Within Temptation videography explained

Artist:Within Temptation video
Music Videos:37
Video:4

The Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation has released four video albums and has appeared in twenty-nine music videos and three short films. From their first EP, The Dance (1998), they released an animated music video for the song "The Dance". The first live action video came after the release of their second album, Mother Earth (2000), for their national hit single "Ice Queen" (2001). The single generated two videos, the second one coming only two years later, in order to give the song a better worked music video due to the single newfound international rotation. The second version was directed by frequent heavy metal video director Patric Ullaeus, who had already worked with the band for their "Mother Earth" video.

Besides their music videos, the band has released four video albums and appeared in several television shows, mainly in their home country.

Music videos

TitleYearOther performer(s) creditedDirector(s)Description
"The Dance"1998
"Ice Queen"
(First version)
2001The video features a woman who, while searching for the band on the internet, finds a performance of the band performing the song at the Pinkpop Festival.
"Mother Earth"2002It follows the band playing inside a forest, as lead vocalist Sharon den Adel walks with a dress by the trees, in allusion to the song lyrical themes. An owl is also seen flying through the woods and a river.[1]
"Never-ending Story"2002It features a video collage of a series of moments from their then-latest tour.
"Ice Queen"
(Second version)
2003The video features heavy use of CGI.The band members are seen performing alone in various settings, as such as high technology factory, a platform with thunders, the stars and the sun itself. The band altogether, then, plays at the surface of an orange planet.[2]
"Running Up That Hill"2003Joern HeitmannAs a couple enters a church, they cansee the band playing at the altar for a crowd. An angel version of den Adel enters the church and possesses the body of band's den Adel, who starts to levitate as the crowd contemplates in awe. The angel then leaves den Adel's body, and the band resumes playing.[3]
"Stand My Ground"2004Bernard WedigLead vocalist den Adel enters a room and opens a secret device from which comes an old book. As she reads the book, she learns that a flood is coming from the result of a heavy rain. With the knowledge she earned from it, she manages to find an old ark that can save all band members, and they can be seen sailing through a great ocean at the end of the video. As the history flows during the video, the band is seen playing as a whole on the rooftop of a building while the storm falls and the water floods the world.[4]
"Memories"2005Bernard WedigAs an elderly woman enters an old and abandoned mansion, she turns into her younger self and walks the house while remembering her old love and how the house was before its ruin. She then turns to her old self again and leaves, as the house falls in disrepair. The band can be seen playing with fancy clothes and old instruments in the mansion concert room, and with their typical clothing and modern instruments in other scenes.[5]
"Angels"2005Oliver SommerIt tells the story of a group of vigilante angels who make it their mission to wipe out evil. den Adel is a woman who has been seemingly abandoned on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. She accepts a lift from a priest, who takes her back to his home. The priest is in fact a demonic serial killer, who adopts different disguises to get to his victims. All of these disguises are seemingly trustworthy people, like a doctor, a police officer, a clown, judge, or a priest. As den Adel stumbles upon a board full of newspaper clippings in the killers home, which are about his previous victims, he seemingly overpowers her with chloroform. He takes her all tied up to the middle of the desert to bury her alive. However, den Adel immediately awakens as the other band members approach as angels, and she is revealed to also be one of them, who was left at the side of the road as bait for the serial killer. The killer, then, is confronted with the spirits of his other victims, who destroy him. The vigilantes then move onto their next target.[6]
"Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"2005It features a video collage of a series of moments from their then-latest tour.
"The Howling"
(First Version)
2006The video was released as a trailer for The Chronicles of Spellborn massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It presents scenes from the game, as well showing den Adel singing in a game-like room.
"What Have You Done"
(First Version)
2007Mina CaputoJonathan WeylandMina (then Keith) Caputo is an FBI agent who has been assigned the task of capturing den Adel, a spy and his former lover. Caputo searches for den Adel, finally locating her singing with the band at a bar in Thailand; however, he is thrown out by the bouncer and is refused re-entry. She makes her way through a jungle in the next scene, with Caputo following her. After reaching a cliff with no escape, den Adel faces Caputo and whispers "I love you." She turns and jumps off the cliff. Although Caputo is under the impression that den Adel did not survive the fall, at the end she is lying on rocks, smiling.
"What Have You Done"
(Second Version)
2007Mina CaputoJonathan WeylandThe video follows a couple having a violent fight. As the couple screams at each other, den Adel leaves and gets a cab, while her partner is left behind thrashing their apartment, smashing mirrors and breaking vases.[7]
"Frozen"2007Oliver SommerThe video portrays an alcoholic man who uses to beat and presumably rape his wife and daughter, and ens up getting killed by a poison slipped into his drink by the first. The wife, as a result, is put in jail and possibly sentenced to death. At the beginning and in the final moments of the video, she is shown writing a letter to her daughter. The video also features the band playing the song in the living room of the family's house, and den Adel picks up and holds the daughter's doll at the end of the video.[8]
"The Howling"
(Second Version)
2007Oliver SommerThe video follows den Adel as she walks in a beautiful, sunlit field in front of a mansion. As a butterfly lands into her hands, it quickly turns into a dark scorpion and the world surrounding her gets darker, with a lot of wreckage, crows, destroyed houses and burning cars. Den Adel is joined by the other band members in the darker scenes as the video progresses alternating between the two versions of the world.[9]
"All I Need"2007Oliver SommerSituated mainly in a dream world, the video consists of travel through the mind of den Adel's character, where she follows a mysterious hooded figure. She walks past a moving statue, a horse in a corridor, a sad ballerina, among other surrealistic beings and environments. Her characters is shown to be in a coma at the end of the video, with images from the dream sequence flickering on a screen connected to her mind via wires. The band is shown tied to walls of their cells.[10]
"Forgiven"2008Oliver SommerA live presentation of the song during their concert at the Ahoy Arena, in Rotterdam. The video is almost entirely in black and white.[11]
"Utopia"2009Chris JonesOscar VerpoortA man walks around a city witnessing various people committing crimes, such as a man stealing a blind woman's wallet and a prostitute being picked up by an older man. He saves a child from almost being hit by a car when his mother wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. As the boy looks back, there is nobody there, suggesting that the man was an angel-like apparition. The band is also seen performing in a run down building.[12]
"Faster"2011Joeri MolsheimerThe official video contains scenes from the Mother Maiden short film mixed with scenes of the band performing the song at an old hangar. The version featured after the end of the short film only contains scenes of the band playing at the hangar.[13]
"Sinéad"2011Joeri MolsheimerA woman named Sinéad (introduced at the Sinéad short film) enters a night club hiding two weapons at her back. As she finds her target, she shoots him and causes the attenders to flee. Another target hides from the shots, until she is able to locate and render him. The band is seen playing at the club.[14]
"Shot in the Dark"2011Joeri MolsheimerThe video is in black and white and solely features the band playing at the same hangar from the Faster music video.[15]
"Fire and Ice"2011The music video follows the story of a fallen angel who cuts its wings becomes human due to its weakness on fighting and suffers from it, while intertwining with live footage from the band performing the song at the Lowlands music festival.[16]
"Titanium"2013It features a video collage of a series of moments from their then-latest tour, as well their performance at the sportpaleis, in Antwerp.
"Paradise (What About Us?)"2013Tarja TurunenMarten Welzen;
Tim Smit
In a wasteland, two people are seen in heavy protective gear walking through various parts of a ruined civilization, searching for what appears to be parts of a machine. Once the parts are found, they eventually drag the pieces up a sandy slope, where they activate a bigger machine by assembling the smaller parts, sending a big beam of light to the skies causing rain to fall. As the wasteland begins to show some signs of life, the two characters remove their headgear, and are revealed to be two young girls. Some time later, a rich jungle is seen as Tarja and Sharon, implied to be "druids" many many years later, paying homage to the machine and the terraformers who sacrificed to set up the machine and create the world in which they now live. They leave and the red light on the machine goes out, having completed its purpose the machine dies as the world is now self sustaining..[17]
"Dangerous"2013Howard JonesThe video focus on the renowned skydiver Jokke Sommer performing gliding through the air and pulling off impressive stunts such as navigating through a narrow gap between two buildings, over Lapa and around Sugarloaf in Rio de Janeiro. The video features Howard Jones singing on the Esplanade Riel, as the band performs in a large room with lights wearing dark clothing.[18]
"Whole World Is Watching"2014Dave Pirner

Piotr Rogucki on polish version
A drunk man is seen having a motorcycle accident. The video progresses as he struggles to heal himself at a hospital, and lately manages to drop his addiction. Den Adel and Pirner (or Rogucki in the polish version) are seen singing at the rooftop of the hospital.[19]
"And We Run"2014XzibitTim SmitThe video opens with a Nelson Mandela quote that reads: "Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement". Xzibit is seen bound to a chair with tubes inserted into his skin, inside a dark industrial area, which is filmed in black and white. The band are shown performing somewhere outside in a floating, colorful world that resembles ruins. A hummingbird flies past the band and towards the industrial area where Xzibit is being held. It lands in Xzibit's hand, and he looks at it before one of the tubes attaches to the bird, absorbing its color and killing it. Xzibit breaks out of the chair and leaps out of the building. In between scenes of him escaping and the band playing, he is shown rapping in a black room. He approaches a giant wall and punches his way through it, and as it breaks the sunlight pours through and shines on him, filling the area around him with color. He feels the sunlight, and so does den Adel, and it is implied that they will find each other once Xzibit escapes.[20]
"Covered by Roses"2014It features a video collage of a series of moments from their then-latest tour.
"The Reckoning"2018Jacoby ShaddixNoiseThe video features the band walking through a desert-like landscape in a dystopian future. The band runs off through a number of machines which aims and fires red laser beams at them during the process. After three members manage to escape the threat, an alien spaceship tries to abduct lead vocalist Sharon den Adel, as two of the remaining members are able to save her by attacking the spaceship with blue streams of energy coming from their white flags, while also defeating the threat.
"Raise Your Banner"Anders Friden
"Supernova"2019Set Vexy
"Mad World"2019Set Vexy
"Entertain You"2020Maarten Welzen
"The Purge"2020Maarten Welzen
"Shed My Skin"2021AnnisokaySet Vexy
"Don't Pray for Me"2022Jeb Hardwick
"The Fire Within"2022
"Bleed Out"2023
"Ritual"2023
"A Fool’s Parade"2024Alex YarmakIndy Hait

Video albums

TitleVideo detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications
NLD
[21]
FIN
[22]
SWE
[23]
BEL
[24] [25]
SWI
[26]
UK
[27]
Mother Earth Tour
  • Released: 17 November 2003
  • Label: Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
  • Formats: DVD
2
The Silent Force Tour
  • Released: 21 November 2005
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
  • Formats: DVD
2 20 12
Black Symphony
  • Released: 22 September 2008
  • Label: GUN Records
  • Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
4 2 1 2 1
  • NVPI: Gold
Let Us Burn – Elements & Hydra Live in Concert
  • Released: 14 November 2014
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
3 2 2
Worlds Collide Tour - Live in Amsterdam
  • Released: 21 June 2024
  • Label: Force Music
  • Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Television

TitleYearNotes
Top of the Pops (NL)2004Performer, "Stand My Ground"
Top of the Pops (NL)2005Performer, "Angels"
De Wereld Draait Door2007Guest; performer, "What Have You Done"
De Wereld Draait Door2008Performer, "Forgiven"
Pauw & WittemanGuest
De Wereld Draait Door2011Performer, "Faster"
The Voice of HollandGuest, performing tips
ZDF FernsehgartenPerformer, "Sinéad"
De Wereld Draait Door2012Guest; performer, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Langs de LeeuwGuest
De Wereld Draait Door2014Performer, "Whole World Is Watching"
RTL Late NightGuest; performer, "Whole World Is Watching"
WBA World: RostockPerformer, "Whole World Is Watching", feat. Piotr Rogucki
Surprise Surprise2015Guest
RTL Late Night2016Guest; performer, "Mother Earth"
Van Gils & Guests2019Performer, "Supernova", "Firelight"
Margriet Van Der Linden Show2020Performer, "Entertain You"
Renze2022Guest; Performer, "Never-ending Story"
The Late Show with Nikolaos TsitiridisGuest
Humberto2023Guest; Performer, "Wireless"
Taratata2024Guest; Performer, "Dirty Diana" featuring Ayron Jones

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Within Temptation: Mother Earth . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  2. Web site: Within Temptation: Ice Queen . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  3. Web site: Within Temptation: Running Up That Hill . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  4. Web site: Within Temptation: Stand My Ground . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  5. Web site: Within Temptation: Memories . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  6. Web site: Within Temptation: Angels . IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  7. Web site: Within Temptation: What Have You Done – Second Version. Disco Dogs . 16 October 2017 .
  8. Web site: Within Temptation: Frozen. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  9. Web site: Within Temptation: The Howling. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  10. Web site: Within Temptation: All I Need. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  11. Web site: Within Temptation: Forgiven. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  12. Web site: Within Temptation: Utopia. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  13. Web site: Within Temptation: Faster. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  14. Web site: Within Temptation: Sinéad. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  15. Web site: Within Temptation: Shot in the Dark. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  16. Web site: Within Temptation: Fire and Ice. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  17. Web site: Within Temptation: Paradise (What About Us?). IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  18. Web site: Within Temptation: Dangerous. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  19. Web site: Within Temptation: Whole World Is Watching. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  20. Web site: Within Temptation: And We Run. IMVDb . 16 October 2017 .
  21. Web site: Dutch DVD Charts . Dutchcharts.nl. Dutch. 26 February 2015.
  22. Web site: Suomen virallinen lista – Musiikki DVD:t 40/2008. Ifpi.fi. Finnish. 14 January 2014.
  23. Web site: Veckolista DVD Album – Vecka 49, 8 december 2005 . Sverigetopplistan.se . 7 March 2014 . Swedish.
    Web site: Veckolista DVD Album – Vecka 40, 3 oktober 2008 . Sverigetopplistan.se . 7 March 2014 . Swedish.
  24. Web site: Within Temptation – Black Symphony (Flanders) . Ultratop.be . 1 December 2016 . Dutch.
  25. Web site: WITHIN TEMPTATION: More 'The Silent Force Tour' DVD Chart Positions Revealed. 6 December 2005. Blabbermouth.net. 8 January 2022.
  26. Web site: Within Temptation DVDs in Switzerland . Hitparade.ch . 26 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150419225526/http://hitparade.ch/album/Within-Temptation-%26-The-Metropole-Orchestra/Black-Symphony-%5BDVD%5D-98779 . 19 April 2015 .
  27. Web site: Official Charts Company UK . Officialcharts.com . 26 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129061005/http://www.officialcharts.com/video-archive-chart/_/29/2014-11-29/ . 29 November 2014 .
  28. Web site: NVPI Goud & Platina. Dutch. NVPI. 10 September 2018.
  29. Web site: Karo wil goed dood. 9 February 2023. 2Doc.nl. 27 February 2023. nl.
  30. Web site: Karo wilde dood, maar haar omgeving niet belasten met het trauma van een zelfmoord. 9 February 2023. Het Parool. Raatgever. Stefan. 27 February 2023. nl.