The Silent Force

'The Silent Force' was always going to be a difficult album to make, following on from the masterpiece that was 'Mother Earth'. Coming after the inexplicable rise of Evanescence, there is definitely a more commercial edge to this album; almost every track has the potential to be a hit single right across Europe.
This is quite a different beast to 'Mother Earth'. The use of an orchestra and choir is a huge improvement over the synth-imitations on previous albums, adding a greater depth to all the tracks and really bringing them to life. The orchestra has also taken over a lot of the space the guitars used to occupy, meaning that the overall feel of the album is less overtly heavy as a whole.
The song structure is another noticeable change. Here there is nothing over five minutes long, and all the songs follow a more basic composition to those on 'Mother Earth'. I know this will please a lot of people, those against the more pompous leanings of 'progressive music' evident on 'Mother Earth'. As a consequence Within Temptation will appeal to a far wider audience and will hopefully garner the support they so deserve.
In spite of this, 'The Silent Force' is still a hugely enjoyable listen. There is far more melody here than on virtually any other metal album you care to mention, and Sharon Den Adel has never sounded better; her voice is simply stunning, resonating with such a power and clarity rarely seen in any form of popular music. And on the production side, a wonderful job has indeed been done. It is an increasingly difficult task to mix so many instruments, including orchestra and choir, and with the huge leaps in technology enabling the general public to hear the music with increasing quality. All the elements here are finely balanced so that you can clearly hear what each are doing without losing any of the power and cohesiveness needed for the tracks to come across at their best.
The album opens with the imaginatively titled 'Intro', a piece for choir and orchestra that are then joined by a very mournful Sharon showing off her best operatic voice. This leads straight into 'See Who I Am' with a big intro resplendent with the full orchestra and band. This track then sets the blueprint for most of the rest for the album, with a quiet verse followed by a loud, sing-along type chorus. 'Jillian' starts off with a quiet section from the orchestra, before letting rip with the choir in full voice. Sharon is in top form in the chorus here, the power of her voice astounding, more akin to Patricia Rozario than Amy Lee.
The first single, 'Stand My Ground' follows, and this one really surprised me. The single version never really grabbed me, but the album version is amazing. For some reason, they edited the best section out of the track for the single; after the little intro, the best riff on the album comes charging in, a dark, twisting guitar backed by the choir and orchestra. The rest carries on pretty much as the single, before sliding into the haunting 'Pale'. This is the requisite ballad that now must seem to appear on every album. But for that, this is easily the best one I've heard in a long time, relying on Sharon's voice to carry it majestically. The orchestra shows it's worth here, the improvements over any of the comparable synth-based counterparts are strikingly apparent to all. 'Forsaken' has a far more epic feel to it, akin to 'The Promise' and 'Deceiver Of Fools' off 'Mother Earth'. The orchestra is simple huge here, ably supported by the choir. The guitars are the heaviest yet, though there is little expansion in the playing here, instead leaving that to the orchestra.
'Angels' is probably the best track from the album, and a great choice for a single. It is appropriately named, as Sharon does sound more like an angel here than on any other release. The next track, 'Memories', also selected as a single, falls somewhere between 'Pale' and 'Angels'. Following the general blueprint mentioned earlier, but with a gentler, more haunting feel to it akin to 'Pale'.
'Aquarius' marks a change of mood, being far darker than the preceding songs. Along with 'It's The Fear', these hark back to earlier material with the heavier guitars and creepy atmosphere. Both tracks are more complex than the rest of the album and take time to grow, but it's well worth the wait.
Things end on a real high with 'Somewhere', a perfect track to finish the album off. A mellower number with a quietly uplifting feel to it that shows off some of the best aspects of the album as a whole; the depth and strength of both the orchestra and Sharon Den Adel's vocals, along with the bands not-insignificant song-writing ability.
So there we have it, an album that stands up on its own as a great slab of goth-metal that new fans will lap up with great delight. But older fans may find it a slight disappointment after the breathtaking 'Mother Earth'. Only slight, mind.

bought their latest album which I thought was very good. This though is a sheer masterpiece. Funny after listening to this and going back to The Heart of...it didn't quite grab me so much. This album has the melodies, sublime vocals and just enough heavy touches to keep you wanting more. Probably would appeal to anyone not just heavy merchants. What a voice, possibly the best ever. Buy it, put on the headphones, turn it up and dream away.....

Within Temptation's previous album (Mother Earth) was interesting, pastoral themed gothic & folky metal (Like "All About Eve" only with the added metal guitars and keyboards)
It worked well enough but as an album it was a bit uneven.
The Silent Force sees WT really come into their own and embrace the power of the full orchestra. Amazingly, they've pulled it off and the orchestration has brought grandeur without bombast and bold sweeping sounds without the excesses of opera.
It's the best album I've bought this year (and believe me I've bought a few).
Stand My Ground is a great track for hooking in the casual listener and is close enough to songs by Lacuna Coil, Nightwish or even Evanessence to get mainstream attention, but the rest of the album is best listened to as a whole piece.

Current favourite tracks are Stand My Ground, Angels & It's the Fear , but there really isn't a bad track on the album.
To sum up, if you liked their last album, you should adore this one. If you like Nightwish 'Once', this is similar but in my opinion a better album.
If you like the sound of female fronted metal with a symphonic backdrop, you'll love this and if none of that appeals to you, I'd urge you to give it a chance.