I'm pretty much a progressive rock fan (Dream Theater, Yes, Rush, Enchant), but I also like a lot of "mainstream" artists like Sting, Enya, Metallica, and Journey.

Within Temptation brings a lot to the table.

First, Sharon's vocals blow me away. If the general public could hear her on a more widespread basis... I think they would reject the "mainstream""stuff" like Britney Spears, Aguilara, and Faith Hill. I mean, none of the women in the "Top 40" can sing this good. Sharon's vocals are light-years ahead of other female vocalist.

Second, the band can flat out play. I hear people call this "gothic" metal or rock, or some other nonsense. I think that is entirely too limiting of a label. I'm not a "goth" person by any stretch of the imagination, but I LOVE this album. So tell me this is goth? It's not. It's so much more than that. It's broader than any label. Well, there is one label that fits: This is just "great" music.

This band just makes great songs, and in a wide variety of styles (which is one of the reasons I'm such a huge Dream Theater fan). When I listen to the first two tracks on this album, sure, they rock, but they aren't one-dimensional and crappy sounding like a lot of other "metal". They don't overdo the guitars or neglect the needs of the song to remain in a certain genre. This isn't millions of mindless fast riffs and heavy crunch. This is skill to write music like this.

This band knows how to blend all the instruments, and takes full advantage of guitars, keys, bass, drums, and vocals. So few bands and artists can actually incoporate this much talent at one time, let alone do it this well.

This is what progressive music aspires to be... just good, diverse compositions executed brilliantly. I can't say enough about this album. I hope this band sticks it out and keeps working. Maybe someday the rest of the "mainstream" world will wake up and realize what great music really is. Good thing for fans of Within Temptation - we already know.

If anyone has any doubts about this CD, just get it. Get it and listen... It's just that good. And you record exec fools out there - get these people a US tour and some radio play here in the states!


Absolutely beautiful   October 6, 2003
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

For their second outing, the Netherland's Within Temptation dumped the male "death metal" growling, which was a good choice. It's been done to death (excuse the pun) by every Goth-Metal band around and with a singer like Sharon den Adel, why would you want anyone else taking up space where her lovely voice could be heard? While the band hinted at some Celtic moods on their first release, they dive head-first into that quality on "Mother Earth," which gives them an increasingly unique sound among many sound-alike bands in this genre. Sharon's voice is beautiful, as always, and the songs are perfectly-suited to her vocal style and range. An especially nice moment is the CD's second track "Ice Queen," which has been a big hit in Europe. Why they're virtually unknown in the U.S. is beyond me!