Tarja Turunen, a three-octave Finnish singer best known for goth and metal music, turns her attention to Christmas with From Spirits & Ghosts ... and the result is unexpectedly wonderful.

This is coming from someone who's not all too keen on goth and metal music, after all.

But Tarja's voice is majestic, and her arrangements on this album take hackneyed Christmas songs out of the familiar and turn them into something new. Still recognizable, of course, the songs get new life -- a fresh take that does nothing to take away from the songs' sacred and traditional roots.

(My parents, who are [obviously] from an older generation than me and who like goth and metal music even less than I do absolutely love this album. Suffice it to say, beautiful singing is beautiful singing, and sometimes it defies classification or genre.)

It's worth noting that Tarja also has a background in classical and operatic music. It shows, simply through her range and the strength of her voice.

Title notwithstanding, the album is not dark, overall. (OK, "Deck the Halls" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" are tantalizingly murky, no question.) It's haunting, yes, and moody. My first impression of some tracks was that they'd serve well in the soundtrack of a Christmas film in the Harry Potter series. You might find hints of Ireland's Enya and New Zealand's Steve McDonald in her arrangements.

"Amazing Grace," not a Christmas song, fits well in the context, and her rendition of it is gorgeous.

A close listener will notice that English isn't Tarja's first language, as a few pronunciations in some songs are distractingly odd. But it doesn't detract from the album, which I listened to over and over again this past holiday season.