Review by Saxy S for Within Temptation - Resist (2019)

Oh How the Giants Have Fallen

Look I don’t have very much to say about this new album from Within Temptation. It’s been five years since Hydra came out and with an extended hiatus period like that, you would think that the group would be able to release something a little bit more interesting than… this.

And I hate saying that because I love Within Temptation, they are established veterans in the power metal genre that I imagine many similar bands look up to. But with this? Within Temptation, pardon the pun, gave in to the ever growing number of rock bands implementing more synth heavy music with piss poor production.

And oh my god, the production on this album is downright abysmal; compressed synths that pierce over the rest of the mix, a kick drum that is forced to close to the microphone, a snare drum that has so much reverb it couldn’t possibly have been recorded from an acoustic set, buzzy guitar tones that reminisce to the heavier, and worst, tracks on the last Bring Me The Horizon album, or in the case of “Holy Ground”, replaces the guitars altogether with blasted out synthesizers. The only thing saving the production from making this album worse is the dynamic contrast, something that Within Temptation have always be masters of. But they can't even pull that off correctly! The loud/soft dynamic is entirely based on whether or not the guitars are playing! And all of this leaves Sharon den Adel in a very unfortunate situation. Because let me be honest, Sharon’s vocal presence is what makes Within Temptation. When all of this is more prominent in the mix than Sharon’s vocal delivery, you have a massive problem.

So yeah, definitely not recommended even for Within Temptation fans. This is the wrong direction for the band and it does not make them look good. If you really want a power metal fix in 2019, wait a couple weeks for that new Avantasia record.