Within Temptation

Friday evening, the sun chased the last clouds of a rainy week away and the famous Huntenpop festival is about to start. Only a few miles behind the border of Germany/Netherlands, the conditions couldn`t be better for THE Dutch Gothic band. Within Temptation have chosen this setting for the live presentation of their new album “The Unforgiving“…

Within Temptation have classified all information about this concert top secret, but some details found their way to the public, e.g. that the Dutch will play their whole new album from the first to the last second.

And this is what happens when Within Temptation are entering the tent stage at 20:45. 1500 fans give them a warm welcome when the band starts with `Shot in the Dark`. You can feel the strain from the first second. Robert Westerholt and the other instrumentalists are acting really with care and Sharon den Adel shows already some big gestures, but is still a bit immobile. Actually the audience becomes a bit strained as well. It is `Faster` that gives the audience a first bit of drive, but it takes until the great `Sinéad` to let all hell break loose. All arms are going up in the air, the audience sings along and the atmosphere is getting hotter and hotter every moment – which inspires also the band, and the following hits come much heavier from the PA.

When the last tune of “The Unforgiving“ is over, it is time for a small break – not long enough to fetch a new beer. After that, Within Temptation are playing another 1 hour set which consists of band classics. You can feel that the band isn`t strained any more: chief Robert Westerholt poses and acts like an insane and Sharon den Adel dances in exstasy. Also the audiences celebrates like hell and sings along to classics like `Stand my Ground`, `Mother Earth` and `Ice Queen`. This is how I like concerts.
But let me say a word to the light- and pyro-show: Within Temptation did not save money here because they are using the biggest and most impressive battery I have EVER seen on such a concert! Also the video animations are really great. So visually everything is gigantic! Less gigantic, however, is the sound. It is actually possible to hear every single instrument, but the mixture is just to poppy. This takes the punch and makes especially the new songs too monotonous and similar sounding.

All in all it was a great evening. Whilst the sound was a small minus, the show was a big plus. Now I am curious about the tour when Within Temptation can play without any pressure at all.