The most dominating part of the whole sound of the band are the vocals of Sharon (who's on the cover of the album, the poster, the postcards and the sticker as well) who's clear vocals bring us through this enjoying ride. To top things off, the occasional death grunts bring the variation.

The music on the album is dominated by the keyboards of Martijn Westerholt who gets an amazing amount of bombast out of a piece of silicon. The doommetal foundation of the songs finishes off this album. If you are a fan of this stuff, I STONGLY urge you to pick up anything by Orphanage (see my review of "By Time Alone").


Enter   August 11, 2000
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Similar to Theatre of Tragedy's first two releases, Within Temptation is both haunting and beautiful. Within Temptation is heavier than Theatre of Tragedy, but the music is wonderful when combined with keyboards and orchestration. Like they say on their website, "The goal that Within Temptation pursues is creating atmospheric music, by combining agressive metal with spherical female vocals and synthesizers. With their music Within Temptation tries to take their listeners on a journey to a fantasy world, where magic still exists." and they do a wonderful job! If you're a fan of melodic doom metal or atmospheric metal, this is a CD to check out!


Welcome to my home...   April 9, 2005
stargazer_eternal
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

First of all, I would not recommend buying this at Amazon for the ridiculous import price. Instead, purchase it theendrecords.com for only $13.00, as I did. It's a much safer buy for your wallet if you ask me.

Here we have it, the album that began the successful career of this platinum-selling Dutch band. I wouldn't rank this debut quite with Mother Earth, but it is a great buy for fans of the gothic sound. The quality that Enter possesses (which unfortunately later releases lack) is the fact that it stays true to its genre. Whereas Mother Earth has more of a symphonic rock sound, and the Silent Force has that of a pop-rock vibe, Enter can definitely qualify as a gothic record, no doubt. The lyrics mention such ideas as war, murder, and a damsel in distress who cannot cope with the ghost of a failed relationship. Sharon den Adel's soothing voice, which bears a sense of maturity despite her youthful appearance, is surprisingly less dominative here. Even more surprising, is the use of both male grunts and heavy guitars - two factors stripped of following releases. Some of the members of gothic-metal band Orphanage even make an appearance on certain tracks.

Enter kicks off with the charming single, "Restless". This is a very beautiful song, whose tenderness borders that of a ballad. There is a great solo towards the end that should not be overlooked. Following this is one of my personal favorite WT songs, the title track "Enter". Here we are given a taste of the heavier and darker side of this wonderful band. The chorus is stellar and unforgettable, offering lyrics as "give me your wings/to flee from my ivory tower" that can only be accompanied by justice with Sharon's sweet and gentle voice. "Pearls of Light" is a softer track, with very soft and beautiful melodies that creep on you with a sense of subtlety. I don't care too much for "Deep Within", which for some reason features only male vocals. "Grace", however, is one of the better tracks of this album. Sharon's vocals have a certain shrieky-ness to them that can draw comparisons to Kate Bush (which she unfortunately gets too much of). The instrumental "Blooded" was an excellent idea, although it clearly wouldn't fit in with their newer, more commercial material, so I wouldn't expect to see something like this again. "Candles", for some reason, didn't move me quite as much. I can't say why, but I feel it drags on a bit.

All in all, a wonderful beginning that led to greater things. I wouldn't recommend this as your first WT purchase, but for fans of the other releases, this is essential. Also recommended to fans of Theatre of Tragedy, After Forever and the Gathering.

8.5/10


2 words, A-Mazing   September 5, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I had a friend of mine bring this cd back from Germany for me 3 months ago and I still can?t get over how good it is. the vocals are unbelievable, the musicians are great. I got into this style of music a few months ago and am so glad that I found it.
the piano version of Restless is so good. I think it sounds better without the rest of the instruments. the other band that I really enjoy and that is like Within Temptation is After Forever. now they do have more gravely mail vocals but still the same concept. After Forever is a little more raw.
My next purchase is Mother Earth, I cant wait.