The Unforgiving | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 March 2011 | |||
Recorded | April–December 2010 | |||
Studio | The Metal Cemetery, Power Sound Studio, Amsterdam, Netherlands | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 53:41 | |||
Label | Dragnet/Sony (Europe) Roadrunner (US and Japan) | |||
Producer |
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Within Temptation chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Unforgiving | ||||
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The Unforgiving is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by Roadrunner Records on 29 March 2011. [3] 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.
Three singles were released for promoting the album. "Faster", the leading single, was released on 21 January 2011. The second single was "Sinéad", released on 21 March. The third and final one, "Shot in the Dark" was released on 12 September. Each single accompanied a short film in order to visually describe the story being told. The group also commenced The Unforgiving Tour in Europe by the middle of 2011. The tour later passed over North America and Latin America for a total amount of 111 concerts.
The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, and the composition, storytelling and musical changes were the most discussed points. Reviewers from Big Cheese and sputnikmusic were welcoming of the changes presented by the band and congratulated the transmedia effort, while Kerrang! and Q magazine had some regards with the topics. The album also achieved commercial success, entering top ten positions in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Germany and Austria.
The initial concept was to write the soundtrack to a film. The band decided to change direction given the inconsistencies and other issues which movies can undergo. As vocalist Sharon den Adel commented: [4]
"What happened was that we wanted to write lyrics for a movie. We were searching for a good movie with a good story and everybody had different release dates. If something goes wrong, a movie can very easily be postponed for a year, and we couldn't take the chance to have to wait for that, otherwise we would have had to postpone our album as well. So we decided to take the matter in our own hands."
In searching for a new concept, they approached the writer of The Chronicles of Spellborn comics, who introduced the band to Steven O'Connell. However, upon his first meeting with the band, he failed to impress them with ideas involving zombies and fantasy, while they were hoping for a more mature approach rather than something unclear and superficial. [4] Sharon explained that, in trying to describe to O'Connell what they were looking for, [4]
"We told him what kind of movies we liked, what kind of books we read, and he thought about it and he came up with a basic idea, like 2 or 3 lines. The story is about people who have done bad things. Not because they are bad, but because they made bad decisions."
Following the formation of the initial ideas, O'Connell completed the rest of the story with additional suggestions from the band. For example, Sinéad was initially a South American woman named Maya, but, as the music to "Sinéad" had already been completed, Sharon requested that the name and nationality be changed. [4] While shooting the three short films and music videos, Mother Maiden ("Faster"), Sinéad and Triplets ("Shot in the Dark"), the band and director (Joeri Holsheimer) came up with several other ideas, among them which song would connect to which story. The band's decision to shoot three short films was mostly to avoid the restrictions imposed on music videos, as Sharon explained: [4]
"...we wanted to put all the money into the movies. You have a budget and then you have to make choices and, to be honest, MTV and everything, it is not so big anymore. And when you make videos, they always say "you can't use blood, you can't use guns, you can't use..." and we wanted to use everything: blood, guns... everything!"
A comic book of the same name, released simultaneously, was written by Steven O'Connell ( BloodRayne and Dark 48) and illustrated by Romano Molenaar ( Witchblade , The Darkness and X-Men ). [5] Three related short films were released prior to the album, the first of which, "Mother Maiden", was released on 31 January 2011. The first issue of the comic books, Penance, Part One, was released on 18 March 2011, and digitally released by Diamond Digital at the New York Comic Con on 22 October. [6] The second issue, Penance, Part Two was released on 13 May. The third issue, Penance, Part Three, was released on 31 August and the fourth issue, Penance, Part Four, on 2 November. [7] [8] [9]
The band first announced that they intended to make a new album in October 2008, as they were finishing touring in support of The Heart of Everything . [10] The album was originally planned to be recorded in 2009, but was further delayed by vocalist Sharon den Adel giving birth to her and guitarist Robert Westerholt's second child. In an interview with Metal Ways at Appelpop 2008, Westerholt stated that the new album was "probably going to be kind of a concept, but it's so early still that nothing is really sure yet. But we're trying to look in that direction." [11]
The album was eventually recorded in the Summer and Autumn of 2010, with the band announcing via their website in November that the album would be entitled The Unforgiving, expected for release in March 2011. The band also announced that their planned tour dates, beginning in March 2011, had been postponed till Autumn due to den Adel's third pregnancy. [12]
A video for "Where Is the Edge" was released on 15 December 2010, along with footage from the upcoming film Me and Mr Jones on Natalee Island. [13] The band also announced that the album would be released alongside a comic book series with the same name, forming a story surrounding the main protagonist, Sinéad. [5]
On 4 December Sharon commented via their official website that they had recorded three upcoming promotional music videos within the course of a week. [14] The band also revealed that, alongside the record and the comic book series, three short films were to be released prior to the album.
The first single, "Faster", had its worldwide radio première on 96.3 Rock Radio on 21 January 2011. This was followed by the release of its music video on 31 January, along with the first short film, Mother Maiden. [15] The band also announced that each of the remaining films would also accompany a band performance. An album trailer, featuring a clip of the new song "In the Middle of the Night" was released on 17 January 2011. [16]
On 3 February 2011, the first English review of the album was published by a freelance journalist online via last.fm and his blog. [17] [18] Still in February, members of Within Temptation were in Paris to promote their new album in France. A first French interview with Sharon Den Adel was published on Metal-Ways.com (in English). [4]
Sinéad, the second short film, was released on 21 March. [19] The accompanying music video was officially released on 10 June 2011 to promote the song's single of the same name, which was released on 15 July. The single differs from the others, as it includes four remixes of the track by four different dance producers. [20] The band also went to Germany to promote the single on Television. [21]
The band commenced The Unforgiving Tour on 10 August at the Sziget Festival, Hungary, playing a selection of songs from The Unforgiving as well as some of their more popular tracks. At the Huntenpop Festival, Netherlands, The Unforgiving was played in its entirety, as well as some older songs. Within Temptation went on to perform at several more summer festivals, such as M'era Luna and Heitere Open Air, before commencing a North American Tour and an indoor European tour in the winter. [22] [23]
On 22 September 2011, the band performed "Where Is the Edge" and "Lost" at the première of Me and Mr Jones on Natalee Island during the 31st Netherlands Film Festival, where the three The Unforgiving short-films were screened. [24]
The final short film, Triplets, was released on 1 September 2011. [25] Its accompanying music video "Shot In the Dark" was officially released on 4 October.
On 20 December, the band released their new music video, Fire and Ice. [26]
To continue promoting the album, the band started a South American tour, visiting Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador. After that, the band went back to Europe to headline several of the biggest European summer festivals, such as Sonisphere, Masters of Rock, Rock Werchter, Summerbreeze and Gods of Metal. [27] [28]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 63/100 [29] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [30] |
Big Cheese | [31] |
Classic Rock | [32] |
Kerrang! | [33] |
Metal Hammer | [34] |
Q | [35] |
Rocksound | 9/10 [36] |
Sputnikmusic | [37] |
Reviews from critics have been mostly positive, with particular praise for den Adel's voice and the band's innovative capacity. Metal Marketing commented on its "change in pace", calling it a career "turning point", but adding that it is "one of the best albums... in a long time", giving it 9.5 out of 10. [18] UK punk, rock and metal magazine, Big Cheese, were also very positive, giving it 5 out of 5 and remarking, "Every song is glorious and frontwoman Sharon den Adel truly is the star of this spectacular show." [31]
Metal Hammer were less favourable, giving the album a lower score of 7 out of 10, noting that fans of their former Celtic sound and "metallic symphonic thunder" may be disappointed, although praising the band for being "exceptional songwriters" and their shift in style, creating "an apt thriller soundtrack without losing their trademark symphonic elements." [34] Classic Rock also gave it 7 out of 10, calling it "grandstanding stuff, multi-layered, complex and rich" as well as "overblown". [32] Allmusic gave it 3.5 out of 5, stating that it "doesn't come off bombastic or overwrought" and that the band lets "the songwriting rule supreme". [30]
Kerrang! were more negative, giving it a "good" score of just 3 out of 5 and deeming it "pretty unsatisfying", while conceding it to be "flawless and expertly crafted". [33] Q gave it just 1 out of 5, the album's lowest rating, labelling the band "the metal T'Pau". [35]
The album currently holds a score of 63 at the aggregate review site Metacritic, indicating "generally favourable reviews". [29]
The Unforgiving was voted fourth and ninth in Roadrunner Records' Album of the Year and Album of the Century polls respectively. [38] [39] Metal Storm's readers awarded the album third place on its best symphonic metal albums of 2011 list and seventh on the "biggest surprise" list. [1] It was also awarded fifth place in Loudwire's list of The Top 10 Rock Albums of 2011. [40] Merlin Alderslade, from Metal Hammer, placed the album at ninth position in his top ten albums of 2011. [41]
Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Loudwire | Top 10 Rock Albums of 2011 | 5 | [40] |
Metal Hammer | Merlin Alderslade's Top 10 Albums of 2011 | 9 | [41] |
Metalholic | 50 Best Metal Albums of 2011 | 9 | [42] |
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Loudwire Music Awards | Rock Album of the Year | Won |
Buma Cultuur Awards | Buma Music in Motion | Won | |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Why Not Me" |
| 0:34 | |
2. | "Shot in the Dark" |
|
| 5:02 |
3. | "In the Middle of the Night" |
|
| 5:11 |
4. | "Faster" |
|
| 4:23 |
5. | "Fire and Ice" |
|
| 3:57 |
6. | "Iron" |
|
| 5:40 |
7. | "Where Is the Edge" |
|
| 3:59 |
8. | "Sinéad" |
|
| 4:23 |
9. | "Lost" |
|
| 5:14 |
10. | "Murder" |
|
| 4:16 |
11. | "A Demon's Fate" |
|
| 5:30 |
12. | "Stairway to the Skies" |
|
| 5:32 |
Total length: | 53:41 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "The Last Dance" |
|
| 4:26 |
Total length: | 58:08 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Utopia" (featuring Chris Jones) |
|
| 3:56 |
Total length: | 57:35 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "I Don't Wanna" |
|
| 5:03 |
14. | "The Last Dance" |
|
| 4:26 |
15. | "Empty Eyes" |
|
| 3:42 |
Total length: | 66:52 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "I Don't Wanna" |
|
| 5:03 |
14. | "Empty Eyes" |
|
| 3:42 |
Total length: | 62:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Mother Maiden" (Short film) | 3:22 |
2. | "Faster" (Music video) | 4:23 |
3. | "Sinéad" (Short film) | 4:32 |
4. | "Sinéad" (Music video) | 4:24 |
5. | "Triplets" (Short film) | 5:19 |
6. | "Shot in the Dark" (Music video) | 5:05 |
7. | "The Making of "The Unforgiving"" | 20:56 |
8. | "Where Is the Edge" (Promo video) | 4:56 |
9. | "Utopia" (Music video) | 3:50 |
10. | "The Unforgiving: The Prequel Comic" | 1:25 |
11. | "Credits" | 0:53 |
12. | "Facebook Names" | 12:06 |
Total length: | 69:11 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Germany (BVMI) [76] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [77] | Gold | 10,000* |
Portugal (AFP) [78] | Platinum | 20,000^ |
* 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. 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 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 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.
Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation have released eight studio albums, five live albums, four extended plays and 26 singles.
"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.
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.
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, titled Elements, and the second one the band's performance at the AFAS Live during the Hydra World Tour.
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.
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.
Worlds Collide Tour – Live in Amsterdam is the fifth video album and sixth live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released on 21 June 2024 on vinyl, CD, Blu-Ray, DVD and in a special 64-page hardcover artbook. The concert was recorded as part of the homonymous tour on 29 November 2022 at the Ziggo Dome, in Amsterdam. In order to promote the release, the live version of "The Reckoning" was released on 24 May 2024.