WITHIN TEMPTATION

(NETHERLANDS)

HYDRA

(2014)
LABEL:

NUCLEAR BLAST

GENRE:

MELODIC HARD ROCK

TAGS:
Easy-Listening, Symphonic
"Within Temptation keeps with this album its "commercial" line of conduct by proposing an ultra-melodic and very easy to listen opus."
LYNOTT (18.02.2014)  
4/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s) (1) Biography + (2)
It has been a long time since Within Temptation moved away from the Gothic Metal of its origins to orient itself towards regions of less metallic months and more and more Pop Rock. "Mother Earth" had been a turning point, like "The Silence Force" and "The Unforgiving", the latest album to date, where the Pop, even Dance ('Sinead') line had been widely approached. However, thanks to the strong riffs and symphonic arrangements that had become a trademark, the metallic shadow still hung over the compositions. This "Hydra", which arrives three years after its predecessor, will be no exception. 

Sharon and her companions have four guests. We will not be surprised to see Tarja, more and more orphaned by Nightwish, landing on a "Paradise (What About Us?)" catchy as possible, equipped with a unifying commercial chorus and a "Symphonic Metal with singer" bridge. Nor will we be amazed to see Howard Jones, former singer of Killswitch Engage, come and join the fight in a "beauty and beast" version on a melodious and vitaminized "Dangerous". The third duo surprises a little bit with the appearance of David Pirner, the singer of Soul Asylum, on a "Whole World Is Watching" moving and supported by emphatic orchestrations. The last duo can, as for him, frighten at the base, since Xzibit comes to rap on the easy-listening "And We Run". However, the intervention of the Gaillard is closer to Pop here which makes the essay less anachronistic than it seems at first glance. 

For the other six tracks, we find a classic Within Temptation in the Power ballad Pop Metal with a "Let Us Burn" spicy and powerful or alternating the moving and the grandiloquent on an "Edge Of The World" a little less inspired and on a "Silver Moonlight" more dynamic. The combo's style is still present on the mid-tempo "Dog Days", also catchy and full of choirs reinforcing this impression and the heavy "Tell Me Why", the most muscular track of the opus but which does not forget the usual catchy melodic touch. 

So here we have, once again, an album that will trigger a wave of controversy but which, by its radio-friendly side, will embed, with even more weight undoubtedly, Within Temptation in the bands that allow symphonic metal to make its place in the sun among music lovers from other horizons.
- Official website

TRACK LISTING:
01. Let Us Burn
02. Dangerous
03. And We Run
04. Paradise (What About Us?)
05. Edge Of The World
06. Silver Moonlight
07. Covered By Roses
08. Dog Days
09. Tell Me Why
10. Whole World Is Watching

LINEUP:
Jeroen van Veen: Basse
Martijn Spierenburg: Claviers
Mike Coolen : Batterie
Robert Westerholt: Guitares
Ruud Jolie: Guitares
Sharon Den Adel: Chant
Stefan Helleblad: Guitares
Dave Pirner: Chant / Invité
Howard Jones: Chant / Invité
Tarja Turunen: Chant / Invité
Xzibit: Chant / Invité
   
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READERS
4.3/5 (6 view(s))
STAFF:
4/5 (3 view(s))
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LAST NEWS
WITHIN TEMPTATION: New video
LAST INTERVIEW
WITHIN TEMPTATION (NOVEMBER 2018)
Taking advantage of Within Temptation's great European tour, we met Sharon Den Adel who confided without restraint in her life as an artist, a woman, a mother, a daughter,... A plunge into the intimacy of this entire artist.
 
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