Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation)
March 2007
You have released the new album surprisingly fast compared to the previous ones. How come?
This time we did two things differently than in all the other years. We didn't have to re-release "The Silent Force" album over and over again, which always take a longer time and a longer period of promotion and takes away time from writing new songs. So we had the first simultaneous release for "The Silent Force" and that gave us more time to write this time. Besides that we had a lot more inspiration somehow. I don't know why, but after we finished "The Silent Force" we still had a lot of ideas. Our heads were still full of music, so we started to write quite quickly after "The Silent Force" which ended up being a new album in two and half years, which is pretty fast for our reputation (laughs) because normally there's four years in between our albums. It was really nice for us. And also because it's nice to focus on music instead of always promotion and doing the re-releases all over the place.
Did you feel any pressure during songwriting due to the big success of the previous albums?
No, because we've always had success with albums before. The thing that you do have is more the artistic pressure like "Can I write a good new song again what I'm totally happy with?" And it's always the question. (Laughs) At the moment I'm totally empty after writing so many songs and I think the rest of the band is as well. We really need to reload now again to have new ideas again. I'm glad that I don't have to write at this moment, because I think we emptied ourselves completely with the last album. (Laughs)
So, here comes the four year break now. (Laughs)
(Laughs) Well, I don't know. I hope I'll be writing this summer again, because it's something I love doing also and the rest of the band as well, so we'll see. But for now we're just focusing on this latest album.
Okay, so let's focus on the new album, which I found somewhat heavier than "The Silent Force" with more guitars this time...
Yeah, I totally agree with that. That was also one of our own aims because we wanted to... again it was a natural development. The last time we were very orchestral and we also wanted to have the guitars very much up there with "The Silent Force" but the thing is that they didn't really work well together when we had the mix for that album. That was the first time that we had such a big production and sometimes you get some problems and one of the problems we had was that the orchestra and the guitars were too much in the same frequencies, so we had to make a choice between the guitar and the orchestra. So we had to put the guitars a little bit down because it was the first time for us that we could work with big choirs and an orchestra and it was like a big dream for us. So, we chose a little bit more orchestra than the guitar sound, but for this new album we wanted to do it differently, so we could have both really out there. Besides that we also wrote more songs that were riff based. There were a lot of riffs and a lot of experimental things in there. Also the mandolin and the distorted cello, so we did a lot of more things and more experimenting in a way.
Do you have a lot of guests playing on the album?
We had a cello and a violin player and of course the choir and the orchestra. (Laughs)
What would be your favourite moment on the album?
Every song has its moments and it depends on which day you ask me. But I think for most people and the band "The Cross" is probably that everybody like so much because we experimented a lot with it. Also we experimented with the music with the way we used the mandolin for the first time and the distorted cellos with also on "The Cross". We used this very old drumkit, which is sounding really crap (laughs) but its sound is very organic in a way. So, just for this song we wanted have a totally different sound and we did all kinds of weird stuff on it and that was really nice I think. And maybe we'll continue this process for the next album.
Your recently released single "What have you done?" features Keith Caputo (Life of Agony). How did you end up going for this song?
Well, it's not something we choose normally. It's more of the thing of the record company. But I have to say that it also had our approval very much because we like that song and we thing that it's refreshing for Within Temptation again because we never sung a song with a male vocals outside of the band. Of course Robert was used to be growling on the early albums, but he's a member of the band. So, we thought that it was a nice song with a lot of energy and that's one of the reasons it was released as the single.
How did you hook up with Keith?
We were at a festival in Holland many many years ago and we saw Life of Agony playing. They were playing the first album they brought out "The River Runs Red" and we got totally swept away especially by Keith but also of course by the whole band because it was such a cool performance and such a nice music. We always remembered his voice and that made such a huge impression on us, so when we made this song we thought of him to have as the male voice for the song. We just called him and asked if he was interested in doing this song together with us. He was like, "Well, I know your band, but Life of Agony is very different from Within Temptation, but send me the song and if I like it I'll call you back and we'll see what we can do." And he called us back pretty fast, "Hey, I like the song, let's do it." (Laughs) So, we just recorded the songs a couple of weeks later and the voices matched very well together. It turned out great and you can hear him doing a lot more variety than what he's doing in Life of Agony, which is of course a little bit different style of singing.
Do you plan more single releases off the album?
Yeah, there is at least one more single to be released. I'm not sure yet what's gonna be that one as it hasn't been decided at the moment.
What would be your pick?
Ah, that's difficult! (Laughs) I like all the songs, so it's hard to choose.
Okay, so what's the song that you think that wouldn't fit on a single? (Laughs)
(Laughs) Which song would not fit on a single? Hmm... I think maybe "Final Destination". That's a nice song, but I don't think that would fit on a single. But luckily this is not my choice to make. (Laughs)
Where is the biggest market for your singles? Where do they get the most airplay?
I don't really know. It's difficult to say. I think it's very difficult for anyone that makes this kind of music to get in the radio airplays anyway. It's very difficult to get our songs played. Of course we have a big history in Holland and people know us by now and also in a couple of other countries, but it's still very hard to get our songs to be played in the radios especially when it has guitars. Even for a band like us that have been around for a lot of years and that had already some success here and there.
You are still considered to be too heavy...
Yeah, we are. And especially our new song is full of guitar, so most radios don't even want to touch it. (Laughs) But hopefully there are a few rock radios that will play it anyway.
Are you gonna shoot a video for any of the songs from the new album?
Yeah, we're gonna shoot a video in April I think. We haven't decided about the song yet though. I think it's gonna be a video clip again like we did the last time.
Within Temptation used to come out with a live DVD after each studio album supported by a tour. Are you planning to do it with the new material as well?
Yes, because our lives are going so fast because we are always so busy and for me personally the reason to bring out these DVDs is that when I get old and grey in a chair surrounded by my grandchildren, they'd probably be like "Could this be grandma?" (Laughs) It's like a memory for us as well as for the fans and I think it's very nice to put all our memories on a DVD. I think that'/ s the best thing after the CDs, because it's so nice to remember all the good times you had together. So, I'd like if we continued recording and releasing DVDs on our future tours.
But you didn't make up your mind of what shows to record, did you?
No, we're not sure, because you never know how things turn out. Of course we'll record different things and then we'll take a look at what we have and decided of what to release. The performance has to be good, the sound has to be good, the lights have to be good, there are so many important things about that, so we'll watch those and decide of what show will be eventually on the DVD.
What songs are you gonna play on this upcoming tour?
We're gonna mixture some of our older albums together with the new stuff, so we're gonna playing a diverse setlist. I hope there's a lot of people coming to see us and they will enjoy our shows.
Is there any show that you're looking forward to the most?
No, because it's nice to go to different countries and that's the thing that makes it special because if you just play in one country that gets boring. (Laughs) We love to go to different venues, different places and see the environmental changes. That makes this whole touring very nice.
Do you prefer playing in front of a smaller crowd in a club or a larger one in a bigger place?
Both are very nice I think. Both have their advantages. In a big club you can do a bigger and better stage show and in a smaller club it's more intimate as you are closer to the crowd. I like both and I prefer doing the combination of it, so sometimes doing more intimate shows and sometimes doing bigger stage shows.
Where are you the most popular as far as live appearances go? Not counting Holland of course.
Well, if you mean what part of the world then it's Europe, because we are doing very well in many countries here, but this is no surprise as this is the territory when we have been released so far. This might change in the future though as we're just starting in Japan and America. It's like we have to start all over again in those countries but it's also like a new challenge, because it's nice to make a first impression again. The people in Europe already know more or less of what to expect from us when they come and see us, but when you're going to a new country it's always nice to see new faces and making a first good impression.
Won't you be bothered by the fact that maybe in the US you'll be compared to bands like Evanescence even though you are on the scene for a much longer period?
Yeah, you're totally right but that's gonna happen anyway. We just make the music we like and we've been doing it for a very long time like you just said and we're not gonna change ourselves because another band had more success, because it's not about success and competition. And both bands sound different but it's easier for some people to compare. When we go to France and to Finland we get compared to Nightwish (laughs) and when we go to Italy we get to compared to Lacuna Coil or when they come to Belgium or Holland they get compared to us, so it everybody has the same problem and everybody gets to compared to each other and we don't mind that. It's logical in a way and it's something we get used to anyway.
Have you ever been called a "sell out" when you left out the growling?
Of course there were people saying that but most people see it the way it is. It's just a natural evolution. We've just grown out of the growling thing. It was just something we tried but with every album we try out different things and change a bit. That's what we always did with Within Temptation and with the next album we'll change again.
Now you are with Roadrunner Records but started with a small indie in Holland. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of being on a major?
Hmm. With an indie of course you get more attention because there are less bands on it, which is a good thing, but then you don'o t get your albums released everywhere. At the time when we were on an indie label we didn't even have the time to get released everywhere because we still had our studies besides the music and our job. Basically it was just a hobby band. Of course a major label has more power but you need to convince every office that works for a major label that they will have to like your music before they do anything. That's really true. Many people think that when you are on a major everything will go by itself because they have all these offices, but still these offices decide themselves. If you don't convince them then it's just gonna be on the shelf and they won't release it, or even if they release it they won't promote it. Everything has its pros and againsts. That's the way it goes.
You have worked with Daniel Gibson again in the studio. Why is he special for you?
For several reasons actually. He's just somebody that understands how we wanna sound like and he's someone we have really good connection with. Robert and he really became like bets friends over the years, so it's very nice to work with someone that you know that well. Also the rest of the band have a very good relationship with him, so he knows us very well as well and he knows and understands how we wanna sound like.