Gig review: Within Temptation at First Direct Arena, Leeds
Two years after co-headlining the West Yorkshire venue, the Dutch symphonic metallers fully graduate to solo duties with their brand of bombastic sturm und drang.
“It’s Tuesday night, Leeds!” Within Temptation vocalist Sharon den Adel hollers, dress buffeted by the plumes of dry ice that threaten to engulf the stage she stands upon by a couple of feet or so. She lets out a giddy laugh, and points to somebody at the barrier below, lost in the hazy fog that rolls across the pit before her. “I’ll have what you’re having!”
Whether the punter in question is nursing a pint of bitter or Bovril is up for debate; on the coldest night of the season so far, the veteran Dutch symphonic metallers have made their return to the First Direct Arena two years on from their last visit. Back then, they were on co-headliner duties, sharing their dressing rooms with modern-day nu-goth icons Evanescence; here, they have fully graduated to solo duties, on the final night of a tour around Britain’s enormo-dome venues.
Such cavernous spaces are a natural fit for their brand of bombastic sturm und drang – it would not be unfair to say that Within Temptation have not met a wall of sound they did not consider a scalable feat. But in Del Adel, one of two founding members still on the road alongside bassist Jeroen van Veen – guitarist and husband Robert Westerholt has stuck to the studio since 2011 – they still have one of the best voices in rock, and put it to terrific use.
Flanked by rows of imposing neoclassical columns, the frontwoman roves back and forth with commanding possession, her power propelling the shuddering rush of We Go to War and skyscraper pop-metal behind Shot in the Dark to new heights. The Promise truly gets to grips with her tremor and range too; you fear for the safety of the floating chandeliers that swing from the rafters when she hits the highs.
Throughout, the band also make steadfast political statements; Don’t Pray for Me is offered as a fiery rebuke to the US election, while A Fool’s Parade, dueted with Ukrainian star Alex Yarmak, delves with aggressive fury into the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. They underpin a show firmly unafraid to tangle with thornier matters, even if it always returns to the tunes. “See you down the line!” Del Adel calls with a climactic Mother Earth. It seems a surefire bet.