Within Temptation - blagger's guide

No it’s not the name of a porn film or a kinky website! Crazycatgirl looks at the rise and rise of the Netherlands top female fronted Metal band.

There is no doubt that I am a fan of Within Temptation (WT) and have been from the first time The Howling blared through my headphones, and in true Annie Wilkes style, as a fan I have come to know quite a bit about the band.

This is, of course, why the nice people here at e-Mo Magazine thought I better be the one to tell those of you who aren’t familiar with them a little bit more.

Now, you may have noticed them on the line-up for this year’s Download festival or as one of the supporting groups for Iron Maiden, but how much do you really know about Within Temptation?

Enter

It is incredible to think that the group from the Netherlands who have sold around 1.5 million CDs and have achieved Platinum and Gold success in Holland, Germany and Belgium, started when they were in college.

It was in 1996 that WT was formed and, later that year, were signed by Dutch Indie label DSFA subsequently releasing their first album, Enter. They were an immediate success in Holland and soon started touring and clocking up an amazing reputation as live performers on the festival circuits over 1997 and 98 and, even despite having to take 1999 off to complete their studies, have continued to earn acclaim.

If Enter had earned WT a solid fan base, their second album, Mother Earth, put them on the map. The album was released in 2000 and it stayed in the Dutch charts for over three months and eventually earned Platinum status. This album showed an evolution in the band’s music. It was not as hardcore a sound as Enter had been and therefore reached a wider audience. There were successes, like the single Ice Queen, which achieved mainstream commercial success, climbing the charts to number 2, and is still huge hits with fans when the group play live.

Certainly they didn’t have the meteoric and mainstream success of Evanescence on their first, or even second, time out of the box but they had by now built a loyal fan base and a steady stream of critical acclaim. By 2002 WT was undoubtedly shaping up to be a serious player in the world of metal.

Stand My Ground

But it was the group’s third album, Silent Force that cemented WT reputation as a force to be reckoned with. With its single Stand My Ground entering in to the top 30 in the charts in half of Europe and becoming a favourite for radio stations from Norway to Portugal, Gold and Platinum success inevitably followed.

The album had once again shown the band to evolve, and singles like Angels and Stand My Ground saw the album and the band achieve success around the world, winning critical acclaim in the UK as well as touring in Festivals in Europe and Japan. The song went to number 1 in the Netherlands, Germany and Finland and was also used in the trailer for, the sadly dreadful Werewolf flick, “Blood and Chocolate”

What Have You Done

The Heart Of Everything was released in 2007. It again saw a change in their music, as lead guitarist and song writer Robert Westerholt explains on their website “Although you can still clearly hear that this is a Within Temptation record, many things have changed and evolved. Sharon shows how versatile she is as a singer more than on any record we've done. On some songs, she sings with a lot of power; on other songs she is more melodic… a siren enchanting her subjects. Sometimes she is emotional and sensitive.” He continued, “The guitars also play a larger part, and we have added an extra dimension to our new songs too by enhancing them with historic samples, as we did on Our Solemn Hour. Compared to The Silent Force, our new album is more dynamic and energetic. It has a more natural sound”

This, their fourth album, has seen them not only reach the top three in the European charts and the top five in Japan, Germany and Portugal but has also seen them break in to the American market with their single What Have You Done and their subsequent tour with Lacuna Coil. The album also features the song The Howling which has been used in online role player game The Chronicles Of Spellborn and was one of three songs the band wrote for the game.

Heart of Everything

Throughout their quiet, though not unimpressive, rise to fame WT have gone through changes. There was the departure of Iver de Graaf in 1998 and Martijn Westerholt 4 years later, and similarly there was the introduction of Circo Palma as drummer and Ruud Adrianus Jolie as second guitar. But through all its changes the nucleus of the band has always been Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt. As lead guitarist, song writer and vocalist it is unsurprising that it was the contribution of these two that has and shaped the band’s sound and the style and themes of their songs and ultimately their albums. 

Del Adel and Westerholt are partners off stage too and their daughter, the beautifully named, Eva Luna was born in 2005. And perhaps it is this new family that has meant there involvement in helping charities such as Child Helpline International, to which the income from single Frozen – the video for which depicts abuse within families– was given.

Whatever it is that makes these guys a success I hope it continues; they have gone from strength to strength since they began. They have said their next album will be released 2009-10 and I for one can’t wait.