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 of its predecessor.
And in truth, this album probably provided the band with their real starting point for their stellar career in later years. What shines most on Mother Earth are the slower tracks, expertly executed by the band. And of course, all of them are equally expertly interpreted by the female vocalist Sharon den Adel. She is – without a doubt – the heart and soul of this album. And I am impressed by her reach and how she can vary her performance to fit the song as she does on Caged, for example. And it is Mother Earth that catapulted her into the pantheon of metal vocalists – and remains there to this day.
The tracks are all very well-varied. Sometimes rocky, then again airy and fairy, just the way we like it from Within Temptation. The record sits somewhere astride between rock and metal. But their early style definitely leans into what was to become Symphonic Metal later. Mother Earth is probably one of the best – if not the best – of the records they produced so far. The piece feels fresh, young, and full of exuberant energy. And I am reviewing this in 2014. Within Temptation already produced much-lauded records like The Unforgiving or Hydra. And I am just not too fond of both.
On the downside, Mother Earth boasts a tad too much bombast in its arsenal. But in the end, it is still bearable, even to my metal injured ears. Yet again, some of that stuff sounds like a musical of sorts, which is a pity. Also, there are total failures like the dreaded Intro. Or the track Dark Wings that sounds like some terrible regurgitation of Barclay James Harvest in style and Kate Bush in interpretation (sorry Kate, I still love you..).
Mother Earth – the title track – is a delight to listen to, though. And so are Our Farewell and Never-Ending Story. That’s just a perfect arrangement and superb execution all in one. Deceiver of Fools comes complete with an astounding duet at the beginning, absolutely lovely. For some reason, Restless, the first track in the former album Enter, found its way into this production again. Nothing speaks against it, this is indeed a superb piece of work anyway.
Then of course – last, but not least – we found Bittersweet. To which I grew kind of addicted for a while. A really cool slow-motion song. And I thought that they don’t make ’em like that anymore. I was so very wrong. Noteworthy, too, is In Perfect Harmony, some sort of soft ballad that reminds you of some lead track for a – Disney feel-good movie. Not bad, but not really contributing to my idea of an evening of Metal Mojito. It’s just a tad too sweet for my taste.
I really fancy Mother Earth and it plays often on our internal playlist. The record is somewhat of a mixed bag, true. But overall, the piece is an extremely pleasing upgrade from their first album. And – to my unending relief – without their terrible growls. Thank Loki for that.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: DSFA | Web: Official Band Site
Release date: 24 December 2000