The Heart of Everything (Bonus Track Version)

Album Review

Any goth metal band fronted by a woman post-2003 is going to be compared to Evanescence, whether they like it or not. And while they're probably sick to death of hearing this comparison, Within Temptation's fourth full-length overall, 2007's The Heart of Everything, will especially garner some comparing/contrasting to Amy Lee and company. But here's the catch for newcomers to the band: Within Temptation has been around longer than Evanescence. That said, give a listen to the male-female duet "What Have You Done," which sees Within Temptation frontwoman Sharon Den Adel paired with Life of Agony's Keith Caputo — and guess what song it sounds a bit like (yes, you guessed it: "Bring Me to Life"!). Elsewhere, the sextet isn't afraid to get downright symphonic, even on the ballad "Frozen" plus the metallic rock of the title track and "Hand of Sorrow" (the latter of which combines both approaches, sounding a bit like Meat Loaf's latter day epics). And you've got to love a song that was inspired after a viewing of Braveheart (the aforementioned title track), which explains the sweeping "cinematics" that are on display throughout The Heart of Everything.