01	Mother Earth						05:31
	02	Ice Queen						05:22
	03	Our Farewell						05:20
	04	Caged						05:49
	05	The Promise						08:02
	06	Never-Ending Story						04:04
	07	Deceiver Of Fools						07:37
	08	Intro						01:07
	09	Dark Wings						04:12
	10	In Perfect Harmony						07:00

Within Temptation - Mother Earth
Country of Origin: Netherlands
Format: 2CD
Record Label: DSFA website
Catalogue #: DSFA 1021
Year of Release: 2000
Time: 91:04
Info: Homepage
Samples: Not Available

Tracklist CD1: Mother Earth (5:29), Ice Queen (5:20), Our Farewell (5:18), Caged (5:46), The Promise (8:00), Never-ending Story (4:02), Deceiver Of Fools (7:34), Intro (1:05), Dark Wings (4:14), In Perfect Harmony (6:58)
Tracklist CD2 (CD-audio part): World Of Make Believe (4:47)
Tracklist CD2 (CD-ROM part): The Dance (video) (4:57), The Making Of Mother Earth (video) (3:57), footage Dynamo festival (video) (2:58), footage Dynamo festival (video) (4:55), footage Dynamo festival (video) (6:36), footage Lowlands festival (video) (4:12), World Of Make Believe (MP3) (4:48); plus: WT Bash (game), lyrics, member info

One of the first things I noticed after I heard Mother Earth, was that the guitarist doesn't sing. Well, he doesn't grunt. And that, I believe, is a good thing. Not that he's a bad grunter, 'cause I couldn't tell a bad grunter from a good one, but because I think it's childish. Making music with a band of serious musicians, and then there's someone being a bad actor putting up his worst sounding voice, erm... throat sounds. I am glad it's not happening on this album.

Another thing that was striking is the slight change in music. It's almost as if the metal has gone out of it. Of course, the grand arrangements are present. But it's like the band decided that the previous albums were just musical try-outs, something to grow out of a world by, and this one is the grown-up. The band have grown in writing music, and writing vocal lines. The compositions are more mature and of constant quality.
Less metal, and also more ballad. The overall impression is that the music is softer than before. But it's the composition that got more attention than the need to combine metal and orchestral arrangements. To put it simply: the band has grown better.

Opening the album is an intro reminiscent of Clannad. So now there's a little folk in it as well. This soon changes to what you'll be hearing a lot of the rest of the album: powerful, heavy orchestral rock. But also more slower pieces. I think Den Adel is using less falsetto than before. This way the songs sound more complete, like a unit. She has a high voice of course, but this way it fits the music better. Her voice and the keyboards sound more like a team now.

I can't tell exactly what I like in this kind of music. Maybe the contrast between the bass, drums, and distorted guitars on one side, and orchestral keyboards and Sharon den Adel's angelic voice on the other. I liked their previous releases and will keep on listening to those, but this one is from a different league.

So in short... Keywords: gothic, orchestral, heavy, angelic voice. That and interesting and unpretentious compositions, but not too simple either. It's the effect that counts, and impact it has. And get the double CD issue with all the nice goodies before the limited edition is sold out.

Conclusion: 7.5 out of 10.

Jerry van Kooten



Within Temptation - Mother Earth

Released: 2001
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Reviewed by: Larry Daglieri, October 2001
Within Temptation were revered highly in the Beauty & the Beast category of metal, taking its place alongside After Forever, Trail of Tears, and many other greats in this genre. If you’re not privy to what people have deemed Beauty & the Beast music, it’s a moniker that has been given to a surge of bands (mostly from Europe) that incorporate dual singers - one being a female and the other being a growling, male death vocalist. The two styles mesh wildly and dynamically depending on the style and depth of the music. Usually, it’s highly orchestrated, dark, ominous, beautiful, keyboard-laden, guitar crunching, gloomy, atmospheric, and the list goes on and on. If you can handle the growling vocals found frequently within these bands, you will find yourself immersed in some of the most intriguing, surreal, strange music ever created. It’s another genre in itself and although still in the cult status, it’s becoming a regular amongst fans who are finding this music quite interesting and fulfilling in some ways.

Within Temptation’s Enter, their disc previous to Mother Earth, is a disc that basically got me interested in the genre, and still remains what I feel is a true representative of what I love about the style, and a true example of what the genre is all about. Their over-the-top production, near perfect vocals of Sharon Den Adel (whom I consider the best in the business right now) and the dark, scary feel of the gothic music that was injected with a lot of progressive moments, and was just about perfect in every way, again provided you can get past the growling death vocals, which I’ve found when done right, and when complementing the soaring beauty of the female vocals, can produce an exciting, frightening yet enjoyable experience for the listener.

On Mother Earth, Within Temptation have turned the entire direction of their music and style completely around - and most bands who have tried to accomplish this seemed to have failed in some way, either by disappointing their fans, or failing in the change of musical style. WT have now forsaken the death vocals, for the complete Sharon Den Adel performance - something that is not only a smart thing to have done, but also an exciting one for the listener. Sharon easily has one of the most beautiful, exciting, passionate voices out there, coming close to reminding me of Ann Wilson (Heart) of old days gone by. She can sing in a beautiful, surreal, passionate style, to an aggressive, soaring, almost angry style with ease. Sharon seems to spend a lot of time in the style of “opera” singers, showing her versatility. At other times, she almost veers off into an almost “poppy” tone and then onto another style. She carries the listener from one emotion to the next throughout each song, and this is where the exciting journey lies.

The musical direction has gone into a more fuller, more orchestrated, more dynamic, less gloomy feel than on Enter. The sound is incredibly huge in the production dept, sparing nothing to the ear thanks to Oscar Holleman (who has produced a number of monster sounding discs like Ayreon). Everything is totally fulfilling in the sound dept, and almost sounds like a complete orchestra in parts. The tone is more upbeat and uplifting this time out as well, and again, against a backdrop of sound like this, Sharon’s vocals are only lifted to an even higher plane. The guitar crunch is still present, but somewhat overshadowed by the wall of keyboards which constantly stir in and around each song.

Overall, this is a complete success of a disc – especially with the major overhaul in sound and emotional deliverance dept. Few bands could undergo a change this drastic in sound and style, lose half of their singing team, and put out a monster disc like this one. If you like your music HUGE, dramatic, orchestrated, melodic, warm, surreal, and want to hear one of the best female singers out there right now, this is essential.

[The limited edition version includes also a CD-ROM packed with extras - movies, a videoclip, pictures and more -ed.]

More about Mother Earth:

Track Listing: Mother Earth / Ice Queen / Our Farewell / Caged / The Promise / Never-ending Story / Deceiver Of Fools / Intro / Dark Wings / Perfect Harmony

Musicians:
Sharon den Adel - vocals
Robert Westerholt - guitars, keyboards
Jeroen van Veen - bass
Ivar de Graaf - drums
David Westerholt - synths and keyboards
Michiel Papenhove - guitar

Contact:

Website: www.within-temptation.com
Note: will open new browser window

Email: info@within-temptation.com

Discography

Enter (1997)
The Dance (1997) (EP)
Mother Earth (2001)


Mother Earth Tour (2002) (DVD)