"Ice Queen" | ||||
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Single by Within Temptation | ||||
from the album Mother Earth | ||||
B-side |
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Released | June 2001 | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Within Temptation singles chronology | ||||
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"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. [1]
Along with the singles "Mother Earth," "Angels," and "Stand My Ground", "Ice Queen" has become one of the band's signature songs and is played as ending song on the setlist on almost every concert, except for some shows of The Unforgiving Tour onwards, where they started to end with the songs "Mother Earth" or "Stairway to the Skies".
Like many of Within Temptation's songs, the lyrics of Ice Queen take their inspiration from nature. "It's a song about nature", said vocalist Sharon den Adel, in an interview with Dennis Weening on Westpop. "And how things go in nature". Guitarist Robert Westerholt further added that "it's about winter". [2]
There are two official videos for the song "Ice Queen". The first video, released only in the Netherlands even though it is generally known as the "German Version", starts with a girl checking a website for concert videos. Then she finds two links, one saying 'Within Temptation'. She clicks on that link and their concert in Landgraaf in 2001, is shown on her screen. While watching the concert on her computer, she clicks on a couple of links and information on the band appears on her screen.
The second video was made for international release. Sharon, the singer, is dancing on a background of a blue, starry sky. She is wearing a white dress and has white extensions in her hair. The other band members are also shown before various backgrounds made with green-screen effects. Such as Robert, the rhythm guitarist, who is shown on a background of fire, or the drummer, who is shown on a background of a thunderstorm. After a while, all band members are shown together on a red planet.
Weekly Charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Belgium (BEA) [13] | Gold | 25,000* |
Netherlands (NVPI) [14] | Gold | 40,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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. Their most prominent and well-known sound is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as debut album Enter, was mostly gothic metal, with Enter also having a hint of doom metal. 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".
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.
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.
"What Have You Done" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's fourth studio album The Heart of Everything (2007). The song features guest vocals from Life of Agony's lead singer Mina Caputo and it was released as the album's first single in early 2007. It became their first charting single in Canada and in the United States. A new edit and version of the song was released in the US through iTunes on 26 June 2007.
"Stand My Ground" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's album The Silent Force. The song is also included on the US edition of the band's 2007 album The Heart of Everything. It became a top 10 hit in three countries and became a top 40 hit in four other countries. It was also used in the trailer for the film Blood & Chocolate.
"Weather with You" is a song by Australian-New Zealand rock band Crowded House. It was the third and most successful single released from the group's third studio album, Woodface (1991), reaching top 50 in 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it reached number seven. At the APRA Music Awards of 1994, the song won Most Performed Australian Work Overseas. The song was intended to be part of the Finn Brothers' unreleased 1990 debut, but after Capitol Records found the recordings, they were merged with a Crowded House session to become Woodface.
"Mother Earth" is the third single by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their second studio album, Mother Earth.
Black Symphony is the third live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on September 22–24, 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 is due Friday 28 December 2018.
Mother Earth Tour is the first live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released as a double DVD, including a live CD with the track list of the first DVD. The first disc features a live concert with footage from the 2002 rock festivals Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop and Lowlands.
"Faster" is a song by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released as the first single from their fifth studio album The Unforgiving on 21 January 2011. It had its worldwide radio première on 96.3 Rock Radio on the same day. The song was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, with Stefan Helleblad and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.
The Unforgiving World Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, released by Roadrunner Records on 25 March 2011. It was their seventh major tour and their second to see them playing worldwide. The tour commenced on 10 August 2011, at the Sziget Festival, Hungary, and finished on 8 September 2013, at the Rock'n Coke Festival, in Turkey, passing mainly over Europe, with selected concerts in North America and South America. The tour helped on solidifying the band as one of mainland Europe's most successful symphonic metal acts, as it marked a major transition from club and theater to arena concerts on the continent than the previous one. On the North and South American concerts, however, the band still opted to play at smaller capacity venues. For the band's fifteenth anniversary, they held their biggest concert to date with a special presentation at the Sportpaleis, Belgium, featuring some of the band's ex-members on older songs and other special guests. The concert was later released as part of the Let Us Burn – Elements & Hydra Live in Concert live album.
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.
Sanctuary Tour is a concert tour, predominantly acoustic, by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, released by Roadrunner Records on 25 March 2011. This is their eight tour and the third passing over theaters.
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.
The Hydra World Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their sixth studio album, Hydra, released by Nuclear Blast on 31 January 2014. To date, it was their eight major tour and their third to see them playing worldwide. The tour passed over four continents and was divided into several legs according to the local of playing, presenting minor setlist variations from concerts of the same leg and a few more variations from leg to leg. A special leg was entitled "Theatres on Fire", in which saw the band playing seated shows at theatres in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
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, entitled Elements, and the second one the band's performance at the AFAS Live during the Hydra World Tour.
The Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation has released four video albums and has appeared in twenty-nine music videos and three short films. From their first EP, The Dance (1998), they released an animated music video for the song "The Dance". The first live action video came after the release of their second album, Mother Earth (2000), for their national hit single Ice Queen (2001). The single generated two videos, the second one coming only two years later, in order to give the song a better worked music video due to the single newfound international rotation. The second version was directed by frequent heavy metal video director Patric Ullaeus, who had already worked with the band for their Mother Earth video.
The Resist Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, in support of their seventh album Resist which was released on 1 February 2019. The tour began on 11 October 2018 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and visited seventeen countries in Europe. The supporting acts for the first leg were bands Beyond the Black and Ego Kill Talent. For 2019, the band toured North America alongside In Flames and performed at both select European summer festivals and special open air shows with selected guests. The band was scheduled to perform a second round of summer festivals in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festivals had to be cancelled.