pt-paratroopa's Full Review: The Heart of Everything by Within Temptation
When Amy Lee and her band Evanescence released major-label debut album Fallen back in 2003, little did I know how much the band would come to inspire my musical tastes. I suddenly craved for this delightful-yet-uncommon combination of female vocals paired with heavier rock/metal instrumentation. With Evanescence as my starting point, I've slowly discovered many (usually European) rock/metal bands with female vocalists: Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, Tarja Turunen of Nightwish and Lisa Middelhauve of Xandria are but a few talented frontwomen for bands that balance melodic and/or symphonic qualities with thrashing metal riffs.
Dutch-based Within Temptation, however, remains my favorite group of this particular genre. Starting originally with an album that has been described as "doom metal" with counteractive female/gruff male vocals (1997's Enter), the band, whose current members include guitarists Robert Westerholt and Ruud Jolie, bassist Jeroen van Veen, keyboardist is Martijn Spirenburg and drummer Stephen van Haestregt, refined their music into a more orchestral and melodic rock sound, focusing primarily on the heavenly soprano voice of the gifted, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous, lead singer Sharon den Adel. With this winning formula, the band released two more albums, 2003's Mother Earth and 2005's The Silent Force, each bringing more worldwide recognition and helping them score a record deal in the United States.
Despite this, when I first heard The Heart of Everything's lead single, "What Have You Done," I was more than just a little annoyed. This was, after all, the song that introduced the band to America, and what were we given? A lamely repetitive attempt at recreating Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" which tries to sound edgy by featuring the gruff yells of no-name band Life of Agony's vocalist, Keith Caputo. The combination of clunky, thrashing guitars, Sharon sounding like she's screaming and Keith's tedious growls of "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! WHAT YOU HAVE YOU DONE NOW?!" during every chorus made me sure that Within Temptation were shamelessly pandering to American audiences and had lost their touch.
However, with their two wonderful previous albums still in my mind, I just couldn't write this band off. After I hearing a leak of album opener (and second single) "The Howling," I knew I needed this album. This is a classic Within Temptation track that combines choir passages, led by den Adel's feathery soprano, with a complex, energetic explosion of riffs and drumming and an infectious chorus that makes you want to rock your body. Third single "Frozen" is another early stand-out that assured me my purchase was worthwhile: a sweeping, appropriately-icy power ballad about domestic abuse, Within Temptation manages to avoid sounding stale while tackling potentially-trite subject matter, due in joint part to the lovely orchestral flourishes and den Adel's always wonderful vocal delivery.
"Our Solemn Hour" is an equally memorable track that finds the band sampling Winston Churchill's "Be Ye Men of Valor" speech against another choir, this one chanting the Latin phrase Sanctus Espiritus, to take the track, which is a commentary about how humanity has not learned anything from past World Wars, to chilling new heights. As always, Sharon sounds lovely on this song, but it's really on the next song, title track "The Heart of Everything," that she truly gets to experiment with her range. Opening with the lyric, "For the pain and the sorrow caused by my mistakes won't repent to a mortal whom is all to blame," Sharon alternates between some of her harshest, most progressive vocal work while singing the verses, some of her most pleasant singing during the lighter (in tone) choruses, and some of her most possessed, highest notes on the verses, giving the impression of a tortured spirit's presence. Both of these songs are among the album's best.
Speaking of possessed, "The Cross" also finds the band at their most chilling, even though this looks like "only" a break-up song on paper. Starting out with piano notes and vocalizing that could just as easily be from a creepy music box, the song takes more sinister, stuttering turns during the transitions between verse and chorus, with Sharon's vocal sounding almost like a demented laugh. Meanwhile, during the verses, Sharon's voice quivers and yearns for acceptance, but then we hit the chorus and, well, she's just p*ssed off, somehow making it unsettling to hear her angelic trills. After such a psychotic performance, "Final Destination" is merely decent and comes and goes without making as big of an impression; supposedly inspired by the horror series of the same name, this song is little more than nice ear candy with chugging guitars.
Fourth single "All I Need," the lightest song on the album, is the type of ballad that would be best shared with a significant other while watching a sunset or the stars during a tranquil night. Without such an emphasis placed on guitars, the tenderness of the music comes to the forefront, complementing the sweetness of the vocals. Lyrics such as Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace, which could sound trite in the hands of a lesser singer, are expertly sold by den Adel's fragile delivery. Similarly striking for its vocals is album closer "Forgiven," an intimate piano-and-strings ballad that demonstrates why Sharon's voice is naturally better-suited for lighter songs: I watched the clouds drifting away, still the sun can’t warm my face / I know it was destined to go wrong, you were looking for the great escape to chase your demons away, she sells like a pro.
"Hand of Sorrow," which takes its time in building up, and sees the most mileage come from its choir passages, is another strong song that unwittingly manages to wring religious implications out of the necessity to push back dreams to help others. "The Truth Beneath the Rose," the longest track, has similar subject manner, with its length allowing it to develop into a more satisfying song overall. U.S. pressings of the album also come with the full version of "What Have You Done"; this longer version actually works better than radio edit, opening with a pretty, minute-long vocal passage and giving Caputo the chance to do some decent harmonizing with den Adel when he's not busy screaming the song's title over and over like a mindless, constipated robot.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with The Heart of Everything. Despite the dumbed-down, "play this on radio!" vibes emitted by the album's lead single, this is actually the band's most versatile album to date, as it manages to effectively balance emotive ballads like "Frozen" with creepy experimental tracks like "The Cross." All the while, the songs are further aided by symphonic strings, crunchy guitars, effective choruses, competent musicianship and, of course, the charisma and strength of Sharon den Adel as a frontwoman. Fans of Mother Earth and The Silent Force, as well as admirers of ethereal female vocalists and female-fronted rock, might also find themselves surprised by this album, but I'm not sure how well fans of Within Temptation's debut album or The Dance EP will take to it.
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