Music Reviews - W
Within Temptation - The Heart of Everything (2007)
Review added Oct 26/07.
So-called "beauty and beast" symphonic metal made its debut some decade ago, and Dutch band Within Temptation is virtually the paragon of the subgenre, but make no mistake: this is mostly about beauty. The beast is largely tamed.
True, WT packs a good wallop, to the degree that one sometimes wishes for a bit more dynamic range in the heavier pieces. But on my first introduction to the band, 2007's The Heart of Everything, I discovered very little of the snarling and growling that sometimes characterizes this sort of music. The duet with Keith Caputo on "What Have You Done" certainly doesn't qualify.
Instead, the heaviness is conveyed mostly instrumentally - partially via the traditional rock threesome of drums, bass and rhythm guitars, but to a surprising degree, also by way of loud symphonic instruments. The classical elements are no mere waves of the cap, but are thoroughly and seamlessly integrated into the music.
The beauty here is thus not limited to the incomparable voice of Sharon den Adel - yet that voice is inevitably the unquestioned center - or shall I say, "heart," of everything. In full flight, one is reminded of classic Pat Benatar (for instance, the choruses of "The Howling" and the title track). Whether with or without an "edge," den Adel exudes vocal power in a fashion few women can muster.
But there is so much more from this special soprano, who has been gifted with an astonishing array of beautiful tone, power, range, and control. The scope of her gifts is readily apparent on "Hand of Sorrow," which alternately drives and softens into balladry. But to witness den Adel at the height of her powers, listen to The Heart of Everything's closing track, "Forgiven," where her voice is allowed to thoroughly define the piece without competition from drums or electric instruments. And here we discover tenderness, feeling, and an utterly beautiful control over that most beautiful of instruments - the female voice.
Within Temptation is not the most original of symphonic rock groups, but they make excellent, well-integrated use of all the requisite elements, and the songs are well-constructed and well-written. Beyond that, the female vocals alone make Within Temptation a strong candidate for frontrunners on our list of purveyors of prog beauty.
4 1/2 stars.
