More than two years have passed since the release of their Top 5 album “The Unforgiving” – all the more reason for the announcement of a new album to send the worldwide fanbase of Within Temptation into a frenzy. To shorten the wait, the Dutch band has now released the EP “Paradise (What About Us?)” on September 27, featuring none other than Finnish rock diva Tarja Turunen as a guest vocalist.
“When we wrote the first version of ‘Paradise’ and later listened to the recordings, we realized how epic and powerful this song actually is,” says frontwoman Sharon den Adel. “We immediately thought about how well Tarja’s classically trained voice would fit and how unique it would be to sing the song together. The more the idea settled in our minds, the more we wanted to do it.”
After the band released the first video teasers, numerous fans speculated wildly on Facebook about who the duet partner might be, suggesting it could hardly be a “rival” like Tarja Turunen. However, the two singers never saw themselves as competitors.
“Of course, I didn’t know what to expect at first,” Sharon continues, “because Tarja and I had never met in person until June of this year. We met for the first time via Skype when we discussed the collaboration, and we clicked immediately – not just on an artistic level, but personally as well. After that, it felt natural for both of us to record the song together.”
Tarja adds: “It was wonderful to finally meet Sharon and Within Temptation. I appreciate their invitation from the bottom of my heart and am grateful to be able to work with them on ‘Paradise.’ It’s so wonderful that they thought of me. I hope our fans enjoy our ‘Girl Power’!”
Both the song “Paradise (What About Us)?” and the accompanying music video convey a message: only constructively and together can something new be created. For a ‘new paradise,’ we all need to stick together and work on it collectively.
With the new EP, Within Temptation gives their fans a very intimate insight into their initial artistic ideas, as it contains three additional tracks: demo versions of the brand new album “Let Us Burn,” “Silver Moonlight,” and “Dog Days.” Although some symphonic and orchestral elements as well as the final mix are still missing, the powerful energy that flows through the songs can be felt from the very beginning.
However, the duet between Sharon den Adel and Tarja Turunen only reflects one side of the new material. Within Temptation mastermind Robert Westerholt reveals: “For the first time, we are releasing an album with many different collaborations that are groundbreaking for our musical style.”
Consequently, the recordings and production for the sixth studio album are still ongoing, with a release planned for January 2014. However, the first part of the world tour had to be postponed, with the first show now starting on February 26 in Helsinki. The rescheduled concerts will continue in Munich from April 6 and run until May 2 in Amsterdam. There will also be some new dates in Europe as well as overseas.
“We are aware that the fans who secured their tickets so early are disappointed, and we want to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We hope they will accept the EP at a special price as compensation. As a gesture of goodwill, we are currently working even harder to present them with the best and most impressive live production ever on the next tour, but the foundation for that is the completion of the new album. That’s why postponing the tour dates was our only option.”
Tickets already purchased remain valid. The digital EP has been available for pre-order since September 13. Tarja Turunen’s new album “Colours In The Dark” is now available through earMUSIC.
Tracklisting - ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ EP
1. Paradise (What About Us?) featuring Tarja Turunen
2. Let Us Burn (demo version)
3. Silver Moonlight (demo version)
4. Dog Days (demo version)
The EP is released by BMG Rights Management/ Rough Trade.
Tour dates:
March 15, 2014 | AUSTRIA | VIENNA | GASOMETER
March 16, 2014 | SWITZERLAND | ZURICH | HALLENSTADION
April 06, 2014 | GERMANY | MUNICH | TONHALLE
April 07, 2014 | GERMANY | HAMBURG | SPORTHALLE
April 08, 2014 | GERMANY | COLOGNE | PALADIUM
April 09, 2014 | GERMANY | LUDWIGSBURG | ARENA
April 18, 2014 | GERMANY | FRANKFURT | JARHUNDERTHALLE
April 19, 2014 | GERMANY | ERFURT | THUERINGENHALLE
April 20, 2014 | GERMANY | BERLIN | COLUMBIAHALLE
