#5. Within Temptation - In Vain
First of all, I just have to say that 2019 has been a fantastic year for Rock and Metal acts in the Countdown. I don't really listen to the metal genre like I used to, but it's refreshing to see bands of that ilk populating the top 10 and beyond.
With that being said, Within Temptation is not a band that I expected to see this high on the Countdown. Although I certainly appreciate a good Dutch female led symphonic metal act (see: Epica, Nightwish, Delain etc), I never really caught on to their blend of neo-celtic/goth style. A lot is made of female fronted metal acts, and I appreciate the hell out of Sharon den Adel, but I've always felt like their music was kind of dull compared to their contemporaries. Anyways, the band continues to score well received records in Europe, but are 15 years removed from their huge breakthrough album The Silent Force, which went gold in 8 countries. Their most recent record Hydra made it as far as #16 in the United States, debuting at #1 in their home country of The Netherlands. Their 2019 release Resist made it to #5 in the US Top Hard Rock albums and #129 on the Billboard 200.
One of the things I enjoy the most about music is that a band that I don't overly care for can sneak up with a great song and scale the chart fairly quickly. In Vain was released back in January and immediately made an impact on the dreary, snow filled winter months of 2019. The song has a softer guitar opening that leads through a less harsh first verse. It isn't until the chorus that the band's traditional big symphonic sound explodes through, with den Adel singing about a relationship living through its final days. I've always found her voice a little too quirky, but it works really when she says "all in vain" on the chorus. Despite not being a major single release, the song did rack almost 2m streams on Spotify, and showed that the band has a staying power that will surely outlive critics such as myself.
At the end of the day, it was a really great song to dive into on depressing AM drives to work. Songs like that are always rattling around the top of the charts, and I'm wondering how the rest of the top 5 will play out from here.
Favorite Line: ""Everything we tried to say, up until the final day... I guess we said enough, said enough to know it's all in vain""
Title: In Vain
Artist: Within Temptation
Album: Resist
Previous #5s
2018: Andrew WK - Music Is Worth Living For
2017: Chris Cornell - The Promise
2016: blink-182 - Built This Pool
2015: August Burns Red - Identity
2014: Chvrches - The Mother We Share
2013: Born of Osiris - M∆chine
2012: The Shins - Simple Song
2011: Cold - The Break
2010: Matt and Kim - Cameras
2009: Michael Bublé - Just Haven't Met You Yet
No comments:
Post a Comment