Monday, May 17, 2010

Within Temptation -- Still Boring

You know, there are some really intriguing things in this world. Within Temptation has to be one of the premiere female-fronted bands out there. Sharon den Adel has such an amazing voice, one of the best I have ever heard. But see, the thing is, Within Temptation makes… really boring music. Really boring music.

Their first album was really interesting actually, because it was a pure Goth-Metal album and I do see some really good talent. It’s Gothic, and I hate Gothic, but at least one of my friends says it sounds amazing with a proper sound-system. Their second album, Mother Earth, is a really dramatic departure from their first and is basically a Folky sorta album. Folk themes and it kinda sounds folky, but not entirely, without a doubt Mother Earth is Within Temptation’s best album.

The rest of their music… is all meh. There are a few jewels here and there, The Truth Beneath the Rose, Angels, Somewhere and Utopia, and a few others I guess. But really, most of their music is just boring. There is no energy to their music, no life, no passion, just really good sounding music. It doesn’t even strike me as particularly technical in the way that say, Dream Theater or other Progressive Rock and Metal does.

What’s even stranger is my brother found this concert of Within Temptation on Youtube and downloaded it (the pirate that he is… he has all sorts of strange video software). I watched a little of it and I was appalled.

See, when most bands perform on a big stage, that’s awesome. This gives everyone more space and you generally have a bigger budget for special effects like pyrotechnics and smoke machines, etc; if you play at night, you can even throw in awesome lighting. But this thing was horrible. First of all, the bassist and two guitarists look like clones. Okay, we get this is a female-fronted band and that Sharon is your front-woman and the heart of your music, but really… this is a METAL band right? A METAL band, where the lead guitarist is almost just as important, if not more important, than the vocalist? This is a Symphonic Band, right? So why is your keyboardist off in some obscure corner of the stage when you have a freaking huge stage? This is a band, not Sharon’s solo project, so why are the other six members of the band mostly confined to the rear area of the stage while Sharon sings up front. Finally, as a bit of a minor complaint: please, for the Love of all things Metal, GROW YOUR HAIR. I know this might sound absolutely stupid, but it’s really quite hard to call yourself a metal band when none of your guitarists (bassist included) can headbang properly. Demon Hunter, Live at Nashville, despite having a very Hardcore-Punk look, felt more metal than these guys. Jon Dunn HEADBANGS, and no matter what Don Clark did, he looked freaking awesome. Oh, and no jumping on stage. Jumping is cool, but it’s not metal. Don’t jump, headbang. So yes, again Within Temptation gets a thumbs down from me. I’ll give them another chance when they drop all their lame Goth influence.

Oh, and Ronnie James Dio died, so, if you haven’t already, go buy all his music and listen to it. No crying, cuz metal men don’t cry, but you man scream at the top of your lungs like a true Viking/celt/biker/klingon warrior.

Darn, now I want to know what a Viking/Celt/Biker/Klingon warrior would look like. A hairy Klingon with Woad tattoos driving a chopper… that could be scary.

No comments: