Hydra | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 22, 2014 | |||
Recorded | April–October 2013 | |||
Studio | MCO (Hilversum, The Netherlands) Graveland Studio (Kortenhoef, The Netherlands) 6DC Studio (The Netherlands) Crumbling Wall Studios (Sweden) | |||
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Producer | Daniel Gibson | |||
Within Temptation chronology | ||||
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Singles from Hydra | ||||
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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 (ex-Killswitch Engage), rapper Xzibit, metal vocalist Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish) and alternative rock singer Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum). The first single, "Paradise (What About Us?)", was released on September 27, 2013, and featured Turunen as guest vocalist. [3] The second single, "Dangerous", was released on December 20, in which Jones provided the male vocals. [4]
This is the first album by Within Temptation to be recorded with three guitarists, with Stefan Helleblad making his Within Temptation studio debut on Hydra since his addition to the band shortly after the release of The Unforgiving in 2011. Hydra is also the first Within Temptation album to feature Robert Westerholt's growling techniques since the band's debut album, Enter in 1997.
The writing process of the album began in 2012, and at the first half of the year the band had six songs written already. [5] The album was originally scheduled to be released worldwide in September, by their new label, BMG [6] [7] and in the Netherlands by Universal Music. [8]
On June 16, without finishing the whole album, the band went on to record the first music video for the new album. [9] During a series of statements about the recording progress of the album, Westerholt stated that the album would contain death growls. [10] In mid-May, bassist Jeroen van Veen went to the studio to record the bass base for the first five songs. [11] The band eventually got a North American sign deal with Nuclear Blast. The band also established a licensing deal with Dramatico for the United Kingdom release of the album. [12] Once the drumming and vocal recording were complete, the final guitar recordings started on August 26 [13] and finished on October 22. [14]
On August 30, the band announced that the lead single "Paradise (What About Us?)" would be released as an EP, also set to feature three tracks from the upcoming album in their demo form, being them "Let Us Burn", "Silver Moonlight" and "Dog Days". Upon making this announcement, den Adel said: "By releasing these demos we want to invite you in our home studio and show how we capture song ideas at an early stage of creating a new album. These demo versions are far from their final sound on the album, but will give you a hint of what we're working on. It will be fascinating to hear how the end result will sound like, once the album is released.". After announcing that the lead single would contain a guest musician, on September 13 the band officially announced that Tarja Turunen was set to appear as a special vocalist on the title song. [3]
The album's name was revealed on November 8, along with the official track list, all guest musicians and the cover art, [15] [16] designed by Romano Molenaar, the same artist who made the cover for The Unforgiving . [17] The album title refers to the great variation in musical genres the band improves on with each new release. About the concept, guitarist Robert Westerholt says: "Hydra is a perfect title for our new album, because like the monster itself, the record represents the many different sides of our music." [17] According to the ancient Greek mythology, the Hydra was a giant multi-headed serpent that, for each severed head, sprang forth two more in their place. [18]
As the title, the sound composition of the album was said to be varied, as Westerholt said, also referring to the album title, that they "wanted it to be a real Within Temptation record, but heavier, more musically challenging, pushing borders and frontiers with new elements and influences, and at the same time bring back more from our early metal roots... a bit like the past and future at the same time."[ citation needed ] During an interview for Ultimate Guitar Archive, den Adel said that the main improvement on the last two records, in which is the transition to the symphonic metal itself to a more varied and multi-oriented sound, came from the fact that the band was considering itself "being in a box" where it could only sound in a restricted way inside its own genre and, having sold out all the possible elements in their 2007 release The Heart of Everything , the band decided to "let all boundaries go musically where [they] were not allowed to go" and improve their sound with "anything [that] can come out" and fit on the album. [19]
"Well, the case is more the fact we let go of a certain way of songwriting how we used it in the past. Like, in the past, we had a certain idea about how we wanted to sound and what we were allowed to be within our genre. Nowadays we feel like with The Heart Of Everything, we felt like we finalized this symphonic kind of sound we were searching for all those years."
— Sharon den Adel, about incorporating new elements outside the symphonic metal genre [20]
On answering a fan during a Q&A session on Twitter, den Adel commented that the main inspiration for the songs on the album were "the big things in life". [21] The first track, "Let Us Burn", is more guitar-oriented with less orchestrations and presents an air of melancholy, in order to propose "real direct emotion in a way". [19] "Dangerous", the second track and second single, is about thrill seekers and daredevils, [22] illustrating people who need to live on the edge. The song contains fast riffs, distorted synthesizers, an over-use of drum bass in comparing with the band typical musical structures [23] and features a fast and heavy uptempo nature that matters well the subject [24] as also the music video, that features renowned skydiver Jokke Sommer performing gliding through the air and pulling off stunts.
"And We Run" was the band's first track ever to contain rap vocals in an unexpected duet with American rapper Xzibit. According to den Adel, the main fact that the band decided to invite him was his open-mind for experimenting. The song introduces itself with a piano and den Adel's clean singing right to chorus when she uses her high voice until Xzibit enters, contrasting with his rap vocals and dark, deep voice. Xzibit was allowed to do his parts in his own way as the band wanted it to be original and coming from the rapper's perspective. [24] According to Westerholt, there was an initial criticism about the collaboration, as it appeared to run so far from their original musical style, and then an unexpected praise for the song. [25]
The first track to be revealed was "Paradise (What About Us?)". As it is closer to their symphonic metal roots, the band choose to invite musical genre fellow and former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen, as it is also on her comfort zone. [25] On collaborating with Turunen, den Adel stated that they "immediately clicked, not only creatively but personally" as "it felts completely natural that [they] would do this together". [26] The song features many strings, fast drums, heavy guitars and orchestrations as den Adel delivers a lighter and more natural tone and Turunen a deeper and more powerful singing. [27] Lyrically the song is about collectivity and it is based on the speech given by retired four-star general Peter van Uhm on May 4, 2013, which addressed the importance of not thinking only of "yourself" or "them", but "us". [28] On reviewing the earlier EP, critic Simon Bower described it as "every female fronted metal fan utopian song" mainly because of the cited duet. [29]
On July 12, the first material came to the public eye, with the band revealing a teaser trailer, with no title or song titles revealed. [30] [31] [32] In the next month, the band announced the title of the lead single, "Paradise (What About Us?)", also uploading a teaser trailer revealing some lyrics and a guitar solo in anticipation for the release. The music video and EP were released on September 27. On October 25 and 26, den Adel and Westerholt presented an unknown number of songs to the press. [33] [34] The official teaser trailer came out on November 8, along with the official announcement of the album name and release dates. [35] On November 21, the band revealed that it was working again with director Patric Ullaeus, who made the video of "Mother Earth", on two new music videos to promote the album, being them "Dangerous" featuring Howard Jones, which was released on December 20, [4] and "Whole World is Watching" featuring Dave Pirner. [36] At the end of November, Sharon traveled to Finland to start promoting the album on a radio station [37] and present it to the press in France, Germany [38] and the United Kingdom. [39] On December 4, the first show of the upcoming promotional tour to have the tickets to be sold out was the one at the Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam. [40] During the promotional travelings, den Adel gave critics and radio stations access to the recording, and the first public impression from the album came through German radio station Rock Antenne, which classified the album as "fast" and "heavy" and gave it a score of 5/5. [41] The third single, "Whole World Is Watching", was the chosen song for the album promotion in Poland, debuting on the Polish national radio station Polskie Radio Program III on January 10, 2014, in a special version featuring Polish singer Piotr Rogucki. [42] [43] [44] The band then went on a special trip to the United States to promote a listening party in Los Angeles on January 24, with the presence of den Adel, Westerholt and Jolie, [45] a signing session in New Jersey [46] and to promote the album on radio stations. [47] In the meantime, the band appeared for the first time on the cover of an American magazine. [24] A few days later, on January 15, 2014, the main version of the song, featuring Pirner, was released as a promotional song on Dutch/Belgian radio station Q-music. [48] As heading back to Europe, the band went on to visit popular Dutch radio stations such as 538 and 3FM and television programs [49] for interviews and acoustic performances. [50] [51] On January 20, the band announced a try-out show for the upcoming tour at the Effenaar, in Eindhoven (NL), to be held on February 20, having the tickets sold out on the same day. [52] The tour was originally planned to start in January 2014, but it was postponed to a month later, so the band could polish more the songs before releasing the album and also have more time to rehearsals for the following tour. [53] After this period of radio and television appearances for acoustic performances and interviews, the band is embarked on the Hydra World Tour, engaging on a try-out show on February 20 at the Effenaar, Eindhoven. Tickest for the show were completely sold out at the same day it was put on sale. [54] The first official show occurred on February 26, in Helsinki, Finland, and the arena tour was scheduled to pass primarily in Europe before the summer festivals season. Due to great demand, additional shows were announced and several venues were changed to larger ones with the intention to accommodate more people. [55] [56] At the end of the European leg, the tour had an attendance of over 120.000 people. [57]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Loudwire | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Hammer | 6/7 [60] |
Metal Storm | 8.4/10 [61] |
Rock Hard | 7.5/10 [62] |
Rock n Reel | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hydra received critical acclaim upon release. The first public impression from the album, through German radio station Rock Antenne, described the album as "fast" and "heavy", giving it a score of 5/5. [41] Music magazine Reflections of Darkness scored the album 10/10, classifying it more "earthly and modern" in comparing with the previous releases that featured a more "celestial romance and coldness" atmosphere. While commenting the new "fashionable influences" due to the special guests and other musical directions, the review ended alleging that "still symphonic metal and progressive elements are [there] for those who are never tired of flawlessness, who value high-quality music and who are no strangers to the classical heritage." [65] Rustyn Rose, from Metalholic webzine, also praised the album by giving it a score of 9.3 out of 10, primarily referring to the band's return to "its heavier and dramatic foundation" while also "continuing to grow and expand its boundaries". About the guest singers, the reviewer commented that the song styling was diverse, but the band managed well to put the genres crossing on their own style. At the end of the review, Rose called it "a masterful recording." [66] British website Rock n Reel awarded the album 4 out 5 stars, also pointing the "mix of styles" presented in the record, especially the introduction of rap verses (making it as a rap/nu metal styles) in the track "And We Run" and comparing the collaboration with Xzibit to that of Linkin Park and Jay-Z, while commenting that "it works pretty well". Besides that, reviewer classified the album as "full of synths, airy guitars, excellent backing vocals and harmonies." [63] Eric Hunker, from American website The Front Row Report, praised the album and lamented their low popularity in the United States while crowding arenas in their native land, saying that "Hydra is bound to thrust them onto the global stage and finally garner them the attention and respect they so richly deserve" while calling them "musical geniuses". Hunker alleged that "Hydra finds [Within Temptation] further pushing their boundaries, exploring new elements and influences, while at the same time revisiting their heavier metal roots" and gave the album a score of 9.5 out of 10. [67] Adam Rees, from Metal Hammer, placed the album number 20 at the Metal Hammer staff best of 2014 list. [68]
Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
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De Telegraaf | Best 2014 Dutch Albums | 4 | [69] |
Metal Storm | Readers Top Symphonic Metal Albums of 2014 | 3 | [70] |
Metalholic | 50 Best Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 2014 | 13 | [71] |
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
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2014 | AIM Awards | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
Metal Hammer Awards | Best Album | Nominated | |
World Music Awards | World's Best Album | Nominated | |
2015 | Independent Music Companies Association Awards | European Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
The album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart on February 9, 2014, making it the band's highest charting album in the country, with The Unforgiving charting at number 23. [72] In the Netherlands, Hydra marked the band's return to the first position on the charts since the release of The Heart of Everything in 2007, as The Unforgiving's peak position was number two. [73] The album also reached the number one position on the Czech Republic album charts, making it their first number-one album outside the Netherlands. [74] The album was also the first one to enter the US Billboard 200 in a top 20 position, charting at the number 16 and selling over 15,000 copies in the first week of release, a position far better than the predecessor The Unforgiving, which reached number 50. The album also reached number one on the American Top Hard Rock album charts. [75] At that time, Hydra also became the group's highest charted album in Austria, [76] France, [77] Germany, [78] and Switzerland. [79] Considering the great reception of both the album and tour on the North American market, Nuclear Blast opted to release a re-issue of the out-of-print albums Enter and The Dance on November 10, 2014, in order to give people access to the band's early material. [80]
All lyrics are written by Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt, except where noted
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Let Us Burn" (lyrics: den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson) |
| 5:31 |
2. | "Dangerous" (featuring Howard Jones) |
| 4:53 |
3. | "And We Run" (featuring Xzibit; lyrics: den Adel, Westerholt, Alvin Joiner) |
| 3:50 |
4. | "Paradise (What About Us?)" (featuring Tarja) |
| 5:20 |
5. | "Edge of the World" |
| 4:55 |
6. | "Silver Moonlight" |
| 5:17 |
7. | "Covered by Roses" |
| 4:48 |
8. | "Dog Days" |
| 4:47 |
9. | "Tell Me Why" |
| 6:12 |
10. | "Whole World Is Watching" (featuring Dave Pirner, or Piotr Rogucki on the Polish edition; lyrics: den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson) |
| 4:03 |
Total length: | 49:36 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Grenade" (Bruno Mars cover, track 15 on Japanese special edition) |
| 3:44 |
12. | "The Power of Love" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover, track 16 on Japanese special edition) | 4:00 | |
Total length: | 57:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Radioactive" (Imagine Dragons cover) |
| 3:14 |
12. | "Summertime Sadness" (Lana Del Rey cover) |
| 4:06 |
13. | "Let Her Go" (Passenger cover) | Michael David Rosenberg | 3:43 |
14. | "Dirty Dancer" (Enrique Iglesias cover) |
| 4:14 |
15. | "And We Run" (Evolution track, moved to track 17 on Japanese special edition) |
| 5:40 |
16. | "Silver Moonlight" (Evolution track, moved to track 18 on Japanese special edition) |
| 6:04 |
17. | "Covered by Roses" (Evolution track, moved to track 19 on Japanese special edition) |
| 4:42 |
18. | "Tell Me Why" (Evolution track, moved to track 20 on Japanese special edition) |
| 4:59 |
Total length: | 44:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
21. | "Let Us Burn" (instrumental) | 5:31 |
22. | "Dangerous" (instrumental) | 4:53 |
23. | "And We Run" (instrumental) | 3:50 |
24. | "Paradise" (instrumental) | 5:20 |
25. | "Edge of the World" (instrumental) | 4:55 |
26. | "Silver Moonlight" (instrumental) | 5:16 |
27. | "Covered by Roses" (instrumental) | 4:47 |
28. | "Dog Days" (instrumental) | 4:47 |
29. | "Tell Me Why" (instrumental) | 6:12 |
30. | "Whole World Is Watching" (instrumental) | 4:02 |
Total length: | 49:32 |
Within Temptation
Additional musicians
Production
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Date | Label | Format(s) |
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Japan | January 22, 2014 [115] | Victor | |
Europe | January 31, 2014 | BMG | |
Brazil | Hellion | ||
North America | February 4, 2014 | Nuclear Blast | |
United Kingdom | Dramatico |
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".
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.
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 released by the independent label Season of Mist in North America in 2007, and re-printed 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.
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 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.
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.
The discography of Finnish symphonic metal singer Tarja Turunen, consists of ten studio albums, one compilation album, six extended plays, eight live albums, eleven video albums, one box-set, fifty five singles and forty eight music videos.
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.
"Paradise " is a single and studio EP by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their sixth studio album Hydra. It was released on 27 September 2013 with three songs from the upcoming album in their demo versions and also accompanying a music video. The song features former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen. Beside its digital release, the EP was also released as a physical CD in Japan. A new mix of the song was later released in Turunen's album The Brightest Void.
"Whole World Is Watching" is a song by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their sixth studio album, Hydra. It was released in Poland as the third single from the album on 22 January 2014 and was scheduled to have its main release on 21 February. The song features guest vocals from Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, with Polish rock singer Piotr Rogucki of the band Coma providing vocals on the Polish version of Hydra.
"And We Run" is a studio EP and single by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their sixth studio album Hydra which features American rapper Xzibit. It was released on May 23, 2014 containing three demos from the album and different versions of the title song. The music video was released on the same day.
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.
The Brightest Void is the third EP by Finnish rock and metal soprano vocalist Tarja Turunen. It serves as a prequel to the main album The Shadow Self. It was released on the 3 June 2016 and contains 9 tracks.
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.