WITHIN TEMPTATION (Live)

at The First Direct Arena, Leeds, U.K., November 19, 2024

Dutch symphonic rockers, Within Temptation, made a welcome return to the First Direct Arena in Leeds where they co-headlined with Evanescence two years ago to this very day. This time they returned on their own with a couple of surprise guests as sole headliners on the closing night of their current UK tour.

A spirited opening slot from German post hardcore band Annisokay warmed things up nicely with the harsh growls of Rudi Schwarzer contrasting starkly with guitarist Christoph Wieczorek’s melodic, clean voice on songs such as “Calamity” and “Throne Of The Sunset” as well as a lively romp through Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer”. In something of a surprise move, Sharon Den Adel, lead singer of Within Temptation joined the band on stage in her regular street clothes for a romp through “Like A Parasite”.

Most bands these days seem to balk at playing new material preferring instead to rely on a tried and trusted back catalogue. Within Temptation however, are no run of the mill band and instead launch into now fewer than five songs from their latest Bleed Out opus. It’s easy to why with the immediate impact of “We Go To War”, “Ritual”, “Don’t Pray For Me” and the title track, all built on soaring melodies and powerful delivery with some heavy weight riffs providing a stirring foundation.

Of course, the Within Temptation classics were all present and correct from the frantic “Faster”, “Stand My Ground” and a wonderfully bombastic “Our Solemn Hour” with Den Adel’s powerful yet supremely melodic vocals taking the chorus to another level.

With a stage set featuring Greek style pillars and stunning lighting and video visuals this was one impressive spectacle befitting such grandiose songs such as “A Shot In The Dark” and “The Reckoning”.

The first surprise of the evening was an appearance by Ukrainian vocalist, Alex Yarmak, on “A Fool’s Parade”. Even better was to follow when original Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen joined Den Adel for “The Promise” and a cover of Tarja’s “I Feel Immortal” from her 2010 release What Lies Beneath.

Astonishingly they managed to top even that when Tarja returned during the encores for a stunning take on “Paradise (What About Us?)” and what a treat it was seeing the two First Ladies of symphonic rock up on stage together.

There was only one place to after such a high and the vintage “Mother Earth” delivered the killer blow of an outstanding evening.

Author

Mick Burgess

Mick is a reviewer and photographer here at Metal Express Radio, based in the North-East of England. He first fell in love with music after hearing Jeff Wayne's spectacular The War of the Worlds in the cold winter of 1978. Then in the summer of '79 he discovered a copy of Kiss Alive II amongst his sister’s record collection, which literally blew him away! He then quickly found Van Halen I and Rainbow's Down To Earth, and he was well on the way to being rescued from Top 40 radio hell! Over the ensuing years, he's enjoyed the Classic Rock music of Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Deep Purple; the AOR of Journey and Foreigner; the Pomp of Styx and Kansas; the Progressive Metal of Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, and Symphony X; the Goth Metal of Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Epica, and a whole host of other great bands that are too numerous to mention. When he's not listening to music, he watches Sunderland lose more football (soccer) matches than they win, and occasionally, if he has to, he goes to work as a property lawyer.
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