Within Temptation is a symphonic rock band established back in 1996 by its lead singer Sharon den Adel and its lead guitarist Robert Westerholt. Thier music goes in the genre of symphonic metal, gothic metal, and gothic rock along with other great bands such as Lacuna Coil and Lunatica. The band however believes to be a symphonic metal band and nowhere near gothic rock or even gothic metal. To most fans of their music however, a lot of people believe this band to be theatrical and very orchestra-based. If you have ever seen one of their live performances on their tours, then you'll see that they not only perform but usually are aided by an orchestra or symphony. This is one of the bands that have influenced the fusion between orchestra classical music with metal music, something that is only known well here in the United States because of Evanescence which is much younger than this band and many others who started and innovated this genre of music.
It wasn't until the song Ice Queen did Within Temptation become really mainstream with their album The Silent Force reaching the #1 position. Also after the album, this band has won the "Conamus Exportiprijs" five years in a row. The album I am reviewing is actually quite old now being released officially back in March 9, 2007. It is their fifth album and the second album to reach number one on the sales charts as well. The reason why I decided to review this album so suddenly is because they are releasing a still-unamed-at-this-moment album early next year. I am looking forward to hearing it because I love Within Temptation.
Statistics
Band: Within Temptation
Sharon den Adel (Vocals)
Roberst Westerholt (Rhythm Guitar, Death Vocals)
Ruud Adranius Jolie (Lead Guitar)
Jeroen van Veen (Bass Guitar)
Martijn Speirenburg (Keyboards)
Stephen van Heistregt (Drums)
Establishment: 1996
Album Count: Five
Establishment Location: The Netherlands, Europe
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Album: The Heart of Everything
Release Date: March 9, 2007
Publisher: Roadrunner Records
Track Listing
The Howling
What Have You Done
Frozen
Our Solemn Hour
The Heart of Everything
Hand of Sorrow
The Cross
Final Destination
All I Need
The Truth Beneath the Rose
Forgiven
Review
Within Temptation is the second band I have gotten to know within the symphonic metal genre right after Lacuna Coil and thus they have history with me. I fell in love with their music after listening to their third album Mother Earth which was the last real underground album since The Silent Force got mainstream attention. I was going into this new album when I first got it with a thirst of what they would provide their fans. I was more than satisfied, it went beyond my expectations and back then, I had specializations and put things in justification. This album, just like their previous, is a mixture of true heart songs with hard-hitters and it both raises your blood to a boiling point of rocking out to touching your heart to a relative of understanding. Even my favorite song from this band is from this album.
The two songs I want to bring in reference to this album is What Have You Done and Frozen, which are probably the two biggest songs on the album too. What Have You Done is a hard-hitter song and was even used in numerous hodge-podge fan made videos of the WWE when it comes to the European fanbase. Keith Carputo is featured in this song and he is the lead singer of of the American metal band, Life in Agony. I have to say this is a very good song which describes two friends or lovers, or maybe friends who were lovers, who have become bitter rivals and hateful of each other. Despite all of their hatred, they cannot let go of each other because they are still so in love with each other that the only way for them to be free is when it ends, most likely their death. I can relate to this song because to this day, there is only one girl, or should I say one person, I actually and honestly hated for the longest time, and she was a best friend. It wasn't long but I remember it like daylight.
The second song is title Frozen and it is my favorite song performed by this band. The melody as well as the message within the song is just both perfect and heart breaking. The song talks about someone who left someone they loved, that they cared about, not because they truly cared about them, they truly loved them, and their presence was hindering that person in some way, fashion, or form. Once again, I can easily relate to this song because it seems that Dizzy left because she was hindering me and she knew it. Now I feel that somehow and someway, we were both hindering each other.
All in all, inasmuch of what this album is, this is one of the best albums to come out within the symphonic metal genre. Only a select few albums probably beat them per say Fallen by Evanescence and New Shores by Lunatica. It is also the album, like I said before, has my favorite song from this band. It's been out for awhile now so you can hear their songs on their website or other means such as digital downloads on Amazon or iTunes. With the coming of their newest album just around the turn of the new year, it may be wise to see if their next album delivers even more. If you have the dinero though, get both if you like. I personally own this album and am glad I do.
