This is another Dutch band, which has a brilliant female singer. The other one, of course,
is Gathering. Sharon den Adel is great, and she has the support of many good musicians
in the band. The band may seem to have a bit of an identity crisis, but... I think it is
deliberately, the fact that the band has two major styles in their performance. The soft
light and delicate singing of den Adel, and the opposite force of Robert Westerholt, the
other singer in the band, work well together, and the difference in their singing styles
make a very interesting piece of work.

The line-up:
Sharon den Adel: Vocals
Robert Westerholt: Vocals, Guitars
Jeroen van Veen: Bass Guitar
Ivar de Graaf: Drums
Michiel Papenhove: Guitars
Martijn Westerholt: Keyboards

The album starts with a delicate but sometimes powerful and strong song, Restless. It
settles the fact, once and for all, that den Adel is a very skilled singer, and the song
is very well composed and written. Also, the piano and other music contributions are very
well performed.

The second song, Enter, has a pretty tacky intro and outro, but inbetween, it is rather
good, with singing by both den Adel and Westerholt. They match each other very well, and
this is also a good song, but perhaps it does not leave a very good impression and
remembrance as the first song.

Pearls of Light, the third song, has a good intro with female singing and keyboards, strings
and bass guitar, before it leads on to introducing some heavy guitars. Unfortunately, the
matching between singing and these guitars lack perfection, but this is more due to the
fact that this is not the most well-composed song of the album. The different sections
could have worked well, but as a whole,this song is not really as good as the previous ones.

The guitar intro on the fourth song is not very good, but when the keyboard section and the
male vocals begin, it ceratinly improves its qualities. However, the guitar leads do not
work very well in the song. It seems to be a bit overdone and overworked, a simpler concept
would be preferable, as the verses consist of a good blend of singing and rhythm guitars.

Song number five has a very good intro, with a solemn keyboard/choir part, which is written
very well. The way the song leads on into a heavier section with drums added to the keyboards
works well, and then the song pauses for a while before adding more pace and power in the
guitars. It is a good song, but sometimes the whining guitar is just too much, why not use
the bass guitar and a deep rhythm guitar more? Luckily, Westerholt's and den Adel's singing
is good enough to keep the song at a good level, despite the guitar. Also, the heavier and
deeper guitar in the end of the song helps a lot to make the song better.

The next song is, like many others, not leaving much of an impression, even if it is a well-
performed song. The last two songs, however, are very good. First, the instrumental Blooded,
and finally, the song Candles. Especially the last one has a good combination between
dreamy, atmospheric parts and good instrumental backup.

Overall, Within Temptation make a good album, but the song writing could be better, making
the different components work better together as a whole unit.

Total rating: 7,5 out of 10.