Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have also been classified under other genres, with critics praising the band's experimentation and musical versatility.Multiple sources:Sharpe-Young, "Metal: The Definitive Guide" (2007), p. 294 By 2016, the band had sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide.
After the release of their debut album, Enter (1997), which was still rooted in gothic metal, Within Temptation became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from their second album, Mother Earth, which reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts. This was followed by the band winning the Conamus Exportprijs, a Dutch music award, four years in a row, and a fifth in 2016. Within Temptation's next albums, The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007), debuted at No. 1 on the Dutch charts and expanded their international recognition. In 2008, they released Black Symphony, a live album recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. This was followed in 2009 by An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, another live album, this time with acoustic renditions of the songs.
The band's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, was released in 2011 and was one part of a transmedia effort, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story. The album saw the band increasingly venturing on new musical territories outside symphonic metal. The group advanced the exploration of other musical genres in their subsequent releases. Their sixth studio album, Hydra, was released in early 2014 and featured a wide range of guest appearances from other artists. Their seventh studio album, Resist, was released in 2019 and incorporated influences from styles such as industrial and EDM. Bleed Out, their latest studio effort, was released in 2023 and contains influences from metalcore and djent, alongside hints from their initial gothic metal inclinations.
History Formation Long-term partners Robert Westerholt (guitar) and Sharon den Adel (vocals) began the band in 1996, after Westerholt left his previous band, The Circle. The Circle renamed themselves Voyage and released an album called Embrace, including a song featuring den Adel. Soon after that release, the band broke up.
Westerholt then joined with den Adel in forming a doom metal band called The Portal, including former The Circle band members Jeroen van Veen on bass guitar and Michiel Papenhove on guitar, as well as Martijn Westerholt on the keyboard and Dennis Leeflang on drums (later replaced by Ivar de Graaf). However, they renamed themselves Within Temptation, before they recorded their demo, Enter. The Enter demo contained some songs that would later be released on their first album. They were offered a recording contract and signed to DSFA Records later that year, beginning work on their first album.
Enter and first national tour (1997–1999)
Enter, the debut album, was released in 1997. The album was well received and the band embarked on a four-gig tour across the country, after which they performed at the Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven. The band rounded out 1997 by embarking on their first international tour of Germany and Austria. Also, subsequently Ivar de Graaf left the band and was replaced by Ciro Palma.
The sound of Enter, whilst melodic, was doomily paced, and influenced by gothic doom metal, heavily reliant on slow keyboards and drums and repetitive guitar riffs. Also prominent on this album are death grunts by Robert Westerholt and George Oosthoek, ex-member of Orphanage.
In 1998 the band continued to tour – their profile had elevated them to the main stage at Dynamo for the 1998 event. However, Within Temptation had released no new material (and did not have plans for a second album at this point), to which end they elected to release an EP, The Dance, with three songs (plus two remixes) that would further mature the sound from Enter.
The band was largely on sabbatical for 1999. They took the opportunity to construct their own studio, as well as returning to personal pursuits, with plans to return to the fold the next year.
Mother Earth and national breakthrough (2000–2003)
2000 was an eventful year for the band as they returned to touring, playing three Dutch festivals: Waterpop, Bospop and Lowlands. In addition, they went to work on their second album, releasing Mother Earth in the Low Countries on 1 December. The album was a moderate success in the Dutch charts the first few weeks after its release.
The band released the single "Our Farewell", which never entered the charts. The second single from Mother Earth, "Ice Queen", was regarded as the breakthrough release for the band; in March 2002 it climbed to No. 2 in the Netherlands but was their first No. 1 single when it climbed to the top in Belgium. The success rebounded to Mother Earth, which continued to climb in the Dutch album chart, ending the year at No. 3.
2001 saw a number of changes in personnel; Ruud Jolie was added as a second guitarist, drummer Ivar de Graaf was replaced by Stephen van Haestregt, and Martijn Westerholt (suffering from infectious mononucleosis) was replaced by Martijn Spierenburg. Westerholt later started the band Delain.
In 2002 they had their first concert in France and a headline gig in Mexico City. They attained their first major award, the Dutch Silver Harp. They bolstered this by embarking on a major international tour supporting Paradise Lost in 2003 and re-releasing Mother Earth on the GUN Records label across more European countries; it was a success in Germany, where it went platinum and reached No. 7 in the charts. The re-release of "Ice Queen" also charted well in the top 30. In turn the Benelux regions got a different release, a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". The band headlined music festivals across the Netherlands, while their Mother Earth tour DVD claimed the prestigious Edison Award. Promotion of Mother Earth in newer markets continued well into 2004 with various international festival appearances (such as M'era Luna, Rock Werchter, and Pukkelpop) and other headline gigs, which also saw the band make their UK live debut in London in September of that year.
The Silent Force and further recognition (2004–2006)
Plans for the band's third album came to fruition in 2004, with the release of The Silent Force on 15 November 2004, across Europe. It was produced by Daniel Gibson and an instant No. 1 in the Netherlands and charted well in many European countries. In support of the release they embarked on another large international tour in 2005, with dates across Europe (including their first festival appearance in the United Kingdom headlining the Bloodstock festival) and a one-off show in Dubai. As of early 2005, the album had already sold more than 400.000 copies only in Europe. "Stand My Ground" and "Memories", the first singles from the new album, continued the band's run of chart success, culminating in a second Edison Award. The third single was "Angels". "Stand My Ground" was later to be promoted on the trailer for the film Blood and Chocolate. The band also provided some of the soundtrack to the video game Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade released in March.
In January 2006, Within Temptation won the Dutch Pop Prize (best Dutch contribution) and Dutch Export Prize (best-selling Dutch artist outside the Netherlands), the latter one given to them for the third time in a row. The band also reported that they were busy working on their next album, due to be released during the fall and that they would start playing at festivals starting in April, in addition to going on an international tour at the end of the year. Although already successful in Europe, it was not until 5 August 2008 that both Mother Earth and The Silent Force albums were released in the North American market for the first time, through Roadrunner Records.
The Heart of Everything, international recognition and first world tour (2007–2008)
The album The Heart of Everything from Within Temptation was released on 9 March 2007, in the Netherlands, and in the United States on 24 July. Two tracks, called "The Howling" and "Sounds of Freedom", were recorded as promotional material for the video game The Chronicles of Spellborn, and the first of these opens the album. The full track listing was revealed on 10 January. The album debuted at No. 1 in the Dutch Album 100, making it their second number-one album. It reached No. 2 in Belgium, No. 2 in Finland, the top 10 in eight countries and top 100 in eleven countries.
The song "What Have You Done" was the first single released from the album. Its initial music video was recorded on the 12, 13 and 14 December 2006 at the Koko club in London, and a CGI studio in Windsor. It features Keith Caputo of Life of Agony on guest vocals. Fans were allowed to participate in the making of the video, although this first version left the band feeling disappointed (comments made by the band at their March show in Lyon). Shortly after, a completely new video for the song was made. The second single, released across Europe in June, was "Frozen". The video, filmed in Romania, deals with child abuse, and sales of the single was to raise money for a children's charity, Child Helpline International. "The Howling" was chosen as a digital single release for the UK (not to be confused with the US EP release), and another video was also shot. The extended version of the "Frozen" single features an unreleased b-side, "Sounds of Freedom", as mentioned the second song written for the promotion of the computer game The Chronicles of Spellborn. Roadrunner Records also released an Enhanced CD limited edition EP called The Howling, which was available only at Hot Topic stores in the United States, containing the title track plus popular tracks from their former album The Silent Force and music video of the US edit of the song "What Have You Done".
Within Temptation started their very first United States tour a few months after the European release of The Heart of Everything, supporting Lacuna Coil, and appearing alongside In This Moment, Stolen Babies, The Gathering, and Kylesa. The tour, dubbed The Hottest Chicks in Metal Tour 2007, was largely a success. The Heart of Everything was then released there on 24 July, and the promotional single of "What Have You Done" shipped to rock stations on 2 of July. This was the band's first album to be released in America followed by the previous albums Mother Earth and The Silent Force a year later.
In support of the new album, Within Temptation kicked off their first headlining US tour in Fall 2007. The band played 13 shows, starting on 5 September 2007, in Boston and ended on 23 September 2007, in Tempe, Arizona.
On 19 October 2007, Within Temptation released the video for their third single, "All I Need". The single was released in Europe around 12 November and features the single and album versions of the title track plus demo versions of "The Last Time" (a previously unreleased track), "Frozen" and "Our Solemn Hour".