Yeah, don’t know how I’m going to top my last review with the guys making guitar sounds with their voices. Oh, well.

This next band I’m reviewing is a Dutch symphonic-rock/metal band called Within Temptation. They were formed in 1996 by Sharon den Adel (with her beautiful voice) and Robert Westerholt (one of the guitarists). They were not as well known as they are now in their earlier days with their default album, “Enter”, but with their second album, “Mother Earth”, Within Temptation gained popularity across Europe (with the United States sometime after that).

Their latest release was “The Unforgiving” which was released almost two years ago. This album was different from their previous ones. For starters, their style of music took influence from music from the 1980’s but they still retained their symphonic elements. Secondly, it was a concept album with a short comic book series of the same name and three short films. The comics and the film deals with a group of people who obtained supernatural powers and a chance to redeem themselves by fighting demons after their deaths from a mysterious (and really, really, REALLY, old) person calling herself Mother Maiden. I found the comics and the films to be very interesting. Especially the “Mother Maiden” video, and because of one part, I’m a little afraid of mirrors (look it up on YouTube, you will understand). “The Unforgiving” might be the only album that I enjoy every single song, including the bonus tracks, especially “A Shot in the Dark”, “Fire and Ice”, and “A Demon’s Fate”. By the gods, I just love her voice. Speaking of which, Sharon was voted to be “Rock Goddess of the Year” in Loudwire’s 2011 polls.

Just last month, Within Temptation stated on their website that they are planning on releasing their sixth studio album later this year in the fall. So, far, they really haven’t talked about it. But, they did start selling tickets for their world tour in 2014 for the new album.