Within Temptation

Within Temptation formed in 1996 when guitarist Robert Westerholt and vocalist Sharon den Adel started playing together in the Netherlands. Their first album, 'Enter,' came out the following year. They built a sound that mixed heavy guitars with symphonic elements, which became clearer on later records like 'Mother Earth' and 'The Silent Force.'

Songs like 'All I Need' and 'Faster' show their approach: den Adel's clean, soaring vocals over layers of guitar and keyboard atmosphere. The band's lineup shifted early on when keyboardist Martijn Spierenburg left in 2001, but they kept recording and touring with a core that eventually included Ruud Jolie on guitar and Jeroen van Veen on bass.

They've put out albums steadily, from 'The Unforgiving' in 2011 to 'Resist' in 2019. Their music sometimes drew unexpected reactions, as when the 2008 song 'Utopia' was criticized for its military imagery, though the band said it was meant as an anti-war statement. They've played festivals and shows internationally, but mostly they've just kept making records in their established style.