Enter | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 7 April 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1997 | |||
Studio | Studio Moskou, Utrecht, Netherlands | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:46 | |||
Label | DSFA | |||
Producer |
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Within Temptation chronology | ||||
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Singles from Enter | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Blabbermouth.net | 7.5/10 [2] |
Chronicles of Chaos | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10 [4] |
Metal Hammer (GER) | 6/7 [5] |
Enter is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by DSFA Records in 1997. After the band became more widely known in foreign markets, it was re-released by the independent label Season of Mist in North America in 2007, and by Nuclear Blast in 2014. It was produced by Lex Vogelaar, founder of the Dutch death metal band Orphanage, and had to recorded, completed and mixed within three weeks.
The album prominently features lead singer Sharon den Adel's vocals as well as guitarist Robert Westerholt's gruff death metal growls. It is considered a gothic metal release with elements from doom metal, and the lyrics focus mostly on dark and supernatural themes. The track "Restless" was released as the first and only single. Although the album failed to achieve commercial success at the time of its release, it entered the Dutch Charts in 2002 after the commercial success of the band's following album.
One week after they signed with DSFA Records, Within Temptation started recording Enter. The tracks on the album were new versions of the tracks that had appeared on Within Temptation's demos. It was recorded in Studio Moskou, Utrecht, and it was completed and mixed within three weeks. [6]
Robert Westerholt remembers that "it was incomparable to the first recordings we did earlier, this one was much more professional. After all a nice experience, but a very quick one. 'Enter' was recorded in two weeks and mixed in three days, so it was very difficult for we couldn't take time to develop songs. But it was a nice experience - it was our first album!" [6] Vocalist Sharon den Adel recalls that "I only had one and a half days to record my parts and it was quite hectic, just a short warm-up and then 'Go'!" [6] Lex Vogelaar, founder of the Dutch death metal band Orphanage, supplied the guitar parts for the track "Pearls of Light". Orphanage vocalist George Oosthoek performed some of the growls on "Deep Within". [7]
The album's style "sits between gothic metal and doom" [1] and is very instrumental compared to the band's later works. Many of the songs have longer instrumental sections and fewer lyrics. On several songs Westerholt provides growling (in contrast to later albums on which it is rarely used). The lyrics focus on darkness, ghosts, and wars instead of the more common fantasy, love, and nature-centred lyrics found on later albums.
Although it didn't enter the Dutch albums chart in its release year, Enter eventually rose to No. 32 in 2002, after the great success of the song "Ice Queen". [8] The album, along with The Dance were re-released in the US on 18 September 2007 by the label Season of Mist. After the great reception of later albums and the Hydra World Tour, Nuclear Blast decided to release a together re-issue of both Enter and The Dance on 10 November 2014, in order to give the new listeners access to the band's early material. [9] By the end of 2018, the band released the album for the first time on vinyl format. It then entered the Dutch Vinyl Charts on number 6. [10]
Songs from Enter were played live during Within Temptation's shows between 1997 and 1998. After that, only "Restless", "Enter" and "Deep Within" were played regularly during the Mother Earth Tour.
As of 2004, songs from the album Enter are not performed regularly anymore by Within Temptation. The title track and "Candles" were performed at the major concert at the Java Island in Amsterdam during The Silent Force Tour. "Enter" was last played at London in 2005, but "Candles" was played a few times in 2006 and at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp on 9 May 2012, during the 15-year anniversary concert "Elements"; the concert was released in November 2014 as part of the Blu-Ray/CD set called Let Us Burn – Elements & Hydra Live in Concert .
The only single from the album, "Restless", was performed again a few times during The Heart of Everything World Tour in 2007, being performed at shows in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK throughout October and November, and also the 2007 Fanclub Day in July. It was played once in Brazil in 2008 and then on the band's Sanctuary Theater Tour in 2012. At the eleventh version of the Metal Female Voices Fest, in October 2013, former Within Temptation member Martijn Westerholt, nowadays with Delain, played the song live with Sharon den Adel as a guest vocalist.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Restless" | 6:08 | |
2. | "Enter" |
| 7:15 |
3. | "Pearls of Light" |
| 5:15 |
4. | "Deep Within" (feat. George Oosthoek) |
| 4:30 |
5. | "Gatekeeper" |
| 6:43 |
6. | "Grace" |
| 5:10 |
7. | "Blooded" (instrumental) | R. Westerholt | 3:38 |
8. | "Candles" |
| 7:07 |
Total length: | 45:46 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
9. | "Restless" (classical version) | 5:39 |
Total length: | 51:25 |
Chart (2002) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [11] | 32 |
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other influences outside these genres. Critics have noticed the band's experimentation and musical versatility. In an interview, den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences. In another interview, den Adel stated that "We consider ourselves more an atmospheric melodic symphonic metal/rock band... In my opinion, we are not a gothic band but we have gothic elements".
Orphanage were a death metal/gothic metal band from the Netherlands.
Sharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch singer who is the lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been performing since age 14, and co-founded Within Temptation with partner Robert Westerholt in 1996. She was also elected to be the Dutch chairperson of the jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Mother Earth is the second studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. Originally released on 24 December 2000 in the Netherlands, and 21 August 2001 in other parts of Europe. The album was licensed to be released in Germany and neighboring countries through GUN Records in January 2003 as a special extended edition with four bonus tracks. The same edition reached the United Kingdom through Sanctuary Records with a release in September 2004. The album was re-released by Roadrunner Records on 28 September 2007, with bonus live tracks. On 5 August 2008, Mother Earth along with The Silent Force was released in the United States on Roadrunner Records. On 17 December 2018, it was announced that the album would be rereleased on vinyl in January 2019.
Robert Westerholt is a Dutch musician, known as the guitarist and co-founder of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. He writes music for the band, which is fronted by his partner and band vocalist Sharon den Adel. Westerholt used to work in human resource management before his career with Within Temptation.
The Silent Force is the third studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released on 15 November 2004, by GUN Records. On 5 August 2008, The Silent Force along with Mother Earth were released in the United States by Roadrunner Records. This album is the first to feature Ruud Jolie on lead guitar, as well as Martijn Spierenburg on keyboards, after Martijn Westerholt had to leave the band due to illness. It is also the first to feature Daniel Gibson as their producer. The album deepened the band symphonic approach, this time featuring more atmospheric songs that resemble the predominant fantasistic lyrics, inspired both by literature and the band members personal lives.
The Silent Force Tour is the second live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released on November 18, 2005. In addition to the standard double DVD release, the deluxe edition includes a bonus CD. The album was re-released digitally on 14 May 2021, and physically and on vinyl on 23 April 2023.
Lucidity is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released on 4 September 2006 by Roadrunner Records. It was released in the US by Sensory Records on 22 June 2010. In 2016 the band celebrated their 10th anniversary by re-releasing the album.
The Heart of Everything is the fourth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by GUN Records on 12 March 2007 in Europe. It was released in North America on 18 June 2007 by Roadrunner Records. The album follows the symphonic metal sound the band had been improving and deepening until then, and is considered by lead vocalist Sharon den Adel as the album in which the band finally managed to achieve this kind of sound.
"Ice Queen" is a song by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released in June 2001 as the second single from their second studio album Mother Earth. The song was the band's commercial breakthrough, and it remains one of the band's most successful songs to date in Europe. It has been featured on the annual Dutch Top 2000 since 2011.
"The Howling" is a song by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released as an EP on 1 May 2007, exclusively at Hot Topic stores in the United States. It was also used as the second promotional single for The Heart of Everything, digitally released in the United Kingdom while "Frozen" was released elsewhere in Europe.
Black Symphony is the third live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on 22–24 September 2008 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, and Blu-ray. Sony Poland announced this item to be released on 3LP. Release was due Friday 28 December 2018.
An Acoustic Night at the Theatre is the fourth live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation that has been released in October–November 2009.
The Unforgiving is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by Roadrunner Records on 29 March 2011. It was a concept album as one part of a transmedia storytelling project, which accompanied the release of three short films and a series of six comic books. The album followed the band's pattern of incorporating new musical elements on each release, this time marking a major transition point for the band and featuring more pop and 80s influences. Lyrically, the band focused on telling a story with specific characters, also present in the films and comic books.
The Heart of Everything World Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their fourth album, The Heart of Everything.
The Silent Force Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their third album, The Silent Force. The international growth the band had been facing with the album reflected well on the touring schedule and the locations played, as the band started being able to play in several newly visited countries and at bigger music festivals, such as the Download Festival in the United Kingdom, Wacken Open Air in Germany and the Loud Park Festival in Japan. The concert at the Java-eiland, in Amsterdam, was recorded and released homonymously under the name The Silent Force Tour on November, 2005.
Hydra is the sixth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released on January 31, 2014 in Europe and on February 4, 2014 in North America. The album contains guest appearances by singer Howard Jones, rapper Xzibit, metal vocalist Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish) and alternative rock singer Dave Pirner. The first single, "Paradise ", was released on September 27, 2013, and featured Turunen as guest vocalist. The second single, "Dangerous", was released on December 20, in which Jones provided the male vocals.
Let Us Burn – Elements & Hydra Live in Concert is the fifth live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released in November, 2014 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, 2-disc Blu-ray and digital album. The live album features two performances, being the first one the greatest part of the band's 15th anniversary concert at the Sportpaleis, titled Elements, and the second one the band's performance at the AFAS Live during the Hydra World Tour.
Resist is the seventh studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was scheduled to be released worldwide on 14 December 2018, but later postponed to 1 February 2019. The album contains guest appearances by singers Jacoby Shaddix, Anders Fridén and Jasper Steverlinck (Arid) and was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson. It marks the longest time gap between the band's studio releases, the last one being issued in 2014. The album followed the band's pattern of incorporating new musical elements on each release, this time featuring more electronic, pop, and industrial influences. Lyrically, the band opted to focus more on political themes, a subject not explicitly approached by them on previous records.
Bleed Out is the eighth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released on 20 October 2023. It is produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, alongside Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation. The album marks the first time the band opted for releasing a full record without the support of a major record label. Musically, the record incorporates elements from symphonic metal, gothic metal, metalcore, and djent. Lyrically, the band approached themes related to freedom. They addressed subjects such as war, oppression, women's rights, religion, bullying, and inner-struggles.
The album sits between gothic metal and doom
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