Within Temptation - Past to Present

Within Temptation is a dutch metal symphonic band, led by the vocals of the beautifully talented Sharon Den Adel. Other members of the band include; Robert Westerholt (guitar), Ruud Jolie (guitar), Jeroen Van Veen (Bass), Stephen Van Haestregt (drums), and Martijn Spierenburg (keyboard). Within Temptation has sold over 2 million CDs and DVDs worldwide since they first formed back in 1996, making them Holland's largest musical export.

While the members were still in college, they released their first album Enter, and also appeared at the Dynamo Festival in 1997, and again in 1998. However, in 1999, the band took the year off to finish their educations.

In 2000, Within Temptation was back at it again, performing in the major European festivals, and they also released their second album, Mother Earth. Ice Queen, and Our Farewell were two of the singles that came out of their second album, and it was Ice Queen that hit #2 in the Dutch charts and eventually reached platinum status.

In 2002, Mother Earth reached platinum and gold status in Belgium and Germany, while their tour DVD reached platinum status back home, winning them an Edison Award.

In 2004, Within Temptation released their third album The Silent Force, which topped charts throughout the European area, and continued to earn gold and platinum status with the hit single, Stand My Ground. In 2005, the single Angels, was released, and the band was also seen touring with Iron Maiden, and Rammstein. Best Selling Dutch Artist In The World was the World Music Award they received that same year.

The next year, Within Temptation also received the Dutch Expert Award for the third straight time in a row. They also received the Dutch BV Pop Award, and for best video, they also won a Golden God Award from the UK's Metal Hammer Magazine. They continued to play in the big European festivals, and also journeyed to Japan for the first time.

By the end of 2006, Within Temptation had worldwide possibilites when they signed with Roadrunner Records in the U.S. They also produced music for the popular video game, The Chronicles of Spellborn, as well as the video, The Howling.

In 2007, the band released their fourth album, The Heart of Everything. Again, the band won the Dutch Expert Award, which was the fourth time in a row, and the single, What Have You Done, was released, which also featured Keith Caputo from Life of Agony. The new album reached #1 in the Dutch charts, and #5 in the European album charts. They also did 38 shows throughout Europe, and also supported Lacuna Coil on tour in the U.S.

When the single, Frozen, was released, Within Temptation decided to support Child Helpline International by donating income from Sony/BMG, and drawing attention to abuse within the family. Shortly after, came the first U.S. release with the single, What Have You Done, and the album, The Heart of Everything, which happened to be a big success. The band also continued to do the usual European festivals throughout the year, as well as a tour to the U.S., the Netherlands, and the U.K.

In 2008, came the successful Black Symphony concert, which was filmed by 14 HD cameras, and released on DVD, CD, and Blu-ray in 40 countries by the end of the year.

In all, Within Temptation has visited; the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Russia, as well as many areas throughout Europe, and Central East Europe.

Within Temptation obviously has a big impact throughout the European countries, however, if you live somewhere like the U.S. you still might not have heard of them before. With the beautiful ethereal vocals of Sharon Den Adel, and the masterful play of the rest of the band, Within Temptation is a must hear.

Within Temptation's Site

After the release of this album, Within Temptation grew not only in popularity, but as a band as well. They eventually won both the Dutch Pop Prize, and the Dutch Export Prize, meaning that they were contributing the most, and selling the most. The Silent Force was originally released in 2004, and in 2008 it also became available in the U.S. opening up worldwide possibilites for them.

In this album, Within Temptation, did even more experimenting than usual, by adding cellos, and working with an orchestra.  The title was chosen because the album addressed feelings that exist beneath the surface, and cannot be revealed without digging a little deeper.  The Heart of Everything, captures all of the ideas that Within Temptation wanted to bring out into the open, and it is done in a way that thrills us and fills us with sounds that are majestic, melodious, and meaningful. 

About The Heart of Everything, Westerholt explains, "So often, we live our lives without thinking.  We just do things because we're born in a certain environment and people are expecting certain things from you. Sometimes its important to look within yourself and discover what really makes you happy and what's important to you.  Life can sometimes be pretty rough and not very easy, but still you have a lot of power within yourself and there's always the possibility to bend things your own way." 

Enter (1997, album)

Restless (1997, single)

The Dance (1998, EP)

Mother Earth (2001, album)

Our Farewell (2001, single)

Ice Queen (2001, single)

Mother Earth (2002, single)

Never Ending Story (2002, promo)

Mother Earth (2002, DVD)

Running Up That Hill (2003, EP)

The Silent Force (2004, album)

Stand My Ground (2004, single)

Memories (2005, single)

Angels (2005, single)

Jillian (2005, promo)

The Silent Force (2005, DVD)

The Heart of Everything (2007, album)

What Have You Done (2007, single)

Frozen (2007, single)

The Howling (2007, single)

All I need (2007, single)

The Howling (2007, EP)

Forgiven (2008, single)

Black Symphony (2008, DVD)