{"id":46896,"date":"2014-11-14T11:09:39","date_gmt":"2014-11-14T16:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=46896"},"modified":"2014-11-14T11:09:40","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T16:09:40","slug":"within-temptation-let-us-burn-elements-and-hydra-live-in-concert-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/within-temptation-let-us-burn-elements-and-hydra-live-in-concert-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Within Temptation | Let Us Burn \u2013 Elements and Hydra Live In Concert<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"LetUsBurnCover_500\"Dutch symphonic metal masters Within Temptation have released a masterful DVD\/Blu-Ray\/double CD live recording entitled Let Us Burn \u2013 Elements & Hydra Live In Concert<\/em>. Anyone who claims to be a fan of the band owes it to themselves to pick this one up as it captures all magic that makes Within Temptation a spectacular live band \u2013 wonderful technical performances, strong songwriting, well known guests, a spirited delivery, and the unmatched vocals of Sharon den Adel. Please note that this review only addresses the audio CDs.<\/p>\n

Rather than being a traditional \u201cdouble-live\u201d release, Let Us Burn<\/em> was recorded at two separate events \u2013 the band’s 15th anniversary Elements<\/em> concert in 2012 (November 13th at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp), and the final night of the Hydra<\/em> European tour in 2014 (Amsterdam\u2019s Heineken Music Hall, May 3rd). The band took great care while recording these shows, making sure the true flavor of their acclaimed live performances is presented in the best possible way, resulting in one of the better sounding live releases in recent memory.<\/p>\n

There are number of spectacular moments on these CDs. On Elements<\/em>, the rousing versions of \u201cIn The Middle Of The Night\u201d and \u201cFaster\u201d – with the latter featuring great bass \/ drum coordination \u2013 are quite good. Sharon’s vocals on the piano-driven \u201cFire And Ice\u201d and the powerful \u201cAngels\u201d are some of the best she’s done, and Spierenburg’s keyboard work on these songs is as close to perfect as can be. The enthusiastic audience participation makes the inspiring \u201cStand My Ground\u201d special. den Adel sounds like she is putting everything she has into her vocals on \u201cThe Last Dance\u201d and \u201cSay My Name\u201d – two songs that arguably sound better live than in their studio versions.<\/p>\n

The Hydra<\/em> concert’s version of \u201cIron\u201d is excellent, passionate, and fiery. The guitar breaks are brief but explosive. The acoustic versions of \u201cSin\u00e9ad\u201d and \u201cWhole World Is Watching\u201d are amazing vocal pieces, and beautifully recorded \u2013 the guitars are crisp and clear, and not washed out by the keys. The band does a superb job of kicking in backing vocals on \u201cLet Us Burn,\u201d adding layers of complexity and depth that are a bit unexpected in a live performance. Sharon’s vocal performance on the ballad \u201cEdge Of The World\u201d is nothing short of stunning, and her duet with Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage) on \u201cDangerous\u201d works well despite the vast differences in vocal style. The whole band kicks into high gear on the gritty and energetic rocker \u201cCovered By Roses\u201d and the punchy \u201cWhat Have You Done\u201d (a solid duet with Keith Caputo, vocalist for Life Of Agony).<\/p>\n

The recording is top notch. The overall sound is built primarily around den Adel’s voice (and at times it is easy to become so captivated by her delivery that the rest of the band simply fades from notice). The mix also enhanced the crowd sounds without allowing them to overpower the music. There are few flaws in the recordings \u2013 occasionally the mid-range sounds seem to be a little weak leaving vocals and deep drums as the dominant sounds, but on the whole the live sound and \u201clive experience\u201d is well preserved. The Hydra concert seems a little livelier and warmer than Elements, but that is more than likely due to different recording methods and techniques. Since two distinct concerts are presented, there are a few duplicate songs \u2013 7 in fact. Only the acoustic version of \u201cSin\u00e9ad\u201d is really different from concert to concert. While a bit disappointing if you are listening back-to-back, recall that these shows were recorded more than a year apart. However, it would have nice to hear a few more obscure tunes instead of so many repeats…<\/p>\n

Let Us Burn<\/em> is a massive release, and is highly recommended for fans of Within Temptation, symphonic metal, and female fronted metal. It should win the band many new fans, and is great starting point for those wishing to join the WT bandwagon as the songs traverse their entire catalog from 1997 to the present. This monster double album (170 minutes, 32 tracks) is a true treat for all symphonic metal fans.<\/p>\n

Genre: Symphonic Metal, Symphonic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nSharon den Adel (vocals)
\nRuud Jolie (guitar)
\nStefan Helleblad (guitar)
\nJeroen Van Veen (bass)
\nMartijn Spierenburg (keyboards)
\nMike Coolen (drums)
\nRobert Westerholt (guitars at Elements and growls on “Silver Moonlight” at Hydra)
\nMartijn Westerholt (keyboards on “Candles” at Elements)
\nMichiel Papenhove (guitars on “Candles” at Elements)<\/p>\n

Guest vocalists: George Oosthoek (Elements – “Candles”), Tarja Turunen (Hydra – \u201cParadise\u201d),
\nHoward Jones (Hydra – \u201cDangerous\u201d), Xzibit (Hydra – \u201cAnd We Run\u201d), Keith Caputo (Hydra – \u201cWhat Have You Done\u201d)<\/p>\n

Track Listings:<\/p>\n

Elements Concert
\n1.\tIron
\n2.\tIn The Middle Of The Night
\n3.\tFaster
\n4.\tFire And Ice
\n5.\tOur Solemn Hour
\n6.\tStand My Ground
\n7.\tAngels
\n8.\tSanctuary (Intro)
\n9.\tThe Last Dance
\n10.\tSay My Name
\n11.\tCandles
\n12.\tSin\u00e9ad
\n13.\tThe Promise
\n14.\tMother Earth
\n15.\tIce Queen
\n16.\tStairway to the Skies<\/p>\n

Hydra Concert
\n17.\tLet Us Burn
\n18.\tParadise (What About Us?)
\n19.\tFaster
\n20.\tIron
\n21.\tEdge Of The World
\n22.\tIn The Middle Of The Night
\n23.\tDangerous
\n24.\tAnd We Run
\n25.\tStand My Ground
\n26.\tCovered By Roses
\n27.\tMother Earth
\n28.\tWhat Have You Done
\n29.\tSilver Moonlight
\n30.\tWhole World Is Watching
\n31.\tSin\u00e9ad
\n32.\tIce Queen<\/p>\n

Label: Nuclear Blast Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.within-temptation.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8 \/ 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Dutch symphonic metal masters Within Temptation have released a masterful DVD\/Blu-Ray\/double CD live recording entitled Let Us Burn \u2013 Elements & Hydra Live In Concert. Anyone who claims […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":46897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[10031,336,2288,10271,3161,334,1100,4480,8657],"class_list":{"0":"post-46896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-blu-ray","9":"tag-cd","10":"tag-dvd","11":"tag-let-us-burn-elements-and-hydra-live-in-concert","12":"tag-nuclear-blast-records","13":"tag-review","14":"tag-symphonic-metal","15":"tag-symphonic-rock","16":"tag-within-temptation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}