Mother Earth

I had been trying my hardest to get this album. Finally I got a good deal on it from a friend online. Factory sealed in all. Just perfect. I had not heard a single song, but was captured by the lyrics, themes, and the vocals of Sharon. After the first song, I knew I had made a worthy purchase.

Apparently the band is huge because when i talked about them on the Fear Factory forums I had some Dutch guys screaming how they cannot stand them because of radio overkill. Whether they are big or not has nothing to do with it, I live in America, home of the unmetal. Hearing something like Within Temptation is just utterly unique and captivating.

So the first song, also a huge hit, "Mother Earth". The song starts off with an orchestration and even some flute playing. This builds up to the huge symphontic overture that hits you. The vocals do not actual enter into well over a minute, but when they do, it is something to just amazed at. Sharon's voice is not only a soprano, but has an unique tone to it. It sounds a bit like Sarah Brightman on her later stuff. The point is, I have not heard a voice like this in metal. Yes we have heard sopranos, but nothing of this sort.

"Caged" is another song that delievers Sharon's voice with full power. This is one of the slower songs, but is not a ballad of any sorts. The chorus has an emotion to it that is reminds me of "In Motion #1" by The Gathering. Although the latter is a ballad, this is not. If you know how the emotions are on that track, you will understand this. There are not many songs like this in metal or even in rock. The emotional power is what drives Within Temptation more than anything else. This is what I love about "Mother Earth". After Forever has the vocals and so does Nightwish, but Within Temptatio bases the whole sound on emotions. This is what makes the vocals, drums, synths, and everything else comes together.

This is truly a magnificant album and I recommend it to everyone. Forget those Lacuna Coil mainstream crap, this is the real deal. This is pure emotional fury with musicianship most goth bands pray for in their wet dreams. Check this out, it just blew me away on a single listen.