Within Temptation

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

Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band, formed in April 1996 by the singer Sharon den Adel and the guitarist Robert Westerholt, who are also a couple. Westerholt came from the band The Circle. Together with a few former bandmates they first started the doom metal group The Portal, but even before the first recordings they changed the name to Within Temptation. The debut album Enter (1997) was slow and gloomy, with gothic metal, slow keyboard parts and growls alongside Den Adel's clear voice. With it the band became known in the Dutch underground scene and played at Dynamo Open Air.

Music and breakthrough

With Mother Earth (2000) the band chose a different direction: the growls disappeared and the music became more bombastic, with Celtic influences. After an appeal to fans, the video for Ice Queen was heavily requested on the music channel The Box, and in 2002 the song became a hit. The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007) reached number 1 in the Netherlands and also broke through abroad, especially in Germany. In 2008 the band played in Ahoy with the Metropole Orkest. Later albums such as The Unforgiving (2011), Hydra (2014), Resist (2019) and Bleed Out (2023) added industrial and electronic influences, among other things.

Influence

Within Temptation combines heavy metal guitars with orchestral arrangements, choirs and Den Adel's classical-sounding voice. The band often won the Conamus Export Prize for the best-selling Dutch artist abroad, and is thereby one of the most successful Dutch bands outside its own borders.

Listening

• 
  Mother Earth · Within Temptation, 2000
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1996Enter
• 2000Mother Earth
• 2004The Silent Force
• 2007The Heart of Everything
• 2011The Unforgiving
• 2014Hydra
• 2019Resist
• 2023Bleed Out

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 11: Nederpop^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Symphonic metal GenreThe Netherlands became a centre of the style: Within Temptation, founded in 1996 around the singer Sharon den Adel, and Epica, founded in 2002, play at festivals all over the world.
• Ice Queen SongIn January 2002, Ice Queen by Within Temptation from Waddinxveen became a big hit.