Within Temptation has a fanbase that screams for their adulation based on their heavy guitar riffs combined with wonderful symphonic arrangements and Sharon den Adel’s astonishing voice.  It seems like it’s been an eternity between releases but den Adel and Within Temptation found inspiration to write given today’s political climate with tomorrow’s release “Resist” via Spinefarm Records.

Within Temptation has been wowing stages all across Europe with the reasons that I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, now they are beginning to find their core niche in the United States.  When Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Anders Friden of In Flames asks to collaborate with you, you know that you’ve done something special as a band.  Their collaborations work by carefully executing the blending of Jacoby’s alternative vocal styles in “The Reckoning” and Anders’ legendary mix of clean singing and screams in “Raise Your Banner”.  These songs are both a call to arms and a call to action to “resist” today’s nationalism mentality and fascist behavior of certain leaders throughout the world.  Although I’m very tempted to state which leaders exhibit fascist behavior, I will let you speculate who I am talking about.

The arrangements in “Endless War” were a humbling reminder on the inexplicable reason why I’m late to the Within Temptation party.  The arrangements are astounding and Sharon sounds like she is singing with a sense of passion and urgency in this problem that is really hurting the political climate on an international scale.

Overall, from what I’ve gathered on this album, this is a great mix for old-school Within Temptation fans and for fans like myself that are either fans of the new school Within Temptation or are simply late to the Within Temptation gathering.  There is something about this band that makes them the flagbearers of European metal, and that is they seem to stay ahead of the curve and are not afraid to experiment with new arrangements, which makes them sound fresh with each release.  My friends, Within Temptation is back to carry the baton in the European metal world.  Solid 9 out of 10 star rating.  Check out the track listing below.

  1.  The Reckoning
  2.  Endless War
  3.  Raise Your Banner
  4.  Supernova
  5.  Holy Ground
  6.  In Vain
  7.  Firelight
  8.  Mad World
  9.  Mercy Mirror
  10.  Trophy Hunter

Within Temptation will be on the “In Vain” tour with special guests In Flames and Smash Into Pieces all across North America.  Check out tour dates below.

Thu. 2/28- Rams Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland

Fri. 3/1- The Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sat. 3/2- Playstation Theater in New York, New York

Sun. 3/3- House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts

Tue. 3/5- Olympia de Montreal in Montreal, Canada

Wed. 3/6- REBEL in Toronto, Canada

Fri. 3/8- House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois

Sat. 3/9- Skyway Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mon. 3/11- Summit in Denver, Colorado

Tue. 3/12- The Complex in Salt Lake City, Utah

Thu. 3/14- Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon

Fri. 3/15- The Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, Canada

Sat. 3/16- Showbox SoDo in Seattle, Washington

Mon. 3/18- The Warfield in San Francisco, California

Tue. 3/19- The Wiltern in Los Angeles, California

Within Temptation will also be making festival appearances in Europe.

Fri. 4/19- Paaspop in Schijindel, Netherlands

Thu. 6/13- Greenfield Festival in Interlaken, Switzerland

Fri. 6/21- Graspop Metal Meeting in Antwerp, Belgium

Sat. 6/22- Hellfest Open Air Festival in Clisson, France

Tue. 6/25- Mystic Festival in Krakow, Poland

Thu. 6/27- Trondheim Rocks in Trondheim, Norway

Wed. 7/3- Resurrection Fest in Vivero, Spain

Thu. 7/11- Masters of Rock Festival in PIlsen, Czech Republic

Sat. 7/20 – 38th Biker’s Rally in Faro, Portugal

Thu. 8/1- Wacken Open Air Festival in Wacken, Germany

Fri. 8/9- Resist Open Air Festival in Dresden, Germany

Sat. 8/10- M’era Luna Festival in Hildesheim, Germany

For tickets and further information on any of the North American shows or European festival appearances listed above, click here.

Fans can find Within Temptation at the following locations:

www.facebook.com/wtofficial

www.resist-temptation.com

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