This Christmas, former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen is putting a dark, gothic twist on traditional holiday songs for her forthcoming Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas) album. Halloween hasn't even arrived yet, but you can prep yourself for the impending holidays with the newly released video for "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."

The mood of the video perfectly aligns with the brooding atmosphere of the song featuring the singer in a white dress, porcelain white makeup blanketing her skin, ghostly white hair, smokey eyes and blood-red lips. Her classically-trained operatic voice gently guides the song forward as layered orchestration and light percussion gradually builds until the tension explodes after the halfway mark with a bombastic, slightly marching tempo. Tarja's voice becomes more expressive as the momentum builds, making for an immensely powerful spin on the Christmas classic.

“Producing a dark Christmas album in the middle of the summer is a very interesting process, especially if you are doing it by the turquoise Caribbean Sea. It’s significantly different from the snowy Christmas that I am used to in my home country Finland — another proof that the darkness comes from deep within,” says singer. “On this album, I explored the other side of Christmas — the Christmas of the lonely people and the missing ones, the Christmas for those that do not find joy in the blinking lights and the jingle bells.”

Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas) will be released more than a month in advance of Christmas on Nov. 17 through earMUSIC. The album will put a new spin on other Christmas standards like "We Three Kings," "Deck the Halls," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and others. Pre-orders are available now at this location.

Where Does Tarja Turunen Rank Among the Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Frontwomen of All Time?

10 Rock + Metal Christmas Songs That DON'T Suck

Get Tickets to the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards

loading...

More From Noisecreep