---
product_id: 42169221
title: "Hydra"
price: "B/.12"
currency: PAB
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/42169221-hydra
store_origin: PA
region: Panama
---

# Hydra

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## Description

HYDRA is the sixth album from Dutch symphonic metal band, Within Temptation. The album features 10 tracks, including the single "Paradise (What About Us)", and features guest appearances from Tarja, Dave Pirner, Howard Jones and Xzibit.

Review: Within Temptation has reinvented itself yet again. And in doing so they have released another album full of awesomeness. - Sharon den Adel has said they are not interested in releasing the same album over and over like AC/DC (no disrespect intended, AC/DC rocks). And they have not. Enter’s doom metal is vastly different from Mother Earth’s fantasy folk metal, which in turn is completely unlike The Silent Force’s ethereal beauty, The Heart of Everything’s bombast, and The Unforgiving’s 80’s hard rock. The only real constants in WT’s music have been the beauty, power, and emotion of Sharon’s voice, and the creativity of the music. Hydra is harder to classify. It is probably Within Temptation’s most diverse and experimental album. To be sure, WT has not abandoned its past. In fact, I think they have deliberately injected signatures from their previous albums. In addition, having changed labels to Nuclear Blast, I see WT is now officially classified as “female fronted metal” -- gone is the “symphonic rock” label of The Unforgiving era. Genres don’t really matter of course, but since I’m a metalhead, I’m happy to have the metal label back. I’m also hopeful that Nuclear Blast will give Within Temptation a great platform to be as creative as they want and to find an audience who appreciates it. Beyond the label and the diversity and the experimentation, three things stand out about Hydra. One is that Sharon’s voice is more beautiful and emotional than ever. I think she has made the effort in the last few years to take her natural abilities to an even higher level; this was also apparent on The Q-Music Sessions, the covers album that WT released last year. Hydra also gives us much more of Sharon’s exceptionally beautiful high voice than The Unforgiving did. It’s not like The Silent Force, where she used that voice almost all the time, but she does use it a lot and to great effect. Second, the guitars on Hydra are more complex and more prominent. I’ve seen Ruud Jolie post that this material will be the most challenging he’s played live with WT, and I understand why. Within Temptation has often used guitars more as a rhythm instrument, relying on an orchestra to add complexity. Here the symphony has been dialed back, and the guitars take center stage. Third, Hydra has some really interesting guests. The first is well known to everyone in the genre: Tarja Turunen, who appeared on the album’s first single last year, “Paradise (What About Us?).” The long-awaited collaboration between Sharon and Tarja is sure to please fans of both. “Paradise” is probably also the most traditional symphonic metal song on Hydra (and it hasn’t changed since the EP). The other collaborations are more experimental. The next single, “Dangerous,” features American vocalist Howard Jones, formerly of Killswitch Engage. Despite Jones’ background in metalcore, he sings clean vocals here. And he compliments the song and Sharon perfectly. I especially like how WT overlaid Sharon’s ultra-high vocalizations on top of his lines. The music is also driving and energetic, with some of Mike Coolen’s best double bass drums to date. It reminds me a bit of Amaranthe. Overall, the song has a very fresh and modern feel, and is a great choice for a single. I also quite like the video, which does a great job matching the “dangerous” feel of the music. The next collaboration is probably the most surprising: “And We Run” features rapping by Xzibit (pronounced “exhibit”). The way the song begins, the listener may expect a beautiful ballad but then the music gathers intensity and Xzibit starts rapping. It doesn’t surprise me that a little rapping works in metal music -- I like early Linkin Park, and I’ve seen Sharon mention Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith -- and the combination works very well here. The force of the rapping fits the metal mood, and Sharon’s high vocals blend very well with Xzibit’s voice (as they did with Howard Jones’). The last collaboration is a duet ballad, “Whole World Is Watching,” with Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum (or Piotr Rogucki of Coma on the Polish edition). This song is the subject of a beautiful new video. Beyond the collaborations, it is also interesting to see what has happened to the demos from the Paradise EP on the final album. I really like how Within Temptation is sharing the song development process with us this time. The first of the EP songs, “Let Us Burn,” now serves as the perfect opening for Hydra. It is much the same as the EP, but has been polished to perfection, and grabs your attention much like “Shot in the Dark” did on The Unforgiving. “Let Us Burn” now also evokes The Silent Force with some samples and with the use of Sharon’s beautiful high voice in parts. The song also gives notice that the album will contain more guitars. Next up is “Silver Moonlight.” When I heard the EP, I was excited by the return of Robert Westerholt’s growls, and they are still here, though they have become less prominent in the mix. I suppose this makes the song (and album) more accessible, but I’m still glad they are present. By the way, have you ever noticed that Robert also growls on “Our Solemn Hour” (during the chorus)? I can hear this only with headphones. On “Silver Moonlight,” he is much more noticeable, adding to the intensity of the music. “Dog Days” is the last of the Paradise demos. I loved the demo because it felt like a song off of Enter. It has now become less raw and more polished, sort of like Enter meets The Silent Force. Although Sharon no longer uses her Enter voice as much, her vocals are still very intense and emotional. I also really like Martijn Spierenburg’s piano. That leaves three more new songs. “Edge of the World” is a beautiful ballad, the first third of which would fit comfortably on The Silent Force, and even reminds me of “Somewhere.” But it becomes much heavier toward the middle and in the last third becomes heavier still, with galloping bass, before looping back to an ethereal finish. By comparison, “Tell Me Why” starts heavy and doesn’t let up. It features an angry riff, thunderous bass, and some of Sharon’s most aggressive vocals. It’s also the longest song on the album, running over six minutes. I quite like both songs, and they offer nice contrast. I like “Covered by Roses” even more. It is heavy and catchy at the same time, and has lyrics that make me wonder whether this might be a concept album of sorts. I recall that “Let Us Burn” starts with the line “The darkness has come to the roses.” I then realize that “Let Us Burn” also ties into “Paradise,” which begins “There’s no sense, the fire burns.” Perhaps a major theme of Hydra is that life is “dangerous” but we should be “embracing the world on the edge.” “No, it’s not our Paradise. But it’s all we want. And it’s all that we’re fighting for.” I look forward to giving these lyrics more thought in the months and years to come.
Review: I am in love with this album - About a week and a half ago. desertcart sent me an email with music suggestions in it. When they do that periodically, if I have time, I follow up on the interesting looking suggestions by listening to a few of the song fragments that are usually available on the pages for the mp3 versions of the albums. The email in question had a link for Hydra. The first few song fragments sounded great so I listened to them all a few times. Enough of them sounded so good that, despite my never having heard of the group before, I decided to buy the CD and download the mp3 files right away. Which I did. And in the ensuing week and a half, I have listened to the album at least 30 times, and some of the songs many more times than that. This is the best new (to me) album I've heard in years. Let me first say that I am 61 years old. Back when I was the age most of the people reading reviews of this album likely are today, I was listening to groups like Led Zeppelin, Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. (I still do). So you can tell I like hardish rock and classically-influenced rock. I have seen other reviewers label Within Temptation as making music in the "Opera Metal" genre, something else I have never heard of. That name makes sense, now that I know the songs really well. They feature hard rock instrumentation - very well done - and high quality vocal work, though while the female voices could be considered somewhat operatic, the male ones are solid rock style (with one very appealing foray into rap which generally I can't stand). I'm not expressing myself very well, because what I mean to get across is that these songs are really fantastic. The vocals are superb. The guitar work - rhythm, bass, and lead - is excellent. The classical instruments, when used, really add to the atmosphere. And almost every song ends up being thrilling, at least to me. I "discovered" Muse a year ago in a similar way, and fell in love with their stuff too, but not as deeply and not as fast though I still love and frequently listen to about 25 of their songs. I will definitely be checking out all of Within Temptation's oeuvre. They know what they're doing.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | B00GJ7CVUU |
| Best Sellers Rank | #129,972 in CDs & Vinyl ( See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl ) #1,525 in Pop Metal (CDs & Vinyl) #59,818 in Rock (CDs & Vinyl) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,187) |
| Date First Available  | November 8, 2013 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer  | No |
| Label  | Nuclear Blast |
| Language  | English |
| Manufacturer  | Nuclear Blast |
| Number of discs  | 1 |
| Original Release Date  | 2014 |
| Product Dimensions  | 5.59 x 4.96 x 0.39 inches; 1.76 ounces |

## Images

![Hydra - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/713DvYcxhHL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Within Temptation has reinvented itself yet again. And in doing so they have released another album full of awesomeness.
*by J***H on February 4, 2014*

Sharon den Adel has said they are not interested in releasing the same album over and over like AC/DC (no disrespect intended, AC/DC rocks). And they have not. Enter’s doom metal is vastly different from Mother Earth’s fantasy folk metal, which in turn is completely unlike The Silent Force’s ethereal beauty, The Heart of Everything’s bombast, and The Unforgiving’s 80’s hard rock. The only real constants in WT’s music have been the beauty, power, and emotion of Sharon’s voice, and the creativity of the music. Hydra is harder to classify. It is probably Within Temptation’s most diverse and experimental album. To be sure, WT has not abandoned its past. In fact, I think they have deliberately injected signatures from their previous albums. In addition, having changed labels to Nuclear Blast, I see WT is now officially classified as “female fronted metal” -- gone is the “symphonic rock” label of The Unforgiving era. Genres don’t really matter of course, but since I’m a metalhead, I’m happy to have the metal label back. I’m also hopeful that Nuclear Blast will give Within Temptation a great platform to be as creative as they want and to find an audience who appreciates it. Beyond the label and the diversity and the experimentation, three things stand out about Hydra. One is that Sharon’s voice is more beautiful and emotional than ever. I think she has made the effort in the last few years to take her natural abilities to an even higher level; this was also apparent on The Q-Music Sessions, the covers album that WT released last year. Hydra also gives us much more of Sharon’s exceptionally beautiful high voice than The Unforgiving did. It’s not like The Silent Force, where she used that voice almost all the time, but she does use it a lot and to great effect. Second, the guitars on Hydra are more complex and more prominent. I’ve seen Ruud Jolie post that this material will be the most challenging he’s played live with WT, and I understand why. Within Temptation has often used guitars more as a rhythm instrument, relying on an orchestra to add complexity. Here the symphony has been dialed back, and the guitars take center stage. Third, Hydra has some really interesting guests. The first is well known to everyone in the genre: Tarja Turunen, who appeared on the album’s first single last year, “Paradise (What About Us?).” The long-awaited collaboration between Sharon and Tarja is sure to please fans of both. “Paradise” is probably also the most traditional symphonic metal song on Hydra (and it hasn’t changed since the EP). The other collaborations are more experimental. The next single, “Dangerous,” features American vocalist Howard Jones, formerly of Killswitch Engage. Despite Jones’ background in metalcore, he sings clean vocals here. And he compliments the song and Sharon perfectly. I especially like how WT overlaid Sharon’s ultra-high vocalizations on top of his lines. The music is also driving and energetic, with some of Mike Coolen’s best double bass drums to date. It reminds me a bit of Amaranthe. Overall, the song has a very fresh and modern feel, and is a great choice for a single. I also quite like the video, which does a great job matching the “dangerous” feel of the music. The next collaboration is probably the most surprising: “And We Run” features rapping by Xzibit (pronounced “exhibit”). The way the song begins, the listener may expect a beautiful ballad but then the music gathers intensity and Xzibit starts rapping. It doesn’t surprise me that a little rapping works in metal music -- I like early Linkin Park, and I’ve seen Sharon mention Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith -- and the combination works very well here. The force of the rapping fits the metal mood, and Sharon’s high vocals blend very well with Xzibit’s voice (as they did with Howard Jones’). The last collaboration is a duet ballad, “Whole World Is Watching,” with Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum (or Piotr Rogucki of Coma on the Polish edition). This song is the subject of a beautiful new video. Beyond the collaborations, it is also interesting to see what has happened to the demos from the Paradise EP on the final album. I really like how Within Temptation is sharing the song development process with us this time. The first of the EP songs, “Let Us Burn,” now serves as the perfect opening for Hydra. It is much the same as the EP, but has been polished to perfection, and grabs your attention much like “Shot in the Dark” did on The Unforgiving. “Let Us Burn” now also evokes The Silent Force with some samples and with the use of Sharon’s beautiful high voice in parts. The song also gives notice that the album will contain more guitars. Next up is “Silver Moonlight.” When I heard the EP, I was excited by the return of Robert Westerholt’s growls, and they are still here, though they have become less prominent in the mix. I suppose this makes the song (and album) more accessible, but I’m still glad they are present. By the way, have you ever noticed that Robert also growls on “Our Solemn Hour” (during the chorus)? I can hear this only with headphones. On “Silver Moonlight,” he is much more noticeable, adding to the intensity of the music. “Dog Days” is the last of the Paradise demos. I loved the demo because it felt like a song off of Enter. It has now become less raw and more polished, sort of like Enter meets The Silent Force. Although Sharon no longer uses her Enter voice as much, her vocals are still very intense and emotional. I also really like Martijn Spierenburg’s piano. That leaves three more new songs. “Edge of the World” is a beautiful ballad, the first third of which would fit comfortably on The Silent Force, and even reminds me of “Somewhere.” But it becomes much heavier toward the middle and in the last third becomes heavier still, with galloping bass, before looping back to an ethereal finish. By comparison, “Tell Me Why” starts heavy and doesn’t let up. It features an angry riff, thunderous bass, and some of Sharon’s most aggressive vocals. It’s also the longest song on the album, running over six minutes. I quite like both songs, and they offer nice contrast. I like “Covered by Roses” even more. It is heavy and catchy at the same time, and has lyrics that make me wonder whether this might be a concept album of sorts. I recall that “Let Us Burn” starts with the line “The darkness has come to the roses.” I then realize that “Let Us Burn” also ties into “Paradise,” which begins “There’s no sense, the fire burns.” Perhaps a major theme of Hydra is that life is “dangerous” but we should be “embracing the world on the edge.” “No, it’s not our Paradise. But it’s all we want. And it’s all that we’re fighting for.” I look forward to giving these lyrics more thought in the months and years to come.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I am in love with this album
*by T***R on February 17, 2014*

About a week and a half ago. Amazon sent me an email with music suggestions in it. When they do that periodically, if I have time, I follow up on the interesting looking suggestions by listening to a few of the song fragments that are usually available on the pages for the mp3 versions of the albums. The email in question had a link for Hydra. The first few song fragments sounded great so I listened to them all a few times. Enough of them sounded so good that, despite my never having heard of the group before, I decided to buy the CD and download the mp3 files right away. Which I did. And in the ensuing week and a half, I have listened to the album at least 30 times, and some of the songs many more times than that. This is the best new (to me) album I've heard in years. Let me first say that I am 61 years old. Back when I was the age most of the people reading reviews of this album likely are today, I was listening to groups like Led Zeppelin, Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. (I still do). So you can tell I like hardish rock and classically-influenced rock. I have seen other reviewers label Within Temptation as making music in the "Opera Metal" genre, something else I have never heard of. That name makes sense, now that I know the songs really well. They feature hard rock instrumentation - very well done - and high quality vocal work, though while the female voices could be considered somewhat operatic, the male ones are solid rock style (with one very appealing foray into rap which generally I can't stand). I'm not expressing myself very well, because what I mean to get across is that these songs are really fantastic. The vocals are superb. The guitar work - rhythm, bass, and lead - is excellent. The classical instruments, when used, really add to the atmosphere. And almost every song ends up being thrilling, at least to me. I "discovered" Muse a year ago in a similar way, and fell in love with their stuff too, but not as deeply and not as fast though I still love and frequently listen to about 25 of their songs. I will definitely be checking out all of Within Temptation's oeuvre. They know what they're doing.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by S***E on February 3, 2014*

Très beau livret qui inclut les 2 CD, les paroles de chansons et des photos bonus du groupe en concert et les making-of des clips / spectacles. L'album en lui-même est superbe. Les chansons sont abouties, on sent que le groupe a beaucoup réfléchi au concept de leur album. Chaque titre se démarque des autres et on retrouve une des "têtes" de l'Hydra à chaque chanson. Les duos apportent un plus à la musique de Within Temptation. On a plaisir à écouter Sharon den Adel et Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish) chanter ensemble "Paradise (What About Us?) ! Quant à "The Whole World Is Watching", je vous conseille la version avec le chanteur polonais Piotr Rogucki -> clip à voir sur youtube. Après des albums plus pop-rock, voire mainstream (The Silent Force / The Unforgiving), on retourne aux sources : métal symphonique avec plus de basse qui accompagne la voix mélodique de Sharon. Robert Westerholt réintroduit même ses "grunts" dans "Silver Moonlight". Cela fait plaisir de revoir le groupe dans son élément mais aussi de voir le groupe se renouveller : une suprenante collaboration avec le rappeur Xzibit dans "And we run" qui fonctionne plutôt bien avec la voix très grave de l'Américain qui contraste avec celle de Sharon. Le CD2 c'est d'abord la reprise de plusieurs chansons dites "pop" (diffusées à la radio) par le groupe. C'est pas mal du tout. Ce qui est intéressant, c'est les 4 "evolution track" en fin de disque : l'évolution de la création de certaines chansons de l'album (CD1). Pour les fans de Within Temptation et ceux qui découvrent depuis peu, je vous recommande vivement cet album! Il vaut le détour :)

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