Within Temptation
Mother Earth

THE REVIEW

When I first listened to this CD, I approached any music without whirling solos or blistering double bass with skepticism (you have to understand, it was the early months of my conversion to metal). But "Mother Earth," the second CD by the Dutch sextet, struck me in a positive way. Many people bring up Gothic Metal when talking about Within Temptation's music.
In reality, the 10 tracks (plus a bonus track) that make up the album are decidedly sunny and fresh, far from any gothic cliché. In my opinion, one can talk about gothic in Within Temptation only in their debut "Enter." Thus, one can define their music as Symphonic Metal influenced by very enchanting and sweet Celtic music, where choirs, orchestrations, and especially Sharon Den Adel's piercing voice take center stage.

The CD opens with "Mother Earth," one of the best tracks of the batch, with a dreamy and fantasy atmosphere. The choirs and orchestrations are at the forefront. The same thing happens in the second track "Ice Queen," although with a more direct imprint. The third track is a truly touching ballad "Our Farewell," where the piano notes stir emotions. "Caged" is the track most influenced by Celtic music. The interlude is beautiful. "The Promise" is truly beautiful; in its 8 minutes, strings, brass, slow rhythms, and more upbeat ones make an appearance. It would not be out of place as a soundtrack for some fantasy film. "Never Ending Story" is a more traditional ballad, while "Deceiver Of Fools" is the most beautiful track on the album. I’ll just say one thing: listen to it. A brief intro leads us to the most lively track of the album "Dark Wings." The album closes with the ballad "In Perfect Harmony," beautiful but a bit too syrupy for my taste.

If you've always wanted to enter the world of your fairy tales, listen to "Mother Earth." But even the toughest metalheads might melt with a CD like this!