Former Nightwish Singer Covers Linkin Park's 'Numb'

Former Nightwish singer and solo artist Tarja Turunen has unveiled a gorgeous cover of Linkin Park’s Numb.

Anchored by a pianist, cellist and violinist, the performance stems from Tarja’s concert at the idyllic setting of Wacken Church.

Proving that some nu-metal songs stretch genre boundaries and are now timeless, Tarja’s take on Numb is operatic, vulnerable and aside from her understanding of Chester Bennington’s lyrics, couldn’t be more different to the original. You can watch the video below.

Tarja’s cover of the Linkin Park classic is the first single from her upcoming album, Rocking Heels: Live At Metal Church, slated for release on Friday, 11 August. The album features the Nightwish song Sleeping Sun, three Tarja songs and an abundance of covers.

On Rocking Heels, Tarja will put her signature spin on Metallica’s The Unforgiven, Alias by In Flames, Slipknot’s Vermillion Pt. 2, Avenged Sevenfold’s Afterlife, as well as tracks by Joe Satriani, Megadeth and Rammstein. You can check out the full tracklist below.

Just 300 fans had the privilege of witnessing Tarja at Metal Church, but on 11 August, you can experience the concert yourself through a limited double vinyl edition, a CD digipak in LP-replica design and a digital album. You can pre-order Rocking Heels, released through earMusic, here.

Numb is the final song on Linkin Park’s outstanding second album, Meteora. The 2003 LP also birthed the singles Faint, Somewhere I Belong, From The Inside and Breaking The Habit.

Let's not forget how huge Meteora actually was at the time: it debuted at #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and #1 on the ARIA Heavy Rock & Metal Albums Chart. Meteora was huge worldwide; it's sold over 16 million records, making it the 8th best-selling album of the 21st century behind superstars like Adele, Eminem, Coldplay and Evanescence, but above Green Day, Bruno Mars and P!nk.

Earlier this year, Linkin Park unveiled the Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition, as well as the cathartic “forgotten” single Lost.

Here’s what Linkin Park’s rapper, singer, guitarist and producer Mike Shinoda said about Lost: "Finding this track was like finding a favourite photo you had forgotten you’d taken, like it was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself."

Tarja – Rocking Heels: Live At Metal Church tracklist

Side A
 1. Always With Me, Always With You (Joe Satriani)
 2. Numb (Linkin Park)
 3. Alias (In Flames)

Side B
 1. Vermillion Pt. 2 (Slipknot)
 2. Trust (Megadeth)
 3.Ohne Dich (Rammstein)

Side C
 1. Afterlife (Avenged Sevenfold)
 2. The Living End (Tarja)
 3. The Unforgiven (Metallica)

Side D
 1. Sleeping Sun (Nightwish)
 2. I Walk Alone (Tarja)
 3. Ave Maria (Tarja)