Within Temptation – Mother Earth (2000) – Review

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Kind of changing direction, but still following the vein of its predecessor Enter, the Y2K 2nd full studio album Mother Earth from the Dutch band Within Temptation is an astonishing piece of work. 

Perhaps the band went a tad overboard with a hazy, tree-hugger kind of style. But the record is still very varied with a few excellent tracks in it. Within Temptation called their new style ‘Celtic’, whatever in the big wide hell this might mean. But more importantly, they got rid of those darned growls that really never were their forte and proved to be the bane … [...] Click to raid more!

Anette Olzon – Shine (2014) – Review

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I always find it interesting how these fabled, tough and usually black-haired front chicks of Gothic and Symphonic Metal outfits embark on a solo career. And suddenly the style is totally different.

Just check the stuff Anneke van Giersbergen did after her departure from The Gathering. And it is not only the hair color that changes.

So, after her somewhat unconventional and forced departure from Nighwish – to say the least – Anette Olzon was looking for a new calling and identity in music for a considerable amount of time. Evil tongues were – of course – predicting a fall so deep that there would be no return possible. [...] Click to raid more!