It’s only been a couple years since my first exposure to “Within Temptation” and the lovely Sharon den Adel. I started with “Mother Earth”, which I thought had an enormous amount of variation but some questionable production values. “The Silent Force”, on the other hand, had great production but relatively little variation. I liked a lot of the songs on both albums, but I have to admit to liking “Mother Earth” a bit more. So how does the latest addition to the catalog fare?
1) The Howling – This is an exclusive to the imported version (which, of course, is the version I have). Immediately, I was struck by the less polished quality of Sharon’s vocals, despite the higher production values. The song itself is quite unusual, but in a good way. It’s one very strong opener, even with the silly growling bits. (9/10)
2) What Have You Done – It sounds like their version of “Bring Me to Life”, right down to the inclusion of a guest male vocal, but I still like it. The lyrics are remarkably dark, and I love Sharon’s range of vocal textures. The male vocalist is somewhat generic, but in the end, it works as the WT take on a specific kind of song. (8/10)
3) Frozen – This is a far more conventional song than either of the previous two, and I think it suffers as a result. It doesn’t descend into the sugary sentimentality that some of the songs on “Silent Force” fell into, but there’s nothing particularly memorable about this one. In fact, it sounds like something out of the mid-1980s. (6/10)
4) Our Solemn Hour – This is jump right back into classic WT territory, with the layered vocals and choral arrangements. I love the Latin pretensions and the WW2 allusions. Sharon’s vocals are quite expressive. This is the kind of song that I was waiting for! (9/10)
5) The Heart of Everything – Here we have Sharon really shaping her vocals, switching from gritty to angelic and back. It works wonderfully. This is the sort of thing she did a lot on “Mother Earth”, and it sounds better with the higher production values. The song itself is a bit simplistic, but the vocals really work well. There’s just one section in the middle that doesn’t quite work for me, but fits the overall tone. (9/10)
6) The Hand of Sorrow – Another WT staple: the fantasy tale told by an angel against a background of driving guitar and rhythm. It’s almost like a Dragonlance tale put to music. This one is about the struggle between love and honor. There’s not much else to say about it; it’s a solid effort. (8/10)
7) The Cross – I like the variation throughout the song and the melody. The lyrics is less about story than the previous track, but it does handle some complex ideas well. The arrangement is also quite good, though some elements are repetitive. (8/10)
Final Destination – After a long string of solid songs, this is a remarkably weak effort. Apparently this was originally recorded for a video game, and it has that kind of conventional quality. There’s nothing original about it; in fact, it sounds like another outtake from the “Silent Force” B-sides. (5/10)
9) All I Need – A competent power ballad, but coming on the heels of a weak entry, not particularly engaging. This point of any album can be difficult to sequence, and while this is a good enough song, it doesn’t keep up the intensity of the first half. (7/10)
10) The Truth Beneath the Rose – I love the lyrics for this song. This is about the struggle of personal faith, the path to forgiveness, and the cost of warfare in God’s name. It’s very easy to get caught up in the earnestness of the vocals. (9/10)
11) Forgiven – The album ends with a softer song, one of the few on the album (in contrast with “Silent Force”). This song, and its associated video, is particularly poignant, dealing with the effects of suicide on loved ones. It’s a beautiful song, and a nice denouement for the album as a whole. (9/10)
On the whole, this album does a capable job of melding the strengths of “Mother Earth” and “Silent Force” into something equally impressive. Only two songs fail to meet expectation, which is fairly impressive, and the album is a lot more consistent in tone that “Silent Force”. It’s worth listening to a few times, just to take it all in.
Rating: 8/10
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