Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

When some time ago Robert Westerholt said that Within Temptation's new album would be a conceptual record based on a comic book, everybody knew they were up for something big. In fact the band recruited Steven O'connell (BloodRayne, Dark 48) and Romano Molenaar (Witchblade, The Darkness, X-Men) to create a story that would further develop the ideas of The Unforgiving, Within Tempation's fifth studio album, a solid record that features the typical pompous sound of the band and adds some new elements that show that their ideas are far from running out.
The concept is as follows: Mother Maiden is set to fight evil. Despite being and old lady, she has a very powerful skill: she can bring dead people back to life. Then these people will go about hunting criminals down, thus redressing the crimes they themselves committed in their past lives, not because they were bad, but because they made wrong choices. Thus, Mother Maiden brings Sinéad and the Triplets to life. The former killed her father after an argument about her stealing money from him and the latter blew up a hand grenade to kill their father, an alcoholic war veteran who used to beat his sons. Besides the lyrics, the storyline is supported by three short films telling the stories of Mother Maiden, Sinéad and The Triplets, and a monthly comic book. As it can be seen, the record does not limit itself to music, but it also works on the visual aspect.
Concerning the music, the album is solid. There are no fillers and the lengh is perfect, the record not becoming tedious at any moment. The songs feature Within Temptation's trademark sound: powerful chord progressions, string arrangements, catchy choruses, epic choirs and straight-to-the-point lyrics. Faster, Shot In The Dark, In The Middle Of The Night, Iron, among others add to the already long list of hits Within Temptation has. All of them give the listener no pause to distract. Each song is laden with power and yet is easy to digest. However, there are new elements as well. The song Sinéad, for instance, could be a dance-floor hit, featuring an upbeat tempo and lively keyboard arrangements. Its video, in fact, was shot at a nightclub, a sort of taboo place for symphonic metal bands. Perhaps this is a new direction that Within Temptation wants to follow. One should not forget that singer Sharon den Adel collaborated, not long a go, with DJ Armin Van Buuren in the trance song In And Out Of Love. This capacity of being able to incorporate different sounds also shows that Within Temptation's music transcends styles beyond what is "appropriate" within the symphonic metal genre.
A special mention goes to Sharon. Even though she recently gave birth to her third kid, her voice remains flawless. The Unforgiving presents some of the most complex songs ever written in the band's career. Nevertheless she manages to sing through them effortlessly and her voice soars to reach notes that will leave listeners wondering how high a woman's voice can go.
The Unforgiving is solid, is packed with hits, preserves and expands the band's sound, brings no dull moments and its concept and storyline are supported by the comic books and short films. The CD comes with a poster showing on the back the names of all the band's fans who registered on the album's Facebook page, making worth buying the physical copy instead of downloading it. A must-have album due to its contents and the creativity surrounding it.

Rating: 10/10

First single: Faster

Unmissable song: Somewhere (duet with Anneke van Giersbergen)

(Picture taken from Within Temptation's official website).