Paradise (What About Us?) EP | Within Temptation

After postponing the release of their upcoming LP to January of 2014, Within Temptation has given us the Paradise (What About Us?) EP, which is titled after the future album's first single. In addition to the single, three demos of songs that will be included on the full-length album are featured, giving fans a taste of what to expect from the future LP and easing the pain of waiting.

 

The lead single is the first track on this little EP. "Paradise (What About Us?)" is a duet with former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen, and it's a heavier single than one may expect, especially since the singles from their last album, The Unforgiving, were a bit  more mainstream than usual. Still, it's a great single choice with its catchy string line and high-profile collaborator. It's hard to stop listening, and it's hard to keep from singing along. Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel and Tarja may be very different singers, but they sound great together on this powerful track. Tarja's vocalizing seemed to morph into the general instrumentation; vocalization in that sense has been one of my favorite elements of Within Temptation, and it's what I missed most on The Unforgiving. I truly hope that the extra vocal line written for Tarja is a sign that den Adel will get plenty of opportunities to do so on the upcoming LP.

The first of the demos we've been privileged to hear on this EP is called "Let Us Burn," and it sounds amazing in this unfinished form. The opening riffs are so dark and epic, and much like during Within Temptation's first album Enter, that cool part is repeated a few times, as if the band actually realizes that it'd be the best part. That part is the basis of the chorus, and Sharon den Adel's voice hits some impressive notes considering she's using her chest voice. (She typically switches to the upper register.) The verses are interesting enough with a subtly dark feel, and the middle eight is very prominent; den Adel's voice is distorted amid driving guitars and a male choir, but then the whole thing just explodes. "Let Us Burn" is fantastic; it's like a combination of The Heart of Everything and The Unforgiving.

But there are more throwbacks on this EP. "Silver Moonlight" brings back Robert Westerholt's grunts, which haven't been heard in Within Temptation's music since the song "Jane Doe" nearly ten years ago. I never thought I'd say this, but it sounds like a combination of Enter and The Unforgiving... Weird combination, I know. Though it starts out mellow, it's a fast-paced, heavy track, and den Adel pushes her vocal limit in the pre-chorus, practically yelling "NO!"

Our small preview of what to expect of the LP coming in January ends with "Dog Days," which is basically the ballad of EP, but it isn't particularly a slow song per se. It's very atmospheric in the verses, but guitars come in during the chorus. I was a bit caught off-guard by the vocals in the chorus; we run into yet another throwback. In their earlier music, I always thought Sharon den Adel's voice was so eerie and shrill, and I haven't heard her quite like this since Mother Earth. I must say, I'm quite happy we get to hear her sing in that way again, though her voice sounds good no matter what she's doing with it. The song itself sounds very emotional, and I really like the chord progression at the end of the chorus. I'm especially excited to hear what this will sound like on the LP since I imagine the instrumentation will definitely change up a bit.

So, that's it from Within Temptation for now, and I must say I'm very pleased with the direction they're headed musically. Just about any fan can find something they like on this sample EP, for Within Temptation are creating something completely new while paying homage to their past sounds. I was definitely not disappointed in what this EP had in store; it's making me even more excited for the new album. Since the demos and lead single sound great, I can confidently predict that this new album is going to blow everyone away. I can't wait to hear it!

Until then, we all must enjoy this EP. It is, after all, very solid material.

Within Temptation and Tarja Release "Paradise (What About Us?)" Music Video

"Paradise (What About Us?)" is the first single from Within Temptation's upcoming album, which features Tarja Turunen, another highly popular force of symphonic metal. For many fans of the genre, the two doing a song together is a dream come true, and this finally brings an end to the constant teasing by the band, for they've released a few snippets of the song and video off and on for what seems like eternity.

 

In a few days, I will review the digital EP of the same name that "Paradise (What About Us?)" will be part of, which will include demos of a few songs that will appear on the January LP. But for now, I ask everyone to just enjoy the song and video. It's a bit heavier than the singles from their previous album, The Unforgiving, and I haven't heard anything too negative about it thus far. I honestly believe that anyone who wasn't a fan of The Unforgiving will see this as an improvement - even I do, and I really loved The Unforgiving. The video is definitely one of my favorites; it's very epic and we get a little twist at the end. Truthfully, it's possibly their best music video.

 

So, here it is. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Artist Evolution

Bands and singers tend to change or tweak the sound of the music they make over time. This happens constantly, whether you've noticed it or not; if they didn't, all of their music would sound the same and result in being very boring. Sometimes, a band will noticably change very quickly by getting a new lead singer or something, and their fans tend to respond very negatively, claiming that their favorite band is now terrible, and "sold out to mainstream" or "are just trying to make money."  If the circumstances were more normal, I'd be able to understand these viewpoints. However... I really can't take any of these extremely annoying people seriously.

Left: Anette Olzon, the new singer of Nightwish
Right: Tarja Turenen, Nightwish's previous singer

For example: Nightwish. Nightwish is a rather popular symphoniac metal band from Findland. Their original female lead singer, Tarja Turunen, had a very distinctive operatic vocal style that went perfectly with the epic metal compositions. So, when Tarja had to leave the band by all of the other members' request, the fans were upset. When Nightwish released their 2007 album entitled Dark Passion Play (which was already musically different than Nightwish's norm) with Anette Olzon, who had a much different vocal style than Tarja... people went crazy. And I mean crazy. Tarja has a lot of extremely devoted fans. All over the internet people argue "THIS ISN'T METAL ANYMORE WE LOVE TARJA BOOHOOO!" Don't get me wrong, Anette has loyal fans who defend her honor as well, but what am I supposed to do when I like both eras? I still felt like it was the same band that I loved, but they have just renovated their approach. They evolved.

Just recently, Within Temptation released a new album called The Unforgiving. Within Temptation has gone through a lot of different eras; no two of their albums sound too similar. But for whatever reason, when this album was released people started to freak out again. Much like the Nightwish ordeal, many people kept complaining that Within Temptation wasn't "metal" anymore, since this new album included more upbeat tracks. What made me laugh most was that they actually considered that album to be pop... Pop? Within Temptation? Ever heard of this genere called rock? It's pretty epic, too. (But I personally still consider Within Temptation to be a metal band; I still consider their new material to be metal.) While I read angry comments concerning this on YouTube, all I could think of was "If I was in a band, I think I'd want to mix the sound up as we went on, too." Within Temptation's been around for over a decade; they can do whatever they want, in my book.

I've also seen this a lot with Evanescence since their albums tend to vary in sound (which is mainly due to lineup changes, and don't we all know that causes drama). "This isn't Evanescence anymore boohoo." Really, it isn't? Sure sounds like them to me. Isn't it awesome how they can make CD after CD and the songs are completely different? Or am I the only one that thinks that...? In this case, sometimes it's just a matter of getting new sets of songs from an artist that makes everyone have hissy fits.

Lady Gaga
She has even evolved visually!

Even the most popular woman in the world is sometimes criticized for evolving her sound. Occasionally people complain that Lady Gaga is too weird now and needs to return to her beginning stages of fame. Usually when people argue about an artist's evolution, they complain that they're less unique in comparison to how they started, but that doesn't apply in this case. Lady Gaga's first album, The Fame, was nice and everything, but it didn't have too many songs where you can say you've never heard anything like that before. Her music is now more artistic and has more variation, in my opinion. One thing that I think everyone can agree on is how much her voice has improved since her debut album, giving her new songs more power since her voice has more power.
And besides, do you really think Lady Gaga wants to act normal?

That is my point, ladies and gentlemen. At the end of the day, it's up to the artist and what they want to do. If they want to change the style of their music then they're free to do so. We as listeners and even fans cannot choose what our favorite bands and singers should do, only they can. It's their decision; it's their right. Have some respect.

Just because your favorite band sounds a bit different doesn't mean that they sold out. How would you like to perform the same old stuff all the time? Even if your favorite metal band "isn't metal anymore" in your opinion doesn't mean they've reverted to pop, because there are so many different types of metal! Plus, rock is still an existing genere. And quite frankly, it's possible to like the changes that they undergo. I do. It's all just evolution.