| My Indigo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 20 April 2018 |
| Recorded | 2016–2017 |
| Genre | Indie pop [1] |
| Length | 38:43 |
| Label | BMG |
| Producer |
|
| Singles from My Indigo | |
| |
My Indigo is the debut studio album by Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel with her solo musical project My Indigo. It was released on 20 April 2018. The track listing of the debut album was released on 31 January 2018 by Within Temptation fansite DontTearMeDown. [2]
After returning from Within Temptation latest tour, going through a writer's block while composing songs for their next album, and also having undisclosed personal problems, den Adel decided to compose for herself as a form to cope with these problems. As the sound differed considerably from what the singer is known for in the metal scene and after seeing the results, it was then decided to release these songs publicly as a solo project album. [3] Later, the singer revealed that the familiar problems consisted on her father's illness and death. [4] [5]
Fearing a permanent loss of her creativity to write for her band and not being able to reach the needed feelings for that again, den Adel stated she could find inspiration in this situation itself while composing more introspective and soul searching songs. [6] The singer noted that while Within Temptation songs are more "combative, powerful and big", the songs in this project are "smaller, much more direct, personal and vulnerable", which has enabled her to achieve the other extreme of her songwriting without affecting her work with the band. [7] The singer took inspiration from both contemporary music and 80s songs she grew up with, as a form of revisiting her youth and her personal journey. [4]
The composing process was also different, as den Adel sometimes worked upon the lyrics first and just later on giving it melodies and vocal lines, which is the opposite process of what she used to do previously. [6] The name of the project and album came from the "light" but "moody" feeling that the color provides, as according to the singer it fitted well the main atmosphere of the songs. [8] The first single, also entitled My Indigo, was released on November 10, 2017. [9] The song "Firelight" was originally composed for the album, but it was considered too dark to fit the release at that time and put on hold. After some reworking, it then ended up appearing on Within Temptation's seventh studio album Resist, released in 2019. [10] [11]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Express & Star |    [12] |
| Louder Than War | [13] |
| Metal Hammer | 5/7 [14] |
Music critic Mike Ainscoe, from Louder Than War, called the album "vulnerable", "introspective" and stated that its main signature is den Adel's emotional vocals. Ainscoe noted a "Euro glossiness that’s glazed with contemporary pop" and a heavy influence of eighties music on the songs, with even some reggae influences as on the track "Indian Summer". Besides that, he considered the album safe and not too far from den Adel's comfort zone as a musician, and finished his review commenting that the singer "revealed a hidden, vulnerable and meditative side that flies below the Within Temptation power and bravado." [13]
Leigh Sanders, from Express & Star, was also positive about the album in her 7 out of 10 review. Sanders considered the record "a delicious slice of electronic pop with thumping beats", praising den Adel's vocals and citing the track "Crash and Burn" as the highlight of the album, while also noting some commodities from her metal career as percussion plays a key role. Sanders concluded her review alleging that "it is these expressive and exciting bursts of thunder that make each track more than just another pop song." [12]
Metal Hammer's Lisa Gratzke was also positive about the album, praising the lyrics and technical aspects while also noting some indie pop influences. Gratzke highlighted the fact that the album was a "way out of [den Adel's] crisis" and concluded her review commenting that it is "a beautiful excursion into unfamiliar realms, a mild summer breeze, enchanting with its lightness and still existing depth". [14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Indigo" |
| 3:25 |
| 2. | "Crash and Burn" |
| 4:37 |
| 3. | "Black Velvet Sun" |
| 3:30 |
| 4. | "Indian Summer" |
| 2:51 |
| 5. | "Out of the Darkness" |
| 3:57 |
| 6. | "Star Crossed Lovers" |
| 3:07 |
| 7. | "Someone Like You" |
| 3:12 |
| 8. | "Safe and Sound" |
| 5:42 |
| 9. | "Lesson Learned" |
| 3:53 |
| 10. | "Where Is My Love" |
| 4:29 |
| Total length: | 38:43 | ||
The track listing has a slightly different track list "Out of the Darkness" is track 3 on the digital release but track 5 on the cd release; "Black Velvet Sun" is track 3 on the cd release but track 5 on the digital release.
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [15] | 47 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [16] | 6 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [17] | 79 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] | 3 |
| French Albums (SNEP) [19] | 110 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20] | 39 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [21] | 52 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [22] | 27 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [23] | 100 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [24] | 7 |
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".
Sharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch singer who is the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been a performing musician since the age of 14, and is a founding member of Within Temptation, along with 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.
The Metal Opera is the first full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German supergroup project, Avantasia. It is a concept album and a rock opera. The album is followed by the sequel The Metal Opera Part II. Both were written over the course of a year, starting in the last quarter of 1998, and both were produced from October 1999 to June 2000, with the works being interrupted for some weeks so Sammet could produce The Savage Poetry with his other band Edguy.
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.
"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.
"All I Need" is a power ballad written by Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt for Within Temptation's fourth studio album The Heart of Everything (2007).
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.
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, entitled Elements, and the second one the band's performance at the AFAS Live during the Hydra World Tour.
My Indigo is a musical project by Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel. The project was announced in late 2017 and is unrelated to den Adel's symphonic metal band Within Temptation.
"My Indigo" is the first single of Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel musical project My Indigo. The song was announced on 9 November 2017, by den Adel at the Dutch talkshow RTL Late Night, and officially released on 10 November 2017, via a Facebook announcement.
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.
"The Reckoning" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's seventh studio album Resist, and features guest vocals from Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach. It was released worldwide via digital download and streaming on 14 September 2018. A promotional lyric video accompanied the release. The official music video for the song was released on September 24. The video was nominated for an Edison Award for Best Video.
"Firelight" is the third single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's seventh studio album Resist, and features guest vocals from Jasper Steverlinck of Arid. It was released worldwide via digital download and streaming on 23 November 2018.
"In Vain" is the fourth single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's seventh studio album Resist. It was released worldwide via digital download and streaming on 11 January 2019.
"Shed My Skin" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in collaboration with German metalcore band annisokay. It was released as a single worldwide via digital download and streaming on 25 June 2021. The song was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.
"Don't Pray for Me" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide as a single on 8 July 2022 via digital download and streaming and as part of an EP containing the previous three independent singles released by the band and their respective instrumental versions. A limited edition on vinyl was also released on 15 July. The song was produced by their long-time producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.
