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 and expanded their international recognition. 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 in February 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.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_Temptation
Studio albums
Enter (1997)
Mother Earth (2000)
The Silent Force (2004)
The Heart of Everything (2007)
The Unforgiving (2011)
Hydra (2014)
Resist (2019)
Bleed Out (2023)
See Who I Am
Within Temptation Lyrics
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Are we too blind to find a way?
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today.
Come into my world,
See trough my eyes.
Try to understand,
Don't want to lose what we have.
But who can deny,
It's the best way of living
Between the truth and the lies.
See who I am,
Break through the surface.
Reach for my hand,
Let's show them that we can
Free our minds and find a way.
The world is in our hands,
This is not the end.
Fear is withering the soul
At the point of no return.
We must be the change
We wish to see.
I'll come into your world,
See trough your eyes.
I'll try to understand,
Before we lose what we have.
We just can't stop believing
Because we have to try.
We can rise above
Their truth and their lies.
See who I am,
Break through the surface.
Reach for my hand,
Let's show them that we can
Free our minds and find a way.
The world is in our hands,
This is not the end.
I hear their silence
Preaching my blame.
Will our strength remain
If their power reigns?
See who I am,
Break through the surface.
Reach for my hand,
Let's show them that we can
Free our minds and find a way.
The world is in our hands,
This is not the end.
The song "See Who I Am" by Within Temptation speaks about the fear of the unknown and the importance of understanding and seeing things from another person's perspective. The first verse asks if it's true that we might be too blind to find a way and that the fear of the unknown clouds our hearts. The singer then invites the listener to come into their world, see through their eyes and try to understand before we lose what we have.
The chorus speaks about breaking through the surface, reaching for the singer's hand and showing that we can free our minds and find a way. The world is in our hands and this is not the end. The second verse talks about fear withering the soul and reaching the point of no return. We must be the change we want to see in the world. The singer then promises to come into the listener's world, see through their eyes and try to understand before we lose what we have.
The final chorus repeats the message of breaking through the surface, holding hands and freeing our minds. The singer acknowledges the silence of those who preach their blame and questions if our strength will remain if their power reigns. The song ends with the message that this is not the end, and the world is in our hands.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it true what they say,
Are the things people say actually true?
Are we too blind to find a way?
Are we unable to see the way to solve our problems?
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today.
We are afraid of what we do not know, and this fear is stopping us from moving forward.
Come into my world,
Experience my perspective on things.
See through my eyes.
Understand how I perceive things.
Try to understand,
Make an effort to comprehend.
Don't want to lose what we have.
We do not want to let go of what we have.
We've been dreaming
We've had ambitions.
But who can deny,
Everyone can agree.
It's the best way of living
Having aspirations is the best way to go about life.
Between the truth and the lies.
In the space between fact and fiction.
See who I am,
Understand me.
Break through the surface.
Go beyond what you see on the surface.
Reach for my hand,
Take hold of my hand.
Let's show them that we can
Demonstrate our ability.
Free our minds and find a way.
Release ourselves from our limitations and discover a solution.
The world is in our hands,
We have the power to influence the world.
This is not the end.
This situation is not permanent.
Fear is withering the soul
Fear is affecting our spirit.
At the point of no return.
We are at the threshold of being unable to turn back.
We must be the change
We need to take action and start the change ourselves.
We wish to see.
Change that we desire.
I'll come into your world,
I'll try to see things from your perspective.
See through your eyes.
Attempt to understand your viewpoint.
Before we lose what we have.
Before we let go of our current situation.
We just can't stop believing
We need to retain our faith.
Because we have to try.
We must make an effort.
We can rise above
We have the ability to overcome.
Their truth and their lies.
Their version of fact and fiction.
I hear their silence
I notice their lack of action.
Preaching my blame.
Pointing the finger at me.
Will our strength remain
Will we persist in the face of their accusations?
If their power reigns?
If their influence dominates?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARTINUS J. E. MARTIJN SPIERENBURG, ROBERT WESTERHOLT, SHARON J. DEN ADEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind