko because it already happened a couple of years earlier

Against The Odds — this is a very lovely tune with Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums, coming right from 2016. And yeah, I can feel the vibe of those times. First of all, because the intro of this song was actually used as the concert intro at her live shows back in 2016 (check out her performance at Woodstock in 2016 for example if you don’t remember) — that was a nice surprise, I always loved that intro, it gives me goosebumps every time I rewatch that performance in Poland (it’s one of my favorites). I’m a bit surprised that I didn’t recognize this intro at the listening party, probably because I was too overwhelmed already 🤣 I have to mention that "The Shadow Self" was one of my favorite Tarja’s albums (saying "was", 'cause "Frisson Noir" has successfully overtaken it 👌😅), so I’m glad she included this unreleased track from that era. The song obviously feels so nostalgic for me, especially considering the fact that I started listening to Tarja’s solo music in spring 2016, and I remember when I got to anticipate the new album, that era is very special for me, and I can feel the vibe of those times in this song 🥺 The melody itself is very beautiful and even hypnotizing a bit. Also the track contains that symphonic part that was on the first album snippet uploaded by Tarja in social media — and I remember that feeling when I woke up the next morning, this melody started playing in my head and I was thinking like "which song is that? I need to listen to it!" and then me realizing that it’s not available yet 🤣 Well, thank god, now it is! This a very satisfying album closer, I’m so delighted ❤️

Overall, what I can say about this astonishing album: even though I had quite high expectations (simply because I believed in Tarja and the singles gave me really high hopes) — somehow Tarja still managed to exceed them! As usual it’s very versatile, full of surprises, interesting creative choices and pure art.

At this point my favorite songs are (which you can probably deduce from the review already 😅): "The Eternal Return", "Leap Of Faith", "At Sea”, Blaze Forever", "The Trace Outlives" (with a remark I mentioned earlier) and "Tango" ❤️ The Top 1 track — I can’t be exactly sure, but right now "The Eternal Return" comes to mind as a perfect metal song, so be it 💪

As I’ve already mentioned: from now on this is my number one Tarja’s album for sure 🔥 I remember back in 2022 I was a little bit disappointed that Tarja broke her pattern and didn’t release a new metal record as she always did before (every 3 years), especially after the lockdown when pretty much every band was releasing their unplanned albums because everyone had to stay home and got nothing to do 🤣 But you know what? Now I’m glad she took a break from it and managed to come up with something entirely fresh and sincere. It doesn’t sound forced and the album itself seems pretty unique even within the genre of symphonic metal (well, most of her albums are pretty unique I would say)

Of course we can consider this the beginning of a new era in her music career: I would group the first 2 albums as her first era, next 3 albums as the second one ("Colors In The Dark" being somewhat transitional), and now something completely new has begun! 💪

The modern metal sound of this record is absolutely amazing 🔥 Even though, technically I’ve been waiting for this release for 7 years, I would say that honestly it’s all 10 years (right from the start: since I started listening to her music), because I was always kind of dreaming of Tarja recording something even more heavy than usual. I has always been a fan of such groovy heavier songs as "Ciarán’s Well", "Falling Awake", "In For A Kill", "Demons In You", "Calling From The Wild" etc. Btw, I always prefer Peter’s Tägtgren’s remix of "Lost Northern Star" which could’ve also fit this album perfectly sound-wise (no surprise there, Peter is very good at making good catchy heavy music, love his work in Lindemann, Hypocrisy, Pain, but I digress 😅) So I could always see a potential in Tarja to release something like this, and I was kinda dreaming about such album for a long time. All the previous albums are amazing, that’s for sure, in fact they made me a fan of her music, but this one is exceptional! It’s almost perfect I should say, it’s 10/10 for me, no hesitations🥇And seriously I would include it into my personal top music albums in general, and also call it the album of the year 2026 — this is how impressed I am 🤤

I wanna mention that I enjoyed some lower guitar tunings in the songs ("The Trace Outlives" is played in A# tuning, while "At Sea" and "Leap Of Faith" are even lower, and they’re played in A). Yeah, I remember she had "The Crying Moon" (good song btw) back in 2010 which is also played in A, but overall it’s not that common for her guitarists to go lower then B tuning (B/C have become the most common ones in her songs in the previous albums)

I also need to honor a very important guy: shoutout to Neal Avron for the incredible sound mixing! It was the best decision to collaborate with him, the guy made the album sound as it should be 💪 Great quality, the guitars are amazing, the symphonic parts sound good as well. Honestly, my favorite sound mixing before "Frisson Noir" came out was on "What Lies Beneath" and I actually think that FN is closer to WLB sound-wise more then to any other Tarja’s release. I was actually complaining several times about "In The Raw" sound (I love the material, the songs are great, but the mixing not so much), so I didn’t necessarily like the direction she was heading back then (talking strictly about the sound engineering now) and I’m so happy that Neal gave her this fresh outstanding modern metal sound!

I also wanna point out that I’m very proud of Tarja: she wrote 7 songs just by herself singlehandedly, and 3 songs with co-authors (and yeah, one of them is "Against The Odds" which was written back in 2016-ish when she was almost always writing songs with someone else). And all the lyrics are obviously 100% hers. Just think about it: typically she used to have only one song fully written by herself on each release (give or take), and sometimes someone even could write lyrics for her (and on her first metal album there are 4 songs that that she didn’t even touch during the writing process), so it’s a very huge step forward! Even before this album and its singles came out, I noticed that whenever Tarja writes a song by herself it turns out pretty fascinating: take "Shadow Play" for instance — still one of favorites, or "Mystic Voyage", "Witch Hunt" and this relatively recent song "Together" was a very good sign for me: that Tarja still has it in her and something good might be coming. And now she proved me right (at least for me 😅): the more independently she writes the stuff, the more superb is the result. Which again is a good reason to say that this is the album I’ve been anticipating for longer then 7 years (yeah, always wanted to hear more her personal songs)

In conclusion: yeah, I know, my review doesn’t contain that much criticism, does it? 😅 Only small remarks that are not even that critical but what can I say? This is what happens when you rate something as 10/10. This is my sincere reaction to it, I genuinely love FN, and like I said: this album is exceptional for me! It happens very rarely when some band/artist records an album that makes you just think: "this is over the top, best of the best, as perfect as it could be!", and this one is the case for me 🥺 Some people might find it more flawed than I do and this is absolutely fine, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my review 🤗

THANK YOU 🙏