Within Temptation's 'Bleed Out' - Album Review

With the exception of perhaps Bullet for My Valentine, I am not sure that I can think of another metal band of a comparable size who suffer from a near-constant identity crisis in the way that the Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation seem to. Despite having been in the business since 1996, I am still not convinced that they know what sort of music they want to make - whilst at the same time, in recent years, being somewhat behind each trend they have flirted with. Having formed as more of doom band with gothic and symphonic trappings in the classic Dutch tradition of bands like Orphanage and early After Forever, which characterised 1997's Enter, they soon moved onto a more traditional symphonic metal sound which covered albums two through four. This sound brought the band considerable success, but since the release of 2007's The Heart of Everything they have been flitting from sound to sound with mixed results - often with quite lengthy gaps between each album. 2011's The Unforgiving saw the band adopt a more streamlined pop/alternative rock take on their trademark symphonic metal sound - and this mix really worked in my opinion. The album is one of my favourites from the band, and it showed that it is possible for the band to evolve successfully. Three years later, though, the messy Hydra (which I reviewed here) was a big disappointment. From the sheer amount of ill-fitting guest vocalists to the multiple dreary ballads, Hydra saw the band caught between a number of different camps. I saw them headline the 2015 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air the year after the album came out, and they seemed to somewhat be going through the motions - which was not helped by some pretty major technical issues towards the end of their set. It was my first time seeing them live, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but looking back it was not a great set. Following Hydra, too, the band underwent something of a stealth hiatus, and frontwoman Sharon den Adel has since stated that she and the band were going through a period of writer's block. I was surprised, then, when I enjoyed Resist (which I also reviewed here) quite a bit when it dropped in 2019. I saw them in 2018 a few months before it dropped, and they put on a much better show - and they seemed pretty fired up again. Whilst I have not revisited Resist recently, I played it quite a bit in 2019 and 2020. It showcased some different sounds again, but I enjoyed most of the songs despite it often diverting from the band's core sound quite significantly. It has now been four years since Resist, though, and for quite some time I was not expecting a new album from the band. Over the last few years, they have dropped a number of singles - and said in interviews that they were perhaps done recording albums in the traditional sense. They seem to have had a change of heart, however, as those singles along with some other tracks were recently released as the band's eighth album Bleed Out. Whilst only releasing singles may seem hip and trendy for the streaming generation, I think that the album as a format (whether physical or digital) is still considered important in the rock and metal worlds - and Within Temptation are not the first band to backtrack following such a move.

It is unclear, then, whether these songs were ever intended to sit together or not. Whilst the album is not as messy as Hydra, it certainly feels a bit pieced together - despite the fact that regular producer Daniel Gibson along with den Adel and road-retired guitarist Robert Westerholt are once again responsible for the songwriting here. I had not heard any of the songs before the album dropped, so all of these eleven songs were new to me - although for some much of this album may feel like old news. Despite having had the album for nearly a month at this point, I have not warmed to it asignificantly. It is the band's heaviest album, which is certainly interesting, but it is often heavy in that dry, tech metal way which feels a bit passé at this point. That being said, though, the album starts pretty strongly in my opinion. The opening four songs are some of the best material here - and We Go to War kicks things off nicely. A distant synth melody from Martijn Spierenburg opens the song up, before a crunching mid-paced guitar riff kicks in - and the drumming of Mike Coolen whips up a mechanical groove. The song does include some pretty big tech metal influences, but they are incorporated pretty well here - and the band's trademark symphonic metal sound is still present. The synths and gothic choirs bulk out the song, whilst den Adel sounds as good as ever during the more paired back verses which feature plenty of snaking bass playing from Jeroen van Veen. She might not be the most bombastic of symphonic metal singers, but she has always stood out for her emotional delivery and clean tone - and she lets rip a bit more during the chorus which sees the opening mechanical riff return. The chorus hooks are pretty strong, too, and it is one of the album's most memorable moments. A symphonic bridge section feels like a look back into the past somewhat, but on the whole it is a strong, heavy take on Within Temptation's recent forays. The title track follows and opens with a distant vocal from the chorus, before another djent-esque riff kicks in - but this vibe is pretty short lived this time, and instead the song actually feels like an old-school Within Temptation song that could have sat on The Heart of Everything. The guitars throughout the verses, when they get going anyway, are pretty crunchy, whilst den Adel switches back and forth between a delicate approach to compliment Spierenburg's synths and something more powerful for when the chorus kicks in. Like the previous song, the chorus is another strong one - and again it harks back to the band's classic era somewhat. The melodies are hooky and the keyboard and string work feel very bombastic in a manner which the band have not always been of late. Guitar fans will enjoy the riffy breakdown, but generally the song is on the lush side - which is welcome.

Wireless is a bit more modern sounding, but the mix of sounds does generally work. The main verse chug does feel a little forced and like an attempt to sound heavy, but the strong chorus delivers more classic-sounding Within Temptation melodies and there are some pretty catchy other guitar riffs elsewhere in the song. den Adel's emotional chorus delivery is what makes the song shine, though, and if the vocal approach had been different I perhaps would not have enjoyed the song as much as I do. She really shines despite the fat guitar presence trying to bury her in the verses - but the chorus is another stand-out moment. Worth Dying For is another pretty strong track and it is another that seems to hark back to the band's older sound. It is a pretty fast-paced symphonic metal anthem with a bombastic, string-backed intro and a lush overall sound which leaves behind many of the more modern metal trappings which have been heard up to this point. The synths are a good mix of bombastic strings and progressive rock-esque warmth, and the drumming of Coolen throughout whips up plenty of energy thanks to his use of double bass drum patterns where appropriate. I do not think that the song is as catchy as those which have come before, but it is the sort which shines thanks to its overall presentation. The chorus is a bit slower and more epic in nature, although the main synth hook is a bit overpowering, but for me this song is made by the faster verses and the driving main riffs. It also includes a guitar solo, which are a bit of a rarity in Within Temptation's catalogue. Whether it is played by Ruud Jolie or Stefan Helleblad it is unclear, but the pretty lengthy solo adds some additional metallic excitement to the energetic piece. Sadly, in my opinion, the album never reaches the heights of these first four songs again. Ritual harks back a bit to the alternative rock side of Resist, but it lacks the sharpness of the hooks of that album. It has a pretty decent chorus, which is drenched in synths and punchy drumming, but the rest of the song falls pretty flat in my opinion. It is interesting to hear such a prominent bass line during the verses and the band's trademark symphonic side is essentially absent entirely here - with strange synth lines and guitars that only chug along without adding much interest at all. The chorus hooks are quite strong, but for me the song lacks the band's usual power and bombast and does not offer anything significant in return.

Cyanide Love is somewhat similar, but it leans heavily into the tech metal riffing which featured earlier on the album. The opening poppy vocal hook feels very throwaway, and it contrasts significantly with the slow riff which soon takes over. In some ways it sounds like the band wanted to return to their gothic/doom roots but never quite committed to the idea - and instead tried to throw in some strange pop melodies and djent riffs into the mix. den Adel soars during another pretty decent chorus, but elsewhere she actually sounds quite strange - singing in a sappy and effected manner which recalls Die Antwoord of all bands. I could do without den Adel singing like that, but thankfully the chorus sees her singing in a more typical manner - which saves the song from being a total failure. The Purge feels a bit stronger and it opens with a pretty decent and hard-driving guitar riff which is backed by some punchy drumming from Coolen. After the strange previous couple of songs, it has more of an urgency to it and it does at least have some elements of the band's classic sound. The symphonics meld well with some flashy synths here and the guitars feel a bit more organic this time - leaving some of the tech metal dryness behind. Subtle choral arrangements add depth and, as seems to be a theme here, the chorus is another pretty strong moment. Lots of effort clearly went into the choruses here, but at least this song hangs together better - and does sound like Within Temptation despite some of the strange synth choices. It does have a good amount of energy, too, so outside of the early part of the album it is one of the overall highlights. Don't Pray for Me is another piece that sounds a bit like a leftover from Resist, but without the bite of the best moments from that album and some questionable chorus vocal interplay between den Adel and Gibson. He is featured vocally on a handful of songs on this album, but his generic pop/alternative rock additions to this song's chorus just feel cheap and unnecessary. den Adel is a great singer and she does not need to be backed up by some unmemorable and generic American radio rock-style vocals. For me these vocal additions give the song an untasteful overall vibe - and it sounds very synthetic and overproduced. The hooks are not that memorable, either, so it is one of the album's weakest overall moments for me - and it sums up some of the band's worst traits of the past decade or so in my opinion. 

Shed My Skin is better, although it does feature some more guest vocals - this time from Annisokay duo Rudi Schwarzer and Christoph Wieczorek. Thankfully, though, their vocal additions are more in-keeping with the overall song - and they generally support den Adel rather than clash with her. One of the two does take the lead during the one of the verses, but his smooth voice works quite well in the context of the song - and the big chorus works with everyone singing together. It helps, too, that the song is led by a great synth hook which easily lodges in the brain. It may not sound very typical of the band's sound, but the melody is a strong one - and it fits in with the song's overall frantic energy and occasional harsh vocal bursts. I am not sure why the band continue to insist on shoe-horning strange duets on each album, but Shed My Skin is one of the better ones in recent times - and it is much better than most of the odd match-ups from Hydra. Unbroken also features a similar synth melody, but overall the song feels more symphonic with a bigger overall sound and a mid-paced crunch which endures throughout. It does feel like the band have tried to include more of their trademark sound here, and the mix of fat guitar riffing and big synths works well within the context of the bigger-sounding piece. The main melodic motif is catchy, although the verses feel a bit less interesting - which is a bit of a shame. Thankfully the chorus is another big one, though, and the strident vocal hooks feel quite old-school and again hark back to the band's earlier albums. There are better songs here but it is another decent cut overall despite the weaker verses. The album then comes to a close with the strange Entertain You, which opens with some more awful vocals from Gibson - who sings in a pseudo-rap manner over some pulsing synths, before the song transitions to a relatively gentle verse with programmed drums and piano. The song feels a bit all over the place as a result, and this mood only intensifies when an upbeat and poppy chorus kicks in which sounds very bright and forced. The song feels like a bit of a cynical attempt to write a pop anthem, but it all just feels so pop punk from at least 10 years ago. Gibson's vocals are a terrible addition, and the overly sugary chorus sounds like nothing else on the album - so much so that the track might be my least favourite cut here. It is a bit of mess and sounds like a band desperate to be seen as cool - but it comes across a bit like your Grandad putting his baseball cap on backwards. It is a poor end to the album, then, but thankfully there are still some highlights. The first four songs here are excellent, and probably some of the best things the band have done since The Unforgiving, but are also quite a few missteps and some very questionable decisions were made. For me, the band really need to break away from Gibson. He has produced everything since 2004's The Silent Force, so has done some good work with the band, but the fact he only seems to be associated with Within Temptation is likely telling - and given the success of some of the band's early work why has he not been asked to work with anyone else? A change is certainly needed, though, and the band really need to decide what sort of band they want to be - as for the past decade they likely could not tell you.

The album was released on 20th October 2023 via Force Music. Below is the band's promotional video for Bleed Out.