Well, I wrote a review for ciao of this album, so here it is if you want a more in depth look at this CD before going out and getting it:
Until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of Within Temptation, though the band has been around since 1996. However, after hearing the catchy "What Have You Done" several times on the radio, I popped into HMV and had a look to see if they had an album out. They did, and it is "The Heart of Everything" which I am going to look at in this review.
**The Band**
The band are from The Netherlands, and as I mentioned before, were formed in 1996. The band is comprised of vocalist Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt and Ruud Adrianus Jolie on guitar, Joroen van Veen playing bass, Martijn Spierenburg on keyboards and Stephen van Haestregt on drums. Although you may as well just forget about the rest of the band members, because it is Sharon den Adel's voice that really make the band stand out.
Before "The Heart of Everything", the band have had four previous albums, Enter (1997), The Dance (1998), Mother Earth (2000) and The Silent Force (2006).
The Heart of Everything was released on the 9th March 2007.
**The Cover**
The cover of the album is the first clue that Within Temptation is a gothic band. The picture on the front shows Sharon den Adel in a corseted dress, blindfolded and sitting on a high backed chair. The atmosphere is dark and forboding, and there are doves decorating the right hand side. In large white writing across the top is the band's name, with the title of the album in a smaller red font underneath.
The back of the box gives a track list, and inside there's a nicely presented booklet with the lyrics to all of the songs and some picture's of the band.
**Tracklist**
1. The Howling
2. What Have You Done - (feat. Keith Caputo)
3. Frozen
4. Our Solemn Hour
5. Heart Of Everything
6. Hand Of Sorrow
7. The Cross
8. Final Destination
9. All I Need
10. Truth Beneath The Rose
11. Forgiven
1. The Howling (5:33): This is a fantastic way to begin the album, The Howling starts off slowly, with Sharon's lilting voice barely heard over the piano, then the drums and guitars cut in and we're treated to a grandiose gothic rock song. This track has actually been recorded as promotional material for an online roleplaying game, "The Chronicles of Spellborn", however it is a fantastic song, anthemic and dramatic.
2. What Have You Done (5:13): The first single to be released off the album, and it's "Beauty and the Beast music" at its best. Keith Caputo provides the "beast" male vocals, storming "What have you done now" over epic guitars and drums. Sharon's vocals then join in, and the result is one of the best song's on the album.
3. Frozen (4:27): A lot slower than the previous two tracks, Frozen is what I would call a semi-ballad. Not quite drippy enough to be a full ballad, because there's still a lot of oomph (for lack of a better word), in the music. Nevertheless, this is a good song, a slow builder with a very catchy chorus.
4. Our Solemn Hour (4:17): Our Solemn Hour is a fantastic song, opening immediately with the chant "Sanctus Espiritus" by Sharon, then the same chant repeated by a very gothic sounding choir. For the verse's, some sort of effect has been placed on Sharon's voice, so that it sounds far away and quieter than normal, but this is a great device; it sounds very effective.
5. Heart of Everything (5:35): The track that gives the album it's title is again, a storming epic of a song. In this track, Sharon's voice takes on a harder edge that we hadn't previously heard with the first four tracks, and it really sounds as though she's putting her all into the singing.
6. Hand of Sorrow (5:36): This is a softer track, which sounds more akin to the song's on Within Temptation's earlier albums. There's a hint of celtic melody in this song, before being replaced with soft guitar and Sharon's amazing voice. This isn't a stand out track - it's the sort that after listening to the album a few times you can sing along to, but you don't quite remember the name.
7. The Cross (4:51): At first, this wasn't a favourite track, but after listening to the album several times it's near the top. I suppose then, that this is what could be defined as one that grows on you. The verses are underlain with a strong drumbeat, and the chorus asks a succession of "why's", which are suitably epic.
8. Final Destination (4:43): This track falls under the same banner as "Hand of Sorrow", in that it's a very good song, but not one you remember the name to when recalling the album. It begins slowly and softly, before a chorus comes in chanting. This track is quite similar to "The Heart of Everything" in that Sharon's voice has the same 'hard' quality to it, a harsh edge that gives it individuality and uniqueness.
9. All I Need (4:51): All I Need is a ballad, and Sharon's vocals sound haunting and eery. This track has a similar sound to some of those on Within Temptation's earlier albums, and it's a soft, slow song with dramatic lyrics.
10. The Truth Beneath The Rose (7:05): Before I listened to the album, and was looking at the track listing on the back, I thought to myself that the name "The Truth Beneath the Rose" sounded suitably gothic. The name itself put me in mind of dark castles with blood-red roses creeping up the walls, and a secret hidden within the stone walls. And listening to the track, I don't think I was very far off. A definitively gothic track, where we learn about "the darker side of me", "the cruelty of the beast" and of course, "the truth beneath the rose". There's the prerequisite eery chanting choir, and the dark and heavy guitar solos. However, even packed with all of the gothic-rock clichés, this track somehow seems to subvert them all and become something in its right. An excellent song - one of my favourites.
11. Forgiven (4:54): The final track on the album is a slow one, and Sharon's vocals sound very fragile here, as they span over the lone piano. It's a good ending for the CD, a slow ballad which calms you down a bit from the anthemic rock.
**Open Disc**
The current release of the album has what is known as "Open Disc" technology, and it's claimed that "This is a special link that's only accessible if you own the original CD. With this link you'll get exclusive access to a part of the website that contains videos, diaries, exclusive competitions, exclusive merchandise items, etc.".
When I'd listened to the CD a few times on my stereo, I decided to have a look at this Open Disc thing, and so put it into my laptop, and waited. And waited. I was expecting something to open automatically, however I had to navigate myself to My Computer and double click the D-Drive logo before the open disc would start.
Once there, I was asked to register with my name and address, which I did, and then I was taken to Within Temptation's Open Disc website. It's nicely designed and the layout is good, but as of yet there's not much content. There's some information about the band, some pictures and information about "The Chronicles of Spellborn", the RPG game a couple of the songs is linked with.
Although on Within Temptation's official website, they assure "From the release onwards we'll be constantly adding stuff to this website.", at the moment there isn't much on there. I think the Open Disc stuff is meant to be a deterrent to the people who illegally download music, as you can only access the site if you have the disc, but I think they need to add more content to the site first.
**Overall**
I love this album. Within Temptation are my new favourite band; within minutes of finishing listening to the CD for the first time, I had ordered two of their previous album's from amazon (and they are just as good!). This is exactly my kind of music, and there's not one song on the CD that disappoints.
The Open Disc isn't as good as it claims to be, but that's only a minor thing I suppose. There are inevitably comparisons to that other female-fronted gothic rock band, Evanescence, and I do think that the comparisons are justified.
I love Evanescence, and Within Temptation's music is in a very similar style and genre. Since discovering Within Temptation, and looking at some of their video's on youtube, I've noticed that a lot of the comments seem to be "Amy Lee vs. Sharon den Adel"; a sort of 'who is better' competition. In my opinion, though both bands have a similar style of music, they are very, very different.
In the end, I would definitely recommend this album to you if you like the single, and if you like bands such as Evanescence.
**Information**
Official Website:
http://www.within-temptation.com/en/index.phpWikipedia Page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_temptation
Subject: Within Temptation 
