Robert Westerholt

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Robert Westerholt was born in 1975 in Waddinxveen. He is a guitarist and co-founder of Within Temptation, a Dutch symphonic metal band. At secondary school he got to know Sharon den Adel, Jeroen van Veen and Martijn Spierenburg. In 1992 he started the band The Circle with Spierenburg and Van Veen and wrote his first music of his own. A demo from December 1992 was given the title Symphony No. 1. The group later continued as Voyage, and Den Adel took part in a CD.

Music and breakthrough

When Voyage came to an end, Westerholt started a new project with his girlfriend Sharon den Adel. He sent demos of Enter and Candles to Van Veen, who joined him. In 1997 the line-up was complete, and that same year Within Temptation signed with DSFA Records and the debut album Enter was released. Westerholt writes the music and on the first albums, Enter and The Dance, sings part of the vocals in the form of grunting, the raw singing that belongs to metal. That combination of his growl with Den Adel's clear voice marked the band's beginnings.

Influence

In 1998 he had a small part as Death in Ayreon's rock opera Into the Electric Castle. Since 2011 he no longer tours with the band, because he is looking after his children. He remains a member for recordings and concentrates on songwriting and production. Stefan Helleblad replaces him live. In 2018 he married Den Adel.

Listening