Black Symphony is the third live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on 22–24 September 2008 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, and Blu-ray.[1] Sony Poland announced this item to be released on 3LP. Release is due Friday 28 December 2018.[2]

Information

The release consists of two discs. The first one contains the homonymous special concert that features the band accompanied by The Metropole Orchestra, the Pa'dam Choir, and special guests including George Oosthoek (ex-Orphanage), Anneke van Giersbergen of Agua de Annique and Mina Caputo of Life of Agony. It was filmed by 14 HD cameras on 7 February 2008 in a sold-out concert at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. The album was certified Gold in the Netherlands.[3] Besides the orchestra, choirs and special guests, the concert featured some elaborate extra production apart from the band's common tour performances, such as choreographed circus performances, pyrotechnics, fireworks and special lightning. The album was also one of the pioneers of the blu-ray format release. Music technology magazine Sound on Sound constructed a special article about the making-of process of the DVD, such as the mixing and the editing, and the use of new technology in it.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [5]
About.com [6]
Metal Storm [7]
Popmatters [8]
Sputnikmusic [9]
Ultimate-Guitar [10]

The double release was well received among music critics. Adrien Begrand, from Popmatters, praised the band's current recognition in Europe and considered that the main concert structure and production was a worthy opportunity that only a few successful bands could embrace. Begrand, while praising den Adel's performance overall, considered the excess of ballads on the setlist as a low point. He ended his review stating that the release is "in all, a classy package befitting a very classy band, and a sure-fire fan pleaser."[8]

Content

DVD 1

Within Temptation & Metropole Orchestra: Black Symphony.

Recorded live at The Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands on 7 February 2008.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ouverture"Jules Buckley7:43
2."Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg4:39
3."The Howling"den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson6:30
4."Stand My Ground"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef4:32
5."The Cross"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:58
6."What Have You Done"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson5:21
7."Hand of Sorrow"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg5:40
8."The Heart of Everything"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson5:47
9."Forgiven"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:52
10."Somewhere"den Adel, Westerholt4:24
11."The Swan Song"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:00
12."Memories"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:03
13."Our Solemn Hour"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg5:22
14."The Other Half (Of Me)"den Adel, Westerholt5:03
15."Frozen"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson4:31
16."The Promise"den Adel, Westerholt8:14
17."Angels"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:01
18."Mother Earth"den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens5:59
19."The Truth Beneath the Rose"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg7:22
20."Deceiver of Fools"den Adel, Westerholt7:38
21."All I Need"den Adel, Westerholt4:54
22."Ice Queen"den Adel, Westerholt7:15

Extras

Backstage Report

  1. Interviews with the band, conductor Jules Buckley, members of the orchestra, Keith Caputo and various fans outside the Ahoy. Presented by Dennis Weening.

Documentary

  1. 30-minute documentary with exclusive never-seen-before footage. Interviews with band members on the band's history and on Black Symphony. Produced by the NPS, Netherlands.

Countdown Black Symphony

  1. A short overview of all the happenings on the day of the show, from when the production starts in the morning, until showtime in the evening.

DVD 2

Bonus Concert

Recorded live at The Beursgebouw, Eindhoven, Netherlands on 24 November 2007.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Martijn Spierenburg 
2."Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Spierenburg 
3."The Howling"den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson 
4."The Cross"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg 
5."Hand of Sorrow"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg 
6."The Heart of Everything"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson 
7."Restless"den Adel, Westerholt, Martijn Westerholt 
8."Our Solemn Hour"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg 
9."Mother Earth"den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens 
10."Jane Doe"den Adel, Westerholt, Eikens 
11."The Truth Beneath the Rose"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg 
12."All I Need"den Adel, Westerholt 

Music Videos

  1. What Have You Done (with Keith Caputo)
  2. Frozen
  3. The Howling
  4. All I Need

The Making Of...

  1. Frozen
  2. The Howling
  3. All I Need

World Tour Impressions

  1. An hour of exclusive footage recorded on the road by Within Temptation in the US & Canada, Europe, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Japan and the UK.

Extras

  1. TMF Awards Benelux (featuring WT's performance of What Have You Done and All I Need at the TMF Awards Belgium)
  2. The Dutch Pop Award Show (featuring the male members of WT dressing up in dresses and receiving the Netherlands' most important music award)
  3. Photoshoot Erwin Olaf (very exclusive footage of Erwin Olaf working with us on the photos made for The Heart Of Everything)
  4. Orchestra Recordings (filmed during the recording of the orchestra parts for The Heart Of Everything)

Specs

PAL/NTSC format. Contains Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1 and DTS 96/24 surround sound, filmed in high definition, widescreen. Subtitled in English. Coded region-free, with a total running time of 470 minutes as it also contains both CDs of the Ahoy concert.

CD track listing

Europe and Japanese version

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ouverture"Jules Buckley7:43
2."Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg4:39
3."The Howling"den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson6:30
4."Stand My Ground"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef4:32
5."The Cross"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:58
6."What Have You Done"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson5:21
7."Hand of Sorrow"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg5:40
8."The Heart of Everything"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson5:47
9."Forgiven"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:52
10."Somewhere"den Adel, Westerholt4:24
11."The Swan Song"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:00
12."Memories"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:03
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Our Solemn Hour"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg5:22
2."The Other Half (Of Me)"den Adel, Westerholt5:03
3."Frozen"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson4:31
4."The Promise"den Adel, Westerholt8:14
5."Angels"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:01
6."Mother Earth"den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens5:59
7."The Truth Beneath the Rose"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg7:22
8."Deceiver of Fools"den Adel, Westerholt7:38
9."All I Need"den Adel, Westerholt4:54
10."Ice Queen"den Adel, Westerholt7:15
US Version
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ouverture"Jules Buckley7:43
2."Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg4:39
3."The Howling"den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson6:30
4."Stand My Ground"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef4:32
5."The Cross"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:58
6."What Have You Done"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson5:21
7."Hand of Sorrow"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg5:40
8."Forgiven"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:52
9."Somewhere"den Adel, Westerholt4:24
10."Our Solemn Hour"den Adel, Westerholt5:22
11."Frozen"den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson4:31
12."Angels"den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg4:01
13."Mother Earth"den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens5:59

Editions

  • Europe: 2-CD Digipack/ 2-DVD Digipack/ 2-Disc Blu-ray
  • Europe, UK, Australia: 4-Disc Special Edition Digipack
  • USA, Canada: 1-CD+1-DVD Jewelcase
  • Japan: 2-CD+1-DVD Digipack
  • Argentina: 1-DVD

Personnel

The Band

Special Guests

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
DVD
Netherlands (NVPI)[31]Gold30,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Official DVD Announcement Archived February 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Official Website
  2. ^ Three Within Temptation releases to be reissued
  3. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – WITHIN TEMPTATION: 'Black Symphony' DVD Certified Gold In Holland". Legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  4. ^ "Within Temptation: Producing Black Symphony".
  5. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1422227
  6. ^ "Heavy Metal". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  7. ^ "Within Temptation – Black Symphony [Live". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  8. ^ a b "Within Temptation – Black Symphony (Popmatters review)". popmatters.com. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  9. ^ "Within Temptation – Black Symphony (Sputnikmusic review)". sputnikmusic.com. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  10. ^ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/within_temptation/black_symphony/index.html
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Ultratop.be – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  15. ^ "Within Temptation: Black Symphony" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  17. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Within Temptation – Black Symphony". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  18. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2014-02-03" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  19. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra â