Well dear reader, you're in for a real treat! Mother Earth was released in 2001 and it's still selling strong around the world. In fact two years later it seems to be picking up steam.

For an album to sell 100,000 copies in tiny Holland it has to be something special. Initially, this blockbuster CD was only released in selected parts of Europe. When customers throughout Europe started clamoring for it they rectified the problem. Mother Earth is also starting to make waves in the good old US of A as well, apparently by word of mouth, since, to my knowledge, it doesn't get airtime.

What is Mother Earth? Possibly the best Gothic-metal CD ever made! Previous releases by this group included beauty and the beast style growls, which is common for this sub-genre of music in Europe. Fortunately that was waived for this wonderful album, which, I think, helped the band get to another level.

Within Temptation consists of:

The founder of Within Temptation - Robert Westerholt - sure hit gold when he found the sensational vocalist, Sharon den Adel (his former? girlfriend). She has the most impressive voice this side of Celene Dion. In fact some reviewers have anointed her the current best soprano around. "the new Annie Haslam" of Renaissance fame. I can't disagree, her singing is exquisite, powerfully delivered and emotional. And the music, which is also fabulous and oh so pretty, is in the celtic/symphonic/gothic vein with varied but mostly medium tempo and large production orchestral segments featuring strings, horns, guitars and organs. Also contributing to the album are arranger Rene Merkelbach and a small choir. All songs are way above average with my favorites being "The Promise", "Deceiver of Fools", "Ice Queen" and the title track "Mother Earth".

A brief summery of the songs

On another note, Sharon, who is the busiest of the band members, performed as a guest singer on two albums: Ayreons, Into the Electric Castle and After Forever's, Prison of Desire.

Within Temptation's distinct sound doesn't compare well with any other bands I can think of but there are similarities to Lacuna Coil (more progressive), After Forever (another great vocalist but male growling - also from Holland), and the English band, Edenbridge. Do yourself a favor and see what the biggest selling album in Europe sounds like. I think you'll like it.

This is an ESSENTIAL GOTHIC-METAL ALBUM!

I'm a big fan of melodic/symphonic metal but one thing I hate about the genre is how everyone starts sounding uncannily alike after awhile. The striking cover art is what initially drew me to Within Temptation but what I discovered was far more than just visual splendor. I was treated with a refreshing yet similar take that's unique yet familiar, if that makes any sense. They stand out somehow and aren't just another Nightwish clone, and yet they both coincide as equals when it comes to brilliance. Hailing from the Netherlands their music can best be described as Gothic folk rock. I know a lot of bands are labeled as such these days but few actually live up to the diverse title given them. Within Temptation's "Mother Earth" however does. The creative lyrics each tell an interesting story and are told, interweaved, with irresistibly hooking melodies. Sharon den Adel also has one of the most captivating voices I've ever heard. In a way she reminds me of Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil, but only because they both manage the ethereal with a flare of attitude so well. I become mesmerized every time I hear her sing and very few vocalists can give me chills like she can; especially on "Our Farewell" which is one of the saddest, heart-renchingly beautiful rock ballads in the history of music (IMO, anyway). It's about losing a loved one, wondering how you'll be able to move on without them, and then realizing they'll always be with you and that this isn't the end... Other favorites are "Ice Queen", "Caged", "Dark Wings", "Restless", and "Deceiver Of Fools", which reminds me of something you'd hear on a Lord of the Rings soundtrack... That is until the crushing guitars come in...

'Mother Earth' is my first but certainly not my last album from Within Temptation, and while their sound here is mostly Gothic folk rock, as I said before, the live tracks "Enter" and "The Dance" indicate a darker, rougher, less folksy sound on other endeavors.

There's a bonus DVD featured here too of the songs "Never-Ending Story", "Caged" and "Mother Earth" in concert, as well as the video for "Mother Earth" and a backstage glimpse into their 2003 European tour which is surely a pleasure to watch for fans both old and new of this incredibly gifted band. I must warn those who are buying this as an import, though, because the disc isn't formatted to work on all DVD players.

First I have to give comment to my fellow countryman's review. He or she says that there was nothing like this in Holland. And he/she is wrong. Long before Within Temptation there was The Gathering who were an example for WT. These days you have allso After Forever from these parts of the world. Anyways. I know Within Temptation from the start. The first time I saw them live was in 1997. About the album: This album is GRAND, there's no doubt about that. Sharon sings beautifully, as always and the music is more open for a broader public than the previous albums. This album which contains 'celtic', melodic (let's say Loreena McKennitt meets Dream Theater) gothicmetal could be appreciated by your mother.Mine did anyway. The band even has a big hit with the song Ice Queen here in Holland and allso in Belgium. Who could have predicted that!? You can put this cd on any time of day, and you'll still appreciate it. It's strong, full of emotions and it can bring tears to your eyes. You won't be sorry when you buy this one. And if you do buy it, and like it, buy their cd Enter and allso check The Gathering. I'm sure you'll like them as well.

Slán

- Just a notice to the consumer - this has the new "Copy Control" mechanism ... which can clearly be seen in Amazon's picture above ... the little red sticker. "In their attempts to create a CD that fits their aims, the record companies have tried many methods of corrupting the CD format, and then they have tested these by making secret releases into localized markets, sometimes of hundreds of thousands of CDs. Everyday people have then bought these sub-standard CDs, and have been unknowingly testing the record company's new CD protection schemes for them." [From http://ukcdr.org/issues/cd/]

I being a consumer, with the individual/self-rights to use my music as I see fit (i.e.; playing it at home in my normal stereo, computer, DVD player, mp3 player, portable player ... whatever - ) should have the right to play a "Digital Audio" product on all my products, not what a multi-national corporation ONLY wants me to.

Some of the so-called 'copy-protection' mechanisms actually interfere with the error-correction mechanism of the disc. I'm not 100% sure - but after sitting at my stereo (decent quality equipment)with headphones and comparing the Within Temptation song Restless from the Enter album and then later from Mother Earth I could hear differences ... the piano in the beginning of the track sounded "clunkier" than the original version on Enter, and also the bass portion sounded slightly compressed with less dynamic range than the version on 1997's Enter. Also listen to the first 20 seconds of tracks #3 & #6 ... some suspicious sounding "clicks & pops".

Anyway, I just believe the consumer should be aware of this new issue, search the web for BMG Copycontrol will bring up many interesting points. And of course, I PAID IN FULL for my copy, and honestly have no desire for any bootlegged copy. Although I can't fit this bloody digi-pak in my CD rack (!) - other than this subversive Copycontrol thing, I enjoy this CD as many others on this site do, any shouldn't have my digital rights taken away.

In the corner of the binding of the cd on the front left bottom corner, you will see a very tiny label listing "copy control." It won't play on my computer unless I install the stupid player that's included on the cd. iTunes freezes when I tried to play it at first. I wouldn't have bought this cd if I knew it was copy-protected. I'm currently looking for a work around to get this on my iPod. I didn't even think about BMG being Sony, so now I have to search my computer for spyware. It's funny how the people who actually pay overinflated prices especially for imports are the ones who end up getting punished. I purposely buy products to support the artists, but I don't want to pay for Sony to compromise the security of my computer.