Within Temptation – The Unforgiving Review
Within Temptation // The Unforgiving
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — A new beginning?
Label: Roadrunner | Columbia (SE)
Websites: within-temptation.com | myspace.com/withintemptation
Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.25 | US: 03.29.2011
As one of the elevated culprits who took guilty pleasure in bringing the so-called ‘female fronted’ symphonic metal genre to fame, Within Temptation has often been right next to the milestone names of Tristania, Theatre of Tragedy, Nightwish, After Forever and the like from this infamous subgenre [Also known as "Chick Metal" by this member of The Patriarchy - AMG]. This is often accompanied by blunt comparisons, senseless ‘expert’ statements and, of course, rabid hate from people who just can’t appreciate chicks in metal [Example: my earlier comment. - AMG]. But hey, life goes on and so does the music industry. Whatever the case, unlike their colleagues who have gone through hard time line-up changes that have proven catastrophic at times, Within Temptation has continued to add new chapters to their own story. Through times of war between legions of Tarja and Anette die-hards, crazy Vibeke rumors in the air, Floor & Sander drama break-ups, the flame of Within Temptation continued to burn ever brighter, offering fascinating music with each release. Continue reading
So I admit, I’ve never heard SoCal pop rockers In This Moment before. This review will be completely devoid of comparisons to their last two records. Nor will it be filled with witty insights into how the band has changed over their time and whether or not this is a darker record (of course, every new record is the darkest, heaviest, etc., that any band has ever done, so trust the bio about as far as you can throw Arnold Schwarzneger). No, this is going to pretty much be a tirade about how much I really don’t like this album at all or the style of music or basically anything about this at all except for Maria’s clean singing voice, which is very good. You are warned. Don’t throw a fit in the comments because I hate your favorite band: I’ve already warned you. If you read past the jump then it’s your own fucking fault. 
