Description
In the mostly male-dominated world of heavy metal, it’s always refreshing to see more women getting involved in the genre. Such is the case with Dutch melodic metallists Within Temptation. Led by singer Sharon den Adel, the group issued their fifth studio album overall in 2011, The Unforgiving. As with their previous efforts, Within Temptation specialize in what is known as symphonic metal, but to their credit, it doesn’t come off bombastic or overwrought (like many other similarly styled bands who tend to lean more toward the prog metal side of things). The key to avoiding this trap is letting the songwriting rule supreme, as opposed to merely focusing on showing off your chops, and Within Temptation do just that. Case in point, the lead-off single “Faster,” which manages to contain elements of hard rock, but also seems like it could easily cross over onto the pop charts (thanks to a hook-heavy chorus). Elsewhere, melody is equal to metal, as evidenced by “Shot in the Dark,” “Where Is the Edge,” and “Stairway to the Skies.” And it turns out there is a reason why The Unforgiving comes off as sounding cinematic: the group issued a series of short films (and even a comic book), in which the tunes from the album provide the soundtrack. A concept album that doesn’t get weighed down by the story line is a rarity, but it is something that Within Temptation succeeds at with The Unforgiving. The album was produced by Daniel Gibson and is based on a comic book story written by script writer Steven O Connell (BloodRayne, Dark 48). The band asked comic artist Romano Molenaar (Witchblade, Darkness, X-Men) to draw the characters and scenery of ‘The Unforgiving’. The storyline features the main character Sinead Harkin, the red-headed beauty on the cover. Commented Within Temptation: ‘The song ‘Where Is The Edge’ is based on the story of ‘The Unforgiving’, a graphic novel written by Steven O’Connell. However, there is a clear link between the storyline of our new concept album and the thriller ‘Me & Mr. Jones’ as they both deal with mystery, murder, guilt, and a lack of forgiveness’.
Track listing:
1. Why Not Me
2. Shot In The Dark
3. In The Middle Of The Night
4. Faster
5. Fire And Ice
6. Iron
7. Where Is The Edge
8. Sinead
9. Lost
10. Murder
11. A Demon’s Fate
12. Stairway To The Skies