Within Temptation – Resist (Deluxe Extended Edition)

A band that needs no introduction, Dutch masters Within Temptation is back with their seventh album, albeit delayed, after a 5 year wait since Hydra hit the shelves. Originally set for release in December of 2018, Resist was delayed by a whopping two months due to heavy demand and not being able to fulfil the overwhelming orders that flooded in for the much-anticipated release, like I said, 5 years! Ok, it would have been 4 years from its original release date but still, that’s a damned long time to wait. Something tells me, Vertigo Berlin may have underestimated the impact Within Temptation has on the world, but boy are they profiting from it now.

Opening with the first of four singles, ‘The Reckoning’ gives us a taste of what’s to come from the album as a whole; featuring the incredible vocals of guest singer Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, the track packs a punch with huge riffs and thumping synth samples. The haunting melodies of Sharon’s voice runs deep throughout the album, showing off her flawless range of gothic and operatic notes that has taken on a new form of pop rock meets symphonic blend that makes her, arguably, the Queen of the female fronted metal scene over the last decade. The album is full of block buster tracks with ‘Endless War’ and ‘Raise Your’ Banner’ which features In Flames’s Anders Friden; the continuous blasts of riffs and drum work makes the songs infectious. Within Temptation are the masters of chorus design with strong, easy to follow lyrics and perfect melodies; something they have been able to do since Mother Earth with ease.

The sound of The Unforgiving can be heard clearly throughout the album with heavy influences from their back catalogue such as The Silent Force; this is more prominent in ‘Supernova’ where as the previous tracks have a similar handling to Hydraand The Heart of Everything. As the album progresses with ‘Holy Ground’ those blending of sounds from their back catalogue is still prominent; it’s as if Within Temptation has a true idea of where their sound is heading in now as Hydra showed off the many monstrous heads of their music, Resist does a very similar job. There is more emphasis on the melodies than in Hydra and the concept of their advertisement of “Resist Temptation” becomes clear in the music they have created. However, whereas Hydra was a successful amalgamation of their sound, Resist just feels like a bit more of the same; there are some big hitters in there as ‘In Vain’ proves along with the opening three tracks and the incredible ‘Firelight’, the remainder of the album doesn’t have quite the same punch or haunting quality.

As tracks go, ‘Mad World’ is understandably placed to the back-end of the album as it holds nothing particularly noteworthy; the same can be said for the more ballad-esque ‘Mercy Mirror’ with its style taking a softer edge and the guitar work being heavily pulled back alongside the drums and bass lines. The final track of the basic album, ‘Trophy Hunter’ definitely ends on a very heavy note to the album; however the remainder of the deluxe edition is more for die-hard fans that anything else. The additions of the single edits for the five singles, as already mentioned, the four that were released prior to the album and their latest single ‘Supernova’ doesn’t really add anything for listeners other than their most devoted throng. The rest however is more for the connoisseurs of fine musicianship with the entire alum in instrumental form; it allows you to really hear the fine details of the instruments used and allow you to understand the music as it’s laid bare without the amazing voice of Sharon.

This is a good follow-up to Hydra and it holds its own in their collection, however it doesn’t quite hit the standard of The Silent Force and The Heart of Everything. The quantity of the Deluxe Edition is fantastic and well worth the extra pennies to get hold of it; I mean 25 tracks is not something to sniffed at.

SCORE 7/10

Track Listing:
1. The Reckoning (Ft. Jacoby Shaddix)
2. Endless War
3. Raise Your Banner (Ft. Anders Friden)
4. Supernova
5. Holy Ground
6. In Vain
7. Firelight (Ft. Jasper Steverlinck)
8. Mad World
9. Mercy Mirror
10. Trophy Hunter
11. Raise Your banner (Single Edit)
12. Endless War (Single Edit)
13. Firelight (Single Edit)
14. Mad World (Single Edit)
15. Supernova (Single Edit)
16. The Reckoning (Instrumental)
17. Endless War (Instrumental)
18. Raise Your Banner (Instrumental)
19. Supernova (Instrumental)
20. Holy Ground (Instrumental)
21. In Vain (Instrumental)
22. Firelight (Instrumental)
23. Mad World (Instrumental)
24. Mercy Mirror (Instrumental)
25. Trophy Hunter (Instrumental)
Release Date:
Out Now
Label:
Vertigo Berlin, Universal Music Group

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You can purchase Resist (Deluxe Extended Edition) here.