November 11th, 2004, marked a glorious day in symphonic metal, as it was the day that still-fairly-unknown Dutch metal act WITHIN TEMPTATION unleashed their third album, “The Silent Force” upon the metal community. This album marked a blossoming from the band’s cocoon woven from their more raw first two albums, into a magnificent milestone that has been inspiring artists ever since. Today, we’re having a look back at the album for its 20th anniversary!
The release of “The Silent Force” happened around a time when the band was undergoing a lot of changes: Martijn Westerholt (DELAIN, EYE OF MELIAN) left due to illness and was replaced by Martijn Spierenburg. This was also the first album to have Ruud Jolie on lead guitar. It goes to show that they were still finding their form, yet the lineup they found seemed to be one that really worked wonders creatively, as “The Silent Force” remains many fans’ favorite album.
This album stands out spectacularly for the way it infuses symphonics into that sweet balance of fantasy and reality that some bands had perfected in the 2000s. If you were a fantasy geek or a romantic Goth who happened to discover metal around this time, albums like this and NIGHTWISH‘s “Once” were a vice you couldn’t get enough of, with that perfect atmosphere and the magnificent backing music, heart-wrenching vocals, while still keeping the guitar solos and some pep and flavor in the rhythm section. If you were any sort of romantic or lover of fantasy, this release would also easily draw you in for the enticing lyrics.
“The Silent Force” opens with the simply-titled “Intro,” which also happens to be one of the longstanding most beautiful intro tracks I’ve ever heard. I recall the guy I was seeing back in the mid-’00s saying that he hated (re: loved too much) this song because he couldn’t stop listening to it long enough to listen to the rest of the album. It’s simple symphonically, yet the choirs are epic as can be, and the dramatic tension to introduce the album is nothing short of perfect. It slows down to allow some vocal lines that also show off what a tender yet forcefully lovely voice Sharon den Adel has.
There’s a perfect flow from “Intro” into “See Who I Am,” which has the most gorgeous symphonic kickoff, making it into the perfect first-track to get the listener’s energy up and excitement roused. After the bombast rides its course, the song then mellows out for the verses, again, allowing Sharon den Adel to shine, as the symphonics return in the bridge to give a huge dynamic boost that gets brought straight into the chorus. It’s just perfect, no complaints. This flawless execution continues into “Jillian (I’d Give My Heart)” – they have such a way with building up tension and exploding in the choruses; I, for one, can’t get enough of it!
There’s a dark drama to “Stand My Ground,” which has the exact sort of force you need for an empowerment anthem about very literally standing your ground and not giving in. The impassioned performance, combined with great lyrics, interspersed with a moment that’s quite delicate… it’s phenomenal, especially as it kicks up after the gentle spot. Then, “Pale” is slower and more like a ballad, but the backing drama is so incredible that it gives the song a lot of life. Whether you would call this a ballad or just a dramatic slower track is up to you, but it allows for a bit of a breather after all the dynamism of the first few songs. “Forsaken” should need no introduction by now, it’s just a beautiful, powerful song that invokes so many feelings, nostalgia for this musical era among them.
“Angels” kicks things further into overdrive with a gentle intro with lovely vocals at the forefront. The music video is strange and dramatic and throws me off a bit because it has voices and ambience that aren’t necessarily paired with the music, making it strange to listen if you’re not watching. That said, this is yet another brilliant song that matches the style and sound of the others perfectly, while still maintaining an identity of its own. “Memories” slows things down again for another tender moment, but the oomph from the orchestrations doesn’t allow the music to release its hold on the listener whatsoever, with a bit of a lighter, more spirited ambiance.
“Aquarius” shows off some of the album’s darkest drama, with those melodic drops in the bridge that lead into the chorus, which just soars low over its ominous symphonics. The use of darker orchestrations allow for a fresh change of atmosphere, while keeping the spirit of the album very much alive. Then, “Fear of the Dark” has gentle tinkling in the beginning before the symphonics kick in, leading into a song that has a bit more of a poppy melody, but is dressed up so extravagantly by the backing orchestrations that you can hardly tell that it’s not quite as technical as a lot of the rest of the album.
The album’s original edition with no bonus tracks then ends with one of their longstanding most beautiful ballads, “Somewhere,” which is a lovely, longing song that nevertheless sounds more hopeful and peaceful than longing and sorrowful. The song is guided mainly by the tender vocals and piano lines, as well as the backing strings and percussions. However, if you want this release in your collection, I do recommend getting the version that includes “A Dangerous Mind” and “The Swan Song” – I see why they weren’t included as they’re just a tiny bit lower quality than the rest of the album, but they are genuinely good enough to still be worth listening to.
“The Silent Force” shines as the base upon which WITHIN TEMPTATION evolved past their original sound and built their next album, “The Heart of Everything,” which could be their most popular release from the first half of their discography (“The Unforgiving“ being the pop-metal release, with “Hydra“ being the intermediate indie step towards their modern era). Though they don’t make music that sounds so much like this anymore, it was a spectacular era in their sound and one that fans have kept sacred in their hearts for decades.
In this day and age, the modern melodic/symphonic scene is well-saturated by talented bands with pretty women on vocals who make perfectly good music, yet somehow, I find that none of the TEMPERANCEs, AD INFINITUMs, or BEYOND THE BLACKs out there have ever captured me in the same way that classic WITHIN TEMPTATION did. All of these new bands seem like they’re trying to find what WT did back in 2004 and have, in my debatably humble opinion, all been completely derivative without ever capturing the magic that albums like “The Silent Force” perfected. This release was a milestone for symphonic metal, one that may have never been surpassed by the band (that’s very much a matter of personal opinion), and still holds up equally well 20 years after its release! I might sell my soul to hear this album played in its entirety for an anniversary show, though I may be dreaming, as I’m sure they’re still touring “Bleed Out.”1 One can dream though, no?
Written by Bear Wiseman
References: 1 “Bleed Out” review
Tracklist
- Intro
- See Who I Am
- Jillian (I’d Give My Heart)
- Stand My Ground
- Pale
- Forsaken
- Angels
- Memories
- Aquarius
- It’s the Fear (demo version)
- Somewhere
