(TeamRock Radio) Former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen says she couldn't be happier with the way her solo career has turned out. She was sacked from the symphonic metal outfit in 1996 and has gone on to release six albums - with her most recent work The Shadow Self set to launch on August 4.

And despite the shock of her exit from Nightwish a decade ago, Turunen says everything has worked out for the best. She tells Metal Hammer: "Everything is different nowadays. I have a career, I have my audience, and a life as an artist. I can also be free. It's unbelievable to be able to choose things, or choose how to do things, and with whom to work. That freedom is something I would never give away."

She admits she's not in contact with any of her former Nightwish bandmates, but says her and the group's current vocalist Floor Jansen are "long-term" friends. The pair performed a duet of Gary Moore classic Over The Hills And Far Away at Belgium's Metal Female Voices Festival in 2013 - and they've been close ever since. Read more here.