Within Tempation
The Unforgiving
Roadrunner Records

Following their enjoyable dalliances with more stripped down arrangements and intimate surroundings over the last couple of years, Dutch symphonic metal outfit Within Temptation are back to their epic, cinematic best with new album, ‘The Unforgiving’. Bound by a strong narrative (developed together with author Steven O’Connell, whose graphic novel accompanies the record), these twelve tracks see the band at their most polished, Sharon Den Adel giving a brilliant vocal performance throughout, and the band’s impressive compositional skills bearing sometimes breathtaking fruit.

With all that said, some WT fans might find themselves yearning for the past, or even for the more minimalistic approach of their ‘acoustic’ ventures. It’s unsurprising to hear that ‘The Unforgiving’ was initially conceived as a film soundtrack because it’s so brazenly ambitious; this record really does sound like a million dollars, and that, perhaps, is why it’ll be so divisive. First single ‘Faster’ builds from an 80’s referencing riff to an enormous melodic payoff in the chorus, while ‘Where Is The Edge’ and ‘Sinead’ include some of Den Adel’s most emotive performances to date… This woman has an incredible voice, and she dominates this record. There’s such an array of effects and instrumentation that WT’s metallic theatre sounds every bit as huge as any musical out there (and consequentially, is more than a mite cheesy in places), but some of the personal, emotional heft gets lost along the way, with Den Adel seeming to take on a number of roles rather than singing directly from the heart.

Whatever your take, it’s difficult to dispute that ‘The Unforgiving’ is a very impressive record. Taken together with the graphic novel and a set of short films that track the album’s narrative, there’s plenty for hardcore fans to immerse themselves in, and everyone else can appreciate one of the biggest sounding, most complete records ever to emerge from this genre. It’s extremely commercial, very accessible, and, despite the above issues, another step forward in WT’s remarkable development.



Buy the album at Amazon

Review by Rob Sayce