Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 1996. The band gained immense popularity among connoisseurs of underground music in 2001 thanks to the song Ice Queen.
It reached the top of the charts, received a significant number of awards and increased the number of fans of the group Within Temptation. However, these days, the band consistently pleases loyal fans with its creative activities.
Creation of the Within Temptation Collective
At the beginning of the formation of Within Temptation there are two people: guitarist Robert Westerhold and charming vocalist Sharon den Adel.
These two talented people decided to be together back in 1996 and organize their own group, but with the name The Portal.
For some time, the performers worked as a duet, until they were joined by colleagues from Robert's longtime band The Circle: keyboardist Martijn Westerhold, guitarist Michiel Papenhove, bassist Jeroen van Ven and drummer Dennis Leflang.
The addition of so many musicians to The Portal was a new thing for the band, so they decided to choose the new name Within Temptation, and therefore enjoyed huge popularity.
At the very beginning of its formation, the group experimented with their sound. At the end of 1990 at the beginning of 2000. The group underwent changes not only in sound, but also in line-up.
Martijn Westerhold was forced to leave the band due to health problems. Instead, Martijn Spierenburg came.
Musical style of Wisin Tempation
In 1998, the album Enter was released, after which critics rated the musical genre of the compositions as gothic metal. Heavy riffs, high-quality growling vocals and the soprano vocalist gave the music an ominous and gothic charm.
The following year they released a small album, The Dance, after which the gothic metal genre changed to symphonic metal. This is an interesting combination of growling and heavy guitar riffs along with melodic soprano and musical instrument inserts.
The year 2000 became fundamental for the team. Robert Westerhold (one of the founders of the band) decided to remove the growling vocals from the songs, and also add Celtic motifs to them. The result amazed music critics and became not only a "chip" of the band, but also introduced new rules to the world of metal.
Thanks to ethnic motifs, the music has acquired a new, lighter, but at the same time epic atmosphere. Now keyboard instruments played the main role in music.
Fans lined up music stores to buy this album and enjoy the magical atmosphere of the songs.
Within Temptation: criticism of the band's second album
The Silent Force album, released in 2004, did not cause such a stir. Of course, the sound quality has become higher, but critics complained about the monotony of the compositions, the commercial sound, even the attempt to imitate Evanescence.
Other publications said that this album is still the best in the past decade. The album was recorded together with a real orchestra and a choir consisting of 80 people.
The Heart of Everything is a less straightforward album. Some critics said that the album has a commercial sound and lost its former atmosphere.
Other publications, on the contrary, noted the careful study of vocal parts, the successful combination of melodic and monotonous gothic rock, beautiful symphonic compositions and harmoniously blended commercial rock inserts.
The album The Unforgiving, released in 2011, marked new genre trends in the band's music. There's an amazing combination of metal and 1990s ABBA-type music here.
Some critics called it the band's most unusual and ambitious experiment, and this album - the best in the history of the band Within Temptation.
Recording Hydra, the band decided on bold experiments, experimenting with genres and collaborations. The group recorded songs together with a number of guests, ranging from related Tarja Turunen to the popular rap artist Exibit.
After the release of this album, vocalist Sharon den Adel began a creative crisis caused by personal problems. In order to get out of the creative impasse, the vocalist created her own solo project.
This helped her "catch a new wave" of inspiration and return to the team. After the reunion, the band released several pop metal symphonic songs Resist.
Interesting facts about the team
- Sharon den Adel enjoys badminton, painting, gardening and reading fantasy.
- The concerts of this group deserve special attention. On one of them (Java Island) a gilded cage was built, in which Sharon den Adel performed. We must not forget about pyrotechnics, special effects and light shows. Each concert of the group is a unique show with quality music.
- Robert and Sharon have a daughter named Eva Luna.
This team has won a large army of loyal fans around the world. This happened thanks to the close-knit and sincere work of the team.
The Within Temptation group in their work showed that experiments are the key to the success of any musical group.
The Within Temptation team in 2021
At the end of June 2021, Vizin Temptation delighted fans with the release of a fresh track. The composition was called Shed My Skin (with the participation of Annisokay). The video premiered for the song, which gained a little less than 300 thousand views in a week.
