You have to admire Within Temptation for the sheer opulence of their vision. Utterly unafraid to embrace the richer elements of Bram Stoker’s gothic literature, the band are characterised as much by the grand and richly compelling nature of their aesthetic as they are by their gloriously dramatic music and so, on Hydra, the band’s continuing desire to replace Andrew Lloyd Webber as the most OTT arrangers in modern music sees Robert Westerholt and co. rope in former Nightwish singer Tarja, Soul Asylum singer Dave Pirner, former Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones and even US rapper Xzibit to augment their already crowded sound. The result are ten tracks that will happily engage the band’s faithful followers but do little to appeal to those unimpressed by the band’s symphonic sweep.
Opening with ‘let us burn’, Within Temptation kick off with huge riffs surging over Mike Coolen’s pristine percussion recalling ‘Silent Force’ highlight ‘Angels’. Sharon Den Adel remains one of the most richly capable vocalists in rock music, her wide range able to deliver both sultry lows and soaring highs with ease whilst Martijn Spierenburg’s keyboards bring all sorts of subtle depth to the overall sound. It’s a grand opening song that is, perhaps, heavier than might be expected and it gets the album off to a good start. Howard Jones makes his much publicised appearance on second track ‘Dangerous’. With a strangely Euro-dance undertone in its synth beginning, the song is a fast-paced, pop-influenced piece that sees Howard playing a not-dissimilar role to Keith Caputo on ‘what have you done now’, alternating vocals with Sharon on a track that would not sound out of place on James La Brie’s recent solo effort. Next up is controversial guest Xzibit who provides a tough rap on ‘as we run’. How you feel about the track will very much depend on how you feel about rap, but the approach itself is not as innovative as the band might claim, with a wide range of acts from Soulfly and Aerosmith to, ahem, R.E.M, having incorporated rap into their music over the years with the result that the track feels oddly like a throwback to the early 00s and the reign of nu-metal. Infinitely better is the face-off between Sharon and Tarja on ‘what about us’ which blasts out of the speakers in a fashion that is every bit as powerful as you could wish for, the two divas pushing each other to ever greater feats of vocal exertion. The band abandon the guests, finally, on ‘edge of the world’ which, bizarrely, recalls Genesis at the peak of their 80s popularity with its layers of synth and gentle, rippling percussion. A slow-building track that eventually erupts into full choral glory it showcases the diversity of Within Temptation’s influences on this wide-ranging album.
Opting for a guitar sounds that veers into folk metal territory ‘silver moonlight’ is an album highlight as it allows Sharon to try out a more gritty vocal whilst the band indulge in some heads-down riffing in the vein of their earliest days on ‘enter’, the track even featuring some cleverly masked deathly vocals on the chorus. Indulging what may very well be a childhood obsession with Van Halen, the opening riff to ‘covered by roses’ recalls ‘ain’t talkin’ ‘bout love’ before the track heads into more typically Within Temptation fare – wide-eyed vocals, massed ranks of faceless choristers and Jeroen van Veen’s ever-present, throbbing bass. Rather more in the vein of Hans Zimmer, ‘Dog days’ is the type of track you’d expect to hear closing a hormonally-charged teen movie and so it’s something of a relief when the infinitely heavier riffing of ‘tell me why’ dispels its cloying atmosphere with some of the band’s heaviest sounds in years. A full-on assault of powerful percussion and down-tuned riffs it showcases Within Temptation at their best and makes you wish they wouldn’t fly off on quite so many flights of fancy when they can deliver songs of this quality, seemingly with ease. Final track ‘whole world is watching’ features the honeyed vocals of Soul Asylum singer Dave Pirner whose voice will be instantly familiar to anyone who grew up in the alternative-rock dominated 90s. An interesting collision of ‘let your dim light shine’ –era Soul Asylum and Within Temptation, it’s unfortunately all but overwhelmed by strings when all it really needs is the dual vocals of Sharon and Dave and the acoustic guitar which,i this case, sits somewhere near the bottom of the mix. For fans of the band it is likely that the heady nature of the track will provide an apt climax, but sometimes less is more when it comes to delivering an emotive closing number.
Within Temptation are a band who clearly love what they do. One viewing of the Black Symphony DVD is enough to see how much the band love indulging their theatrical instincts, but this can, unfortunately, cut both ways. The hallmark of musical theatre is, and always has been, a need to overegg the arrangements, abandoning subtlety in favour of arena filling hugeness and this failing can be seen in Within Temptation’s work too. There is nothing wrong with indulging in spectacle and grandeur, but it is so much more effective when it is tempered by restraint and on ‘Hydra’, alas, there is none to be found. As a result, while there are a number of excellent songs, the album as a whole is too rich, too excessive to be truly enjoyable in one sitting and it is unlikely to beyond the band’s already impressive fan base. In summation, although the band remain exceptionally talented and although there is much to enjoy on ‘Hydra’, the album’s failings make it hard to recommend to any but the already committed Within Temptation Fans.
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