Enter (Within Temptation album)

Enter
Studio album by Within Temptation
Released April 7, 1997
Recorded Studio Moskou, Utrecht, Netherlands, November-December 1996
Genre Symphonic metal, gothic metal
Length 45:42
Label DSFA
Producer Lex Vogelaar, Within Temptation, Anthony van den Berg (Executive producer)
Within Temptation chronology

Enter
(1997)		 Mother Earth
(2000)
Singles from Enter
  1. "Restless"
    Released: 7 April 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Chronicles of Chaos [1]
Metal Storm [2]
sputnikmusic [3]

Enter is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Within Temptation, released by DSFA Records in 1997. The album prominently features lead singer Sharon den Adel's vocals as well as guitarist Robert Westerholt's gruff death metal growls. Lex Vogelaar, founder of the Dutch death metal band Orphanage, supplied the guitar parts for "Pearls of Light", as well as producing the album, and Orphanage vocalist George Oosthoek performed some of the growls on "Deep Within".[4]

Recording

One week after they signed with DSFA, Within Temptation started recording Enter. The tracks on the album were new versions of the tracks that had appeared on Within Temptation's demos. It was recorded in Studio Moskou, Utrecht, and it was completed and mixed within three weeks.[4]

Robert Westerholt remembers that "it was incomparable to the first recordings we did earlier, this one was much more professional. After all a nice experience, but a very quick one. 'Enter' was recorded in two weeks and mixed in three days, so it was very difficult for we couldn't take time to develop songs. But it was a nice experience - it was our first album!"[4] Vocalist Sharon den Adel recalls that "I only had one and a half days to record my parts and it was quite hectic, just a short warm-up and then 'Go'!"[4]

Style

The album's style is very instrumental compared to the band's later works. Many of the songs have longer instrumental sections and fewer lyrics. On several songs Westerholt provides growling (in contrast to later albums on which it is rarely used).

The lyrics focus on darkness, ghosts, wars instead of fantasy, love, and nature on later albums. Enter has been classified as Gothic Doom.[1]

Future of the album

Although it didn't enter the Dutch albums chart in its release year, Enter eventually rose to No. 32 in 2002, after the great success of "Ice Queen".[5] The album, along with The Dance were re-released in the US on September 18, 2007 by the label Season of Mist. After the great reception of later albums and the Hydra World Tour, Nuclear Blast decided to release a together re-issue of both Enter and The Dance on November 10, 2014, in order to give the new listeners access to the band early material.[6][7]

Live history

Songs from Enter were played live during Within Temptation's shows between 1997 and 1998. After that, only "Restless", "Enter" and "Deep Within" were played regularly during the Mother Earth Tour.

As of 2004, songs from the album Enter are not performed regularly anymore by Within Temptation. The title track and "Candles" were performed at the major concert at the Java Island in Amsterdam during The Silent Force Tour. Enter was last played at London in 2005, but "Candles" was played a few times in 2006 and in 2012 during the 15-year anniversary concert "Elements", in which is scheduled to appear on the 2014 live album Let Us Burn - Elements & Hydra Live In Concert.

The only single from the album, "Restless", was performed again a few times during The Heart of Everything World Tour in 2007, being performed at shows in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK throughout October and November, and also the 2007 Fanclub Day in July. It was played once in 2008, at Brazil. It was played on the band's Sanctuary Theater Tour in 2012. At the eleventh version of the Metal Female Voices Fest, in October 2013, former Within Temptation member Martijn Westerholt, nowadays with Delain, played the song live with Sharon den Adel as a guest vocalist.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Restless"  Robert Westerholt, Martijn Westerholt, Sharon den Adel 6:08
2. "Enter"  Westerholt, den Adel, Richard Willemse 7:15
3. "Pearls of Light"  Westerholt, den Adel, Willemse 5:15
4. "Deep Within" (feat. George Oosthoek)Westerholt, den Adel 4:30
5. "Gatekeeper"  Westerholt, den Adel 6:43
6. "Grace"  Westerholt, den Adel 5:10
7. "Blooded" (instrumental)Westerholt 3:38
8. "Candles"  Westerholt, den Adel 7:07

Personnel

Within Temptation

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[8] 32

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bromley, Adrian (May 5, 1997). "CoC : Within Temptation - Enter : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  2. ↑ "Metal Storm : Within Temptation - Enter : Review". Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. ↑ "Sputnikmusic : Within Temptation - Enter : Review". Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://allthememories.org/albums/Scans/Magazine%20Scans/Starfacts/SCAN0680.JPG
  5. ↑ "Within Temptation - Enter (album)". Dutch Charts.nl. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  6. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa/photos/a.10152001812594446.1073741839.8148099445/10152769615334446/?type=1
  7. ↑ http://bravewords.com/news/within-temptations-1997-debut-enter-1998-ep-the-dance-to-be-reissued
  8. ↑ "Within Temptation – Enter" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2014.