Dutch symphonic rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION have set a January 31, 2014 release date for their sixth studio album, Hydra. The album will be available in several luxury formats. The cover artwork was created by by Romano Molenaar (X-Men, Batman, The Unforgiving), and can be seen below.
The Hydra, a mythological serpent creature from ancient Greece, couldn’t be killed. When one of its many heads was cut off, two more grew in its place…
“It’s like us – undefinable!” laughs WITHIN TEMPTATION guitarist and songwriter Robert Westerholt. “What’s more, Hydra is a perfect title for our new album, because like the monster itself, the record represents the many different sides of our music.”
WITHIN TEMPTATION collaborated with several special guests on “Hydra”: Tarja Turunen (formerly of NIGHWISH), Dave Pirner of SOUL ASYLUM, metalcore hero Howard Jones, formerly of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and U.S. hip-hop icon Xzibit.
Says Robert: “Xzibit is amazing.
“‘And We Run’ song is about how you’ve got to live your life now. He’s rapping at full force on this song, it’s really heavy.” Singer Sharon Den Adel adds: “Xzibit brings a new element to our music that we’ve never had before! It’s a new cross-over and we love it!” As for the mighty Tarja, Sharon recalls: “The way she delivers those high melody lines left us all speechless. We had a great time, and the fans responded beyond our expectations.”
One of the album’s heaviest tracks, “Dangerous”, was recorded with the former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones, whose epic vocals are a perfect fit for Sharon’s.
“I always loved Howard’s voice,” she says. “He makes the song even heavier than it already is. That song is one of my favorite songs on the record and one of the fastest we’ve ever written. It has the most bass drums we’ve ever used, too, and a very fast riff which we doubled with synths. It’s not a typical synthesizer, though — it’s distorted like a guitar, and it’s very aggressive.”
“Hydra” goes from strength to strength with “Whole World Is Watching”, featuring SOUL ASYLUM singer Dave Pirner.
“When we wrote ‘Whole World Is Watching’, Dave was at the very top of our list. He has such a captivating voice: it made the song exactly how it needed to be.”
Right now, Hydra can be pre-ordered in two luxury formats: the digital premium version and a deluxe box set including extra Hydra products.
The digital premium album, complete with digi-booklet, will be available on iTunes and includes 18 audio tracks and a music video. The digital premium album features bonus “Evolution Versions” of four new songs, which contain audio commentary from Robert and Sharon and give you unique access to the development of the songs, their lyrical inspiration and the sound of the initial demos and vocals.
Hydra digital premium album track listing:
1. Let Us Burn
2. Dangerous (feat. Howard Jones)
3. And We Run (feat. Xzibit
4. Paradise (What About Us?) (feat. Tarja)
5. Edge Of The World
6. Silver Moonlight
7. Covered By Roses
8. Dog Days
9. Tell Me Why
10. Whole World Is Watching (feat. Dave Pirner)
11. Radioactive (originally performed by IMAGINE DRAGONS)
12. Summertime Sadness (originally performed by Lana del Ray)
13. Let Her Go (originally performed by PASSENGER)
14. Dirty Dancer (originally performed by Enrique Iglesias)
15. And We Run (evolution track)
16. Silver Moonlight (evolution track)
17. Covered By Roses (evolution track)
18. Tell Me Why (evolution track)
19. Paradise (What About Us?) (feat. Tarja) music video (exclusive to iTunes premium version)
Aside from the digital premium version, Hydra will also be released in a deluxe box set including exclusive items many of you have been asking for, for a long time:
Hydra deluxe box set
* Hydra, an 18-track album including bonus tracks in the form of a media book with a hot foil print cover, featuring a 100-page booklet consisting of unique photos
* Double gatefold black vinyl version of the album including bonus tracks
* Instrumental version of the entire album
* Songbook with sheet music of the songs of the album
* Hydra guitar pick
* Packaged in an especially designed LP-sized box
