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.
- The Reckoning
- Endless War
- Raise Your Banner
- Supernova
- Holy Ground
- In Vain
- Firelight
- Mad World
- Mercy Mirror
- 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:
