After their amazing performance on the "Hottest Chicks In Metal" tour, Within Temptation had returned to New York City as they promised and this time around would be the headliner for an evening of Symphonic Gothic Metal at its finest. For that last show they were the direct support for Lacuna Coil and while the Italian Rockers were doing their best to give the crowd a night to remember it seemed very clear that the real shining stars on the tour was Within Temptation. It was no surprise to me for it was the bands first ever US tour and that made the NYC show quite historic as well. You just know you are seeing something special when a band is onstage doing mostly new material that awaits release and manages to keep the audience rocking for every step of the way. Since that incredible night the bands debut on Roadrunner Records has been released and achieved a status of selling some 375,000 copies since it hit the shelves. The band would obviously lean heavily on the new album with the goal to keep this number on the rise and they would bring with them The Dear & Departed as one of their support acts.

Read on for Ken Pierce's show review!

For this show I admit that I was only interested in Within Temptation and I arrived in time to catch them alone but thought that I would still catch a little of the openers D&D at least. Some friends in the crowd told me I had missed nothing but I have found them to often be wrong and unwilling to have any level of openness to the support acts when a band they are super excited for is finally in town. Having heard this particular opener on their CD previously I knew in advance that they are able to rock but sadly tonight would not be the chance to see what they can do on the boards. I am sure they will be around before I know it. The aspect that I caught on my arrival was that the place was quite crowded and with the event being held at the now Fillmore NY I realized that there were about 1100 Metal heads ready to be entertained. It's not a bad thing when you realize that you have a new album, a new label, have never really properly toured a particular region and you come to a market like NYC to play an almost capacity filled house.

When Within Temptation hit the stage it was like the return of long absent friends based on the smiles and cheers that welcomed them from the audience. I was fortunate to be taking some photos in the pit area and had a similar smile to them and noticed the same about many of my peers for the evening. It seems we were all fans of the bands songs and if you were not sure of these you should know that the band can see the first few groups of people from this proximity so you diehards up against the barrier keep on doing that for them. They would open with "Our Solemn Hour", which is one of my favorites of their new tunes and the closest to their original sound as a band. Sharon den Adel is really terrific onstage and her voice much more powerful than I would have imagined and even remembered from the last time that I caught them. Their sound would also be better tonight since they were headlining and not just one of the openers. The followed this with "The Howling", another rocker from the new release and its almost as intense live as the gaze we get from guitarist Robert Westerholt while he plays. He looks so serious up there but one would expect this in the bands founder to some degree. From his station in the front stage you just know he is directing the band because to finally be in this market is such an important step for the group and with a powerhouse album that is selling as good as it is you can be sure that they don't wish to falter. I had to say that the group sounded even tighter than that last time and perhaps this was that little bit of headliner confidence showing itself. In their native Holland they are hugely successful and a number one album seller and this title follows them around much of Europe but over in the USA to the unaware music listener they are just another new band with a female lead singer. Fortunately the audience present tonight was not exactly a new fan base in terms of knowing their music.

The Heart Of Everything has been proving to be a great album in terms of the tracks on it and in the live sense these same tunes were working very well. The debut single was "What Have You Done" and when they last played this Sharon employed a young man in the audience to help her out with the parts that Keith Caputo sings on the record. If my eyes were not mistaken it seemed like he was called upon again tonight. Talk about something to tell your friends – again. There was not really any down moments during the performance at all and the place was set to explode when they got to one of their earliest blockbusters with "Mother Earth". This was actually the first tune I had ever heard from them so it rings special in my heart as well. I admit that I was a little surprised to not see "Frozen" on the set list since it's also been one of the tunes that they were pushing. During the show Sharon didn't just stick to the center stage but instead walked all about and often reached out to the hands of the audience to help make their own night all the more special and as she did this guitarist Ruud Jolie wailed and played his heart out but stopped to toss the occasional guitar pick out to them. Behind him the rhythm section didn't miss a beat as Jeroen van Veen (bass) and Stephen van Haestregt (drums) made sure to keep everything together. The six member group also finds the keyboard expertise of Martin Spierenburg doing his thing off to the other far corner. Lucky for them the Fillmore NY has a decent sized stage so no one is crowded upon one another. As the night drew closer to its end the band exited only to come right back for their three encores. The first being "Deciever Of Fools" but it was "Memories" that had everyone in the room at full attention for it is one of their most beautiful numbers. Sharon then spoke to the audience again and prompted them to all help her with some high notes as they went into the number that first launched them into superstardom – that number was "Ice Queen" and then it was over. The band stood together onstage and bowed and waived and blew kisses and tossed their trinkets into the waiting hands of the crowd and vowed that they would return yet again. I am pretty sure that after this show that most that were present would be doing the same.

Ken Pierce

Set List

1. Our Solemn Hour
2. The Howling
3. Stand My Ground
4. Forsaken
5. The Cross
6. What Have You Done
7. The Heart Of Everything
8. Mother Earth
9. See Who I Am
10. Angels
11. Hand Of Sorrow
12. All I Need
13. The Truth Beneath The Rose
14. Deciever Of Fools – encore
15. Memories – encore
16. Ice Queen - encore

Official Web site: www.within-temptation.com