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The Netherlands' Within Temptation has been around since 1996 and that's as long as Nightwish so they are certainly no latecomers to the world of "beauty and the beast" Symphonic/Gothic Metal. I, on the other hand, am new to the band, having only reviewed their Paradise (What About Us?) single released back in 2013. What I have now is Nuclear Blast's re-issue of the band's debut album, Enter combined with the subsequent EP entitled The Dance.

I can't say my opinion has changed much despite this trip back to the beginnings of Within Temptation. Both Enter and The Dance are entirely pedestrian affairs that lack dynamic and emotion. The performances are excellent which shouldn't come as a surprise and I cannot fault them for their playing. However, the songs all sound terribly similar to one another. The overall atmosphere is one of huge, epic landscapes but everything is sterile and plods along at a meandering pace with no warmth whatsoever. Sharon den Adel's vocals sound so similar that I often had to look at the song titles to make sure my iPod hadn't randomly gone back to replay a track I'd just heard. She employs the exact same high-pitch vocal lines a dozen times, or so it seems. The lone bright spot is the beautiful "Another Day" a song on which the band finally gives us a melody that is both catchy and a foundation that allows den Adel to put some feeling into her delivery.

I won't condemn the band based on one album, especially a debut, but I still have a hard time recommending either Enter or The Dance to fans of Gothic/Symphonic Metal. There is a lot of better music available.