Within Temptation - The Unforgiving (in the hard-rock section? Oh, yea

[mrbandwidth]

Well, I finally listened the whole new album of WT... I posted some weeks ago a reference to the single Faster in the forum of General Music Discussion, as I wasn't sure of the genre of the whole thing. After listened all songs, I think this baby fits well here.

 

Of course, it's not exactly classic Hard Rock, I'd say is Symphonic Metal + 80's Hard Rock = Symphonic Hard Rock (if this genre denomination didn't exist I want the copyright!!! ), but definitively there are more Hard Rock elements than in their previous releases, like the abundance of guitar solos, for example (though this is not an Yngwie Malmsteem's album, of course!). On the other hand, the Gothic Metal elements have diminished in this album: very few "aural" choruses if any, etc...

 

First, a bit of background on me. My three favourite all-time albums are:

1. Bon Jovi: Slippery when wet (when Bon Jovi was a hard rocker and he was proud of it)

2. Def Leppard: Hysteria (I find the sound of that album totally awesome, unique and sadly irrepetible)

3. Whitesnake: 1987 (every song a masterpiece)

 

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying this WT release is similar to any of these albums, just that if you have similar musical tastes to me, you'll *probably* enjoy it.)

 

Now my review:

 

 

WT: THE UNFORGIVING

 

This album is conceptually the soundtrack for a comic written specially for the band by Steven O'Connell (author of BloodRayne & Dark 48) and drawn by Romano Molenaar (Witchblade, Darkness, X-men):

 

Sharon talks about The Unforgiving

 

"We have been big comic fans since our childhood," said frontwoman Sharon den Adel. "With this album, we felt the time was right to take a stride in our creative development, to broaden our horizons".

 

"Aside of the whole concept on this album, the songs go in more different directions than ever before," she added. "The late '80's, when we first started to read comic books, has certainly also left its mark on the sound of our new album."

 

The comic story tells us about a powerful medium, Mother Maiden, who recruits lost souls to be part of her supernatural platoon against evilness in all its forms. Each of these souls is guilty for something they did in their lives. Mother Maiden gives them the chance "to do the right for what is wrong", giving them missions to defeat evil as a penitence to redeem themselves.

 

Musically, the production by Daniel Gibson is BOMBASTIC, MASSIVE: layers and layers of instrumentation and vocals for your pleasure. 4 years have passed since The Heart of Everything and it's evident they have well employed every bit of this time.

 

TRACKLIST:

 

Why Not Me: Just an spoken introduction by one of the comic characters, Mother Maiden.

 

Shot In The Dark (10/10): Great opening track. Tells us the background story of the main character, Sinéad. Musically, a mid tempo 80's style, with a solo guitar and a catchy chorus. One of the highlights of the album. It will be the third single.

 

In The Middle Of The Night (10/10): Superb: strength, energy, speed, adrenaline... The voice of Sharon goes higher and higher while guitars create an evilness sensation. A delight for your ears. Probably the best song.

 

Faster (10/10): The first single. Another highlight full of energy with catchy choruses and magnificent vocals. I admit it reminds a bit the famous 80's song "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak at some moments but with a much more heavier tone. Good guitar solo too.

 

Fire & Ice (8.5/10): The first ballad and a powerful one. My only problem is that even so it cuts a bit the speed of the 3 previous songs, but it's the shortest song. A good song anyway, though not as brilliant as the previous ones.

 

Iron (9.5/10): Another highlight with a catchy-as-hell chorus. The character Mother Maiden speaks again at the middle of the song, which I dislike a bit, so I give it 9.5 and not a 10. But it's a great rocker song anyway with a short guitar solo.

 

Where Is The Edge (9/10): The first song they made for this album, so it sounds a bit more to their prev work "The Heart of Everything". Another nice power ballad which grows on you.

 

Sinéad (9.5/10): 80's Disco Dance beat style!?!? Probably the riskiest song of the album, but no worries: THIS IS NOT LADY GAGA!!! In fact, I consider it another highlight with vocals from another galaxy and irresistible rythm. Delightful!!

 

Lost (7.5/10): A soft ballad. Not bad just a bit... boring, specially after Sinéad. I wouldn't say it's a filler, but it's the closest to it. It has an accoustic guitar solo which turns into an electric guitar solo.

 

Murder (8/10): Again a rocker with "The Heart of Everything" sound. Not bad but a bit tricky to like. Short guitar solo too.

 

A Demon’s Fate (10/10): Vibrant 80's style disco-rocker with an ultra-catchy chorus and guitar solo. Totally irresistible! Last great highlight.

 

Stairway To The Skies (8.5/10): A power ballad to end the album which tells us about the Sinéad's final fate, sad but hopeful. A nice closing which connects with the comic's ending.

 

 

 

Overall a 9/10: a very good album plenty of 80's sound style and an interesting experiment as a comic soundtrack.

 

I'm waiting for the Japan edition, which contains 3 bonus tracks...

 

Hope you liked my review and enjoy the album!!

 

http://www.wat.tv/audio/within-temptation-03-in-the-3id8z_3id0t_.html

 

Regards,

[heavyharmonies]

Still waiting for mine to arrive from the UK. HMV had a signed special edition (CD + DVD) preorder special for 9 pounds.

[Jez]

Can't wait.

[Captain Howdy]

A friend sent me a link to the video Faster on Facebook a few weeks ago, and to be honest while they do sound good, it didnt blow me away as it just sounds like so many of the female fronted rock bands that are coming along at the moment. Maybe hearing the rest of the album will impress me more, but so far it just sounded very generic to me.

[Jeff]

I have to check it out more. I have a hard time finding the 80's comparison's you made.

 

Now, a few things...

- That does not mean I am right/you are wrong, that is just my opinion of what I hear...plus I need to hear full length versions a few times

- I like your review a lot, read every word and now I am looking forward to getting this one

- I did like the samples I heard, probably even more than "The Heart Of Everything"

 

So, cool, thanks!

[JamesEagle]

Not a band I usually listen to, but 'Shot In The Dark' and 'In The Middle Of The Night' are both great songs, especially the former. I listened to about 4 other songs and wasn't overly impressed, but will definitely be buying those 2 songs at least.

[Geoff]

I've never really given this band a go either. Heard songs here and there but nothing really stuck, but the review has me very interested... at least to give this one a go. I'll see how I go.

[heavyharmonies]

Just chiming in a bit more re: WT in general. As much as I love the band (and I do!) I don't think they are HH material. The majority of their discography is symphonic gothic metal. Heck, their early material had death-metal-style growling vocals.

 

That said, regarding WT sounding a lot like other current female-fronted bands, it's the other way around. WT is most often compared to Evenescence, but WT's "sound" predates Evanescence (first WT release is 1997). It's just that they haven't been well known in the U.S. until recently, so many people mistakenly think that WT copied Evanescence, when if anything, the reverse is true.

 

I've got a fairly comprehensive collection of WT CDs, DVDs, singles, and bootlegs:

 

http://cdsniper.com/cgi-bin/withintemptation.cgi

 

It pales in comparison to that of some of the diehard followers out there, but it's decent in its completeness.

 

The Blu-Ray of Black Symphony, the live performance with full orchestra and choir, is a true reference disc from the standpoint of audio quality, video quality, as well as the performance itself.

[JamesEagle]

As much as I love the band (and I do!) I don't think they are HH material. The majority of their discography is symphonic gothic metal.

 

True, and I agree that they aren't an HH band, but the new stuff does sound like melodic metal to me. Quite a shift from the death metal beginnings!

 

Looking back at the review, I listened to both of the other 2 10/10-rated songs ('Faster' and 'A Demon's Fate') and one 9.5/10 ('Iron') and thought they were pretty average, so I'll probably just download the 2 songs I really like.

[Captain Howdy]

Just chiming in a bit more re: WT in general. As much as I love the band (and I do!) I don't think they are HH material. The majority of their discography is symphonic gothic metal. Heck, their early material had death-metal-style growling vocals.

 

That said, regarding WT sounding a lot like other current female-fronted bands, it's the other way around. WT is most often compared to Evenescence, but WT's "sound" predates Evanescence (first WT release is 1997). It's just that they haven't been well known in the U.S. until recently, so many people mistakenly think that WT copied Evanescence, when if anything, the reverse is true.

 

I've got a fairly comprehensive collection of WT CDs, DVDs, singles, and bootlegs:

 

http://cdsniper.com/cgi-bin/withintemptation.cgi

 

It pales in comparison to that of some of the diehard followers out there, but it's decent in its completeness.

 

The Blu-Ray of Black Symphony, the live performance with full orchestra and choir, is a true reference disc from the standpoint of audio quality, video quality, as well as the performance itself.

I wasnt comparing them to Evanescence, to me this song has more in common with the likes of Hydrogyn, Delain and Halestorm etc.

If you are saying that they have changed their sound on this one, then it would seem that my comment about them sounding like so many other bands still stands.

TBH, the whole symphonic metal thing does bugger all for me as I really hate the likes of Nightwish etc so its not surprise I dont really know what the band sounded like before. I had heard the name before, but I had never been given a reason to seek them out considering how many new bands we are being exposed to on a nearly daily basis.

[Ali Rock]

Still waiting for mine to arrive from the UK. HMV had a signed special edition (CD + DVD) preorder special for 9 pounds.

Great deal, just ordered mine. Hope it will be good..

[Ali Rock]

They are a great band IMO. Didn't like Heart of everything that much but I truly love the Silent force album. I havn't heard the Mother Earth album. But I have heard that it is really good as well.

 

I saw them once a couple of years back at Sweden Rock. I didn't expect much but they blew me away.

[heavyharmonies]

I've deliberately held off on listening to more than the first 2 singles until my CD/DVD got here today, and am now listening through for the first time.

 

I can see how hardcore WT fans might be disappointed with the CD... *BUT* if anything, it's probably the most "radio friendly" or mainstream material they've ever released. It easily fits more within Heavy Harmonies than any of their other releases.

 

Over the past 10 years they've been progressing from metal to rock, and this just continues the progression.

 

That said, it's still WT and it kicks ass. I'll be replaying this over and over for the next several weeks.

 

Here's a full-length hi-rez (320kbps) track that in my opinion epitomizes their shift closer to HH styling:

 

http://www.heavyharmonies.com/audio/wt-iron.mp3

 

The chorus is just a monster payoff! Crank it loud!

[Jez]

Fantastic album and their best yet in my opinion. Been playing it everyday day since it got here.

[heavyharmonies]

I've never really given this band a go either. Heard songs here and there but nothing really stuck, but the review has me very interested... at least to give this one a go. I'll see how I go.

 

I'd really like to get your take on this one after a few thorough listens, being that you really liked Issa.

[mrbandwidth]

Hi all!

 

The 3 bonus tracks (excellent!!):

 

I Don't Wanna:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_HArY9dfpg

 

 

 

Empty Eyes:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTp69qTQ3Hc

 

 

 

The Last Dance:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R7IIHyZAeE

 

 

The Last Dance reminds a bit to Mother Earth (and very nice slideshow, BTW...)

 

Regards,

 

P.S: A Demon's Fate is A TOTAL MONSTER track! (IMO)

[heavyharmonies]

If you want to get the bonus tracks without having to buy an extra CD or import I would recommend buying the bonus tracks from Amazon. 99 cents each. That's what I did to get the above tracks.

[TIM (2)]

I had an old album from this band which was like a 3rd rate Nightwish IMO, so have never been inclined to check them out. I heard the new single from this the other day and they havent changed their style at all from what I can hear. They're still mid-way between Delain and Nightwish and not as good as either. Nightwish have a new disc ready to go so I'll spend my money there instead...

[heavyharmonies]

I had an old album from this band which was like a 3rd rate Nightwish IMO, so have never been inclined to check them out. I heard the new single from this the other day and they havent changed their style at all from what I can hear. They're still mid-way between Delain and Nightwish and not as good as either. Nightwish have a new disc ready to go so I'll spend my money there instead...

 

Ok.... well we've determined that you're STONE DEAF. Next?

[Dead Planet]

I haven't paid any attention to them before but I really like the samples. Looks like I'll have to track down some of their releases....they look to be pretty cheap on eBay...

[Shawn Of Fire]

I think "Iron" sounds good...but it's not something I'm going to run right out and buy. She's got a great voice though...

[mrbandwidth]

Hi!

 

Have to say that Fire And Ice has grown A LOT on me since I wrote the review (I'd give it an absolute 10/10 now), and this wonderful fan-made vid has contributed to it... Very, very nice and well done. Hope you enjoy it!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZe4EUuBxHg

 

Regards,

[Geoff]

I've never really given this band a go either. Heard songs here and there but nothing really stuck, but the review has me very interested... at least to give this one a go. I'll see how I go.

 

I'd really like to get your take on this one after a few thorough listens, being that you really liked Issa.

Another one I had on my Ipod in Fiji... bought the CD this morning.

 

I am very impressed. Very melodic, totally not what I expected. I didn't really hear any of this "goth" influence that would generally keep me away. Truth be told, sounded like great melodic hard rock to me. I now wonder if I check out the rest of their collection...