My Thoughts on Within Temptation’s “New” Album

The symphonic metal band Within Temptation released a new album the other day, and I have some mixed opinions. I started listening to Within Temptation back in 2019 with the release of their last full length album Resist, and I absolutely loved that album. As a result, I listened to a lot of their other work and found an artist that I thoroughly enjoyed. With all that being said, I’m somewhat confused and disappointed with the new album Bleed Out, not because I dislike the music, but because not much of it is really new. Bleed Out consists of eleven songs and their instrumental versions. However, Within Temptation released the EP Ritual at the very end of September with seven songs on it, all of which reappear on Bleed Out. Of these seven songs, five of them were already released as the album Wireless back in May of this year. Four of these five songs were also released as singles beforehand in 2020, 2021, and 2022. I’m disappointed in Bleed Out because I was hoping for an album full of new music, but only some of it is really new. Finally, I will say that I like the album art a lot. The album cover is really cool

“We Go To War:” The first song on the album is also the first new song, so at least the album opens with new music. It’s a strong start to the album. It has some good emotional build up between the verses and the chorus, though some of their other songs definitely have more interesting and emotional choruses. Instrumentally, it’s definitely on the heavier side, and it sounds great.

“Bleed Out:” While “Bleed Out” is the titular song of the album, it initially appeared on Ritual last month. “Bleed Out” returns to the catchy and ethereal verses that made me first start listening to Within Temptation. The lyrics bring a mix of intensity and soothing energy that really makes me enjoy the song.

“Wireless:” “Wireless” debuted earlier in May of this year, and it’s a good song to follow “Bleed Out.” “Wireless” maintains some of the ethereal and catchy verses present in “Bleed Out” while also continuing some of the themes and motifs introduced in the last song. It’s very interesting listening to the two songs after each other because of the connections between them. The song also ends with a really nice bridge.

“Worth Dying For:” “Worth Dying For” is the second new song on the album. The instrumentals of this song in particular remind me of some of the older Within Temptation songs, namely songs like “In the Middle of the Night.” I really like the instrumentals because of that older sound. Lyrically, the song is a lot like “We Go To War.” While that isn’t a bad thing, I do find the lyrics to be a bit lacking in comparison with the fantastic instrumentals.

“Ritual:” “Ritual” was first released on the EP of the same name last month. It’s an interesting song that experiments with its sound, kind of like what “Firelight” did on Resist. That being said, I like “Ritual” quite a bit more than I liked “Firelight.” “Ritual” features the ethereal build up in the verses that I like, and the climax in the chorus has an interesting twist to it. The song is very energetic and upbeat, and that makes it fairly fun to listen to..

“Cyanide Love:” “Cyanide Love” is the third new song on the album, and it’s probably one of my favorite songs on the album. The ethereal vocals return yet again during the verses, and the softness is quite beautiful. The backing instrumentals are fairly heavy and create a really cool dynamic that sounds great. Another feature of the song that I love is the occasional use of German in the backing lyrics layered under the instrumentals. Overall it sounds fantastic and is quite unique.

“The Purge:” “The Purge” was released back in 2020, so I’m fairly familiar with it by now. My favorite part is the emotional build up and crescendo between the verses and the chorus. Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot to say about this song. It’s definitely not a bad song, but not much of it stands out when compared with the rest of Within Temptation’s discography.

“Don’t Pray For Me:” This song was released back in 2022, and it’s a lot like “The Purge” in that it doesn’t have a whole lot interesting going on. Again, it’s definitely not a bad song, but it’s rather nondescript. It does have some nice vocalizations at the bridge though.

“Shed My Skin:” This song was released in 2021, and I actually like this one quite a bit. It features Annisokay, and they’ve steadily become one of my more played bands after their album Aurora released in 2021. The overlapping voices and duet verses all sound really good. The backing instrumentals have some nice build ups that the vocals are really able to capitalize on. The bridge is also really cool because Within Temptation maintains their typical clean vocals while Annisokay switches to harsh vocals. It creates a really cool dynamic that I’ve come to appreciate.

“Unbroken:” “Unbroken” is the last new song on the album. The lyrical progression reminds me of earlier Within Temptation songs, namely some of the ones off of The Heart of Everything from 2007. I really like “Unbroken” because it seems to be a brief return to the symphonic metal sound that I associate with Within Temptation after having listened to their earlier albums. “Unbroken” also features probably the catchiest chorus on the entire album. Overall, this is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album.

“Entertain You:” “Entertain You” was the first song released back in 2020, and I always thought it was a good song, but never one of my favorites. After listening to it again, I definitely think that it’s better than I gave it credit for. The verses sound great and the song sometimes alternates vocals between the lead female singer and a back up male singer. It also features a pretty catchy bridge that ends with a solid drop. “Entertain You” is definitely a strong ending to the album and I can’t think of any songs that would do a better job.

Overall, I like Bleed Out as an album despite it primarily featuring songs that had already been released. However, the heavy use of already released songs makes me wonder what happened to “Forsaken-The Aftermath” and “The Fire Within” since both were released as their own singles in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Maybe they’ll appear on the deluxe edition of Bleed Out. Only time will answer that question. I would definitely recommend Bleed Out for fans of rock and metal music, as well as those who are trying to get into it or may not listen to it. Symphonic metal is pretty low in intensity compared to other metal, and even some rock music, so it’s a great introduction to this kind of music.