0
Sharon den Adel
Sharon den Adel
Dutch singer, songwriter and fashion designer
1
Delain
Delain
Dutch Symphonic Metal solo project
2
After Forever
After Forever
Dutch metal band
3
Epica
Epica
Dutch symphonic metal band
4
Anneke van Giersbergen
Anneke van Giersbergen
Dutch musician
5
Charlotte Wessels
Charlotte Wessels
Dutch singer
6
Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber
American Nu-Metal Band
7
Evanescence
Evanescence
American alternative metal band
8
Volbeat
Volbeat
Danish metal band
9
Katatonia
Katatonia
swedish metal band
10
Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon
Swedish singer
11
DragonForce
DragonForce
British power metal rock band
12
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch
American heavy metal band
13
DevilDriver
DevilDriver
American heavy metal band
14
Nightwish
Nightwish
Finnish symphonic metal band
15
Manuela Kraller
Manuela Kraller
German singer
16
Bullet For My Valentine
Bullet For My Valentine
Welsh metal band
17
Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead
American band
18
Machine Head
Machine Head
American metal band
19
Timo Tolkki
Timo Tolkki
Finnish musician
20
King Diamond
King Diamond
Danish heavy metal band
21
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
British gothic metal band
22
Trivium
Trivium
American heavy metal band
23
Otep
Otep
American band
24
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool
American rock band
25
Ratt
Ratt
American glam metal band
26
Obituary
Obituary
American death metal band
27
Moonspell
Moonspell
Portuguese gothic metal band
28
Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall
American metal band
29
In This Moment
In This Moment
American Heavy Metal Band
30
Avantasia
Avantasia
German power metal band
Intro
Dutch musical group; symphonic metal band
Awards Received
Zilveren Harp
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Dutch & Belgian Act
Popprijs
Nominated For
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Dutch & Belgian Act MTV Europe Music Award for Best Dutch & Belgian Act
News
Members, past and present

Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have always been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other influences outside these genres. Their most prominent and well-known sound is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as debut album Enter, was mostly gothic metal, with Enter also having a hint of doom metal. In an interview, den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences. In a later interview with Dutch music platform 3VOOR12, den Adel stated that "we consider ourselves more a symphonic rock band ... in my opinion, we are no gothic band".

After the release of their debut album Enter in 1997, the band became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from their second album Mother Earth, which reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts. This was followed by the band winning the Conamus Exportprijs, a Dutch music award, four years in a row, and a fifth in 2016. Their next albums The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007) debuted at No. 1 on the Dutch charts. In 2008, they released Black Symphony, a live album recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. This was followed in 2009 by An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, another live album, this time with acoustic renditions of the songs.

The band's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, was released in March 2011 and was one part of a transmedia effort, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story. The album saw the band increasingly venturing on new musical territories outside symphonic metal. Their sixth studio album, Hydra, was released in early 2014 in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The album advanced the band's exploration of new musical genres and features guest appearances from various artists: Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, who appears in the lead single "Paradise (What About Us?)"; Howard Jones, former vocalist of American metalcore band Killswitch Engage; Dave Pirner, lead vocalist of American alternative rock band Soul Asylum; and American rapper Xzibit. The band had extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom with one of the songs from the album, "Whole World Is Watching" featuring Pirner.

Their latest studio album, Resist, was released on January 2019 and incorporates influences from other musical styles such as industrial and EDM. By 2016, the band had already sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide.