How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
great range of songs with great vocal from sharon
Disadvantages:
none
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
When I finally turned 18 in June, my dad had no idea what to get me so gave me money so I could spend it on anything I wanted. The first thing I bought was the long awaited Within Temptation new album The Heart of Everything.
The members
Sharon Den Adel = Vocals Robert Westerholt = Guitar Ruud Jolie = Guitar Jeroen Van Veen = Bass Guitar Stephen Van Haestregt = Drums Martijn Spierenburg = Keyboard
A little history of the band…..
Within Temptation are a Dutch gothic rock band which formed in 1996 in which they released there first album Enter. There style of music is a bit different from the main music on the radio. The band use a lot of orchestral instruments in there music and using Sharon’s opera style vocal approach but using a lot of guitars and drums. They opened up rock music to gothic style music which has allowed other bands to form such as Evanescence and Lacuna Coil
The band writes all there own songs, with every song being original and different. The lyrics are all written by Sharon and Robert.
The band went on to release Motherearth in 2000, The Dance and The Silent Force in 2004. Overall releasing some highly credited singles throughout there music career from Angels, Motherearth and Ice Queen. They have won a number of awards including winning the Dutch Export Award for the Best International Selling Artist for the fourth successive time in a row and a Golden God Award from the UK’s Metal Hammer magazine for Best Video.
They have played in a number of different live rock festivals all over the globe. Also selling out gigs on tours over the years. They even gave a large donation to Child Helpline when they used there song Frozen to make a video to highlight abuse in families.
The song has a mixture of soft rock parts as well as hard rock parts which balance the song really well. Sharon’s harshness to her voice gives the song a real edge. I think the song is based on the awful things that are happening in the world today. This is mirrored on to the video they produced which balances the goodness that could be in the world with all the bad things that take over. I think the lyrics are great which have been sung brilliantly in Sharon’s remarkable voice. 5.32
2. What have you done – featuring Keith Caputo = 4/5
This is the first song released by the band. I think this is a bit different from the types of songs that Within Temptation usually sings. However I think this is still an excellent song which most rock fans would enjoy listening to. Keith’s voice works really well along side Sharon’s. His voice is more hard-hitting were as Sharon has a more saintly voice. This song is perfect to sing along to with the lyrics being well written 5.13
3. Frozen = 5/5
I think this song is one of the best songs by Within Temptation. The song is generally quite soft, really showing what a good voice Sharon has when she pushes herself. The lyrics to the song are mainly about the end of the relationship and the effect it can have on someone. The sadness is really shown in the song and is beautifully sung by Sharon. 4.29
4. Our Solemn Hour = 4/5
This song is the general feel you get from all of Within Temptation work with its full on rock style of music. The song is quite unusual with dark mystical voices and clips from what I can guess are from World War 2, which is a bit different from what you hear normally on the radio. I like the darkness of the song with its great lyrics including Latin phrases. 4.16
5. The Heart of Everything = 3/5
This song is one of my least favourite but is still a good song. I think it’s due to Sharon’s voice not being pushed as much as it is in other songs on the album. The song is great due to it being full of anger and raw emotion. The weird voices in the background spoil the song. However I do think the lyrics:
“Open your eyes Save yourself from fading away now, don’t let it go” 5.34
6. Hand of Sorrow = 4/5
This is one of my favourite songs which I loved the moment I heard it. The song has a more familiarity to it from other songs they have written through there music career. Sharon’s voice is excellent throughout the song, showing what a wonderful vocal range she has. In this song I have no idea what it’s about but I know one thing which is that it’s a great song to listen to. I like the lyrics in this song which are full of symbolism to things such as religion. I like the lyrics:
“He’s torn between his honour and the true love of his life He prays for both but was denied” 5.36
7. The Cross = 5/5
This song is one of the best songs from this album. This is due to Sharon’s voice being at its best throughout the song, especially during her solo opera styles moments in the song. The song is basically about the process of getting over someone you had fallen in love with or really cared for. The lyrics are full of emotion which is expressed in Sharon’s brilliant voice. 4.41
8. Final Destination = 3/5
I think this song is one of my least favourite songs from the whole album but is still a good song. I think this is due to being one of the less powerful songs but I think the guitar and drums are really good in this song. 4.43
9. All I Need = 5/5
I love this song as it’s much softer than other pieces of music created by Within Temptation but still works really well. The lyrics are nicely written and you get a much happier feel to the song than from the other songs from the album. The song is basically about the feeling of falling in love with someone and the effect it has on you when you had no hope in love before. The style of the song can be enjoyed by a wider range of people. 4.50
10. The Truth beneath the Rose = 5/5
Even though the song is very long it is still worth listening to all 7 minutes of it! I’m not sure what the whole thing is about but it’s full of symbolism and references to religion which Within Temptation do a lot! The biblical feel to the song works really well with the instruments which contrast well with the guitar and drums. The song again allows Sharon to show off her voice to its full potential. I love the lyrics in this song, especially:
“I won’t get lost between two worlds For all I have seen the truth lies between” 7.03
11. Forgiven = 4.5/5
This song finishes off the album fantastically. The song is the softest song out of all 11 songs on the album. The song allows Sharon to show that she can sing just as brilliantly without loads instruments. The song has Sharon singing heavenly with a piano including a violin later on in the song. The song is centred about forgiveness and the reasons and emotions behind it. I think this is the best song Sharon has sung that has really shown off the skill she has. This song can be for a wide range of people who may feel they can relate to it. I like the lyric:
“I know it was destined to go wrong You were looking for the great escape To chase your daemons away”
Packaging
The picture on the front has Sharon in a beautiful white corset dress with doves on one side and symbols of religions in her other hand. The booklet contains the lyrics to all 11 songs and some pictures of the members of the band.
Conclusion
It’s hard to say what is wrong with the album as I really love listening to it. It’s hard to find a whole album like this in which you can say you would listen to it all without skipping some songs or ignoring the ones you don’t like. Even though the songs are a bit long which is not unusual to Within Temptation albums this does not bother me as they are all worth listening to.
The lyrics in this album are excellent. They are full of biblical and symbolism giving us the real feel to this gothic rock band as well as making them stand out from other rock bands in the music business. Having all there albums I can see they have really developed over the years and have develop there skills to a high standard resulting in an outstanding album.
Sharon and Robert have really written a whole range of different types of songs with different issues, styles and sounds which work well together as an album. This means they can target a wider audience as well as please there fans that enjoy different aspects of the bands style.
Try the album as you maybe surprised by how much you like them. They are not well publicised in the UK and America so many people reading this will have no idea who they are.
Never a band known for understatement, this is by far their biggest and best album yet, 11 epic tracks that are impressively grandiose and proudly hyperbolic. Where...
The Heart of Everything -
Dutch rockers Within Temptation have surpassed themselves withThe Heart of Everything.
... more
Never a band known for understatement, this is by far their biggest and best album yet, 11 epic tracks that are impressively grandiose and proudly hyperbolic. Where ...
